Politics

RSG Alone Can’t Fix Security – Alabo-George

Published

10 years ago

April 18, 2016

Alabo-George

He belongs to the young, up and mobile professional class. Ross Alabo-George is an Information Technology specialist with vast experience in providing services to the oil and gas industry and other government and non governmental organisations.
In this two-part interview with Opaka Dokubo, George shares his deep feelings about some contemporary political developments in Nigeria with a strong bias for the Niger Delta and Rivers State.
Excerpts:
How do you feel when you hear the phrase ‘Rivers of Blood?
I think that is a cliche
that’s being pushed by elements in the political arena who want to destabilise the state. You need to see the kind of impression people have about Rivers State when you travel to Abuja or Lagos. There is this impression that Rivers State is like a Boko Haram area. That notion has been pushed by certain individuals who may be, think that casting the state in such bad light will force the Federal government to declare a state of emergency.
The sad thing about this is that the people who are doing this are indeed Rivers people. I understand that there are security challenges but it is not enough to categorise Rivers State ‘Rivers of Blood’. I think Rivers State is still a largely peaceful state when compared to states like Kaduna State, Plateau State and some states in the East.
We have criminal incidences like kidnapping which indeed is very sad but I think that in past few weeks, we have witnessed a drop in some of those activities. But I think that the state government has to do more in terms of collaborating with the security agencies. I don’t think that there is sufficient sync, the interface is not wide enough. I think that the state government has enough resources to mobilise the needed security resources to deal with this.
In Kaduna State, the police declared a state of emergency and actually brought in more personnel, Rapid Response Squads from different states to address the issue and we saw a sharp drop in criminal activities once that was done. In Rivers State, in the last administration, that was achieved because the PDP controlled the state and the federal government. But I know that the way the federal government will respond to the state government will be different and that is also the problem with our politics.
This is a federal republic and that means that the state has complete and full right to the security infrastructure at the centre and it is not even at the behest of the president. It is something that has to be done and so, once the Rivers State governor demands, it behoves on the president to respond immediately. It is a complex issue and we need to address it in a pragmatic manner. It is not for the state government alone to address.
What do you make of the president’s threat to treat pipeline vandals like Boko Haram?
I think that one of the silliest things that General Gowon said in the days leading the Biafran war was to use the word ‘crush’. He said he would crush them. It didn’t sound like he was talking about his own citizens. It sounded he was talking about foreigners and I think that the international community took that statement very seriously. And I want to call on the international community to take this statement by President Buhari threatening to deal with pipeline vandals like Boko Haram equally seriously.
Book Haram is a terrorist organisation and we all know the carnage and pain Boko Haram has caused this nation. For us in the Niger Delta, it is sad that these people have caused this nation more than the lives they have destroyed in the north. The fallout of Boko Haram has affected economic activities because when you travel out of the region, everybody thinks that Boko Haram is within the country. But it’s not true. They don’t understand that Boko Haram is confined to the North-East.
We have seen terrorist attacks by Fulani herdsmen. These herdsmen have killed over five hundred people. In fact, an entire community was sacked and razed down. And as I speak to you today, the president has not said anything about it personally. It is therefore shocking that the same man will talk about pipeline vandals. So, are the pipeline more important than the people in Agatu? Certainly not.
I think the president has a communication issue and I think the entire government is not connecting with the people. There is a gap. What we need is a rapid feedback system that will carry the people along. The president is in China to borrow two billion dollars but he has not visited the Niger Delta that generates 60 billion dollars every year. He has never been to any oil producing state in the Niger Delta after he won the election. He has been very careless with some of his utterances. For example he said, “you don’t expect me to treat the people that gave me 97% the same as the people that gave me 5%.”
You categorise the people of the Niger Delta as 5% and then you threaten to attack the people of the Niger Delta…? How can you give them the Boko Haram treatment without sacking communities? And then we have seen this drama about the Calabar-Lagos railine project. I know that the contract for that project was signed in 2014. The name of that project really was Niger Delta Coastal Railine but in the wisdom of President Goodluck Jonathan, he decided to call it the Calabar-Lagos Railine to give it a national outlook. The drama we’re seeing around the project suggests that somebody somewhere does not want that project to come to light.
When you think about that project, it is the biggest project ever in this country. That project is about half of the entire national budget. It is worth about three trillion naira, about 11.76 billion dollars. That is China’s biggest infrastructural project ever outside China. That is the biggest infrastructural project in Africa. So, looking at it from that perspective, I think that some people who are concerned about the economic benefits may be worried.

Politics

Alleged Defamation: Umahi Directs Legal Processes Against Tracy Ohiri

Published

1 day ago

March 23, 2026

The Tide

Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, has directed his legal team to resume all court proceedings against Mrs. Tracy Ohiri over her repeated allegations of indebtedness and other claims against him.

Mrs Ohiri had publicly accused Senator Umahi of owing her N280 million for campaign materials from his tenure as party chairman in Ebonyi State.

The allegations went viral on social media, where she also accused the Minister of sexual harassment.

Security agencies arrested Mrs Ohiri, and she was subsequently prosecuted. Her lawyer, Barrister Marshall Abubakar, intervened, leading to the deletion of all posts and a public apology, which also gained widespread attention online.

However, days after the apology, Mrs Ohiri resumed her claims against Senator Umahi.

In a statement issued on Saturday by his Senior Special Assistant on Media, Francis Nwaze, Senator Umahi said he had informed Barrister Abubakar during the intervention that if Mrs Ohiri could provide verifiable evidence, logs, and communications from the period in question, some of his associates were willing to contribute a sum of One Billion Naira (N1billion) to her, evidence which, he said, she had yet to provide.

“The Honourable Minister of Works, Senator Engr. David Umahi, has been monitoring the ongoing public discourse surrounding the claims and counterclaims by Mrs. Tracy Ohiri.

“Ordinarily, this would have been ignored, but in the interest of truth and public clarity, it is necessary to address the issues directly”, the statement read.

The statement clarified that Barrister Abubakar acted in good faith and without any financial interest, motivated solely by a desire to assist Mrs Ohiri.

At no point did the lawyer discuss or negotiate any payment with the minister, although some well-meaning associates independently offered support”, the statement added.

Senator Umahi reiterated the conditions for resolving the matter: either the claims must be tested in court, or Mrs Ohiri must provide credible evidence, including all relevant communications, to substantiate her allegations.

The minister emphasised that Barr Abubakar conducted himself with integrity throughout the process.

“Following the failure to meet these conditions, particularly the inability to provide verifiable evidence, the Minister has directed his legal team to proceed with all court processes to ensure the truth is fully established,” the statement said.

Senator Umahi said despite years of public provocations and attacks, he chose to remain silent, focusing on national and state services.

He thanked Nigerians who had taken time to assess the facts and noted that “not everyone who presents themselves as a victim truly is one, and in some cases, narratives are deliberately inverted.”

The Minister affirmed that he will not be distracted by Mrs Ohiri’s allegations and remained committed to his mandate at the Ministry of Works.

“The focus remains on results, service, and ensuring that Nigerians continue to benefit from projects that improve connectivity, economic growth, and national development. This administration will continue to pursue its transformation agenda with dedication, transparency, and an unwavering sense of responsibility,” he concluded.

Politics

COURT ADJOURNS RIVERS PDP LEADERSHIP SUIT TO APRIL 14

Published

1 day ago

March 23, 2026

The Tide

A Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has adjourned proceedings in a suit filed by three aggrieved members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to April 14, 2026, for the hearing of all pending motions.

Justice Stephen Jumbo made the pronouncement during a recent sitting in Port Harcourt.

The suit, which borders on the legitimacy of the party’s leadership structure in the state, was instituted against the factional State Chairman of the PDP, Chief Aaron Chukwuemeka, alongside the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) and other respondents.

Also joined in the matter are the PDP as a corporate entity, the Rivers State Government, as well as Obio/Akpor, Port Harcourt City and Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Areas, including their respective Vice Chairmen and Councillors.

The claimants, Enyi Uchechukwu, Wisdom Kalio and Uche Amadi, approached the court via an originating summons seeking judicial interpretation on the validity of actions taken by the Chief Chukwuemeka-led state executive committee of the party.

Central to the dispute is whether the said executive committee, whose emergence the claimants contend has been nullified by a subsisting court judgment, retains the legal authority to act on behalf of the party in critical electoral matters.

The plaintiffs specifically urged the court to determine whether the factional leadership could validly submit a list of candidates to RSIEC for the purpose of participating in local government elections.

They further questioned the legitimacy of the PDP’s participation in the August 30, 2025 local government elections, contending that any list purportedly submitted by the factional leadership was invalid and of no legal consequence.

In addition to the declaratory reliefs sought, the claimants also prayed the court to grant consequential orders addressing the outcome and conduct of the said elections across the affected local government areas.

At the resumed hearing, counsel representing the PDP and the affected local government councils informed the court that they had only recently been served with the originating processes and accompanying documents.

The defence team, comprising several Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs), disclosed that service of the court processes was effected on March 13, 2026, leaving them with limited time to adequately prepare their responses.

Consequently, the defence counsel applied for an adjournment to enable them study the processes and address the legal issues raised, particularly as they relate to jurisdictional questions and points of law.

Counsel to the claimants, Glory Chizim-Chinda, did not oppose the application, following which the presiding judge granted the request and adjourned the matter to April 14, 2026, for the hearing of all pending motions, with a possible ruling expected ahead of the substantive suit.

By: King Onunwor

Politics

NIGERIA HAS NO VIABLE OPPOSITION, RIVERS EX-LEGISLATOR LAMENTS

Published

1 day ago

March 23, 2026

The Tide

A former state lawmaker in the old the Rivers State, Professor Alex Eseimokumo, has described Nigerian opposition political parties as mere preposition political parties.

He also advised the country’s electorate against selling their votes during next year’s general elections.

The former legislator, who is also the president of the Institute for Peace, Conflict Resolution and Entrepreneurial Research, said this in an exclusive interview with The Tide on the sidelines of an event organized by the institute in Port Harcourt.

He said opposition political parties in Nigeria have been reduced to preposition political parties as most of them are not only dinning with the government but advising government on what to do to win election.

“The problem in Nigeria is we are not practicing politics the way it is supposed to be.The opposition are more in preposition.

“You see, opposition is supposed to find out things that are wrong in government but in our present day politics, you see opposition even dinning with the other group. So, there is basically nothing like opposition in Nigeria “, he said.

He lamented a situation where some individuals within the opposition are allegedly working hard to prevent their parties from fielding presidential candidates in the forthcoming election, adding that such individuals were only there to protect their personal interest.

Prof. Eseimokumo said as a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), he could not wish his party to fail in the election, even though nothing is impossible in Nigeria.

He noted that though the government in power has been trying it’s best, there was more to be done.

In his words, “I’m an APC member, so I don’t have the right to criticize my party but a word of advice: we still need to do more, more people oriented leadership where everybody will feel carried along.

“For now, I’m campaigning for APC to be re elected and if I stand here to say APC is not doing well, I’m not being fair to myself. But I think, with God all things are possible, there can be changes”.

On his assessment of the performances of governors of the Niger Delta states, Prof Eseimokumo said the governors were doing well within the limit of their resources.

” I don’t know what is given to them as allocation, but if what we are seeing in terms of window dressing is not window shopping, then they are doing well”, he said.

Meanwhile, Prof. Eseimokumo has advised Nigerian electorates against selling their votes during the forthcoming elections.

He said credible election could only be achieved when the electorates refuse financial inducement during the elections.

According to him, though Nigerian voters had been difficult to persuade, the time had come for them to stop selling their votes.

Prof. Eseimokumo said the forthcoming elections will serve as a litmus test for the Nigerian electorate to demonstrate their desire for changes in the country, stressing that free and fair elections will continue to be a mirage in the country until the was a change in the attitude of the electorate.

“If you want your vote to count, don’t take money from anybody; if you want your votes to count, don’t collect money for your vote. The moment you collect money for your vote, you have sold your conscience”, he warned.

He said his institute will continue to work for peace, not just in the Niger Delta region but across Nigeria.

By: John Bibor