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Court Grants Nwanosike, 3 Others Bail …Orders Police To Hand Over File To RSG …PDP Alerts On Trump-up Charges
A Port Harcourt Chief Magistrate Court presided over by Mr. Andrew Jaja yesterday granted the Rivers State Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Samuel Nwanosike and three others bail on self recognition.
The court also ordered the Police to hand over the case file to the State government for the prosecution of the accused persons.
Others admitted to bail on self recognition include, Hon. Roland Charles Sekibo, Darlington Orji and Chief Odiari Princewill.
The court however, admitted the rest 31 accused persons to bail in the sum of N100,000 each with three sureties who must all be residents in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.
The accused persons were arraigned on a three-count charge bordering on misdemeanor, unlawful assembly, acts capable of causing fear and panic, all classified as electoral offences. They however, pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
The presiding Chief Magistrate made the orders following a bail application brought by Mr. Wori N. for the 1st – 4th and Ekine Ibelekuru for the 5th – 35th accused persons as well as the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Mr. Otorubio Ibikiri who appeared for the State.
Counsels to the accused persons had urged the court to grant their clients bail on a liberal terms, adding that offences for which they were charged were bailable.
The 1-4th accused people counsel prayed the court to grant his clients bail on self recognition based on their positions in the state, pointing that they had all served as past local government council chairmen in the state.
In his own submission, the Director Public Prosecution (DPP) told the court that the State government, in accordance with the law, was taking over the case and urged the court to order the Police to hand over the case file to the state.
However, Counsel to the Police, Inspector Amadi did not oppose the bail application of the accused persons or the taking over of the case file by the State government. He only told the court that some stringent measures should be attached to the bail conditions.
The presiding Chief Magistrate, after listening to the various submissions of the counsels consequently granted the accused bail as well as directed the Police to hand over the case file to the State government.
Before adjourning the matter to march 9, 2017 for hearing, the presiding magistrate supervised the handing over of the case file by the Police to the state government.
Speaking to journalists after regaining their freedom, Samuel Nwanosike and Roland Sekibo thanked God for their release, adding that they were detained and charged to court for offences they never committed.
They also accused the military and the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State for making false allegations against them, adding that they were in Etche on lawful duties during the election.
Meanwhile, the Rivers State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, says information at its disposal has revealed secret plans to frame up incriminating charges against the party’s State Publicity Secretary, Samuel Nwanosike, and other PDP chieftains unlawfully arrested by the military during last weekend’s re-run election in Etche local government area.
Alarmed by the desperation of those who want the PDP’s publicity secretary silenced by any means, the State PDP chairman, Bro Felix Obuah in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Jerry Needam stated categorically that the party’s chieftains and officials duly accredited for the election are innocent, alleging that their transfer to the State Criminal Investigation Dept (CID) was influenced by a well-known All Progressives Congress, APC chieftain in the State who had always wanted Mr. Nwanosike dead.
The State PDP chairman believes the dust being thrown into the eyes of the investigating police officers is born out of hate and bitterness against the arrested PDP chieftains and the singular desire to find cause to nail MrNwanosike for refusing the APC to carry out their sinister plans.
Even as they are being illegally detained under inhuman conditions at the State CID, he noted that pressures are being mounted on the security men to transfer them to Abuja in order to deny them further access to their families, the State PDP boss noted.
“We insist Mr Samuel Nwanosike and the three others are innocent and were officially in Etche during the re-run election as our party agents for the purpose of monitoring the election and duly acted within the ambit of the law.
“Their arrest no doubt, is a clear case of a witch-hunt and the identity of the person behind all the trumped-up charges and travails of the party officers is not lost on us.
“We hold him and his co-horts strictly responsible for whatever happens to Mr. Nwanosike and the other three chieftains.
“We are however convinced that our security men are now wiser and know those raising the dust in the State for their selfish interests, and wish to appeal to them to thread the path of reasonableness by releasing all the party chieftains unconditionally”, Obuah added.
Vice President Kashim Shettima has arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for an official State visit at the invitation of the Prime Minister, Dr. Abiy Ahmed.
Upon arrival yesterday, Shettima was received at the airport by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Dr. Gedion Timothewos, and other members of the Ethiopian and Nigerian diplomatic corps.
Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Communication, Stanley Nkwocha, revealed this in a statement he signed yesterday, titled: “VP Shettima arrives in Ethiopia for official state visit.”
During the visit, Vice President Shettima will participate in the official launch of Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Programme, a flagship environmental initiative.
The programme designed to combat deforestation, enhance biodiversity, and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change targets the planting of 20 billion tree seedlings over a four-year period.
In line with strengthening bilateral ties in agriculture and industrial development, the Vice President will also embark on a strategic tour of key industrial zones and integrated agricultural facilities across selected regions of Ethiopia.
News
RSG Tasks Farmers On N4bn Agric Loan ….As RAAMP Takes Sensitization Campaign To Four LGs In Rivers
The Rivers State Government has called on the people of the state especially farmers to access the ?4billion agricultural loans made available by the State and domiciled in the Bank of Industry.
This is as the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) of Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP), a World Bank project, took its sensitization campaign to Opobo/Nkoro, Andoni, Port Harcourt City and Obio/Akpor local government areas.
The campaign was aimed at enlightening community dwellers and other stakeholders in the various local government areas on the RAAMP project implementation and programme activities.
The Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Maurice Ogolo, said this at Opobo town, Ngo, Port Harcourt City and Rumuodumanya, headquarters of the four local government areas respectively, during the sensitization campaign.
Ogolo said apart from the ?4billion, the government has also made available fertilizers and other farm inputs to farmers in the various local government areas.
The Permanent Secretary who is the Chairman, State Steering Committee for the project, said RAAMP will construct roads that will connect farms to markets to enable farmers and fishermen sell their farms produce and fishes.
He also said rural roads would be constructed to farms and fishing settlements, and warned against any act that will lead to the cancellation of the projects in the four local government areas.
According to him, the World Bank and Federal Government which are the financiers of the programme will not condone such acts like kidnapping, marching ground and other acts inimical to the successful implementation of the projects in their respective areas.
At PHALGA, Ogolo asserted that the city will benefit in the areas of roads and bridge construction.
He noted that RAAMP was thriving in both the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; Lagos and other states in the country, stressing that the project should also be given the seriousness it deserves in Rivers State.
Speaking at Opobo town, the headquarters of Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area, the project coordinator, RAAMP, Mr.Joshua Kpakol, said the programme would reduce poverty in the state.
According to him, both fishermen and farmers will maximally benefit from the programme.
At Ngo which is the headquarters of Andoni Local Government Area, Kpakol said roads will be constructed to all remote fishing settlements.
He said Rivers State is lucky to be among the states implementing the project, and stressed the need for the people to embrace it.
Meanwhile, Kpakol said at PHALGA that RAAMP is a project that will transform the lives of farmers, traders and other stakeholders in the area.
He urged the stakeholders to spread the information to their various communities.
However, some of the stakeholders at Opobo town complained about the destruction of their farms by bulls allegedly owed by traditional rulers in the area, as well as incessant stealing of their canoes at waterfronts.
At Ngo, Archbishop Elkanah Hanson, founder of El-Shaddai Church, commended the World Bank and the Federal Government for bringing the projects to Andoni.
He stressed the need for the construction of roads to fishing settlements in the area.
Also, a former Commissioner for Agriculture in the state and Okan Ama of Ekede, HRH King Gad Harry, noted that storage facilities have become necessary for a successful agricultural programme.
Harry also stressed the need for the programme to be made sustainable.
In their separate speeches, the administrators of Andoni and Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Areas, pledged their readiness to support the programme.
At Port Harcourt City, the Administrator, Dr Arthur Kalagbor, represented by the Head of Local Government Administration, Port Harcourt City, Mr Clifford Paul, said the city would support the implementation of the programme in the area.
Also, the administrator of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Dr Clifford Ndu Walter, represented by Mr Michael Elenwo, pledged to support the programme in his local government area.
Among dignitaries at the Obio/Akpor stakeholders engagement is the chairman, Rivers State Traditional Rulers Council and paramount ruler of Apara Kingdom, HRM Eze Chike Wodo, amongst others.
John Bibor
President Bola Tinubu has ordered the commencement of personnel audit and skill gap analysis across all cadres of federal civil servants.
The president gave this directive in Abuja, yesterday, while speaking at the International Civil Service Conference, reaffirming his resolve to achieve efficiency and professional service delivery in the civil service.
“I have authorized the comprehensive personnel audit and skill gap analysis across the federal civil service to deepen capacity. I urge all responsible stakeholders to prioritize timely completion of this critical exercise, to begin implementing targeted reforms, to realize the full benefit of a more agile, competent and responsive civil service,” the president announced.
Tinubu further directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), to prioritise data integrity and sovereignty in national interest.
He called for the capture, protection and strategic publication of public sector data in line with the Nigeria Data Protection Act of 2023.
“We must let our data speak for us. We must publish verified data assets within Nigeria and share them internationally recognized as fruitful. This will allow global benchmarking organisation to track our progress in real time and help us strengthen our position on the world stage. This will preserve privacy and uphold data sovereignty,” Tinubu added.
President Tinubu hailed the federal civil service as the “engine” driving his Renewed Hope Agenda, and the vehicle for delivering sustainable national development.
He submitted that the roles of civil servants remain indispensable in modern governance, declaring that in the face of a fast-evolving digital and economic landscape, the civil service must remain agile, future-ready, and results-driven.
“This maiden conference is a bold step toward redefining governance in an era of rapid transformation. An innovative Civil Service ensures we meet today’s needs and overcome tomorrow’s challenges.
“It captures our collective ambition to reimagine and reposition the civil service. In today’s rapid, evolving world of technology, innovation remains critical in ensuring that the civil service is dynamic, digital” the President said.
Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack in her welcome address told the President that his presence and strong words of commendation at the conference has renewed the morale and mandate of public servants across the country.
Walson-Jack described Tinubu as the backbone of driving transformation in the Nigerian civil service, and noted that the takeaways from past study tours undertaken to understudy the civil service in Singapore, the UK and US under her leadership, is already yielding multiplier effects.
Walson-Jack assured Tinubu that her office, in collaboration with reform-minded stakeholders, will not relent in accelerating the implementation of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan, FCSSIP 25.
She affirmed that digitalisation, performance management, and continuous learning remain key pillars in strengthening accountability, transparency, and service delivery across MDAs.
Walson-Jack reaffirmed that the civil service is determined to exceed expectations by embedding a culture of innovation, ethical leadership, and citizen-centred governance in the heart of public administration.