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APC Chieftain, Nyako Predicts Death Of Party …As Mamora Rejects Buhari’s Appointment …Unite, Vote APC Out -Senator

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A former Governor of Adamawa State and chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Murtala Nyako has criticised the decision of the party to extend the tenure of its executive committees at the national and other levels as potentially suicidal for the party.
Speaking in Yola last Saturday while addressing a group of APC supporters at his residence shortly after he condoled with the family of a former Governor of the State, Saleh Michika, who died last week, Mr. Nyako warned that the party may die unless its leaders take urgent actions to address alleged illegalities and impunity going on in the party
The former governor said APC has lost the moral ground to speak on due process, rule of law, enforcement of democratic norms and culture.
He contended that the only way out of the controversies surrounding the tenure elongation of the executive committee is for the party to hold a national convention, saying anything outside this would not work.
According to him, the actions of some party leaders will not make APC move forward.
“Even if a mechanic takes APC to court today over the unconstitutional and undemocratic tenure extension of party officials, it is very clear that the court can lock the national secretariat of the party. If there is no convention in APC before the general elections, the party may become a spectator instead of a participant,” he warned.
Stressing that only fairness, legality, justice and rule of law can sustain the APC ahead of the 2019 general elections, Mr. Nyako urged the party to learn from what led to the defeat of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the 2015 general elections and retrace its steps before it is too late.
The former governor, a former Chief of Naval Staff, also took a swipe at some political leaders in Nigeria for their utterances.
He said “the quality of remarks made on some important national issues does not reflect reasonable sense.
“Some of our political leaders seem to take ‘Ogogoro’ before taking action or making public statements on important issues, because some of their statements do not reflect or contain any reasonable sense,” he said.
Meanwhile, a former lawmaker, Senator Olurunnimbe Mamora, has rejected his appointment as the Chairman of the Abuja Investment and Infrastructure Centre, The Tide learnt last Saturday.
Mamora, who was the Deputy Director-General of the Muhammadu Buhari Campaign Organisation during the 2015 presidential election, was nominated for the job by the President.
However, it was learnt that during the inauguration of the board of the AIIC a few weeks ago, a governorship aspirant of the All Progressives Congress in the 2016 Ondo State governorship election, Mrs. Jumoke Ajasin-Anifowoshe, was named the chairman.
Ajasin-Anifowose, who is the daughter of the first Governor of the old Ondo State, Adekunle Ajasin, was sworn in by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Alhaji Muhammad Bello.
Investigations by our correspondent showed that the ex-lawmaker rejected the appointment.
A reliable source told our correspondent that Mamora had met with the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, and expressed his displeasure with the appointment.
The source said Mamora, a former Lagos State House of Assembly Speaker and senator who represented Lagos-East senatorial district from 2003 to 2011, felt the appointment, which is the equivalent of a state parastatal, was not befitting.
He argued that people who never participated in the process that brought Buhari to power were occupying the front seats of government.
The source added that Mamora was listed to be the Chairman of the Board of the Nigerian Ports Authority in 2016 but was edged out by some powerful people in the system.
The source added that Mamora was also nominated as an ambassador in late 2016 but his name was suddenly withdrawn for unknown reasons and was not even contacted before his name was dropped.
Attempts to speak with Mamora proved abortive as repeated calls to his phone were not responded to while a text message sent to his mobile was not replied to as of press time.
Similarly, Second Republic Senator, Prof. Banji Akintoye, has urged Nigerians to unite and vote President Muhammadu Buhari out of office in 2019.
He made the call when he appeared as a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today, last Frieday.
Senator Akintoye also supported the proposition that the Federal Government should declare killer herdsmen across the country as terrorists.
According to him, they appeared to be more dangerous than Boko Haram terrorists and therefore, must be stopped before their activities got out of hand.
He said: “We can’t have a country in which people feel that they are free to move around, killing people at random and at will. We cannot have a country like that, obviously, these are terrorists and the government owes Nigeria the duty of getting them out of Nigeria.”
“In any country in the world, people like the killer herdsmen would be terrorists and the government would be acting strongly against them, taking action against them the way we have taken action against Boko Haram or even worse.
“They are all over Nigeria, there is no state in the middle belt and the south that they have not killed people in so they are more dangerous than Boko Haram,” Akintoye said.
Rating the performance of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration and what he thinks about a coalition against the government, Akintoye said: “ I think Buhari should not continue to rule us anymore”.
“Well I don’t know how it may work and I don’t really care how, all I want is that Nigerians should unite and get Buhari and his government out of the place of the Federal Government of Nigeria because Buhari is destroying our country.
“Look at what he is doing with people who are going around killing.
“You send your men to those places and the killings are going on there, it’s all kid gloves. There is nothing concrete happening,” he stressed.
When asked if he thinks a political coalition, especially with a major opposition party, might do ‘wonders’ in 2019, he said; “I hope so, I will desire so because I think that Buhari should not continue to rule us anymore.

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Group Doles out N13m To Market Women In Isiama 

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The peaceful Town of Isiama in Andoni Local Government Area of Rivers State was at the weekend agog with activities following the donation of over N13million to market women by Engr. Justus Ngerebara in partnership with Fast Track Development Initiatives, a non-governmental organization, as part of its first phase empowerment programme.
According to Justus Ngerebara, who is also the Executive Director of the organization, the women, numbering 108, will receive various sums based on their business proposal.
He stated that the organization will carry out an annual review of the performances of the beneficiaries, with a view to rewarding those who put the money into good use.
According to him, the initiative was a collaborative effort between himself and his wife, Dr. Unyime Ngerebara, in partnership with Fast Track Development Initiative (FDI), an organization committed to youth capacity building and community development.
He said the family believe deeply in the transformative power of women’s empowerment as a catalyst for economic growth, especially in rural communities.
“As the saying goes, when you empower a woman, you empower a community. This truth resonate strongly with us, knowing that empowered women uplift households and inspire generational change”, he stated.
Ngerebara described the programme as the beginning of more things to come and urged the beneficiaries to view the gesture “as a reflection of our deep love for the community and our commitment to easing the burdens of economic hardship.
“We encourage you to invest wisely, channel these resources into your business not frivolities.
“We will continue to follow up with each participant to monitor progress and Offer guidance.
“It is our goal to see thriving business, creative solutions to households hunger and a ripple effect of prosperity through Isiama.
“We also call on the men to stand beside their spouses, offering support and encouragement to ensure these resources are maximized for growth”, he said.
In an interview, Ngerebara said the second phase of the empowerment programme will start very soon, stressing that since inception the organization has done so much for the community.
He listed some of the programmes carried out by the group in the community to include the installation of solar powered lights, and solar powered water.
While declaring the event open, a former coymmissioner for Works in Rivers State, Engr. Sampson Ngerebara, described the event as the first of its kind in the community.
Engr. Ngerebara said the programme will go a long way to improve the conditions of not only the beneficiaries, but also the entire Isiama Community.
He also charged them against wasting the resources on frivolities, adding that their success will attract more of such empowerment programme to Isiama community
Giving a brief talk on women empowerment, a lecturer at the Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Dr. Awajimogobo Felix MacLean, warned the beneficiaries to justify the effort of the donor by avoiding wastages.
Dr. MacLean also urged them to be consistent in their line of business as well as avoid unnecessary competition.
She also stressed the need for them to network among themselves, while working out ways of helping the community to develop.
Guest of Honour at the occasion, Professor Uriah Oboada Alafonye, said Engr Justus Ngerebara, the initiator of the programme, has set a standard for present and future generations of leaders both in the community and the rest of Andoni to follow.
Prof Alafonye who is of the department of Arts Education, Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, also appealed to the beneficiaries to seize the opportunity provided by the programme to reduce poverty in the community.
Speaking, one of the beneficiaries, Mrs. Hebron Mercy Fyneface, a crayfish seller and an interior designer, said it was the first time she was receiving such gesture from any organization or government.
She thanked Engr Justus Ngerebara for remembering the women of Isiama and urged others to emulate him.
By: John Bibor
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Fubara’s Return Excites NCSU … As Hope Rises For Civil Servants 

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The umbrella body of civil servants in Rivers State, the Nigeria Civil Service Union(NCSU) has expressed delight over the lifting of emergency rule in the State and the return to office of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Prof Ngozi Nma Odu and members of the State House of Assembly, saying, the development portends good omen for workers, the people and the State.
The Rivers State Chairman of NCSU, Comrade Chukwuka Richman Osumah, who gave the indication in an interview in Port Harcourt, said the return of the Governor to office portends good omen and better days for civil servants in particular, stressing that the union heartily welcomes the Governor back to office, to resume his good works in the State, after six months of the emergency rule, as well as his deputy and members of the House of Assembly.
He noted that civil servants in the State are not only elated over the development but are also full of hope that the Governor would start from where he stopped in attending to their welfare needs.
He contended that the political crisis that recently engulfed the State and the six-month emergency rule had for over one year pulled the State backwards, but expressed delight that a permanent solution has been found to stem further political upheavals in the State, and thanked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for making this possible; the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory and leader of the State, Chief Nyesom Wike; Governor Fubara; Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt Hon Martin Amaewhule; members of the House; and other stakeholders for agreeing to amicably resolve all contending issues.
The labour leader said this is the right time for all political gladiators in the State to bury the hatchet, work together and embrace peace and genuine reconciliation in the overall interest of the State.
He described as too hasty the resolution of the House, mandating the Governor to present a supplementary budget to it, and pleaded with members of the House to be calm, to tread with caution, and harmoniously work with the Governor.
He said the return of democratic governance in the State would fast-track progress and development in the State, and enjoined the people of the State, particularly civil servants to continue to give their support and cooperation to the Fubara administration.
Osumah expressed optimism that Governor Fubara would give prompt attention to challenges facing civil servants in the State, being a former civil servant himself, stressing that the workers truly have hope, now that the Governor has returned to office, and knowing the kind of Governor he is.
According to him, he is going to look into the controversial and contentious contributory pension scheme; rehabilitation of the State Secretariat Complex; recruitment into the state civil service; extension of service and retirement years for civil servants; provision of vehicles to industrial unions; as well as provision of befitting staff quarters for civil servants; among others.
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NDDC Organizes ADR Capacity Building for Staff

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The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has organized a one-day sensitization program for its personnel on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) approaches to promote workplace compliance on transparency and due process.
The workshop, themed “Promoting Transparency and Due Process in the Workplace using ADR Approaches in Building a Culture of Accountability and Integrity,” aimed to equip staff with the skills to resolve disputes effectively.
Declaring the event open on thursday in port Harcourt,The NDDC Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, emphasized the importance of using ADR mechanisms to resolve conflicts in the workplace.
Dr. Ogbuku  represented by his chief of staff,Rev Omeya Oworibo,noted that ADR approaches can encourage a culture of honesty, fairness, transparency, trust, and reduce conflicts among staff, ultimately promoting efficiency and productivity.
He averred that those disputes and quarrels if not proper resolved can derail the vision and objectives of the commission to the people, noting that the commission must as a team and unity as service provider in order to render a profitable service delivery to the people.
 “ADR approach will encourage culture of honesty,fairness, transparency ,trust  and reduce back bitting and the workforce, noting that such tendency would in turns promote efficiency and increase results in workplace.
 when integrity and honesty becomes the operandi of an organisation and employees begins to trust that their matters will be handled with fairness it will breed team work and increase in productivity.”he stated
He commended the department of DCR for organising the workshop and urged the participants to make good use of the opportunity and imbibe the culture of tolerance, integrity and teamwork in workplace.
Also speaking,the NDDC acting director of DCR ,Mr Godwin Ayewumi Ogedegbe noted that the theme of the captures the core of what the commission seeks to achieve a workplace where every action is expected to be guided by openness, fairness, and a steadfastness commitment to due process, where conflicts are not merely resolved, but prevented through structured,principled processes , and where accountability and integrity are not aspirational ideals but every day practice.
In his  keynote presentation on the theme “workplace Ethics and alternative Dispute Resolution Correlation,
Prof. Sylvester Odion Akhaine of the Department of Political Science, University of Lagos, delivered a keynote presentation on “Workplace Ethics and Alternative Dispute Resolution Correlation.” He stressed the importance of due process, transparency, integrity, and accountability in the workplace, noting that these values are essential for productivity and organizational goals.
The workshop aimed to promote a culture of accountability and integrity in the NDDC workplace. By equipping staff with ADR skills and promoting transparency and due process, the commission can build a more efficient and productive work environment.
By: Akujobi Amadi
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