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Amaechi Must Account For Sold State Assets -RSG …AS APC Crisis Escalates
The Rivers State Government says the Minister of Transportation, Rt Hon Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi must account for the $308million (about N112billion) being proceeds of the sale of Rivers State gas turbine power stations to Sahara Energy belonging to Architect Tonye Dele Cole towards the end of his administration.
According to a statement signed by the Commissioner for Information and Communications, Barrister Emma Okah, in Port Harcourt, last Monday, the sale of the power stations and diversion of the proceeds to fund political activities of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was the reason why the Amaechi-led government abandoned so many uncompleted projects and owed salaries and pensions to workers before he left office in 2015.
According to Okah, “apart from the power assets which the former governor sold to Sahara Energy, the same company also bought the Olympia Hotel and other high value state assets under suspicious circumstances from the Governor Amaechi administration and the Justice Omereji Commission of Inquiry was asked to inquire.
“The Justice Omereji Commission of Inquiry investigated the spurious sales and indicted the Minister of Transportation, and instead of refunding the money, the minister rushed to court to set aside the findings of the commission. He lost at the High Court and at the Court of Appeal. His appeal to the Supreme Court has been abandoned because, for over a year, he has failed to file a brief of argument”, Okah said, noting that this was the reason why the minister was arm twisting his party members in the state and forcing Tonye Dele Cole on them as their anointed flag-bearer in the 2019 governorship polls.
“The reason for Tonye Dele Cole is now better explained”, Okah added, noting that it was because of need to cover the skeletons in his (Amaechi’s) cupboard.
“Instead of explaining why he took such contagious economic steps against the state, the former governor and minister of transportation is busy blackmailing the Government of Rivers State and supporting the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to disobey existing court orders and harass the Government of Rivers State and her officials.
“For the avoidance of doubts, Rivers State Government is not against the fight against corruption. Our case is that there are two perpetual court injunctions restraining the commission from investigating the finances of Rivers State Government and until those injunctions are vacated by a superior court, the commission is duty bound in law to respect it irrespective of how worried the former governor may feel today”, the statement added.
According to Okah, “On 15th September, 2010, the transportation minister, then as governor of Rivers State protested the interference of the EFCC in the finances of the state at that time, and urged them to vacate the two judgements of the state High Court dated 16/02/2007 and Federal High Court dated 20/03/07, respectively. The EFCC under Mrs Farida Waziri agreed with Rivers State Government and allowed the rule of law to prevail.
“It is, therefore, very funny that the same person who told the EFCC to leave the state alone in 2010 is urging the same commission to invade the State even when the injunctions have not been vacated. The Rivers State Government assures the transportation minister that the law has not changed and the facts remain the same and so his collusion with the commission to harass Rivers State Government and her officials will not work,” Okah added.
Meanwhile, frontline governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, Senator Magnus Ngei Abe, has said that what the state needs was politics of peace and unity, not hatred, acrimony or bitterness.
Abe, who spoke in Port Harcourt, the state capital, during an interactive session with 26 community-based organisations in Port Harcourt Constituency 2, last Monday, said politics of hatred, bitterness and acrimony is already destroying the state.
He said: “The first thing I believe that Rivers State needs is unity. I believe that the politics of hatred, bitterness, acrimony that has characterized our state in the recent past cannot take us anywhere”.
“It will destroy this state and it has started destroying the state. We need to bring people together. We need to learn how to tolerate one another; accommodate divergent views and bring out the best even in reluctant people”.
Abe, who is also the senator representing the Rivers South-East Senatorial District in the National Assembly, declared that it was only God that could decide who would be Rivers State Governor in 2019, and not the Minister of Transportation, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi.
“A lot of people have been telling me what my former boss, the former governor of Rivers State, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, said about me, and I said I will not respond. But I will simply go down memory lane to remind Rivers people of few things.
“First is that when I was commissioner for information under Dr. Peter Odili, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi was aspiring to be governor of Rivers State and it caused a big problem in the politics of that time between him and Dr. Peter Odili. I was a commissioner in Odili’s cabinet, but I stood with Amaechi. Practically, at a time, I was the only person in Odili’s government that Amaechi was still talking to.
“I remember one day that I had a serious argument with Dr. Odili over Amaechi. We argued to a point, and I said to Dr. Odili; Sir, can I tell you something? He said, tell me. I said, whoever God has said will be governor of Rivers State will be governor of Rivers State, and there is nothing Dr. Peter Odili can do about it.
“When I went to apologise to him, he told me not to apologise. He said, Magnus, what you have said is true
“It is to the eternal credit of Dr. Peter Odili that he allowed me to serve out my term in his cabinet. He never came out publicly to call me a traitor or a betrayer because he respected the fact that I chose to stand by my friend.
“I have said the same thing to Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi and I want to repeat it here. Whoever God has said will be governor of Rivers State will be governor of Rivers State and there is nothing Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi can do about it,” the senator said.
Abe denied insinuations that he was being sponsored by Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike to cause crisis within the APC in the state, insisting that he was only fighting for his rights.
The governorship hopeful added, “Secondly, I have heard insinuations that I am being sponsored by Nyesom Wike (incumbent governor of Rivers State) because I decided to fight for my rights, not only as a citizen of my state but as a member of my party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“I remember when he also fought for his rights and he took the PDP, of which we were both members to court, up to the Supreme Court; he fought for his right and we stood by him. I did not remember that Dr. Odili came out to accuse him that he was a betrayer or being sponsored by anybody.
“He knew that he was fighting for his rights and he wanted to be governor and he respected that struggle.
“Today, I want to repeat, I am fighting for my right. I want to be the governor of Rivers State. I will fight in any way that is constitutionally allowed, and whatever God says at the end, I will accept in good faith.
“So, I will continue to refer to Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi as the leader of our party in Rivers State. He is the only member of the party that is a former Governor and a member of the caucus of our party. I refer to him as leader to send signals to all our members no matter how aggrieved they may be that we should be ready to work with him any time he decides that it is appropriate to allow justice to prevail,” Abe added.
Meanwhile, the former governor of Rivers State, and the current Minister of Transportation, Rt. Hon. Chibuieke Rotime Amaechi has debunked the statement credited to Senator Magnus Abe, that he was the leader of his party in the state.
It would be recalled that Abe had asserted that “Amaechi still remains the leader of All Progressives Congress in Rivers State”.
Amaechi dismissed the claim, last Monday, during the APC rally at Rumeme Civic Centre in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State.
‘I am not Magnus Abe’s leader. Those I helped to climb politically are now working against me. They claimed that the president had endorsed them; let me tell you, the president will only campaign for those the party has chosen.
“No Rivers man is as close as I am to the president‘’ he boasted, saying “let me make this known to you that Magnus Abe is not working for APC, he is working for Governor Wike and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State”.
“Everyone has the right as a citizen to vie for any position so far he is qualified”, Amaechi said.
The division started when the Ogoni born senator declared to contest as the Governor of the state.
Susan Serekara-Nwikhana & Emeka Sabastine Igbe
The Organised Labour yesterday, called on the Federal Government to ensure inclusiveness in policy making and guide against erosion of rights, such as free speech and association.
The President, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Mr Joe Ajaero made the call at the 2025 Workers’ Day celebration held at the Eagle’s Square, Abuja.
The Tide source reports Ajaero and the President, Trade Union Congress, Mr Festus Osifo delivered a joint statement on behalf of the organised labour at the event.
Ajaero described May Day as, not only a moment to honour workers’ sacrifices, but also a platform to demand justice and accountability from those in public office.
He frowned at the alleged suppression of protests, and the erosion of rights of workers by some agents
According to him, workers have a duty to resist economic injustice, insecurity, and policies that undermine their dignity.
Speaking on the theme of the day, the NLC President underscored the need for Nigerian workers to reclaim the civic space and resist policies that contribute to worsening economic conditions.
“Our theme this year – “Reclaiming the Civic Space in the midst of Economic Hardship – reflects the urgent need for citizens to protect democracy and push back against repression.
“The civic space, where Nigerians express their concerns and challenge injustices is shrinking.
“If we fail to reclaim this space, the foundation of our democracy risks collapse,” he said
Ajaero, therefore, urged workers to unite and resist division, fear, and despair.
He also urged them to mobilise and organise for change, declaring that the right to demand better conditions is non-negotiable.
“Without workers, there is no society; without labour, there is no development. We must take our place in the fight for economic justice and democratic governance.”
Speaking in the same veins, Osifo said workers are the backbone of the nation—the educators, healthcare providers, builders, farmers, and innovators who sustain its economy -.
He stressed the need for the labour to reclaim the civic space even in the midst of economic hardship.
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has disassociated itself from a fraudulent site requesting payments from candidates who missed the ongoing 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
The board said that the site, “Copyrightwriter Personal J Rescheduling Flw” and account number 8520641017 at Sterling Bank, associated with it, are scam.
The disclaimer is contained in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja on Thursday by the Board’s Public Communication Advisor, Dr Fabian Benjamin.
Benjamin said the account is being exploited to defraud unsuspecting candidates who missed their UTME.
“We issue this urgent notice to inform the public about this nefarious scheme targeting candidates who were unable to participate in the UTME.
“Some unscrupulous individuals are deceitfully soliciting payments of N15,700 under the false pretence of offering rescheduling services for the examination.
“Let us be unequivocal: this, it is a blatant scam, and we are confident that the public will not fall prey to such cheap and regressive tactics.
” The individuals behind this scam have no affiliation with JAMB or any legitimate government agency.
“The account details provided in these communications are entirely fictitious and bear no connection to any official processes; they exist solely for the purpose of perpetrating fraud,” he said.
Benjamin called on Sterling bank to take immediate and decisive action against this criminal activity.
According to him, JAMB has reported the matter to the relevant security agencies and actively pursuing those responsible for this deceitful act.
He further said that “JAMB does not reschedule examinations for candidates who miss their scheduled tests due to reasons unrelated to the Board’s actions”.
He, however, said that the Board is conducting a thorough investigation for candidates whose biometrics failed during verification and were thus unable to sit for the examination.
He said those without discrepancies would be invited to retake the examination at no cost , stressing that “no cost is required”
“It is imperative to understand that JAMB does not charge any fees for examinations after a candidate has completed their registration.
“We strongly urge all candidates to remain vigilant and not to succumb to these fraudulent schemes.
“Protect yourselves and report any suspicious activity immediately,” he explained.
The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has expressed its willingness to partner with the United Nations (UN) to accelerate the development of the Niger Delta region.
Dr Samual Ogbuku, Managing Director of the NDDC, made the appeal in a statement issued by the commission’s Director of Corporate Affairs, Mrs Seledi Thompson-Wakama, in Port Harcourt on yesterday.
According to the statement, Ogbuku sought the UN’s support during his visit to the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator (UNRHC), Mr Mohammed Fall, at the UN regional office in Abuja.
He called on the global body to provide the NDDC with technical assistance and expert services to support the region’s development.
“We are eager to collaborate with the UN, recognising that the state governments in the region and the NDDC alone cannot achieve the level of regional development required,” he said.
Ogbuku identified key areas where support would be needed, including the provision of portable and affordable drinking water powered by high-tech solar energy sources.
He also highlighted the importance of reforesting the mangrove swamps, which have been severely damaged by decades of environmental degradation caused by oil exploration in the Niger Delta.
“Although the NDDC has made progress in providing solar-powered streetlights across the region, we still require UN support in delivering solar energy solutions for residential buildings.
“We also wish to explore the possibility of installing solar mini-grids in homes across communities, which would boost local commerce and trade,” he added.
The NDDC managing director further appealed for increased UN involvement in areas such as healthcare, education, youth training, gender development, and food security.
Ogunku stated that such interventions would significantly enhance the standard of living in the region.
In response, Fall affirmed the UN’s readiness to collaborate with the NDDC to fast track development in the Niger Delta.
He assured that the UN would support initiatives in food security, job creation, education, and renewable energy, among other areas.
“We aim to approach development in the Niger Delta holistically, rather than focusing solely on environmental pollution.
“This is merely an entry point; however, the UN’s development vision aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are designed to positively impact various aspects of people’s lives,” Fall stated.
He assured the NDDC of continued and fruitful engagements to drive the region’s development.
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