Politics
Wike’s Gift To Ahoada: A Lifetime Transformation
The Ekpeye Ethnic Nationality is one of the key strongholds of Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike. It is a fertile ground where the people are totally in support of Governor Wike for his outstanding contributions to the development of the area.
Through positive engagements and investments, Governor Wike revived the development process in Ekpeye Kingdom. Reaching to communities in line with his strategic plan to lift the area.
It has been the same story within the Engeni Ethnic Nationality where the governor has executed key projects for the good of the people.
Over the period, Governor Wike has elevated four Chieftaincy Stools in Ahoada East and Ahoada West Local Government Areas to first class status.
In Ahoada East Local Government Area, Governor Wike has invested in: Edoha, Ikata – Ochigba Road ,Ahoada – Ekpena Road (ongoing) ,Ahaoada- Odiemerenyi – Ihugbogo – Odieke – Akoh Road (ongoing) ,Zonal Hospital, Ahoada (ongoing reconstruction), Western Ahoada County High School, Ahoada (ongoing reconstruction), GJSS, Ogbo and Government Primary School, Ahoada.
Others include: St. Peter’s Primary School, Ahoada, Government Primary School, Edeoha, GJSS, Odiabidhi (ongoing) and Electrification of Ihuaba, Idoke, Ihuowo, Ihuama (Ward 10) – Awarded.
In Ahoada West Local Government Area, Governor Wike is constructing Odiokwu Internal Roads, Odiokwu-Anwuigboko and Odiokwu-Oyigba Roads. Also under construction in the area is the Model Primary Healthcare Centre, Odiokwu. Also in the Ahoada West Local Government Area, Governor Wike is reconstructing Government Secondary School, Okarki and several other schools in the area.
However, the most outstanding contribution of Governor Wike to the development of Ahoada is the siting of two Faculties of the Rivers State University in Ahoada.
The Faculties of Humanities and Social sciences will operate from Ahoada Town. These faculties will re-engineer the economy of Ahoada, create jobs and improve access to university education in the area.
This is a lifetime gift to the people of Ahoada, a means of permanently creating opportunities of growth to the people.
Two highly viable Faculties of the State University will attract millions of people from across the country and internationally , to Ahoada.
The multiplier effect of this investment cannot be estimated. In very simple terms, it means more houses as quarters for staff, more buildings as hostels for students, more vehicles in the town for logistics and more security presence.
For the first time since Independence, Ahoada is getting the required attention. This is an initiative to transform Ahoada into a full fledged urban centre. An urban centre that would play a critical role in the massive growth of Rivers State and the rest of the South-South Geo-political zone.
In a bid to comply with the Governor Nyesom Wike’s directive that two faculties of the state University, Humanities and Social Sciences be moved to Ahoada East Local Government Area, the Vice Chancellor of the Rivers State University (RSU), Prof. Blessing Chimezie Didia has taken steps to actualize the project .
Prof Didia has visited Ahoada East Local Government Area and has commenced processes for the establishment of the the proposed Ahoada Campus of the Rivers State University.
He lauded the robust educational policies of the present government in the state, adding that the state government has provided the enabling environment that promoted qualitative teaching and learning in the state.
Governor Wike’s development of different parts of Rivers State is strategically targeted at lifting people and communities. For the people of Ahoada, they would witness the blessing of having a pro-people leader beyond the projects already executed for them.
Long after 2023, the developmental process kick-started by Governor Wike in Ahoada will continue to blossom. An investment in university education is a lifelong gift for Ahoada to continually renew itself.
Prof. Amupitan gave the warning on Saturday, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, during the South-South Zonal Readiness Assessment and Interactive Staff Engagement organised ahead of the 2027 general elections.
He said insecurity remained a potential challenge to the electoral process but stressed that the Commission would not allow threats against its personnel to undermine its constitutional responsibilities.
“Insecurity may pose a challenge, but our collective constitutional resolve is far stronger. Let me again send a clear message from Port Harcourt: anyone who attempts to threaten, intimidate, or harm our ad-hoc staff, NYSC members, or permanent personnel will be brought to justice under the full weight of the law,” he said.
The INEC Chairman, who was accompanied by National Commissioners, directors and technical aides, disclosed that the South-South engagement was the fifth in a series of zonal assessments, following similar exercises in the South-West, North-West, South-East and North-East.
He explained that his physical presence across the geopolitical zones reflected the Commission’s field-first approach, emphasising that electoral integrity must be established through effective operations at the grassroots.
According to him, the assessment would cover operational preparedness across the 123 Local Government Areas in the six South-South states.
On election security, Prof. Amupitan said INEC had moved away from reactive security arrangements traditionally activated around election day to a proactive, intelligence-driven framework known as the “ICCES Tentacle”.
He explained that the framework was designed to extend inter-agency security coordination from national and state headquarters to local government areas and Registration Area Centres, including remote communities.
He identified three critical pillars of the framework as mapping and mitigating security threats, protecting electoral personnel and infrastructure, and guaranteeing safe access to polling units.
The INEC boss said the security arrangement would provide comprehensive protection for electoral personnel, technological infrastructure, including Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices and server infrastructure, as well as voters.
He added that the framework was intended to ensure that every polling unit, irrespective of its geographical location or history of security challenges, remained safe and accessible for the exercise of democratic rights.
Prof. Amupitan disclosed that the South-South security architecture comprised approximately 60 major operational formations, headquarters and state commands operating under the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES).
The network, he said, brings together military, naval, air, police and other security and intelligence agencies across the six states.
“Together, this integrated multi-agency network represents the operational backbone that guarantees intelligence-led protection across every riverine creek, coastal axis, and land-based polling unit in the Niger Delta,” he stated.
Providing an overview of the region’s electoral significance, the INEC Chairman said the South-South had the fourth-largest voting bloc in the country, with 15,823,550 registered voters, representing 15.30 per cent of the national register.
Rivers State alone, he said, accounts for 3,736,434 registered voters spread across the 23 local government areas.
Alhaji Abubakar made the demand following revelations that some INEC registration officers allegedly abused their access to the voter registration system to introduce irregular records into the database.
In a statement issued by his Director of Strategic Communications, Mr Phrank Shaibu, the former vice-president described the development as a serious breach of the Commission’s internal safeguards and raised concerns about the integrity of the electoral process.
He urged INEC to identify the officials implicated in the alleged misconduct and explain what disciplinary or legal measures had been taken against them.
Alhaji Abubakar also called for an independent forensic audit of the preliminary voters’ register to establish the scale of the alleged manipulation, identify affected records and determine how the questionable entries were introduced into the system.
He further insisted that INEC preserve all relevant voter records, image files, system access logs and electronic audit trails to prevent the destruction or alteration of evidence before an independent examination could be conducted.
The former vice-president also demanded that the Commission disclose the identities of companies contracted to produce sensitive election materials ahead of the 2027 polls, arguing that transparency was essential to building public confidence in the electoral process.
INEC’s Director of Information and Communication Technology, Dr Lawrence Bayode, had earlier disclosed during a television interview that some registration officers across the country allegedly used their official login credentials to introduce irregularities into the voters’ database.
Dr Bayode explained that the Commission’s Automated Biometric Identification System helped identify questionable records and establish how some irregularities entered the system.
He, however, clarified that not all suspicious photographs were AI-generated, as some resulted from poor registration procedures.
The development followed public concerns over suspected AI-generated photographs, alleged duplicate entries and other inconsistencies discovered in the preliminary voters’ register published online on October 26, 2026.
INEC has maintained that the published document is a preliminary register and that it is reviewing questionable records ahead of the certification of the final Register of Voters.
The controversy has intensified calls for greater transparency and accountability in the management of the voters’ register as preparations gather momentum for the 2027 general elections.
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