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2019 Polls: Army’s Interference Worst In History -Wike
The Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike has declared that the negative roles played by the Nigerian Army during the 2019 general election was the worst in the history of the country, saying that the Nigerian Army’s political interference in the state was the most unfortunate infraction in the nation’s democratic experience.
Wike formally requested for the redeployment of the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 6 Division, Nigerian Army, Major General Jamil Sarham for deliberately subverting the general election in Rivers State.
The governor spoke, last Friday, when he granted audience to the Nigerian Army Committee on Electoral Violence during the 2019 polls at the Government House, Port Harcourt.
He said: “Throughout my experience politically, I have never seen the Nigerian Army play the kind of role they played during the last general election.
“The Nigerian Army purely made political interference all through. We will show you the visuals of the roles played by the Nigerian Army. If you go to the 6 Division, unless they have moved them out, you will see ballot boxes and electoral materials. The 6 Division served as the take off base for the electoral interference.
“We formally request that appropriate sanctions be meted out to the GOC of the 6 Division. It has never happened that the Army Division becomes the operational base of a political party. This GOC became actively involved in politics. He has his own government in Rivers State. He has no respect for civil authority.
“We seek the immediate redeployment of the GOC, Major General Jamil Sarham. He cannot fight crime. Leaving the GOC here will be creating more crisis. He is here to fight crime and not to play politics. If soldiers fight crime, the way they intervened in last election, there will be no kidnapper anywhere”.
He said that elections took place across Rivers State in the polling units, adding that aside Abua/Odual Local Government Area, Rivers people voted.
The governor regretted that the challenge came during the collation, when operatives of the Nigerian Army invaded collation centres to cart away Form EC8C for the Governorship Election and Form EC8B1 for the House of Assembly elections.
“Elections took place in Rivers State at the polling units. The only LGA where elections did not hold was in Abua/Odual.
“It was during the collation that operatives of the Nigerian Army interfered. They will invade a collation centre, arrest the electoral officer, returning officer and mercilessly beat up the PDP agents. They carted away Form EC8C for the Governorship election and Form EC8B for the House of Assembly elections”, Wike told the Army Investigative Committee.
Wike took time to enumerate the areas where the Nigerian Army unleashed violence and deaths on Rivers people, and also listed the names of Army personnel who led the operations.
The governor regretted that the Nigerian Army was relegated beyond comprehension as the GOC took orders from the Minister of Transportation on the deployment of soldiers to opposition leaders in the state.
He noted that the situation became so bad that the Minister of Transportation had more than a platoon of soldiers attached to him each time he visited Rivers State to carry out his anti-democratic activities.
The governor stated that soldiers indiscriminately arrested and detained over 200 PDP leaders, agents and supporters at Bori Camp before, during and after the 2019 Governorship and State Assembly elections.
He said as a sitting governor, he has no soldiers attached to him, but ordinary opposition leaders have several soldiers attached to them for illegal activities during the elections.
Wike said the committee should ensure that it unravels all the illegal actions taken by the Nigerian Army during the elections.
He particularly decried the invasion of the home of the Rivers State Education Commissioner, Dr Tamunosis Gogo-Jaja, the harassment of his family and his subsequent arrest.
Wike informed the committee that in one of the post-election briefings at Bori Camp, the GOC wondered why the soldiers failed to kill him.
Also speaking, Rivers State Education Commissioner, Dr Tamunosisi Gogo-Jaja outlined the trauma he faced alongside his family during the invasion of his home by the Nigerian Army.
He explained how he was interrogated by the GOC at the 6 Division after his arrest.
The commissioner shocked the committee when he explained that upon his release, he was driven home by the Rivers State Commander of Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (F-SARS), ACP Akin Fakorede.
In his response, the Chairman of the Nigerian Army Investigative committee on Electoral Violence, Major General Ayibakuro Gagariga, said the committee was established by the Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen Tukur Buratai, to investigate allegations of misconduct against the Nigerian Army.
He noted that the committee would look into cases of alleged interference by the Nigerian Army during the General Election in Rivers State.
“There was the killing of Lt Gumi in Abonnema. Others were also killed during the elections in Rivers State. There is also the allegation on the attempt to assassinate the Rivers State governor”, he said.
Highpoint of the meeting was the visual presentation of all the locations of Army invasion to the committee members.
The governor also presented a pictorial overview of the interference of the Nigerian Army in the electoral process in the state.
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.
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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.