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Vote All PDP Candidates, Wike Tells Rivers People …Urges Electorate To Resist Godfathers, Defend Vote …As Wike Uncovers New APC Plot To Scuttle Saturday’s Election
The Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike has charged Rivers people to overwhelmingly vote for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) during the Saturday’s Governorship and House of Assembly elections and ensure they defend their votes.
This is as the leaders of Rivers South-East Senatorial District re-affirmed their endorsement of Wike for a second term.
They spoke at the Town Hall Meeting between Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike and leaders of Rivers East Senatorial District in Bori, last Monday.
Wike urged the people to be peaceful and vigilant to ensure that their votes count.
He said: “Just be vigilant and protect your votes. We have no security with us, but we have the chief security officer of the world on our side.
“If they like they should bring police, Army and thugs from all over the world, we are quite confident that we shall smile on March 9, 2019. Come out and vote for people you can vouch for”.
Wike said it was unfortunate that the Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, would imagine that he can impose a politician without pedigree on Rivers State, just because he is desperate.
‘Has Rivers State gone to the level where someone will point at a person and make him governor? He says he will bring anyone even without record.
“Rivers State is not like any other state. We will not allow a godfather to operate here. Our only Godfather is God”.
He urged Rivers people to adopt a peaceful disposition all through the Governorship and state Assembly elections.
Wike said those who plan to use security forces to kill Rivers people should know that the security personnel will come and go, but Rivers State will remain.
“You are not participating in the elections. Why are you killing our people? You should allow the will of God to prevail. Talk to our children to avoid being used for violence.
“Reject violence as being propagated by the APC”, he said.
He wondered why the APC leadership should resort to the promotion of electoral violence, when they ostracised themselves from the political contest.
“Those who want to shed blood in Rivers State will never succeed. I don’t know why they are plotting to destroy the state. We never caused any problems in the APC. APC fought themselves and pushed themselves out of the race. Now, they want to kill everyone in the state. What is the offence of Rivers people, that we must all die because the APC excluded themselves from the ballot?
“Where are the children of the APC leaders preaching violence in Rivers State”, he said.
The governor said nobody in Rivers State ran for the post of President and Vice President on February 23, 2019, yet, the APC visited deaths on Rivers people.
He berated the minister for playing politics of lies and failed promises.
The governor said that the minister had claimed that he believes in the rotation of positions, yet, he nominated himself as minister, sacked an Ogoni man as the executive director of Finance and Administration of NDDC and replaced him with his kinsman from Ikwerre LGA, and also facilitated the appointment of an Ikwerre LGA indigene as a member of Federal Revenue Mobilization and Fiscal Commission.
The governor commended the people of Rivers South-East Senatorial District for voting for all PDP candidates during the Presidential and National Assembly elections.
He urged them to step up their votes as his administration will site projects in each of the seven local government areas that make up the district.
Wike called on the security agencies to perform their duties in line with the rules governing elections.
He advised them to conserve their energy to fight Boko Haram and violent crime, saying that those who involved themselves in street protests claiming they will kick him out were merely playing because they have already kicked themselves out of the process because Rivers people have already decided to vote him again for a second term.
The governor said that the Rivers State Government would hold a remembrance service for all those who were killed during the Presidential and National Assembly elections violence at Abonnema.
Meanwhile, the Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike has charged Rivers people to resist godfathers by ensuring that they defend their votes during the Governorship and State House of Assembly elections scheduled for Saturday.
This is as he called on the people and residents of the state to come out and vote overwhelmingly for the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) candidates at the election.
“If they like, they should bring police, Army and thugs from all over the world, we are quite confident that we shall smile on March 9, 2019. Come out and vote for people you can vouch for”.
Wike said it was unfortunate that the Minister of Transportation would imagine that he can impose a politician without pedigree on Rivers State, just because he is desperate.
“Has Rivers State gone to the level where someone will point at a person and make him governor? He says he will bring anyone even without record.
“Rivers State is not like any other state. We will not allow a godfather to operate here. Our only Godfather is God,” the governor said.
He urged Rivers people to adopt a peaceful disposition all through this weekend’s elections, noting that those who plan to use security personnel against the people should know that elections will come and go, but Rivers State will remain.
“You are not participating in the elections. Why are you killing our people? You should allow the will of God to prevail. Talk to our children to avoid being used for violence. Reject violence as being propagated by the All Progressives Congress (APC),” he said.
“In another development, the Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, has disclosed a plot by the APC, in collaboration with some Security agencies to kidnap the INEC boss in Rivers State to scuttle Saturday’s Governorship and State Assembly elections in the state.
The Governor made the disclosure yesterday at Rivers West Town Hall meeting held at Ahoada East Local Government Area.
Wike said: “ APC and some security agencies are planning to get some persons in uniform to kidnap the INEC officer.
“ That is their latest plan to see that the election doesn’t take place in Rivers State. Since we have known the plot, it will fail”.
The Governor wondered why some enemies of the state who are not running for the Saturday’s election were doing everything to see that the state did not hold the election.
The charged thousands of people from the eight local government areas that make up the Senatorial District to be vigilant and not allow enemies of the state scuttle the election.
Wike restated that the problems that disqualified APC from the gubernatorial election in the state was caused by members of APC and not him the governor or PDP.
“Anybody who plots violence will see be visited by violence. We are prepared for this election that is why we are campaign, talking to people”, he said.
He noted that the party has delivered its campaign promises to Rivers people, campaigned more than any other party for the election and assured that if reelected, more projects would be executed in the district.
He encouraged the people to come out in their numbers on Saturday to vote for candidates of PDC and not to allow the experience of the Presidential and National Assembly elections to discourage them.
He said the district has three Houses of Representatives, and Senatorial elections which were inconclusive as well as the governorship and state assembly elections on Saturday.
He said: “ Nobody should go and kill anybody because I want to be governor.
“ We should not be violent, but we must protect and defend our votes “.
Governor Wike urged traditional rulers to talk to their subjects to make sure that they are not for violence because it does not pay to take one’s live.
Chairman of the occasion, Chief Ferdinand Anabraba, thanked the governor for the honour done to the Senatorial District by nominating a daughter of the district to be his running mate for a second time.
Anabraba described the governor as a man with u limited capacity for work and embodiment of inspiration and courage.
He said the district has benefited from so many projects and political appointments under the present administration and assured that it would vote massively for Wike as Governor and for other candidates of PDP during Saturday election.
He regretted that the senatorial district suffered violence and military intrusion during last election leading to lost of one soldier and over 20 civilians.
“ We are organising a memorial service for those lost in the election and we wish that our sister local government areas will join us”, he said.
He however assured that the evil plans of APC and security agencies will not make them to fail in their promise to deliver Governor Wike and other PDP candidates in the Saturday election.
Speakers from each of the eight local government areas in the district also commended Gov Wike for the massive infrastructure, empowerment as well as numerous political appointments benefited by the people of the area under Wike’s administration.
They assured that the governor would be reelected and other PDP candidates also delivered
The Federal Government has honoured 12 teachers from across the country with national awards, reaffirming its commitment to strengthening the education sector through improved welfare, incentives, and professional development for teachers.
The awards were presented yesterday at the Nigeria Teachers’ Summit 2026, held in Abuja, where the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, stated that the government would sustain reforms aimed at empowering teachers and restoring dignity to the profession.
Alausa explained that the selection process was transparent and merit-based, with three teachers nominated from each of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory at both the basic and senior secondary school levels.
From the pool of nominees, 12 teachers; six from basic education and six from senior secondary education, emerged as national award recipients.
Each of the 12 awardees received a cheque of N25m.
The Overall Best Teacher of the Year, Solanke Taiwo from the South-West category, received an additional N25m, bringing his total prize to N50m.
In addition to the cash prize, Taiwo is to receive a brand new car from the Governor of Borno State, Babagana Zulum, as well as a fully furnished two-bedroom flat from the Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun.
Also, the Governor of Kebbi State, Nasir Idris, pledged to give each of the award winners an additional N5 million.
The minister described the awardees as exemplifying professionalism, integrity, innovation and dedication to learners, noting that they represent the best of the teaching profession in the country.
“This is more than a reward. It is a national signal that teaching is a noble, respected, and valued profession in Nigeria,” he said.
Speaking at the summit themed ‘Empowering Teachers, Strengthening the System: A National Agenda for Education Transformation and Sustainability,’ the minister said the recognition of the teachers reflected the FG’s broader education reform agenda under Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
“Teachers are the foundation of education, and education is the foundation of national development. No nation can rise above the quality of its teachers.
“No reform, no matter how well designed, can succeed unless teachers are empowered, motivated, supported, and respected,” Alausa said.
He pledged that the government would continue to invest in teachers through structured training, improved career pathways and fair rewards, noting that education remained central to national development.
Under the Renewed Hope Agenda, he said, “sustainable development, economic growth, innovation, and social cohesion depend on a strong and responsive education system and that system depends on teachers.”
As part of this commitment, the minister announced the launch of EduRevamp, a nationally coordinated Continuous Professional Development programme designed to modernise teacher training and improve classroom outcomes.
While the programme is open to teachers in both public and private schools, Alausa said performance-based incentives would be reserved for public school teachers who complete certified training.
“Professional growth must never be restricted. Every teacher deserves access to quality training, modern tools, and updated skills,” he said, adding that incentives would be tied to measurable performance.
He also highlighted complementary initiatives, including the Ignite digital platform to reduce teacher workload, the Diaspora Bridge programme to strengthen STEMM education, and the provision of 60,000 tablets for teachers with zero-data access to approved training platforms.
The minister further announced reforms to the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria’s digital platform, the expansion of Communities of Practice, and progress on the Accelerated Teacher Training Programme aimed at fast-tracking professionalisation for in-service teachers.
To provide long-term stability, he said the government had introduced a National Teacher Policy to guide teacher development, welfare and professional standards nationwide.
Addressing the award recipients and other educators at the summit, Alausa described the government’s message as “professional growth, dignity in service, and renewed hope,” urging stakeholders to focus on tangible outcomes in classrooms across the country.
In her welcoming remarks, the Minister of State for Education, Professor Suwaiba Ahmad, underscored the central role of teachers in Nigeria’s education reform agenda.
Ahmad said the gathering was both timely and strategic, noting that the quality of any education system is inseparable from the quality, motivation and empowerment of its teachers.
She explained that the theme aligns directly with Nigeria’s current education priorities.
According to her, investing in teachers is the bedrock of sustainable reform and national development.
“Empowering teachers is not an isolated intervention; it is the foundation upon which sustainable education reform is built.
“When teachers are supported, trained, motivated, and valued, the entire system is strengthened, learning outcomes improved, equity expands, and national development is accelerated,” she said.
Describing the summit as a strategic national platform, Ahmad said it was designed to unite key stakeholders to address challenges in the education sector and advance practical reforms.
She noted that the forum brings together teachers, policymakers, education leaders, regulators, unions, development partners and private sector actors to strengthen teaching and learning outcomes nationwide.
In his goodwill message, the National President of the Nigeria Union of Teachers, Audi Amba, described the summit as a historic milestone in the recognition of teachers’ roles in national development.
Nigeria’s education sector has continued to grapple with longstanding challenges, particularly around teacher welfare, access to regular professional development, classroom capacity and infrastructure.
These issues have raised concerns among stakeholders about the quality of teaching and learning in many public schools. At the same time, industrial actions by education unions in recent years have further highlighted the pressures facing educators nationwide.
The Rivers State Government has declared that it draws its confidence from the assurance that God is more than sufficient to guide its leaders, strengthen its institutions, and sustain its communities in peace and progress.
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?Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, made this declaration during the 2026 Holy Ghost Rally organised by the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) at the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium, Port Harcourt, on Sunday.
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?Speaking through his deputy, Prof. Ngozi Odu, the governor stated that “with the Almighty God on our side, our challenges are surmountable and our future remains hopeful,” noting that the theme of this year’s rally, “The All-Sufficient God,” is both timely and reassuring.
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This was contained in a statement from the office of the Deputy Governor, signed by the Head of Press, ?Owupele Benebo.
?According to Fubara, the theme serves as a powerful reminder that in a world filled with uncertainty, God remains our unfailing source, sufficient in wisdom, strength, provision, and grace.
He stressed that when human ability reaches its limit, God’s sufficiency prevails.
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?The governor commended the Redeemed Christian Church of God for its consistent spiritual impact and unwavering prayers for Rivers State and the nation, expressing appreciation for the Church’s contributions to promoting moral values, unity, and faith in God.
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?In his sermon, drawn from Genesis 17:1, the General Overseer of the RCCG, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, described the Almighty God, whose name is above every other name, as all-sufficient and capable of meeting every human need.
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?He noted that the God who created all things also has the power to repair and restore them.
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?Adeboye explained that while human effort, including medical intervention, may reach its limits, there comes a point where only God steps in to turn situations around, bringing hope where none seemed possible.
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?In his address, the Pastor in charge of the Rivers Family of the RCCG, Pastor Adesoji Oni, stated that the Port Harcourt Holy Ghost Rally, which began in 2015 and has now become an annual event, has been a tremendous blessing to the people of the State.
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Adesoji noted that the rally has drawn thousands of souls to God while impacting lives spiritually and physically.
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?He further disclosed that the Church has gone beyond preaching the gospel to actively engage in impactful initiatives through its Christian Social Responsibility programmes.
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?These include skills acquisition centres, maternity centres across the State, a rehabilitation centre for persons battling substance abuse, and an Innovative Mind Hub.
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