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We’re Set For Rivers Re-Run Poll, ’Morrow -INEC …Wike’s Victory Shows Acceptance -Obuah

All is now set for the conduct of the supplementary election in four local government areas of Gokana, Opobo/Nkoro, Ahoada West and Abua/Odual, by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), tomorrow, to determine the remaining seats in the Rivers State House of Assembly.
Consequently, the commission has assured that it was 80 per cent ready to conduct the supplementary election in four State Assembly Constituencies in Rivers State.
The INEC Head of Voter Education and Publicity in Rivers State, Mr Edwin Enabor, who gave the assurance while speaking with newsmen at the commission’s head office in Port Harcourt, yesterday, said that the sensitive electoral materials were inspected with the participating party agents at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in Port Harcourt, last Wednesday.
He said that the distribution of materials to the affected constituencies had commence, yesterday.
According to Enabor, the commission will mainly use its permanent staff and some students of the University of Port Harcourt as ad-hoc staff to conduct the exercise.
“So far so good; we are almost at 80 per cent ready. We have done training for the ad hoc staff, particularly the supervisors, while training for Presiding and Assistant Presiding Officers are ongoing.
“We have done the stakeholders meeting. The security committee had met at the local government level where the supplementary election will hold,” he said.
The INEC head of voter education and publicity stated that the commission would make use of results transmitted to its national server and accreditation from the smart card readers.
He urged the electorate in the affected constituencies to be peaceful and allow INEC to conclude the conduct of the election in the state.
A statement by the INEC National Commissioner in charge of Voter Education and Publicity, Barrister Festus Okoye, in Abuja, had earlier said that 261,683 registered voters are expected to participate in the exercise in 106 polling points, spread across 467 polling units in 45 wards of the affected local government areas.
The statement indicated that the decision to conduct the supplementary election in the affected areas follows a careful review of the March 9 State House of Assembly election in the state.
According to Okoye, “However, supplementary election will be held in the following areas on Saturday, April 13, 2019, in line with the timetable released by the commission: Gokana, Opobo/Nkoro, Ahoada West and Abua/Odual”.
He noted that in Gokana, 129, 086 registered voters would be expected to vote during the exercise in 219 polling units cut across 17 wards, while in Opobo/Nkoro, 7,344 registered voters are expected to vote in 20 polling units spread across five wards.
The INEC director of voter education also explained that in Ahoada West, 36,692 registered voters would vote in 47 polling units cut across 10 wards, while in Abua/Odual, 88,561 registered voters were expected to turn out to vote in 181 polling units cut across 13 wards in the local government area.
Justifying the decision, Okoye said that in Gokana, the election process was largely “disrupted”, thereby giving rise to the rerun while in Abua/Odual, INEC officials were not even allowed to “deploy” materials for the conduct of the exercise on March 9, and therefore, the need for supplementary election.
He further explained that the exercise was “inconclusive by reason of margin of lead” in both Opobo/Nkoro and Ahoada West, and insisted that supplementary election would be conducted in the two local government areas to determine who represents the state constituencies in the Rivers State House of Assembly.
Okoye, therefore, appealed to all stakeholders in the state, especially the political parties, the security agencies, election observers, the media, to play statutory roles in ensuring the peaceful conduct of the exercise, while charging the electorate in the affected areas to turn out in their large numbers to vote candidates of their choice into the state legislative arm of government.
Meanwhile, the Rivers State Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Bro. Felix Obuah has expressed delight that almost one week after the landslide victory of Governor Nyesom Wike as announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), an unprecedented jubilation still pervades the length and breadth of the state.
In a statement in Port Harcourt, Obuah said the unrelenting jubilation was evidence of wide acceptability of Wike by the people of the state.
He said the reason that the post-election celebration has remained endless was because all efforts dissipated by those he called ‘evil forces’ to subvert the will of the people, had failed woefully.
The state PDP chairman observed that never in the history of the state had there been such singular occasion where all strata of the society, including farmers, market men and women, fishermen, civil servants, pensioners, religious groups and even members of the opposition political parties, in one accord, came out to rejoice over an electoral victory.
“How else could a people demonstrate total acceptability of a leader? How else could they express their love for that leader, a man that is passionate about the welfare of the people, a man who has defied every odd to prove that governance is possible? Rivers people have shown that the victory of Governor Wike is well deserved”, Obuah said.
He added that the jubilations also underscored the fact that Rivers State was indisputably a PDP state where no other political party was an option.
“What is happening in Rivers State is that Governor Wike’s re-election has triggered unending joy on everyone. He has touched lives as he used his first tenure to spread development to all the nooks and crannies of the state”, Obuah stated, charging all and sundry to give the governor their unalloyed support to enable him do more for the state in his second term.
Susan Serekara-Nwikhana
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Shettima In Ethiopia For State Visit

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.
News
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
News
Tinubu Orders Civil Service Personnel Audit, Skill Gap Analysis

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.