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RSHA Returns Ibani Speaker, Ehie Deputy …As Wike Proclaims 9th Assembly
The Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike has proclaimed the 9th Rivers State House of Assembly, urging the lawmakers to work for the development of their constituencies and the state.
Performing the constitutional responsibility bestowed on him by Section 105 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), Wike urged the state lawmakers to work with the Executive arm to ensure the implementation of policies and programmes for the good of Rivers people.
Relying on Section 105 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), the governor proclaimed: “Now therefore, I , Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, (CON, GSSRS, POS AFRICA), Governor, Rivers State of Nigeria, in exercise of the power conferred upon me by Section 105 of the Constitution and all other powers enabling me in that behalf hereby proclaim that the 8th Assembly of the 4th Republic of the Rivers State House of Assembly stands dissolved, while the first session of the 9th Assembly shall hold on this day, third day of June, 2019, at the Assembly Complex, Moscow Road, Port Harcourt.
“As we usher in the new term of this August House, I pray and hope that your deliberations will be constructive, democratic, progressive and people-oriented.
“And that you will continue to strive hard with total commitment and sense of accountability and facilitate the implementation of our policies and programmes to enable us set new benchmarks for development and shared prosperity for our people.
“On this positive note, it is my singular honour and privilege to official proclaim the first session of the 9th Legislative Assembly of Rivers State”.
Wike assured the state lawmakers that his administration would continue to promote the independence of the state Legislature.
He said: “Let me assure you all that we will continue to respect and uphold your independence as a separate arm of government as our Constitution demands in the same way that we will continue to provide every support that you need to enable you discharge your constitutional responsibilities to the government and to the people of Rivers State. As I said before, ours should continue to be that of mutual respect, partnership and progress.
“I am proud to say that since inception, the Rivers State House of Assembly has been known for its high sense of decorum in the conduct of its proceedings, and I hope this August House will continue with this tradition and uphold its honour and dignity”.
Wike appealed to the state lawmakers to partner with his administration to enhance security, good governance and improved living standards for the people.
“You will agree with us that our plan for the next four years is comprehensive in scope and realistic in terms of deliverables. But, it is our constitutional responsibility to make collective efforts towards achieving these plans and goals for the benefit of our people.
“And so over the next four years, we will not only be working with you as partners to meet the yearnings and aspirations of our people for good governance, peace, security and improved conditions of living; but we will also require from you effective legislative measures and policy initiatives that will put the State on a new trajectory of growth and prosperity”
Wike said that the overall objective of his administration is to promote and achieve socio-economic prosperity and full employment for all through structured and targeted strategies, programmes and projects.
He said: “We are determined more than ever to reduce and possibly eliminate poverty in Rivers State through various schemes and interventions. It is our intention to attract top investments into the key sectors of our economy and gradually reinvent our state as a major manufacturing hub and the most preferred business destination in Africa.
“It is also our plan to continue to execute key infrastructural projects in roads, schools, hospitals, electricity, environmental protection, urban development and housing to bridge the existing gap in physical infrastructure and enhance the economic development of the state. And for those lawless and criminal elements that may continue to disturb our peace and security with their criminal activities, I want to reiterate our firm resolve to tackle such activities with the full might of the state”.
Wike said that with the Proclamation of the State House of Assembly, all arms of government have been constituted to move the state forward.
“In March, 2019, our people elected a new House of Assembly with virtually all the members, except two, from the Peoples Democratic Party. The historic victory achieved by our party showed the peoples’ continuing trust and faith in our leadership.
“Also, out of the 32 members of the House, only 9 are new. This means that most of you have returned to the table with your wealth of experience to continue working from where you stopped. I know you may all have come here with different mindsets on what you want to achieve for yourselves, your constituencies and for the state.
“But, one thing is clear; you are here for one fundamental purpose – to make laws for the good governance of the state, to create the right conditions and drive for our collective vision for the sustainable economic, social and political development of our state”, Wike noted.
Clerk of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Mr Standford Oba, officially invited Governor Wike to proclaim the House in line with the provision of the Constitution.
The House of Assembly members attended the brief ceremony with their wives.
Meanwhile, the Rivers State House of Assembly, last Monday, re-elected Rt Hon Ikuinyi-Owaji Ibani as speaker of the 9th Assembly.
Ibani, who represents Andoni State Constituency and served as the speaker of the 8th Assembly, would be spending 16 years as a lawmaker by the end of the 9th Assembly in May, 2023.
His election as speaker followed a nomination by Hon Christian Ahiakwo, who represents ONELGA Constituency 1 during plenary, last Monday.
When the Clerk of the House, Stanford Oba, who conducted the election, called for vote, all 31 members present voted in favour of Ibani, who was returned unopposed.
The lawmakers also elected Hon Edison Ehie as deputy speaker.
In his inaugural speech, Speaker Ikuinyi-Owaji Ibani, who said he had no thoughts of being elected a speaker, assured that he would collaborate with other lawmakers and run a participatory government.
“The office is not my personal estate, it belongs to the people of Rivers State, therefore, whatever I am going to do as the speaker of the 9th Assembly would be a collaborative effort. The kind of leadership I would want us to expect in the 9th Assembly is a collaborative leadership. I do not know it all, therefore, I need the knowledge of other 31 members for us to do it on behalf of our people”, he said.
On his part, the newly elected Deputy Speaker of the state Assembly, Rt Hon Edison Ehie, thanked the Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike for finding him worthy and his colleagues for voting him, and assured that he would work in synergy with them for the purposes of making goods laws for the state.
In the same vein, lawmakers have continued to express confidence in the leadership of the speaker and the deputy speaker.
Lawmaker representing Bonny Constituency, Hon Abiye Pepple and that of Emohua, Hon Sam Ogeh while speaking on the sidelines of the election, described both officers as experienced with capacity to lead the House.
The Assembly has been adjourned to tomorrow.
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.