Politics
Wike Is My Role Model, Eke Affirms
The Executive Chairman of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State, Hon. Solomon Abel Eke, has said that Governor Nyesom Wike is his political role model in the state and in the country.
Eke, who made this assertion during a media tour of projects in the local government, said Wike is the politician he considers as a role model because the governor does not pretend.
Outside the shores of Nigeria, Eke, however, named former South African President, Nelson Mandela as his role model.
His words, “Governor Nyesom Wike is my role model. He is my role model in the state and even in the entire country, it is Nyesom Wike. Outside the shores of Nigeria, it is Nelson Mandela. The simple reason is because we don’t pretend. These people don’t pretend.
“Me too, I don’t pretend. If you know me, you will know that I don’t pretend. Whatever I want to do, I will tell you this is the reason for it. I have told you that projects I am embarking on are projects that have impact on the people; the livelihoods of the people. My slogan is ‘service to humanity’; that is why I am in politics. I am not here to favour anybody.”
The council chairman further noted that the prudent management of funds has been the secret behind the success story of his administration so far, contending that his administration tries to leave a landmark achievement on every money that comes into the council’s coffers.
Eke further indicated that his administration has by no means surpassed the achievements of his predecessors but said, “Because we are focused, we are trailing behind them, the past administrations.”
He said while the Wike administration at the council then between 1999 and 2006 constructed eight or more roads, he (Eke) was currently struggling with two.
“The Governor, in all communities of the local government did borehole projects because they requested for them that time. Those boreholes are still there now. That is why I can say I am not doing borehole again. I have been able to do four boreholes so far based on request. The governor also built schools and built health centres. I am struggling to do those things. I have not even done it. I cannot say I have beaten them. When it comes to Timothy Nsirim, you can see the International Market built by him. He even directed that we build markets in all the 17 wards. He did about 15 roads. I am even struggling to do two. I cannot say that what they did, I have been able to do it,” Eke said.
He attributed this state of affairs to paucity of funds, as monthly allocations for the council have dropped compared to those days, made worse by the relocation of several companies out of the local government.
“The magic is that by that time; the allocation was better than what we have now. We did not have this increment in workforce. You cannot compare that time and now,” he said.
Eke said he would need a second term mandate in order to do those things he has not been able to do like sports centre, proposed school projects in Iriebe and Woji communities as well as completion of the ongoing Legislative Assembly Complex at the Council Secretariat, a fish farm, among others.
Meanwhile, state Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, has been described as Nigeria’s democratic leadership champion of the 21st century.
Addressing journalists recently at Rumuodomaya shortly after projects assessment tour of the area, Chairman of Obio/Akpor Local Government Council, Prince Solomon Eke, said that Governor Wike was able to enhance democratic governance in the oil and gas- rich state in particular and Nigeria in general through numerous development projects spread across the length and breath of the state since 2015 to date.
He stressed that the Governor was able to strengthen democratic governance through roads construction and re-construction, rehabilitation, building of flyovers to ease traffic congestion in the state capital, the provision of security for the people both in the urban and rural communities of the state within the lifespan of this administration.
He maintained that the governor equally provided the people with good and acceptable sanitary feat, regular power and water supply in all the nooks and crannies of the state, payment of workers’ salaries and other welfare incentives as at when due, and the restoration of peace and harmony, as well as returning the lost glory of the state from Garbage to Garden City status’, among others.
Eke, who is poised for a re-election based on his performance so far, especially the envisaged projects in the 17 Wards of the LGA, said that Wike’s rural and urban development’ since the emergence of democracy in 1999 speaks volumes of him in infrastructural transformation, thereby making democracy to be meaningful, realisable and achievable, which successive administrations failed to address.
According to him, “This achievement so far of the governor will enhance electoral management in Nigeria as it will improve the lives of the people for better future”.
In his words: “Governor Nyesom Wike has done marvellously well in the provision of lasting infrastructural development in Rivers State within the six years of this dispensation, thereby strengthening democracy in the state in particular and Nigeria in general. I doff my hat for his resilience thus far in this regard,” he said, and described him, as a champion and role model”.
The council boss further urged Rivers indigenes particularly and Nigerians generally to support the governor’s quest to build better bridges of development in the last lap of this government through sacrificing their energies and ensure that detractors and enemies of good governance did not destabilise efforts of the Wike-led administration in the state.
Meanwhile, Chairman of Obio/Akpor Local Government Council, Prince Solomon Eke, has stated that the rationale behind the projects assessment tour was not to seek for second tenure, rather for the world and the people to ascertain his interest to bring good governance to the grassroots.
Eke averred: “I don’t like blowing empty trumpet, instead, the people will determine whether second term is possible or not. I am poised to offer the best to Obio/Akpor people. The places visited in the tour include, Rumuodomaya, where he built sick-bay at the council for first aid treatment of staff, Legislative Assembly Complex under construction for the accommodation of councilors, corps members’ lodge, classroom, administrative and laboratory blocks at Community Secondary School, Rumuodomaya.
Others are borehole and Information Communication Technology (ICT) with computers and other accessories at Rumuokoro Town Hall, Eliohan road, on-going jetty project at Rumuolumeni and ICT hall at Ozuoba, among other ongoing development projects of the present administration in the area.
By: Donatus Ebi & Bethel Toby
The former two-term governor went down memory lane to recall how they founded the APC but were used and dumped.
In his words, “…those calling on us to join APC, we have agreed to join the APC but on clear agreement that protects and respects the interest of my party, NNPP and my political movement, Kwankwasiyya. No state where you go that you don’t have NNPP and Kwankwasiyya. We have gubernatorial candidates, senatorial candidates and others.
“We are ready to join APC under strong conditions and promises. We will not allow anyone to use us and later dump us.
“We were among the founding fathers of the APC and endured significant persecution from various security agencies while challenging the previous administration.
“Yet when the party assumed power, we received no recognition or appreciation for our sacrifices, simply because we didn’t originate from their original faction.
“We are not in a hurry to leave the NNPP; we are enjoying and have peace of mind. But if some want a political alliance that would not disappoint us like in the past, we are open to an alliance. Even if it is the PDP that realised their mistakes, let’s enter an agreement that will be made public,” Sen. Kwankwaso stated.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has dismissed long-standing claims that he once sought to extend his tenure in office, insisting he never pursued a third term.
Speaking at the Democracy Dialogue organised by the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation in Accra, Ghana, Chief Obasanjo said there is no Nigerian, living or dead, who can truthfully claim he solicited support for a third term agenda.
“I’m not a fool. If I wanted a third term, I know how to go about it. And there is no Nigerian, dead or alive, that would say I called him and told him I wanted a third term,” the former president declared.
Chief Obasanjo argued that he had proven his ability to secure difficult national goals, citing Nigeria’s debt relief during his administration as a much greater challenge than any third term ambition.
“I keep telling them that if I could get debt relief, which was more difficult than getting a third term, then if I wanted a third term, I would have got it too,” he said.
He further cautioned against leaders who overstay in power, stressing that the belief in one’s indispensability is a “sin against God.”
On his part, former President Goodluck Jonathan said any leader who failed to perform would be voted out of office if proper elections were conducted.
Describing electoral manipulation as one of the biggest threats to democracy in Africa, he said unless stakeholders come together to rethink and reform democracy, it may collapse in Africa.
He added that leaders must commit to the kind of democracy that guarantees a great future for the children where their voices matter.
He said: “Democracy in Africa continent is going through a period of strain and risk collapse unless stakeholders came together to rethink and reform it. Electoral manipulation remains one of the biggest threats in Africa.
“We in Africa must begin to look at our democracy and rethink it in a way that works well for us and our people. One of the problems is our electoral system. People manipulate the process to remain in power by all means.
“If we had proper elections, a leader who fails to perform would be voted out. But in our case, people use the system to perpetuate themselves even when the people don’t want them.
“Our people want to enjoy their freedoms. They want their votes to count during elections. They want equitable representation and inclusivity. They want good education. Our people want security. They want access to good healthcare. They want jobs. They want dignity. When leaders fail to meet these basic needs, the people become disillusioned.”
The dialogue was also attended by the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Omar Touray, Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of the Sokoto diocese of Catholic Church among others who all stressed that democracy in Africa must go beyond elections to include accountability, service, and discipline.
The Rivers State House of Assembly yesterday resumed plenary session after a six-month state of emergency imposed on the state by President Bola Tinubu elapsed on Wednesday midnight.
President Bola Tinubu had lifted the emergency rule on September 17, with the Governor of the state, Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Ngozi Odu, and members of the state assembly asked to resume duties on September 18.
The plenary was presided over by the Speaker of the House, Martins Amaewhule, at the conference hall located within the legislative quarters in Port Harcourt, the state capital.
The conference hall has served as the lawmakers’ temporary chamber since their official chamber at the assembly complex on Moscow Road was torched and later pulled down by the state government.
The outgone sole administrator of the state, Ibok-Ete Ibas, could not complete the reconstruction of the assembly complex as promised.
Recall that on March 18, President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers following the prolonged political standoff between Fubara and members of the House of Assembly loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
He subsequently suspended the governor, his deputy, Ngozi Odu, and lawmakers for six months and installed a sole administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd.), to manage the state’s affairs.
The decision sparked widespread controversy, with critics accusing the president of breaching the Constitution.
However, others hailed the move as a necessary and pragmatic step.
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