Politics
LG Poll: As PDP Campaigns In Degema
From the length and breadth, the nooks and crannies of the local government area, the faithful and sympathisers of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Degema Local Government Area Council converged at the headquarters of the council, Degema. They milled out in their multitude from the towns, villages, the fishing and farming settlements. They even came from the cities and the metropolis across the state. They came in their numbers. They came in their colours. They came with jubilant drum beats.
They came singing songs of celebration and trumpeting tunes of inspiration and hopes of victory.
They traversed the tributaries and the rivulets. They crossed the creeks, the rivers and the seas, riding upon the storms and the waves to the consulate and erstwhileprovinvial headquarters to galvanise themselves into action, electoral action that is. They came under the umbrella to take back messages of hope, of new visions and of renewed commitments to deliver democratic dividends. They gathered knowing it is their election, their government, the one that is closest to them. The occasion was the party’s campaign flag-off at the local government area. The date was Thursday, April 1, 2021. And the venue was the Rt Hon. Tonye Harry Sports Complex, Degema.
In attendance were the Deputy Governor of Rivers State, Her Excellency Ipalibo Harry-Banigo in representative capacity, other top state government functionaries from the local government area, incumbent chairman of the council, Dr Tony Philmoore, Chairman of the party in the LGA, Mr Peter Abbey, Chairmanship candidate, Mr John Williams, the councillorship candidates in the 17 Wards, traditional rulers, chiefs, and opinion leaders of the LGA.
Describing the PDP DELGA Chairmanship flagbearer as tested, tried and, trusted the Rivers State Commissioner for Power, Hon. Damiete Herbert-Miller who represented the Deputy Governor, Dr Ipalibo Harry-Banigo at the occasion said that the choice of Mr Michael John Williams would usher in a new dawn in which the people of DELGA would be mobilized for a greater future.
Hon. Herbert-Miller described the PDP chairmanship candidate as detribalized, focused and coolheaded, affirming that “Michael John Williams, no doubt, will perform beyond expectation. He is a shining light and emerging good leader.
In his own address, the chairman of Degema Local Government Council, Dr Tony Philmoore who outlined his achievement in the nearly three years in office amidst cheers remarked that he had implicit confidence in the ability of Mr Williams in developing the LGA.
The council boss expressed hope that the PDP candidate would continue the projects initiated by his administration for the benefit of the people, adding that “John Williams is capable of providing innovative leadership where service in humility would be the hallmark”.
Dr Philmoore declared his total support for the party’s standard bearer and urged the people to continue to drum support for the “incoming administration”, while imploring the party faithful to deseminate the message to all the wards as his government was prepared to provide the logistics required to reach all the units in the council area.
In his own contribution, the chairman of PDP in Degema Local Government Area, Hon Peter Abbey opined that Mr Williams would replicate the legacies of Governor Nyesom Wike in Degema and called on the people of the area to vote massively for the PDP and its candidates come April 17 for them to have a taste of the Wike project experience.
“Michael John Williams will turn DELGA into a construction site as Wike turned the state into a projects’ site”, the LGA party chairman enthused.
In his own address, the chairmanship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Degema Local Government Area, Mr Michael John Williams pledged to reward all the communities in the LGA with people-oriented projects if elected into office on Saturday, April 17, 2021.
Mr Williams enjoined the people of Degema Local Government Area to go out enmass and vote for all the candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party, assuring that his administration would ensure a paradigm shift in service delivery where the people’s interest will receive priority attention over and above any other consideration.
“Projects must be executed in all the communities that make up DELGA. The councilors will be integral part of the projects execution. The people must be carried along in consultation during policy decisions and my government must truly be government of the people”, he said.
The chairmanship candidate of the PDP further appealed to the people of the area for support while promising not to let them down or take them for granted in the management of their affairs and resources.
“I will not fail you people. Together we shall bring back our LGA on stream”, he pledged while extending an olive branch to all the aspirants of the party who could not make it through the primaries, calling on them to join efforts with him, not just to win the election but also to deliver a result-oriented and people-focused governance to Delgans.
Speaking exclusively to The Tide on the sidelines of the occasion, the Director-General of the Michael John Williams/PDP Campaign Organisation, Michael D. C. Ekineh described his principal as a man with a burning craving for projects and programmes that will uplift the living condition of the people.
“Michael John Williams is a listening leader. He has well articulated programmes of action, especially for the youths, which would be laid bare during the course of the campaigns,” the DG said, adding that he was confident of his candidate’s capacity and ability to deliver on all the promises made to the people of Degema Local Government Area.
As the people of Degema Local Government Area wait for Saturday, April 17, 2021 to cast their votes for the parties and candidates of their choice, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidates have since taken their messages to them (people) in the communities and electoral wards and units.
By: Opaka Dokubo & Iminabo Fyneface
Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, has directed his legal team to resume all court proceedings against Mrs. Tracy Ohiri over her repeated allegations of indebtedness and other claims against him.
Mrs Ohiri had publicly accused Senator Umahi of owing her N280 million for campaign materials from his tenure as party chairman in Ebonyi State.
The allegations went viral on social media, where she also accused the Minister of sexual harassment.
Security agencies arrested Mrs Ohiri, and she was subsequently prosecuted. Her lawyer, Barrister Marshall Abubakar, intervened, leading to the deletion of all posts and a public apology, which also gained widespread attention online.
However, days after the apology, Mrs Ohiri resumed her claims against Senator Umahi.
In a statement issued on Saturday by his Senior Special Assistant on Media, Francis Nwaze, Senator Umahi said he had informed Barrister Abubakar during the intervention that if Mrs Ohiri could provide verifiable evidence, logs, and communications from the period in question, some of his associates were willing to contribute a sum of One Billion Naira (N1billion) to her, evidence which, he said, she had yet to provide.
“The Honourable Minister of Works, Senator Engr. David Umahi, has been monitoring the ongoing public discourse surrounding the claims and counterclaims by Mrs. Tracy Ohiri.
“Ordinarily, this would have been ignored, but in the interest of truth and public clarity, it is necessary to address the issues directly”, the statement read.
The statement clarified that Barrister Abubakar acted in good faith and without any financial interest, motivated solely by a desire to assist Mrs Ohiri.
At no point did the lawyer discuss or negotiate any payment with the minister, although some well-meaning associates independently offered support”, the statement added.
Senator Umahi reiterated the conditions for resolving the matter: either the claims must be tested in court, or Mrs Ohiri must provide credible evidence, including all relevant communications, to substantiate her allegations.
The minister emphasised that Barr Abubakar conducted himself with integrity throughout the process.
“Following the failure to meet these conditions, particularly the inability to provide verifiable evidence, the Minister has directed his legal team to proceed with all court processes to ensure the truth is fully established,” the statement said.
Senator Umahi said despite years of public provocations and attacks, he chose to remain silent, focusing on national and state services.
He thanked Nigerians who had taken time to assess the facts and noted that “not everyone who presents themselves as a victim truly is one, and in some cases, narratives are deliberately inverted.”
The Minister affirmed that he will not be distracted by Mrs Ohiri’s allegations and remained committed to his mandate at the Ministry of Works.
“The focus remains on results, service, and ensuring that Nigerians continue to benefit from projects that improve connectivity, economic growth, and national development. This administration will continue to pursue its transformation agenda with dedication, transparency, and an unwavering sense of responsibility,” he concluded.
A Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has adjourned proceedings in a suit filed by three aggrieved members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to April 14, 2026, for the hearing of all pending motions.
Justice Stephen Jumbo made the pronouncement during a recent sitting in Port Harcourt.
The suit, which borders on the legitimacy of the party’s leadership structure in the state, was instituted against the factional State Chairman of the PDP, Chief Aaron Chukwuemeka, alongside the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) and other respondents.
Also joined in the matter are the PDP as a corporate entity, the Rivers State Government, as well as Obio/Akpor, Port Harcourt City and Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Areas, including their respective Vice Chairmen and Councillors.
The claimants, Enyi Uchechukwu, Wisdom Kalio and Uche Amadi, approached the court via an originating summons seeking judicial interpretation on the validity of actions taken by the Chief Chukwuemeka-led state executive committee of the party.
Central to the dispute is whether the said executive committee, whose emergence the claimants contend has been nullified by a subsisting court judgment, retains the legal authority to act on behalf of the party in critical electoral matters.
The plaintiffs specifically urged the court to determine whether the factional leadership could validly submit a list of candidates to RSIEC for the purpose of participating in local government elections.
They further questioned the legitimacy of the PDP’s participation in the August 30, 2025 local government elections, contending that any list purportedly submitted by the factional leadership was invalid and of no legal consequence.
In addition to the declaratory reliefs sought, the claimants also prayed the court to grant consequential orders addressing the outcome and conduct of the said elections across the affected local government areas.
At the resumed hearing, counsel representing the PDP and the affected local government councils informed the court that they had only recently been served with the originating processes and accompanying documents.
The defence team, comprising several Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs), disclosed that service of the court processes was effected on March 13, 2026, leaving them with limited time to adequately prepare their responses.
Consequently, the defence counsel applied for an adjournment to enable them study the processes and address the legal issues raised, particularly as they relate to jurisdictional questions and points of law.
Counsel to the claimants, Glory Chizim-Chinda, did not oppose the application, following which the presiding judge granted the request and adjourned the matter to April 14, 2026, for the hearing of all pending motions, with a possible ruling expected ahead of the substantive suit.
By: King Onunwor
A former state lawmaker in the old the Rivers State, Professor Alex Eseimokumo, has described Nigerian opposition political parties as mere preposition political parties.
He also advised the country’s electorate against selling their votes during next year’s general elections.
The former legislator, who is also the president of the Institute for Peace, Conflict Resolution and Entrepreneurial Research, said this in an exclusive interview with The Tide on the sidelines of an event organized by the institute in Port Harcourt.
He said opposition political parties in Nigeria have been reduced to preposition political parties as most of them are not only dinning with the government but advising government on what to do to win election.
“The problem in Nigeria is we are not practicing politics the way it is supposed to be.The opposition are more in preposition.
“You see, opposition is supposed to find out things that are wrong in government but in our present day politics, you see opposition even dinning with the other group. So, there is basically nothing like opposition in Nigeria “, he said.
He lamented a situation where some individuals within the opposition are allegedly working hard to prevent their parties from fielding presidential candidates in the forthcoming election, adding that such individuals were only there to protect their personal interest.
Prof. Eseimokumo said as a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), he could not wish his party to fail in the election, even though nothing is impossible in Nigeria.
He noted that though the government in power has been trying it’s best, there was more to be done.
In his words, “I’m an APC member, so I don’t have the right to criticize my party but a word of advice: we still need to do more, more people oriented leadership where everybody will feel carried along.
“For now, I’m campaigning for APC to be re elected and if I stand here to say APC is not doing well, I’m not being fair to myself. But I think, with God all things are possible, there can be changes”.
On his assessment of the performances of governors of the Niger Delta states, Prof Eseimokumo said the governors were doing well within the limit of their resources.
” I don’t know what is given to them as allocation, but if what we are seeing in terms of window dressing is not window shopping, then they are doing well”, he said.
Meanwhile, Prof. Eseimokumo has advised Nigerian electorates against selling their votes during the forthcoming elections.
He said credible election could only be achieved when the electorates refuse financial inducement during the elections.
According to him, though Nigerian voters had been difficult to persuade, the time had come for them to stop selling their votes.
Prof. Eseimokumo said the forthcoming elections will serve as a litmus test for the Nigerian electorate to demonstrate their desire for changes in the country, stressing that free and fair elections will continue to be a mirage in the country until the was a change in the attitude of the electorate.
“If you want your vote to count, don’t take money from anybody; if you want your votes to count, don’t collect money for your vote. The moment you collect money for your vote, you have sold your conscience”, he warned.
He said his institute will continue to work for peace, not just in the Niger Delta region but across Nigeria.
By: John Bibor