Politics
Wike Wants IOCs Headquarters Relocated To N’ Delta
Last week witnessed a behive of activities in Government House Port Harcourt with high profile individuals and corporate organisations on courtesy visits to the state Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike.
Among them were; the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Her Excellency Catriona Laing, Inspector General of Police ( IGP ), Usman Baba, Management of the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas ( NLNG ), the Director-General of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA ), Dr Bashir Yusuf Jamoh, and His Royal Majesty, Nwachuku Nnam Obi 111 of Ogbaland.
Governor Wike accused the International Oil Companies (IOCs) of being part of a wicked conspiracy theory that the Niger Delta region was unsafe in order not to relocate their corporate headquarters to the oil-rich region.
The Rivers State Chief Executive who made the allegation during an official function organised by NLNG last week in Port Harcourt, said it was morally offensive for oil companies to continue to exploit oil and gas in the region and locate their headquarters elsewhere in the state.
Stressing that the theory was not tenable, the governor challenged the IOCs to prove if Lagos and Abuja did not have security challenges as the rest of the country.
Another major event last week in Brick House was the courtesy visit to Governor Wike by the Acting Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba, last Tuesday.
Addressing the IGP, the Rivers State Governor said the major reasons politicians failed to perform in office and detached themselves from the people was because security agencies helped to rig them into power.
He also regretted that adequate budgetary allocation for the security agencies in Nigeria had not been given top priority.
The IGP said he was in the state for the launch of “ Operation Restore Peace “ in the South South region of the country. He thanked the Governor for the financial donation to the families of the slain police officers in the state and other levels of support to the Rivers State Police Command.
The British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Catriona Laing, had a closed door meeting with the Governor of Rivers State, last Tuesday, in Government House Port Harcourt.
The High Commissioner who spoke to newsmen after the meeting revealed that their discussion revolved around the economy, prospect of his vision, including youth employment and other challenges.
She further disclosed that Britain was helping Nigeria military to build her combatant capacity in tackling Insurgency, including Boko Haram in the North- Eastern part of the country.
In his tradition of fulfilling promises made by his administration, the Rivers State Governor officially redeemed the N280 million pledge which he made to families of the police officers who were killed during the recent attacks on some police formations by some enemies of the state.
The 11 bereaved families got a cheque of N20 million each during a condolence visit which the governor paid to the state Commissioner of Police, Friday Eboka, last Monday.
Two bereaved family members of the Niger Airforce , Nigerian Airforce Base and a widow of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps ( NSCDC ) official also got N20 million cheque each.
The governor who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Dr Tammy Danagogo assured that the state government would always support people who make sacrifices for the good of humanity, the good of Nigeria and the state.
The Commissioner of Police in the state, Friday Eboka, and the Commander 115 Special Operations Group, Nigeria Airforce, Port Harcourt , Group Captain G E Laha , thanked the governor for the gesture and assured him that they would continue to discharge their duties effectively.
Governor Wike was at the 4th Matriculation ceremony of the PAMO University of Medical Science ( PUMS) held Friday in Port Harcourt.
The Governor who expressed delight at the fast pace of progress the young university has made so far, lauded the founder and Pro-chancellor of the institution . He also announced additional N500 million grant to help management of the university put on ground more facilities.
Also within the week under review, Rivers State Governor attended the PDP Governors Forum meeting last Monday in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
The founding Chairman of APC in the state , Dr Davies Ikanya, and the immediate past factional Chairman of the party in the state , Hon Igo Aguma , led many other chieftains of the opposition in their official defection to PDP in Port Harcourt last Sunday.
By: Chris Oluoh
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
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