Politics

Gov Wike Signs Two Bills Into Law

Published

4 years ago

June 28, 2021

Activities commenced last week in Government House, Port Harcourt, with the signing of two crucial bills into laws by the Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike.
The bills were ; the Public Procurement (amendment) Law No.1 of 2021 and Contributory Health Protection Programme Law No.3 of 2020.
At the event which took place at Government House last Monday, Governor Wike said with the signing of the Contributory Health Protection Programme Bill into law, residents and people of the state desiring health insurance could now participate in the scheme.
He also noted that with the amended law on public procurement, government would easily fulfil its contractual obligations and check problem of payment of low per centage of project sums which often led to the demand for contract variation by contractors and the attendant delay of project execution.
Last week also witnessed more inauguration of completed projects as well as flag- off of new projects by the administration of Governor Wike , the Mr Quality Project of Nigeria.
Projects inaugurated last week included 16.2 kilometers Umueze-Umuogba-Umuokpurukpu-Umueke-Umunju-Eberi Road in Omuma Local Government Area, the Pabod Breweries By-Pass Road and Oginigba-Ordinance Link Road at Trans Amadi in Port Harcourt.
Those flagged off were the Trans- Kalabari Road Phase 1 in Degema Local Government Area, Reclamation of 52 hectares of land for the Abonnema and Obonoma towns in Akuku-Toru Local Government Area, and the 11.6 Km Omerelu Internal Roads in Ikwerre Local Government Area.
The Rivers State Chief Executive who stated that insecurity in the country has not hindered development in the state stressed that his administration has tackled insecurity headlong thereby creating an enabling environment for smooth delivery of quality department projects.
He announced that his administration would reconstruct the Umuakali-Eberi Road in Omuma Local Government Area in appreciation of the remarkable level of loyalty to PDP by the people of the area especially Hon. Kelechi Nwogu, the lawmaker representing Omuma State Constituency in Rivers State House of Assembly.
While inaugurating the road project in Omuma, former Senate President of Nigeria, Senator Adolphus Wabara, hailed the Rivers State Governor’s high performance and remarked that the Governor had redefined governance and broken the unfortunate jinx of non-performance associated with second tenure givernors in the country.
According to Senator Wabara, while it is in the habit of second tenure givernors to slow down actions, governor Wike remained unrelenting, working with the same zeal of a Governor in first term. This , he said, stands Wike out as a much sought- after leader who should be consulted in solving critical national issues related to governance.
Rivers State recorded another landmark victory last week as the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, presided over by Hon Justice Taiwo Taiwo ordered the Federal Government to pay her $1,114,556,610.00, and to also pay the sum of $2,258,411,586.00 to Akwa Ibom State.
This was in relation to production sharing contracts arising from Deep Offshore and Inland Basin Production Sharing Contract.
Justice Taiwo who delivered the judgement in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/174/2021 filed by the Attorney General of Rivers State and Attorney General of Akwa Ibom State against the Attorney General of the Federation, also awarded a post judgement interest of 10 per cent in favour of the plaintiffs.
Another major event in Brick House within the week under review was the approval by the State Executive Council to the offer made by Governor Wike to build, furnish and deliver new campus of Nigerian Law School in Port Harcourt to the Council of Legal Education.
Recall that Governor Wike had during inauguration of some projects by of the Rivers State Government at Nigerian Law School, Yenegoa Campus recently, requested that a campus of the school be sited in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital. He promised to build a brand new campus within six months, if his request was granted.
Rivers State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Professor Zacchaeus Adango , who briefed newsmen after the State Executive Council meeting held last Saturday at Government House Port Harcourt, explained that one of the conditions demanded by the Council of Legal Education was that the offer made by Rivers State must receive the unambiguous approval of Rivers State Executive Council.
“ I am happy to announce that the Rivers State Executive Council met today and at the end of the Council’s meeting and upon due consideration of the memo presented by the Hon Attorney General, Rivers State Executive Council has formally approved the offer made by the Governor to build, furnish and deliver a brand new campus of the Nigerian Law School in Port Harcourt to the Council of Legal Education”, Adango said.
He expressed optimism that the new campus will promote legal education and re-establish Rivers State on the map as the centre of legal education in the country.
Also last week, President, Police Officers Wives Association (POWA) , Hajia Hajara Alkali Baba, paid Gov Wike a courtesy visit to thank him, the Government and people of Rivers State for providing succour for the widows of deceased police officers.

By: Chris Oluoh

Politics

INEC Denies Registering New Political Parties

Published

3 days ago

June 20, 2025

The Tide

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it has not registered any new political parties.

The commission gave the clarification in a statement on its X (formerly Twitter) handle last Wednesday.

It described the purported report circulated by some online social media platforms on the registration of two new political parties by INEC as fake.

“The attention of INEC has been drawn to a fake report making the rounds about the registration of two new political parties, namely “Independent Democrats (ID)” and “Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM)”.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the commission has not yet registered any new party. The current number of registered political parties in Nigeria is 19 and nothing has been added,” it stated.

The commission recalled that both ID and PDM were registered as political parties in August 2013.

INEC further recalled that the two were deregistered in February 2020 in accordance with Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The commission, therefore, urged the public to disregard the said report.

Politics

You Weren’t Elected To Bury People, Tinubu Tells Alia

Published

3 days ago

June 20, 2025

The Tide

President Bola Tinubu has asked Governor Hyacinth Alia to work more for peace and development of Benue State, saying he was elected to govern, not to bury people.

The President said this while addressing stakeholders at the Government House, Markudi, last Wednesday.

He also called on the governor to set up a peace committee to address some of the issues in the state.

The meeting included the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, traditional rulers, and former governors of the state.

The governors of Kwara, Imo, Kogi, Plateau, Ondo, and Nasarawa states also attended the meeting.

“Let us meet again in Abuja. Let’s fashion out a framework for lasting peace. I am ready to invest in that peace. I assure you, we will find peace. We will convert this tragedy into prosperity,” he said.

President Tinubu urged Governor Alia to allocate land for ranching and directed the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security to follow up.

“I wanted to come here to commission projects, to reassure you of hope and prosperity, not to see gloomy faces. But peace is vital to development.

“The value of human life is greater than that of a cow. We were elected to govern, not to bury people”, he stressed.

He charged Governor Alia on working with the Federal Government to restore peace.

“Governor Alia, you were elected under the progressive banner to ensure peace, stability, and progress. You are not elected to bury people or comfort widows and orphans. We will work with you to achieve that peace. You must also work with us”, he said.

In his remarks, Governor Alia appealed to the Federal Government to establish a Special Intervention Fund for communities affected by repeated violent attacks across the state.

“Your Excellency, while we continue to mourn our losses and rebuild from the ashes of pain, we humbly urge the Federal Government to consider establishing a special intervention fund for communities affected by these incessant attacks in Benue State,” he said.

Governor Alia said the fund would support the rehabilitation of displaced persons, reconstruction of destroyed homes and infrastructure, and the restoration of livelihoods, especially for farmers.

He reiterated his support for establishing state police as a lasting solution to insecurity.

The governor pledged his administration’s full commitment to building a safe, stable, prosperous Benue State.

Also speaking at the meeting, the Chairman of the Benue State Traditional Rulers Council, Tor Tiv, Orchivirigh, Prof. James Ayatse, praised President Tinubu for being the first sitting President to personally visit victims in the hospital in the wake of such a tragedy.

He thanked the President for appointing notable Benue indigenes into key positions, including the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and the Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Professor Joseph Utsev, while expressing hope that more appointments would follow.

Politics

Gowon Explains Why Aburi Accord Failed

Published

3 days ago

June 20, 2025

The Tide

Former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon (ret’d), says the Aburi accord collapsed because Chukwuemeka Ojukwu wanted regional governors to control military zones.

Gen. Gowon was Nigeria’s military ruler from 1966 until 1975 when he was deposed in a bloodless coup while Ojukwu was military governor of the then Eastern Region in that span.

In a live television interview recently, Gen. Gowon narrated what transpired after the agreement was reached in Aburi, a town in Ghana.

The meeting that led to the accord took place from January 4 to 5, 1967, with delegates from both sides of the divide making inputs.

The goal was to resolve the political impasse threatening the country’s unity.

The point of the agreement was that each region should be responsible for its own affairs.

During the meeting, delegates arrived at certain resolutions on control and structure of the military. However, the exact agreement reached was the subject of controversy.

The failure of the Aburi accord culminated in Nigeria’s civil war, which lasted from July 6, 1967, to January 15, 1970.

Speaking on what transpired after the agreement, Gen. Gowon said the resolutions should have been discussed further and finalised.

The ex-military leader said he took ill after arriving in Nigeria from Aburi and that Ojukwu went on to make unauthorised statements about the accord.

Gen. Gowon said he did not know where Ojukwu got his version of the agreement from.

“We just went there (Aburi), as far as we were concerned, to meet as officers and then agree to get back home and resolve the problem at home. That was my understanding. But that was not his (Ojukwu) understanding,” he said.

Gen. Gowon said Ojukwu declined the invitation, citing safety concerns.

“I don’t know what accord he (Ojukwu) was reading because he came to the meeting with prepared papers of things he wanted. And, of course, we discussed them one by one, greed on some and disagreed on some.

“For example, to give one of the major issues, we said that the military would be zoned, but the control… He wanted those zones to be commanded by the governor.

“When you have a military zone in the north, it would be commanded by the governor of the military in the north, the military zone in the east would be commanded by him. Of course, we did not agree with that one”, Gen. Gowon added.

Ojukwu died on November 26, 2011 at the age of 78.