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PDP Is Strong, Firm, Willing To Change Fortune Of Nigeria, Wike Insists …As Ex-Reps Deputy Speaker Rejoins PDP
Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike has asserted that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was strong, firm in its resolve to offer better governance and willing to take over power in 2023 in order to change the fortune of Nigeria.
The governor made the assertion at a special reception, last Friday, to formally receive into PDP fold the former Deputy Speaker of House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Chibudom Nwuche at Government House, Port Harcourt.
Wike explained that as a PDP controlled state government, his administration has touched every facet of Rivers State, and offered the people the best good governance can afford.
According to him, PDP, for what it has continued to do in terms of responding to the needs of Nigerians, has remained a household name and most trusted to savage the country.
“You’re welcome (Nwuche) to where God belongs to: The property that God owns. This property called PDP is owned by God, and that is why it is the only household organisation you can find in this country.
“No matter what happens, PDP is still very strong, very firm and very willing to change the fortune of this country.”
Wike described Chibudom Nwuche as a democrat who has a reckonable name and can add value to the PDP, and not a liability.
According to Wike, PDP woos persons who can contribute to the party, work for the welfare of the members and speak for their people.
He, therefore, urged members to dismiss fears that they would be displaced by Nwuche in the scheme of things in the party.
Wike insisted that it was better more people come to join the party since there was room for everyone, and nobody would be deprived of what was due to him or her.
“Today is another wonderful day in our political history, like one of those who has made democracy to be strong, those who contributed to what democracy is supposed to be.
“Let everyone understand that here we are not in contention with anybody. We don’t have the complexity to begin to say that people should not come back. People should not say that because Chibudom has come back, what I’m supposed to get, I will not get.
“He has come to add to our number. The more the merrier.”
Speaking further, Wike counselled the All Progressives Congress (APC) opposition factions in Rivers State to be more concerned about the performance of his administration or if it has been untruthful to Rivers people because APC has failed on its promises.
Wike said the last administration in which Dakuku Peterside served as commissioner for works, promised to construct the Trans-Kalabari Road but failed.
But his administration, he stated, was determined to prove the difference between mere campaign rhetoric and genuine intention to solve problems.
That is why, he said, the contract for the Trans-Kalabari Road project has been awarded, with a monthly payment schedule of N1billion in the next 14 months, adding that it would be commissioned in June, 2022 as first phase.
“When he (Peterside) was commissioner for works, a project they said was about N20billion, they gave the contractor N1.5billion as mobilisation. How can the project be completed? Definitely, they squandered the money. Ask him where did they lay the foundation of Trans-Kalabari Road project?
“When he was commissioner for works, he awarded the job for shore protection of Queens Town, his own area, and they diverted the money. For him, the diversion of money is good governance.
“If you like, abuse me from now until tomorrow, they will not give you ticket. So many people think that it’s only when they say Wike is not doing well, then, their party in Abuja will see them as the only ones challenging Wike. They know that they are not in existence here.”
In his remarks while presenting Nwuche to Wike, Rivers State Chairman of PDP, Amb. Desmond Akawor, also gave him party membership card and paraphernalia.
He said Nwuche’s defection was a proof of the irresistible leadership style adopted by Wike to not only provide infrastructure across the state, but continue to defend her interest in the country.
Responding, Chibudom Nwuche explained that he made mistakes out of anger to leave the PDP.
According to him, he went on sabbatical but has retracted his steps back to where he has found people-oriented leadership.
He said Wike has transformed Rivers State in the past six years, and turned Port Harcourt to a very modern city, with state-of-the-art infrastructure.
“No matter how much they hate you, they can’t deny one fact: you have worked so hard, you have put your heart in this state.”
He spoke of Wike as an empathetic leader who uses power to uplift people, reconstructed the road in his village that was abandoned by the previous administration in the state because of him.
“In politics, you meet all sorts of people. Some people persecute you, some want to bring you down but there are only few who uplift people, and he (Wike) is one of them. I am back home!
“I am a founder of the party. I began in 1999 with PDP. The PDP has become resilient. It is reinventing itself. The issues that we noticed are being addressed for the benefit of Nigerians. So, I am glad today, that I am being received by the governor.”
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.