Featured
Comments Against Wike, Provocative, Northern Group Warns
A popular socio-political group, Arewa Political Advocates has warned against inflammatory remarks directed at the person of Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike by persons who appear to be surreptitiously used by disgruntled political jobbers in some quarters to tarnish the hard-earned reputation of Nigeria’s best performing governor.
A statement signed by the Coordinator, Arewa Political Advocates, Abubakar Yewa, and made available to The Tide yesterday, read in full, “We, members of Arewa Political Advocates read with amusement a write up titled: ‘A Text Of Press Conference Convened By Northern Alliance For National Cohesion, On The Inflammatory Remarks Of Governor Nyesom Wike Of Rivers State’.
“We have noted and appraised the contents of this press conference carefully and in the interest of the peace, cohesion and harmonious coexistence which has existed and continues to exist between us and our brothers in the South-South, we wish to state as follows:
“We will willingly overlook the provocative innuendos, delivered recklessly by paid hackers and rabble rousers, who are only interested in the pittance they get from those who do not mean well for our country.
“We recognise the fact that what is playing out between Governor Wike and his Edo State counterpart, provoked, of course, by the deputy governor, in his own disrespectful, unguarded, combative and confrontational comments, is purely a political matter by politicians, which will eventually be settled with their usual political solutions.
“But we are very much disturbed by the involvement of meddlesome Interlopers and anti-progressive groups, comprised mostly of faceless individuals, who actually cry more than the bereaved and have no stake whatsoever, except for their nuisance value and proclivity to offer themselves as agents of destabilization, destruction and disunity in Nigeria.
“These fractious, willful and intractable groups have nothing to lose, from the consequences of their unguarded, infantile and myopic utterances, except the perverse joy they derive from celebrating the whatever negative gains accruing from their contractual intrusion at the expense of the rest of unsuspecting, innocent Nigerians.
“Having put this in perspective, it becomes imperative at this juncture, to refer to the very auspicious quote by the erudite, utilitarian philosopher, John Stuart Mills. The complete quote, delivered at an inaugural address at the University of St. Andrews, Scotland, on February 1st, 1867,goes like this:
“Let not any one pacify his conscience by the delusion that he can do no harm if he takes no part, and forms no opinion. Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing. He is not a good man who, without a protest, allows wrong to be committed in his name, and with the means which he helps to supply, because he will not trouble himself to use his mind on the subject.”
“It is against this backdrop therefore, that we must define and locate the fearless, bold, determined, courageous, consistent and admirable public advocacy of Governor Nyesom Wike, which has without any doubts whatsoever, transformed him into a champion of the Nigerian masses, a voice for the long suffering common man and a true leader of the ordinary citizens of this country, who continue to suffer under very suffocating and unbearable situation, which are getting worse with each passing day.
“In this day and age, when political leadership demands more than opportunistic service to the people, Governor Nyesom Wike, unlike majority of his colleagues, has stood out like a proud, towering colossus, who will not be cowed as he speaks truth to power and calls out those who must be called out, whether in his own constituency, political party or the nation at large.
“It is rather unfortunate that so many people are only encountering the dynamic Nyesom Wike only now that he is governor, as those of us who know him before now will confirm that he has also been firm, bold, fearless, determined, courageous and prepared. That was how he defeated an incumbent governor and rescued Rivers State from the clutches of those who wanted to set back the state.
“That was also how he got involved with Edo State to make peace amongst the contending parties, after much pleading by both the governor, his deputy and the national working committee of the PDP, which eventually paved the way for Governor Godwin Obaseki and his deputy to emerge.
“He did not stop there but also took charge of the Edo State Guber campaign and remained on ground at the risk of his own personal safety and wellbeing, even after the police had laid siege on his hotel for three days, to deliver and ensure victory for those who are now challenging the party that did so much for them.
“Let it also be placed on record, for the education and information of the likes of the Northern Alliance For National Cohesion, that Governor Nyesom Wike has always enjoyed a warm, cordial and robust relationship with his brother governors and has regularly consulted with them before going public with any issue of party or national concern. Otherwise, has the so-called members of the Northern Alliance ever bothered to wonder why his colleagues have not challenged him once, but instead are joining him, especially in litigations, against breaches of the Constitution by the Federal Government?
“Has the so-called Northern Alliance even realized that almost all his brother governors in the PDP and indeed top political figures and statesmen across party divides, have actually come to Rivers State to commission several of the massive, legacy projects which Governor Wike is delivering in Rivers State and to Rivers people, in fulfilment of his primary responsibility to bring good governance and the dividends of democracy to his people?
“Let us state categorically here that the Northern Alliance or whichever amorphous group has been contracted by dubious pay masters, is not and can never be in any position and has no right, privilege or authority whatsoever, to issue any directive or threat to anybody or even cast aspersions on any governor on behalf of the North.
“We urge Governor Wike not to make any group with questionable intentions and dubious motives relevant and popular, by engaging them in issues that do not have the national interest as its objective. He is a leader we admire because of his guiding principles of sincerity, honesty and team work.
“Let us equally state without equivocation that we are not aware of any fora, occasion, public event, Television, Radio, Newspaper or even Online interview or address, where Governor Nyesom Wike has declared openly that he is contesting for the Presidency of the country. We already know those who have declared and Governor Wike is not amongst them.
“In fact Governor Wike has made his position on contesting for the Presidency very clear and consistent on National Television and elsewhere, which is that, while he has every constitutional right to contest for the position of Presidency if he so desires, he is however busy with delivering good governance and the dividends of democracy to his people of Rivers State as he winds down to the completion of his mandatory two terms as governor of Rivers State.
“We also want to use this medium to caution politicians, especially those in the PDP, who have now become rumour mongers, that the PDP has not made any pronouncement about the presidency yet and it is unfortunate and tragic for our political experience for a governor to take out a full page press release, published in National Newspapers to accuse and allege that another governor has presidential ambition. This is how low some of our leaders and politicians have fallen and it is very sad indeed.
“Finally, we want to caution politicians on the type and manner of groups and individuals they engage and procure to ventilate their public advocacy.
“Some of these so called groups may actually be made up of terrorists, militants and other nefarious and unscrupulous entities masquerading as social crusaders, but waiting in the wings with malevolent intentions, to unleash mayhem, unrest and conflict upon and within the polity.
“We must all be careful in this political season and put the interest of Nigeria first, even when we have personal and political issues to settle. A word they say, is enough for the wise”, the statement added.
Letters
Ban On Christians Fellowship In Universities
If the story making the rounds on two Nigerian universities being sued for allegation of their ban on Christian fellowship in the campus is anything to go by, then Nigeria is in for another trouble.
According to the story, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Katsina State branch, in conjunction with an American conservative Christian legal advocacy group, Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF International), has instituted an action against two universities in Katsina State for indefinitely banning Christian groups from holding fellowship meetings and worship on campuses.
The suit was said to have been filed against the two universities for violating the right to religious freedom by “indefinitely prohibiting” Christian groups from holding fellowship meetings and worship on campus.
The Christian legal advocacy group further alleged that one of the universities enforced the ban by locking all worship and fellowship centre on university grounds, preventing Christian students and groups from accessing the facilities and banning them from meeting for worship and fellowship elsewhere on campus while their Muslim counterparts at both universities have been permitted to hold worship and fellowship meetings in university-constructed worship and meeting spaces.
Recall that in 2017, there was a news report on the outlaw of any other religious or tribal association on campus besides the Muslim Students Society of Nigeria by the authorities of the Umar Musa Yar’Adua University, Katsina, Katsina State. A circular credited to the institution’s acting Dean of Student Affairs, Dr. Sulaiman Kankara, which was later disowned by the university, contained the directive.
The last time I checked, Nigeria is a democratic, circular state where every individual is free to practise any religion of her choice. Section 38 of the Nigerian constitution provides: “Every person shall be entitled to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, including freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom (either alone or in community with others, and in public or in private) to manifest and propagate his religion or belief in worship, teaching, practice and observance.”
It is therefore wrong for a public university to indulge in this discriminatory act. A university is supposed to be an intellectual environment where people should be allowed some level of freedom. There must be robust fellowship and inter-faith relationship. People must be able to relate with each other without any discrimination or stigmatisation.
Knowing how delicate issues on religion are in Nigeria, one hopes that the authorities of the institutions concerned should swiftly look into the report and retrace their steps. The court should be objective in deciding the case and give students of other religions some leverage of freedom. It must be stated that the judgment on this case should not be delayed to avoid any retaliation in other parts of the country.
We already have a lot of issues to deal with in the country. Adding a religious crisis to it could be disastrous. Any university established and funded by either the federal, state or local government, should have freedom of religion. Let there be no more trouble in the country, please.
Waheed Abiodun,
Victoria Street,
Port Harcourt Township.
The NIMC, NCC Partnership
Reports have it that the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) disclosed that they have partnered to enhance seamless linkage of National Identification Number-SIM across the federation.
Both Commissions said that in recognising the significance of this initiative in enhancing security and improving service delivery, they were committed to improving processes and enhancing efficiency.
This is a welcome development. It has been worrisome why Nigerians should be made to go through the rigorous process of linking their National Identification Number (NIN) with their phone numbers every now and then. Some people who engage in online transactions have recorded some losses over the past few weeks as some internet providers barred their lines due to their inability to successfully do the linkage.
Two weeks ago, I went to a High Court for an official engagement and was shocked to see the number of people seeking to get court affidavits for the linkage of the NIN with the phone numbers so that their line will be unbarred.
It is therefore hoped that the NIMC, NCC partnership will remove all the bottlenecks surrounding the Nin, SIM linkage and make the process very seamless. It is also hoped that this will be the beginning of the process of proper identity management in the country and gradual collapse of all the various forms of identification – Drivers Licence, Voters Card, NIMC card. Bank cards etc into one identity card so that one would not have to be moving around with loads of identity cards.
Ebele Ubani,
Jabi, Abuja.
The Unwanted Strike
Just when the students of Nigeria public universities are rejoicing that there had been a no interruption in the universities’ academic calendar for sometiime, the news about the warning strike by the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, (SSANU), broke.
The Joint Action Committee of the two organisations had directed members to commence a seven day warning strike last week, following the federal government’s inability to pay their four months’ withheld salary.
I do not even understand why the government should allow labour unions to down tools before acting on their demands. Did President Bola Tinubu not direct that university workers that were on prolonged strike in 2022 and their salaries stopped by the Muhammadu Buhari’s administration after the invocation of “No Work, No Pay” policy, should be paid four months of the withheld salaries?
Have members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) not been paid in line with the president’s directive? Why were SSANU, NASU and unions concerned not paid? These bodies issued an ultimatum to the federal government. Why was there no effort to address their grievances within the window period?
It is said that what is good for the goose is also good for the gander. So, the government, having paid ASUU, should also endeavour to settle SSANU and NASU so that there shall be no interruption in our academic calendar. We did no wrong by choosing public universities. Government, ASUU, SSANU, NASU and what have you should let us learn in peace and graduate at the record time like our colleagues in private universities, please.
IB Michael,
University of Port Harcourt,
Port Harcourt.
Letters
Obi Should Do More, Discordant Tunes On Minimum Wage, Akpabio’s Unguarded Comment
Obi Should Do More
The Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 election, Mr Peter Obi, has continued to voice out his opinion on the happenings in the country. On the budget padding scandal currently rocking the upper chamber of the National Assembly, he has told the Senate to provide Nigerians with some explanations on the matter.
He said the claims and counter-claims over the alleged N3 Trillion which was alleged by Senator Abdul Ningi to have been padded into the 2024 budget, requires proper explanation as to what Nigerians must need to know regarding management of the nation’s, insisting that the suspension of Senator Ningi for three months does not address the issue.
The Labour party chieftain had also expressed his concern over the hunger in the country a few days ago. He raised the alarm that Nigerians were spending all their money on food.
It is commendable of Obi to have stood with the masses at this critical time in the nation’s history and be critical of negative happenings in the country and bad government policies. However, Obi should do more than just criticising. It is said that “a tree cannot make a forest”. Therefore, Obi should galvanise all the law makers both on the national and state levels to tow the same line with him, which should be seen as the position of the Labour Party.
In 2023, there was a revolution in the country. People of all walks of life, of various religions and tribes trouped out in support of the labour party because they believed in Mr Peter Obi. People saw the Labour Party as a needed alternative to the two most populous political parties, PDP and APC. Based on Obi’s personality and popularity, some people who ordinarily would not have won councillorship positions in their communities were elected into state and national assemblies. Many of them won the elections for free, spending no shi shi.
Painfully, after assuming the exalted positions, many of them, especially those in the national assembly seem to have forgotten the masses. It is now business as usual. Among the seven senators and 36 House of Representative members of the Labour Party in the National Assembly, which one of them has moved a strong motion about the hardship currently being faced by the masses and how to address it? How many of them stood by Senator Ningi on the budget padding revelation? What out the exotic cars distributed to them, how many of them advised that they should go for less expensive cars and the excess money channelled into developmental projects? It has become a case of one not talking while on the dining table, right?
Obi should be able to organise his party to form a formidable opposition and a party that does things differently, a party that stands with the people. If the labour party elected political office holders carry on the way they have done since they came into office, they will keep de-marketing their party, forgetting that 2027 is just around the corner.
Ngozi Omeje,
Umuahia, Abia State.
Discordant Tunes On Minimum Wage
I have followed the discussion on the proposed new minimum wage with keen interest and I just hope the leadership of the organised labour will be firm enough to represent the workers and refuse to fall prey to the ploy to disunite them.
It is disheartening seeing workers come up with different amounts as the proposed minimum wage. While the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, demanded that South-West states should pay N794,000 the Trade Union Congress, TUC, asked for N447,000. Similarly, workers in the Federal Capital Territory demanded N709,000, while their counterparts in the North-West clamoured for N485,000.
This idea of singing in discordant tunes is not good for strong unionism. I recall my days as a civil servant in Ibadan, Oyo state. That was during the time of Adams Oshiomhole as the National President of the NLC. The labour union was a force to be reckoned with and whenever the workers barked, the government caught cold. The increase in workers’ wages was fought for as body. There was nothing like federal workers going to the left and the state workers going to the right. Of course then, in 2000, the TUC did not exist as a separate body. The entire workers spoke in unison.
Yes, the states did reserve the right to say whether they can pay the national minimum wage or not but the national body of the NLC was carried along in the negotiation. Please, the NLC and TUC should come together and present a common front in the new minimum wage quest and ensure that workers in the states also get a fair deal. If not, some of the greedy governors will continue to subject the workers to hardship.
Pa Micheal Adeniran,
Rumuogba Housing Estate, Port Harcourt.
Akpabio’s Unguarded Comment
“Today, he’s responding to a remark by the Governor that has nothing to do with him. The opposition is urging the Senate president to be mindful of his utterances. How can he turn the burial of late Access Bank CEO, Herbert Wigwe, wife and first son, such a sad moment, to a political attack?. It’s disappointing. That’s political recklessness taken too far. We, the opposition parties, won’t tolerate such utterances anymore if it continues.”
Above was the response of a member of the House of Representatives and Chairman, House Committee on Petroleum (Downstream), Hon. Ikenga Ugochinyere, to the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, unguarded remark on Gov. Siminalayi Fubara’s comment during the burial of the late Access Holdings Plc GCEO, Herbert Wigwe, wife and first son last weekend.
It is hoped that Akpabio will heed to the advice and learn how to talk in public. Tracing his character as a public servant and political office holder in various capacities over the years, one would notice that the senate president lacks the act of public speaking and carriage.
Was it not recently that he announced that the clerk of the house had sent money to each of the senators’ personal account for their holiday enjoyment only to be called to other and he changed it to ”In order to allow you to enjoy your holiday, the senate president has sent prayers to your mailboxes to assist you to go on a safe journey and return.” What about the “honourable minister off your mic” shameful display.
Whoever wants to die seeking public/political office should go ahead but leave our dear governor alone.
Loveth Opusunju
Minima, Opobo, Rivers State.
Featured
Fubara Promises Rivers Support For Wigwe Varsity …Cautions Political Class On Power Tussle
Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has promised the state government’s commitment to supporting Wigwe University.
Fubara disclosed this on Saturday after the funeral service of the late Chief Executive Officer of Access Holdings Plc, Herbert Wigwe, in Isiokpo, Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State.
Wigwe, alongside his wife, Doreen, and son, Chizzy, died in a helicopter crash in California near the Nevada border, United States of America.
Also involved in the crash was the Chairman of Nigerian Exchange Group Plc, Abimbola Ogunbanjo.
The governor said, “I want to say our brother has finished his work, though short. We, as a government, will do everything with the Wigwe Foundation to immortalise one thing.
“It is not the bank, the bank might have a new identity, a new boss to run it, other ventures will also have their names; but one thing that has his name is Wigwe University.
“We will do everything within our power to make sure the dream will continue to live just as he has planned it.”
Fubara questioned the mourners as to why they kept chasing worldly desires, stressing the significance of impacting lives rather than struggling for power.
“This one has to do with the political class, what is all these struggle all about? You want to kill, you want to bury, what is it all about?
“This is a man who was not a politician, he made his money through our investments, he had the world in his palm financially, he controlled even the political classes; but today, with all the power financially couldn’t control life. Is it not enough to ask ourselves why are we struggling? Why are we not making an impact on the lives of our people?” he queried.
Dignitaries present at the funeral service include the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio; Chairman, Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote; former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria , Sanusi Lamido; Governors Alex Otti (Abia) Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), and Babajide Sawwo-Olu (Lagos).
Other dignitaries are former governors Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), Peter Obi (Anambra), Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers), Bukola Saraki (Kwarra), and James Ibori (Delta), among others.
-
Politics4 days ago
How Social Media Threatened My 40-Year-Old Marriage -Lai Mohammed
-
News4 days ago
We May Shut Down Universities Indefinitely, Non- Teaching Staff Threaten
-
Sports2 days ago
Immediate Relegation Awaits Man City, If…
-
Politics2 days ago
FEC Approves 10% Appointments For Youths
-
Politics7 hours ago
Tinubu Congratulates Senegal President-Elect Over Electoral Victory
-
Business3 hours ago
NASS Engages Agric Minister On Food Crisis
-
Oil & Energy4 days ago
Africa’s Energy Leap From Fossil Fuels To Renewable Powerhouse
-
Sports4 days ago
All African Games: Nigeria Finishes Second On Medal Table