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You’ve DNA Of Serial Betrayer, Wike Tells Obaseki
Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike has accused his Edo State counterpart, Governor Godwin Obaseki as a politician who was given to serial betrayal of those who help to advance his political aspiration.
Wike made the accusation at the inauguration of the Community Secondary School, Omuanwa in Ikwerre Local Government Area of the state, last Monday.
The Rivers State governor maintained that he owes the former national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, an apology for opposing him when he insisted that Obaseki was a treacherous and ungrateful man.
Wike said Oshiomhole was right then and has been vindicated given the recent display of ingratitude by Obaseki to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and to those who had helped him to secure his second tenure as governor of Edo State.
“If you go and check the DNA of Godwin Obaseki, what you’ll see in that DNA is serial betrayal and ungratefulness. Let me stand today to apologise to Adams Oshiomhole, who has been vindicated by telling us that we will see the true colour, we’ll see the insincerity, and we will see the ungratefulness of Godwin Obaseki.
“So, let me apologise to Adams Oshiomhole, and to say ‘you have been vindicated. You were right, we were wrong’. I’ve never seen people who are so ungrateful in life. I’ve never seen people who can betray everything in life.”
Wike explained that Obaseki was never his match where character matters because he was consistent, sincere, and a forthright team player, who has never betrayed any person who had helped him politically.
He said that the problem in Edo State stems from Obaseki asking the national leadership of PDP to dissolve Edo PDP executive when the leaders had been elected before he joined the party, and had provided formidable structure for him to win the election.
The Rivers State governor wondered why Obaseki was unable to bring everybody together and work with them but instead wants to unleash the illegality of APC in PDP, which was being resisted because ordinarily, he was a political tenant in PDP.
“I’ve invested in the party. Rivers State has invested in the party. We have voted for PDP since 1999 till now. Ask Governor Obaseki: has he done anything for PDP? Has he voted for PDP?The only election he voted was his own election when we gave him umbrella. So, who has more stakes in PDP? I have more stakes, because I’ve supported PDP always. You’ve never supported PDP.Rather, it was when your godfather chased you away and you came begging, kneeling down. People came with pressure and we allowed you. Ordinarily, you’re a tenant.”
Wike clarified that he fought the then sitting governor in Rivers State to access and take charge of the party structure in the state.
He said it was unfortunate that Obaseki could describe him as a bully now that he was being called to order.
According to him, it was unfathomable that a man who came to him to get PDP’s governorship ticket in 2020 could now turn around to accuse him of being a bully.
“You came to beg a bully for you to have a ticket. A bully was your campaign DG and a bully bullied you into Government House. What a shame! It did not only end there. You came with your wife to thank the bully that after God, the bully made it possible for you to be there.”
Wike said the Edo State governor’s reference that he was jostling to get the PDP presidential ticket smacks of jealousy and bitterness.
He insisted that if he wanted to run for the office of president, the likes of Obaseki and his cohorts could not stop him.
“If I’m contesting for president, with due respect, I’m qualified, very qualified;if not more than qualified. I challenge Obaseki and his cohorts, some of the presidential aspirants who are using him to talk, if I decide to run tomorrow, I challenge anybody, including the so-called Obaseki, what you will see, you will say you never knew this is what politics is.”
He further said: “Tell your presidential aspirants who are sending you, let them pray I don’t come out. If I come out, I will win them.”
Wike said he remains eternally grateful to God for the privilege to preside over the affairs of Rivers State which has immense resources that was being deployed to develop the state.
“I thank Almighty God, who made sure I come from Rivers State, and I am deploying the resources for the development and betterment of my people. People come to Port Harcourt, and say they can’t recognise Port Harcourt. Let people go to Benin and say they cannot recognise Benin. It has been the same.”
Inaugurating the project, former Minister of Information, Prof. Jerry Gana described Wike as a courageous leader who was focused, and has capacity, wisdom, integrity, and dedicated to service.
Gana noted that Wike has used the resources of the state to better the wellbeing of Rivers people, and has become a sterling example of the kind of leadership Nigerians should expect from the PDP in 2023.
He expressed optimism that PDP would take over power in 2023 to restructure the federation, and transform the economy in order to reduce poverty.
Gana urged Wike to run for presidency, saying that when Rivers people present him as the candidate that has their support, the entire people of the Middle Belt of Nigeria would not hesitate to stand with them.
Providing the description of the project, Special Adviser to the Governor on Special Projects, Alabo Dax George-Kelly said the school sits on 21 hectares of land, with five blocks of six classrooms each, 350-capacity hostel, 350-capacity dining hall, staff quarters, offices, laboratory, library and an internal road of 520m long and 7.3m wide.
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.
News
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.