Politics

Fynebone And The Rambling Of A Sinking Man

Published

4 years ago

August 12, 2022

Last Sunday, Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike of Rivers State made a State-wide broadcast wherein he revealed moves by some frustrasted and disgruntled “political leaders” in the state to recruit cultists and ex-convicts as thugs to cause mayhem in the state during the 2023 general elections.
The Governor in the broadcast also advised harbingers of such clandestine and evil plot to desist or have themselves to blame.
Sadly enough, and regrettably too, one cannot understand why this general warning, which was not directed at any particular political party, should elicit the kind of reaction it did from Chris Fynebone, the Publicity Secretary of the ever depleting All Progressives Congress, APC, in Rivers State.
As the saying goes, ‘when dry bones are mentioned in any conversation, the old woman is always uneasy’. This is exactly the scenario in which Chris Fynebone and his pitiable and insignificant APC members found themselves.
Come to think of it, is it only the APC that exists in Rivers state. Is it true that remnants of the fast disintegrating and scattering Special Purpose vehicle were actually planning to cause chaos in the state during the elections? If not why must Chris Fynebone be this swift in reacting to the advice given to Rivers politicians by Governor Nyesom Wike to avoid acts that could cause confusion during the 2023 Elections? It is only someone that is trying to plan evil that can react the way Chris Fynebone did. But suffice to remind Chris that if they were planning to threaten the 2023 election, they should better reconsider their plans because it can never work in Rivers State.
Another particular point of interest to me in Chief Fynebone’s response is the reference to the PDP, a very formidable party that is daily receiving people who are leaving the tattered APC in droves, as ‘crumbling”. To call the PDP that is receiving decampees from the APC from all over Rivers state crumbling is to conclude that Chief Fynebone does not know what is happening to his party or pretending all is well with it or at best does not understand the meaning of the word “Crumbling”.
But if Chris must know, only on Saturday last week over 500 members of the APC in Tai Local Government Area dumped the party for the PDP – the party he regarded as “crumbling”.
The decampees include the representative of Tai in the APC’s Elders Council, Chief (Hon) Peter Gwezia, who was also the first PDP Chairman in Tai before he was deceived to leave the PDP.
In Khana the APC has totally collapsed as all those that malter in the party have since left for the PDP. Who would I mention and who would I leave out? Is it Hon Emma Deeyah, former House of Representatives member, Gregory Nwidam former two times Council Chairman, Friday Nke-ee, former Commissioner and House of Assembly member, Marvin Yobana, former NYCN President or is it Chairman of the party in the area, Hon Celestine Akpobari with many still on their way out?
Just the other day, former Commissioner for Transport and ally of former Transportation Minister, George Tolofari parted ways with the APC. Another chieftain of the APC in Oyigbo, Hon. Bright Jacob, along with many of his supporters, left the confused party too.
In Etche, another Chieftain, Ogbonna Nwuke has since left, former Governorship candidates, Prince Tonye Princewill and Dr. Dawari George, two allies of former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi had since left the APC in the Kalabari axis.
All over the state members are leaving the APC in droves, yet Fynebone has the temerity to call PDP a crumbling party. I take it as lack of appropriate terminology, may be he wanted to say ever “growing party”. Fynebone is obviously showing his shamelessness to the public by refusing to acknowledge the bitter fact that his APC is the one that is sinking fast and soon he will be the only one remaining in the sinking ship.
Concerning the revelation made by Governor Wike over plots by some unscrupulous and evil minded politicians to cause crisis in the state during the 2023 election, the APC Spokesperson by his reaction has indeed accepted that his party was hatching such devilish plans.
However, let it be known to him that Rivers people, just as they did in 2019, will resist every attempt to make their votes not to count in the 2023 Elections. APC’s clandestine moves would be futile and the peoples’ Will must prevail.
Governor Wike’s warning should be taken seriously because there must be free, fair, peaceful and credible elections in Rivers State come 2023.
Deeyah, former Director News, Rivers State Broadcasting Corporation and Special Assistant on Media to the Rivers

By: Paul Deeyah

State Chairman of PDP, writes from Port Harcourt.

Politics

Tinubu Flags Off 2027 Re-election Campaign In Kaduna

Published

1 day ago

October 26, 2026

The Tide

President Bola Tinubu, on Saturday, launched the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential campaign in Kaduna State, beginning the ruling party’s mobilisation for the 2027 general elections.

The campaign rally, held at the Kaduna Township Stadium, attracted Vice-President Kashim Shettima, APC governors, party leaders, federal and state lawmakers, political stakeholders and supporters from across the country.

The flag-off marks the beginning of the APC’s drive to secure a second presidential term for President Tinubu, with the party expected to promote its achievements, defend its economic reforms and outline its policy priorities under the proposed Renewed Hope 2.0 agenda.

Kaduna’s selection for the campaign launch underscores the strategic importance of the North-West, a region with a substantial voting population and considerable influence on presidential election outcomes.

The APC faces a significant challenge in Kaduna, where the Peoples Democratic Party’s presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, defeated President Tinubu in the 2023 election. The rally therefore provides the ruling party an opportunity to strengthen its grassroots structures and regain electoral support in the state.

Addressing supporters, Vice-President Shettima appealed to Northern voters, highlighting President Tinubu’s political relationships with prominent Northern leaders, including Alhaji Abubakar, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu and the late President Muhammadu Buhari.

The Vice-President’s appeal reflects the APC’s determination to consolidate its support in the North as the party intensifies preparations for the presidential contest.

The Renewed Hope 2.0 agenda is expected to feature prominently in the campaign, providing a platform for President Tinubu to explain his administration’s economic policies and outline plans for another term.

However, the President’s record on economic reforms, rising living costs, petrol prices, employment, infrastructure and insecurity is expected to attract considerable scrutiny during the electioneering period.

Politics

LP ASSEMBLY CANDIDATE WELCOMES POLITICAL RECONCILIATION IN KELGA

Published

1 day ago

October 26, 2026

The Tide

The Labour Party (LP) standard-bearer for Ikwerre State Constituency in Rivers State, Hon. Stasi Amadi, has described the ongoing political reconciliation in Ikwerre Local Government Area as a welcome development capable of promoting unity, understanding and peaceful coexistence among political stakeholders.

Hon. Amadi stated this while speaking with newsmen in the area at the weekend, noting that genuine reconciliation remained necessary for strengthening relationships among political leaders and creating an atmosphere conducive for democratic participation.

She said the reconciliation initiative was borne out of goodwill and should not be interpreted as a setback for the Labour Party’s determination to win the Ikwerre State Constituency seat and bring positive changes to the people of the area.

According to her, the party remained committed to its political aspirations and would continue to mobilise support among the electorate through constructive engagement, people-oriented programmes and a determination to provide effective representation.

Hon. Amadi observed that the Rainbow Coalition was a broad political platform capable of accommodating different interests and tendencies, expressing optimism that the arrangement could provide opportunities for participating political parties to secure elective positions.

The LP candidate said the coming together of political brethren should be celebrated rather than criticised, adding that reconciliation would be more beneficial if it encouraged mutual respect, cooperation and a shared commitment to the development of Ikwerre Local Government Area.

She maintained that the leadership of the Rainbow Coalition was focused on achieving positive changes for the people, stressing that the LP would not abandon its political principles or aspirations because of the ongoing reconciliation process.

According to her, political unity should not prevent individual parties from pursuing their legitimate electoral ambitions, but should, instead, encourage healthy competition, issue-based campaigns and a collective commitment to the welfare of the electorate.

Hon. Amadi said the people of Ikwerre deserved a political environment where leaders prioritised development, improved living conditions, employment opportunities and effective representation rather than allowing political differences to undermine the common interest.

She also called on the police and other relevant security agencies to deploy adequate tactical intelligence before, during and after the 2027 general elections to prevent security breaches and ensure that the electoral process was peaceful and credible.

The LP standard-bearer urged security agencies to remain professional, impartial and vigilant in the discharge of their responsibilities, particularly in identifying potential threats, preventing political violence and protecting voters, electoral officials and other stakeholders.

Hon. Amadi expressed hope that the reconciliation among political stakeholders would strengthen democratic participation in Ikwerre Local Government Area, while assuring the electorate that the LP remained determined to contest the forthcoming election and pursue a positive political future for the people.

By: King Onunwor

Politics

2027: DICKSON’S EX-ALLY VOWS TO WORK AGAINST NDC INTEREST IN BAYELSA

Published

1 day ago

October 26, 2026

The Tide

A former ally of Senator Seriake Dickson, the National Leader of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Hon. Godpower Keku, has vowed to work against the interest of his erstwhile political leader and kinsman in the 2027 general elections.

Hon. Keku also faulted the duo of former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), and former governor of Anambra State, Mr Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), over their consistent presidential ambitions.

Hon. Keku, who is the Commissioner for Culture in Bayelsa State, served as Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the State during Senator Dickson’s tenure as governor of the state.

The Tide further gathered that Hon. Keku hails from the same State Constituency, local government area, and Senatorial District as Senator Dickson.

He described Mr Obi as a destroyer of political parties and alleged that the NDC’s presidential candidate does not build parties, but instigates problems and backs out of them when internal wranglings become aggravated to the detriment of any party he belongs to.

According to him, politicians should be grateful to their political parties and remain consistent to avoid being stereotyped as untrustworthy and disloyal members in order to grow politically.

He also alleged that the National Leader of the NDC once affirmed that he would not field a presidential candidate for the party in the 2027 polls, saying Senator Dickson had been reported to have said, during the initial stages of formalizing the registration of his party, that he was only interested in producing Assembly and governorship candidates prior to the entrance of Mr Obi and Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso into the NDC.

The ex-PDP scribe, who described himself a “party man”, restated his loyalty to the Governor Douye Diri-led leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state and vowed to deliver all candidates of the party in his constituencies.

“I wonder why Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar still want to contest this election. In fact, Obi is the easiest to win in this election. And I’m begining to suspect that it’s either he is a friend of President Tinubu or he is an enemy. One of these two things must be factual, if not why is he still contesting in the 2027 polls?

“What surprises me most in Obi’s behaviour is the way and manner he destroys political parties with his over- ambitious political interest. After destroying one party he quickly moves to another without helping to rebuild the party he helped destroy.

“My brother and friend, Senator Dickson said he wasn’t interested in fielding presidential candidate for the NDC prior to the registration of Obi and Kwankwaso as members of the NDC.

“Dickson had also said he was only going to field States, National Assembly and governorship candidates in the NDC and work with President Tinubu before the entrance of Obi and Kwankwaso into the NDC”, he said.

“For Atiku, he should remember that it’s the turn of the South to complete their eight years of two terms. Buhari, a Northerner just completed eight years of two terms before handing over to President Tinubu, a Southerner.

Speaking on the performance of the Bayelsa State governor, the Commissioner boasted about the achievements of Governor Diri’s administration, stating that the infrastructural and human capital development projects of the governor would campaign for the APC and ensure victory for the party in the forthcoming elections.

“I’m a party man, and even my brother and friend, Senator Dickson would attest to that fact. I don’t betray and don’t relent in my support for any party I belong to. The APC is my party and Dickson is an NDC member. I can’t work for him or any candidate of his party. I have my integrity and interest to protect as a party man.

“We’ll deliver all APC candidates in my political enclave, because, like I said earlier, Dickson himself knows me as a party man”, he stressed.

By: Ariwera Ibibo-Howells