News
Again, PDP Drags AP Assembly Candidates To Court

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State has, again, dragged the state House of Assembly candidates of Accord Party to a Port Harcourt High Court for alleged non-compliance to electoral guidelines in the conduct of the party’s primaries.
This recent suit challenging the eligibility of the state House of Assembly candidates comes after the PDP had also dragged party’s National Assembly flagbearers to a Federal High Court in Port Harcourt for same offence.
Justice Adamu Turaki Mohammed of Federal High Court 5, yesterday, adjourned to September 23, 2022, after listening to arguments from the plaintiffs and defendants’ counsel on whether there was proper service on the defendants in line with the laid down High Court rules.
Speaking to journalists outside the court room, counsel to the 3rd to 27th defendants(Accord State House of Assembly Candidates), Abiodun Owonikoko (SAN), said, “we have to come in obedience and respect for the court, notwithstanding that there have not been proper service or actual service on some of our clients, and on getting to court, today, the court checked if, indeed, we were served. Record of the court indicated that an order of service was made but there were issues whether we were served.
“Since we all have duty of cooperation in matters of this nature, the other side offered to effect proper service on us, and we indeed, accepted service. Effectively now, we are in the case for the 3rd to 27th defendants.
“In the next adjourned date, we will have our appropriate response. The defendants are actually candidates for party state House of Assembly in Rivers State. The case was adjourned to September 23,2022 for appearance”.
Also speaking, counsel to Accord Party, Abdulameed Mohammed (SAN) said, “this is a suit that is very unusual by a political party challenging the primaries of another political party.
“We look at the processes. We are objecting to the jurisdiction of the court, the competence of the suit and the competence of the court to entertain the suit.
“We filed notice of preliminary objection to serve them, and they reacted. We filed counter-affidavit, and you can see this morning, we were trying to highlight what we filled. There are other processes which we applied to INEC, which we obtained. We need to file further affidavits in reaction to the originating summons. So, this is where we are. We are hopeful that this matter will be dismissed”.
On his own, counsel to PDP, Dike Udenna, said the fact of the matter was that the primary conducted by Accord Party was not in compliance to electoral guidelines as the election for the state House of Assembly candidates did not hold in the respective constituencies but in one venue.
Meanwhile, a Federal High Court in Port Harcourt will on September 23, 2022 deliver judgement on a motion for joinder filed by the Peoples Democratic Party against the Accord Party in a suit seeking to disqualify Accord’s National Assembly candidates from the 2023 general election.
The court will also on the same date deliver a ruling on a motion by counsel to Accord seeking to strike out the suit by the PDP which is said to have sued the wrong party instead of Accord.
When the matter came up for hearing, yesterday, counsel to PDP, Dem Nwigwe, SAN, moved his motion for some additional defendants to be joined in the suit.
Justice Daylop-Pam, after listening to arguments from the counsel to the plaintiffs and defendants during the resumed sitting, yesterday, in Port Harcourt, reserved ruling on the application to the next adjourned date of September 23,2022.
Speaking to journalists after the court sitting, counsel to PDP, Den Wigwe(SAN), said his clients filed the suit against Accord Party because they produced new set of candidates all-together against the initial ones, adding that PDP was working to give opportunity of being heard to those excluded in the process.
Wigwe said PDP believes the presence of the new set of candidates would affect their position on the matter.
In an interview with newsmen, Counsel to the Accord Party’s National Assembly candidates, Owonikoko Abiodun(SAN) said, “on our own part, we needed to regularise our response to the main suit, which, because of lack of proof of service the last time, was adjourned till today. So, the court has taken that application and has granted it. So, all our responses and defence to the suit are in”.
According to him, “we filed an application; the plaintiffs responded to the application. What we are saying is that they sued Accord Party, and we said that such name is unknown to us, and is unknown to law; and we say that the name(Accord Party) should be struck out from the suit. We exhibited the certificate of incorporation duly certified by INEC that, that name is not known to any person.
“Is like you are suing nobody.So, we are asking the court to strike it out, and the judge adjourned for ruling”.
Meanwhile, the Guber candidate of Accord Party in Rivers State, Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs, who was in court, described the action of PDP as misnomer.
Lulu-Briggs said it was a deliberate plot by the PDP to distract Accord Party during the political campaigns which are drawing close.
He maintained that Accord Party and its candidates could not be distracted, adding that Rivers people would have an opportunity to elect people who would represent them at all levels.
By: Amadi Akujobi
News
I’m Committed To Community Dev – Ajinwo
News
RSG Tasks Rural Dwellers On RAAMP …As Sensitization Team Visits Akulga, Degema, Three Others

Rivers State Head of Service, Dr (Mrs) Inyingi Brown, has called on rural communities in the State to embrace the Rural Access and Agricultural marketing project (RAAMP) with a view to improving their living conditions.
This follows the ongoing sensitization campaign by the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) visits to Degema, Abonnema, Afam headquarters of Degema, Akuku Toru and Oyigbo Etche and Omuma local government areas respectively.
Dr Brown who was represented by the Deputy Director, Special Duties in her office, Mrs Dein Akpanah, said RAAMP was initiated by the Federal Government and World Bank to economically empower rural dwellers.s
She said the World Bank understands the plights of rural farmers and traders in the State, and therefore came up with the programme to address them.
According to her, RAAMP will improve the conditions of farmers, traders and fishermen, and therefore, behoves on every rural communities in the State to embrace the programme.
The Head of Service also said the programme would support the youths to be gainfully employed while bridges and roads will be built to link farms and fishing settlements.
Also speaking, the State project coordinator, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the programme has the potential of creating millionaires among farmers and fishermen in the State.
Kpakol who was represented by Engr. Sam Tombari, said RAAMP would help farmers and fishermen to preserve their produce.
According to him, the project will build cold rooms and Silos for preservation of crops and fishes while access roads will also be created to link farmers and fishermen to the market.
He, however, warned them against any act that will lead to the suspension of the projects by the World Bank.
Kpakol particularly warned against acts such as kidnapping, marching ground, gender based violence and child labour, adding that such acts if they occur may lead to the cancellation of the project by the World Bank.
During the visit to Oyigbo local government area, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the team was there to let them know how they will benefit from the Raamp.
The coordinator who was personally at Oyigbo said the World Bank introduced the project to check food insecurity in the State.
He said already 19 states in Nigeria are already benefitting from the project and called on them to embrace the project.
Meanwhile, stakeholders in the three local government areas have commended the World Bank for including their areas in the project.
They, however, complained over the incessant attacks by pirates on their waterways.
At Degema, King Agolia of Ke kingdom said land was a major problem in the kingdom.
King Agolia represented by High Chief Alpheus Damiebi said many indigenes of the kingdom are willing to go into farming but are handicapped by lack of land.
Also at Degema, the representative of the Omu Onyam Ekeim of Usokun Degema kingdom, Osoabo Isaac, said Degema has embraced the programme but needed more information on the implementation of the programme.
Similarly, while High Chief Precious Abadi advised that the project should not be narrowed to only crop farming, a community women leader, Mrs Orikinge Eremabo Otto, called for the construction of cold rooms in all fishing settlements in the area.
At Abonnema, Mr Diamond Kio linked the problem of the area to incessant piracy along waterways.
He also expressed fears over the possibility of the project being hijacked by politicians.
Also at Abonnema, a stakeholder, Ikiriko Kelvin, called on the World Bank to design an agricultural project that will suit the riverine environment, while at Oyigbo, HRH Eze Boniface Akawo expressed satisfaction with the project.
John Bibor
News
Senate Replaces Natasha As Committee Chairman

The political mudslinging between the Senate leadership and Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan continued yesterday as the Senate named Senator Aniekan Bassey as the new Chairman of the Committee on Diaspora and Non-Governmental Organisations.
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, announced the appointment during yesterday’s plenary, confirming Bassey’s replacement of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who is currently on suspension.
Akpoti-Uduaghan was reassigned to the Diaspora and NGOs Committee in February after she was removed as Chair of the Senate Committee on Local Content during a minor reshuffle.
Bassey is the senator representing Akwa Ibom North-East Senatorial District.
Although no reason was given for her removal yesterday, the change is believed to be connected to her unresolved suspension.
In May, Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court ordered her reinstatement and directed her to tender an apology to the Senate.
However, the Senate has insisted it has not received a certified true copy of the court judgment.
Akpoti-Uduaghan who represents Kogi Central, has yet to resume her legislative duties despite a recent court ruling that voided her suspension.
In a televised interview on Tuesday, Akpoti-Uduaghan said she was awaiting the Certified True Copy of the judgment before officially returning to plenary, citing legal advice and respect for institutional process.
Although the Federal High Court described her suspension as “excessive and unconstitutional”, a legal opinion dated July 5 and attributed to the Senate’s counsel, Paul Daudu (SAN), argued that the ruling lacked any binding directive to enforce her reinstatement.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, one of only three female senators in the current assembly, said the continued delay in allowing her return was not only a denial of her mandate but also a blow to democratic representation.
“By keeping me out of the chambers, the Senate is not just silencing Kogi Central, it’s denying Nigerian women and children representation. We are only three female senators now, down from eight,” she said.
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