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Andoni Stakeholders Vow 100% Support For Fubara, Other PDP Candidates

Some stakeholders, including chiefs in Andoni Local Government Area of Rivers State have stated the reasons why the people of Andoni must support the governorship candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Sir Siminialayi Fubara to win the 2023 election in the state.
The stakeholders disclosed this in separate interviews with The Tide in the area, recently.
Speaking, the Chairman of Asarama Divisional Council of Traditional Rulers, Chief Daniel Ibani, said Andoni would be more developed, if Fubara of PDP wins the 2023 governorship election in the state.
According to him, “Andoni and Opobo are twin sisters bounded by a common boundary that is very difficult for each to be separated from another in terms of challenges and developments”.
Ibani, who is also the paramount ruler of Iwoma Town in Andoni, gave an example of the legacy Unity Road, which did not initially cover Opobo, but added that Opobo had to be linked because Andoni could not enjoy the road alone while its brothers and sisters in Opobo and environs suffer.
He called on the people of Andoni to consider the candidate that would work for the development of the area, saying that the people could not afford to vote candidates that would abandon the area after victory in 2023.
Also speaking, former council chairman of Andoni Local Government Area, Hon. Dimiari Franklin, said Andoni was the elder sister of Opobo, where Fubara comes from, noting that it would be better if the people of Andoni support the PDP candidate to win the election.
He said Andoni would gain more from Fubara than any other candidate in the race for the Brick House in Port Harcourt.
“For me, the people of Andoni, even our brothers, Ogonis will gain more, if Fubara wins as governor of Rivers State.
“You know that the people from the axis of Rivers SouthEast Senatorial District have been starved from being the Number One Man in the state, and this had also affected the development of the communities in these areas until the present administration came on board in 2015.
“You cannot say that Andonis will like to go to Port Harcourt for higher education again, assuming Fubara wins and drags one tertiary institution to Opobo land or Andoni.
“On that note, I prefer the PDP governorship candidate”,he said.
On his part, the lawmaker representing Andoni/Opobo-Nkoro Federal Constituency, Hon. AwajinobeekAbiante, said he was glad that PDP, this time, considered Andoni-Opobo axis from Rivers SouthEast Senatorial District of the state.
He said the choice of Fubara to be governor was also a plus to the people of Andoni, expressing happiness that some of the development efforts would be shifted to Fubara, if he wins as governor.
He called on the people of Andoni to vote massively for SiminialayiFubara, to fast trackthe development in Andoni and Rivers State in general.
By: Enoch Epelle
News
I’m Committed To Community Dev – Ajinwo
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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.