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Don’t Allow Politicians Create Disunity Among You, Wike Tells CAN
Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, has urged the leadership and members of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the State not to allow politicians, desperate for votes, to set them against each other.
Wike gave the advice during an interactive session with the leadership and critical stakeholders of the Rivers State chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) at the Banquet Hall of Government House in Port Harcourt on Tuesday night.
The governor said tomorrow’s election is a state-level exercise and all the candidates contesting for the various positions, particularly for the governorship, are all Christians.
It is therefore not healthy for any candidate to be allowed to approach any constituent family of CAN to demand for endorsement, an action if granted, could create a division within the association and undermine the State, Wike said.
“Nobody can say that through this election, I called him or her and said, look, this is where you will go to. Nobody can also say that you came to me, see what the church has decided to do”, he added
The governor challenged any leader of the various constituents of CAN to come out and tell the world that the he had approached him to mobilise for votes during the last election.
“Now we are going for local election, not national election. Why will people begin to bring CAN into it, which we have never done before. CAN Rivers State has always been one. You, going to take one of the families to say endorse this person, you’re killing CAN because this State is a Christian State”, he asserted.
Wike expressed his dislike for politicians who remember the church only when they want to whip up religious sentiment to favour their course, but will never return thereafter to support the church to grow.
According to him, “What I don’t like is politicians using the church because they want to benefit at that time. After that time, what happens? Do you listen to the church again? You don’t listen to the church. If, as politicians who are Christians, will listen to the church, the church will not be where and how it is today. The church would have grown stronger.”
Wike reiterated that he was bold to declare that Rivers is a Christian State, and owes nobody any apology even if it was part of what was used against him during the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) presidential primary.
He said his administration has also maintained robust relationship with the church with fee weaver when any church applies to use facility of government, including the building of the Ecumenical Centre in Port Harcourt.
“I do things because I am one person who have so much benefitted from the mercy of God. So, when people say that I am a betrayal of Christian faith, I laugh.
“Let nobody in the Christian circle say, me I am betrayal of Christian faith because they will make me to expose so many people and politicians”, he said.
Wike also explained that it was a holistic decision of the integrity group that they will support southern presidency, and they did just that in their various States during the 25th February 2023 presidential election.
According to him, “I am one of the apostles of southern presidency. I stood for it and I fought for it. I did not waver. I never betrayed the interest of the south, I never and I will not do it till tomorrow.
“Anybody who knows me when I want to fight, I will fight without hiding. Let nobody bring me to that in saying that I didn’t tot support the Christian presidency, that person must be wicked to tag me that because I will not and I have never failed the church and Christendom.”W
Wike urged CAN to be wary of such politicians who wants to divide them using either the Catholic against the others, but should be united in their resolve to protect the interest of Rivers State.
The governor insisted that every member of CAN must work for a united Christian family, so that it will become difficult for any person marketing his candidate to create division among them.
He, however, evening told them to believe him when he says that he is in a better position, as a politician, to tell them who among the governorship candidates can do well as the governor of the State because he knows each one of them very well.
Wike explained that Rivers State has not grown on a steady development pace because it has not gotten it’s transition right and without hitches.
He urged CAN to pray for a smooth transition that will usher the State into a phase of continuous development.
In his response, Rivers State Chairman of The Christian Association of Nigeria, His Grace, Most Reverend Dokiboeriya Kaladokubo thanked Wike for his kind words.
He acknowledged the unequalled transformation that the State has witnessed in his administration with plethora of development projects sited beyond the State capital.
Kaladokubo said the church and its leadership would continue to pray for absence of any form of fighting or gun shot before, during and after the election.
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.
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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.