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Fubara’ll Surpass My Record In Office, Wike Declares
Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, has assured that his successor, Governor-elect, Sir Siminialayi Fubara, and his Deputy Governor-elect, Prof. Ngozi Odu, would surpass his record of success.
Wike gave the assurance when he spoke at a Public Lecture and Book Presentation in his honour at Dr. Obi Wali International Conference Centre in Port Harcourt on Thursday.
The governor remarked that his administration enjoyed tremendous support from leaders and people of Rivers State to be reckoned with success his administration was celebrating.
Wike solicited same support should be given to his successor because if Fubara administration fails, it would mean that all that made it possible for him to emerge as the next governor, have failed.
“I have that belief that the governor-elect and the deputy governor-elect will do very well. He is somebody you can rely on. His yes is yes, that I can tell you.
“He is an accountant, they are very conservative. They don’t spend money anyhow. They spend the money where they know it will be useful. So, don’t rate us as the same. But he is a very good person.”
Wike urged Rivers people to understand that no two persons are the same, and therefore, should not expect the same level of relationship they experienced under his administration with the incoming government.
“Don’t compare that the way I relate with you should be the way the incoming administration must relate with you, no. We have different styles but what’s important is being able to deliver what will make out people to be happy.”
The governor, however, enthused that governor-elect would be committed to deliver on what will make Rivers people happy.
“When people were struggling to be governors, he never one day came to me to say sir, I am interested. Only those who don’t have the interest of the state were those masquerading themselves, running around, those who I know that would sell the state the next day and I thank God they have all left.
He emphasised that the journey had not been easy, but with focus, commitment and help from God, he surmounted the challenges.
“If Rivers people were not in support of our administration, we would not have been encouraged to do what we have done. And so, I say to all of you our leaders, Rivers people that I appreciate every support you have given to us since 2015.”
Wike also expressed appreciation to former governor of the state, Dr Peter Odili, for writing down the list of things he should avoid if he wanted to succeed.
According to him, that list helped him greatly.
Presenting the 2023 inauguration lecture entitled, “Democracy, Transformational Leadership and Sustainable Development: The Rivers Experience,” Prof. Julius Ihonvbere acknowledged the tactically strategic politics of Wike that produced result in the state and beyond.
“Wike brought in a new phase of domestic and international appreciation of the location of the state in economic calculations.
“In terms of infrastructure, there is no one in the history of the state that you can compare comfortable with Wike. Like a man in a hurry to finish an assignment, he unleashed massive interventions, often at great cost, on practically every sector especially health, education, administration of justice and rural development.”
Ihonvbere said Nigeria’s democratic practice was characterised by reactionary, opportunistic and anti-democratic actions that have tendency of bankrupting those who are not strong and focused.
According to him, the problem was in the fact that Nigerians are unwilling to think differently, work differently and interact differently.
He said what Nigeria has is not liberal democracy but illiberal democracy because it encouraged closed democratic spaces, extra-legal deployment of power and authoritarian tendencies.
Odili unveiled the four books that were written in honour of Wike.
He described Wike as a phenomenal leader who confronted leadership challenges and came out of them victoriously, becoming an example and inspiration to those coming after him.
Vice Chancellor of Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Prof. Okey Onuchukwu, who listed the four books, said they depicted the kind of leadership style that Wike provided in driving development to meet present and future needs of Rivers people.
The four books presented to the public were, “Leadership, Governance and Sustenance in Nigeria, in honour of Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike”, edited by Prof. OkeyOnuchukwu and Prof Chinedum Mmom, and “Transformational Speeches of Governor NyesomEzenwoWike”,edited by Barrister E.K. Beredugo.
The other books are, “Educational and Sustainable Development, a Book in Honour of Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike”, edited by Florence Ataka, and “Nyesom Wike, Leadership, Strategies in Governance, Faculties and Testimonials”, edited by Eric Osagie.
The Nigeria Immigration Service has officially ended passport production at multiple centres, transitioning to a single, centralised system for the first time in 62 years.
Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, disclosed this yesterday while inspecting Nigeria’s new Centralised Passport Personalisation Centre at the NIS Headquarters in Abuja.
He stated that since the establishment of NIS in 1963, Nigeria had never operated a central passport production centre, until now, marking a major reform milestone.
“The project is 100 per cent ready. Nigeria can now be more productive and efficient in delivering passport services,” Tunji-Ojo said.
He explained that old machines could only produce 250 to 300 passports daily, but the new system had a capacity of 4,500 to 5,000 passports every day.
“With this, NIS can now meet daily demands within just four to five hours of operation,” he added, describing it as a game-changer for passport processing in Nigeria.
“We promised two-week delivery, and we’re now pushing for one week.
“Automation and optimisation are crucial for keeping this promise to Nigerians,” the minister said.
He noted that centralisation, in line with global standards, would improve uniformity and enhance the overall integrity of Nigerian travel documents worldwide.
Tunji-Ojo described the development as a step toward bringing services closer to Nigerians while driving a culture of efficiency and total passport system reform.
He said the centralised production system aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda, boosting NIS capacity and changing the narrative for better service delivery.
The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) has disbursed N2.225 trillion as federation revenue for the month of August 2025, the highest ever allocation to the three tiers of government and other statutory recipients.
This marks the second consecutive month that FAAC disbursements have crossed the N2 trillion mark.
The revenue, shared at the August 2025 FAAC meeting in Abuja, was buoyed by increases in oil and gas royalty, value-added tax (VAT), and common external tariff (CET) levies, according to a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting.
Out of the N2.225 trillion total distributable revenue, FAAC said N1,478.593 trillion came from statutory revenue, N672.903 billion from VAT, N32.338 billion from the Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL), and N41.284 billion from Exchange Difference.
The communiqué revealed that gross federation revenue for the month stood at N3.635 trillion. From this amount, N124.839 billion was deducted as cost of collection, while N1,285.845 trillion was set aside for transfers, interventions, refunds, and savings.
From the statutory revenue of N1.478 trillion, the Federal Government received N684.462 billion, State Governments received N347.168 billion, and Local Government Councils received N267.652 billion. A further N179.311 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) went to oil-producing states as derivation revenue.
From the distributable VAT revenue of N672.903 billion, the Federal Government received N100.935 billion, the states received N336.452 billion, while the local governments got N235.516 billion.
Of the N32.338 billion shared from EMTL, the Federal Government received N4.851 billion, the States received N16.169 billion, and the Local Governments received N11.318 billion.
From the N41.284 billion exchange difference, the Federal Government received N19.799 billion, the states received N10.042 billion, and the local governments received N7.742 billion, while N3.701 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) was shared to the oil-producing states as derivation.
The Governing Council of Kenule Beeson Saro-Wiwa Polytechnic, Bori, has decried the inadequate power supply and poor state of infrastructural facilities and equipment at the institution.
The Council also appealed to the government, including Non-Governmental Organisations, agencies, as well as well-meaning Rivers people to intervene to restore and sustain the laudable gesture, dreams and aspirations of the founding fathers of the polytechnic.
The Chairman of the newly inaugurated Council, Professor Friday B. Sigalo, made this appeal during a tour of facilities at the Polytechnic, recently.
Accompanied by members of the team, Prof Sigalo emphasised the position of technology, technical and vocational education in sustainable development.
He noted that with the prospects on ground, and the programmes and activities undertaken in the polytechnic, there is no doubt that the institution would add values to the educational system in our society and foster the desired development, if the existing challenges are jointly tackled.
This was contained in a statement signed by Deputy Registrar, Public Relations, Kenpoly, Innocent Ogbonda-Nwanwu, and made available to The Tide in Port Harcourt.
The chairman who restated the intention of his team of technocrats to ensure that KenPoly enjoys desirable face-lift, said the Council would deliver on its core mandates, accordingly.
Earlier, the Rector, KenPoly Engr. Dr. Ledum S. Gwarah, commended the appointment of Professor Friday B. Sigalo as Chairman of the KenPoly Governing Council.
He described him and his team as seasoned technocrats and expressed confidence in their ability to succeed.
The Rector pledged the management’s support to the Council to ensure that KenPoly resumes its rightful place in the comity of polytechnics in the country.
Facilities visited by the Governing Council include KenPoly workshops, laboratories, skills acquisition centre, library, hostels and medical centre.
Chinedu Wosu
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