Niger Delta

Edo Guber Poll: Ganduje Inaugurates Campaign Council …Vows To Reclaim State For APC

Published

1 year ago

July 24, 2024

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Umar Ganduje, on Saturday inaugurated the national campaign council of the party for the 2024 governorship election in Edo State.
Inaugurating the council headed by Governor Bassey Otu of Cross River State, Ganduje charged the members to ensure the party reclaimed the state from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) during the September 21 off-cycle election.
The National Chairman, who was excited with the official defection of the state’s Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu, to the APC, said the party had secured up to 50 per cent of the people in the government of the State.
He urged the campaign council to swing into action to ensure that all members at the local government areas and unit levels come out to campaign and vote.
“A flag-off rally will soon be organised so that President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, will be in Benin-City.
“We are so happy because our incoming governor and his deputy have already produced a blueprint for the development of Edo state; they are not full with MoUs.
“They are coming with a blueprint and practical steps, so that Edo can fully develop and be connected to the centre”, he said.
The former Governor of Kano State said if the state was not connected to the centre, it would not experience a full political participation and dividends of democracy.
According to him, the only way to achieve this, is by voting for Sen. Monday Okpebholo and his running mate, Dennis Idahosa, who are flying the flag of the party in the election.
Ganduje commended the Oba of Benin for maintaining peace and tranquility in the state, assuring that the incoming APC government would appreciate and respect the traditional council under the Oba of Benin.
Sen. Okpebholo said Edo had never been so divided as it was currently.
The APC candidate castigated Gov. Godwin Obaseki for raising the state debt profile from about ¦ 43 billion when he took over in 2016 to over ¦ 500 billion.
“We are here to change it; we are coming to restore infrastructure, to restore education and to restore security to the state.
“We are bringing practical governance into the state”, he said.
The State Chairman of APC, Jarret Tenebe, urged the national chairman of the party to join them to rescue the state from the grip of the PDP.
Earlier, the Senator representing Edo North and former governor of the state, Sen. Adams Oshiomhole, said the gathering represented the very essence of the broom, a reunion of the people who were deceived in their former party.
Oshiomhole said Okpebholo, if elected, had a huge task ahead of him as governor of Edo.
He urged the people of the state to make a comparison of the years of the rule of the APC and the PDP in the state and see the difference.
“Edo people have the chance to sit back and ask themselves the differences between the years the APC ruled the state and the years the PDP ruled.
“Governance is about having human empathy. Those who do not know your house cannot fix the linkages; only those who know the linkages can help fix them.
“If they can cheat themselves and go to court, we will not allow them to cheat [at the polls]. It will be one-man-one-vote”, he said.
Commenting on the killing of Insp. Onu Akon, the police aide of Sen. Okpebholo, Oshiomhole vowed to ensure that the national assembly investigate the death and that the investigation would not be messed up.
He, however, called on the Inspector-General of Police to disband the State Security Network, which he said had become a tool for oppression in the hand of the state government.
Oshiomhole also called on the state Commissioner of Police, Funsho Adegboye, “to defend the integrity of his uniform by apprehending the perpetrators of the act and bring them to book.
According to him, “The days of oppression are over. They shall know no peace because they have murdered sleep”.
In his remarks, the Chairman of the campaign council, Governor Ottu of Cross Rivers, promised to deliver the state for the APC come September 21.

Niger Delta

Navy Pledges Improved Patrols, Welfare Boost For Personnel

Published

1 day ago

January 9, 2026

The Tide

The Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Idi Abbas, has pledged to ensure improved welfare for personnel and more patrols on the maritime corridors of the nation.

He disclosed this during an on the spot assessment of things at the Eastern Naval Command (ENC), Calabar, on Wednesday.

According to him, there is the need for officers to always be ready, by improving on their welfare, in a bid to keep the country secured.

“I am here for an on the spot assessment of our operations and like you have seen, I have also gone round to check the ongoing buildings.

”These are welfare issues and for us to be able to have our men ready and keep us secured, their welfare needs to be catered for.

“So, we are here to kill two birds with one stone, which are basically operations and welfare issues.

”I am happy with what the command is doing; it is doing well in terms of keeping the maritime environment safe.

“We will continue doing what we are doing and improve on that, which is patrol of the waters and increase in the area of surveillance”, he stated.

As part of his visit, Abbas commissioned the 12×1 Junior Rates Accommodation Block A and B, at the Navy Barracks at Atimbo in Calabar.

The naval chief also inspected other ongoing projects in the Akim Barracks, 1006 flats and the Navy hotel, all within Calabar.

Niger Delta

Delta Begins Uromi Junction Flyover Construction

Published

1 day ago

January 9, 2026

The Tide

The Delta State Government says it has began construction work on the long-awaited Uromi Junction Flyover Bridge in Agbor, Ika South Local Government Area of the state.

Director-General (DG) of the Delta State Bureau for Orientation and Communications, Dr. Fred Oghenesivbe, confirmed the development to newsme in Asaba.

According to him, heavy-duty construction equipment have arrived the site, a project which is being handled by Julius Berger Nigeria PLC, one of the country’s leading construction firms.

Oghenesivbe, described the flyover as a massive infrastructure project with far-reaching socio-economic benefits for the area.

He said the project would significantly transform the Agbor metropolis by easing traffic congestion, improving the city’s aesthetics, and boosting commercial activities within the local government area.

He described the State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, as a promise-keeper and pragmatic leader whose administration remains committed to infrastructure development and economic growth across the state.

The DG expressed confidence in Julius Berger’s capacity to deliver the project within record time and according to the highest construction standards.

“The Uromi Junction serves as a major link between different parts of the country but has recently been plagued by severe traffic congestion, making vehicular movement increasingly difficult”, he noted.

He urged residents to cooperate with the contractor and safeguard construction materials and equipment to ensure the timely completion of the project.

Niger Delta

A’Ibom Rejects Ekid Ownership Claim Of Stubbs Creek

Published

1 day ago

January 9, 2026

The Tide

The Akwa Ibom State Government has rejected claims by the Ekid People’s Union that it owns land within the Stubbs Creek Forest Reserve, describing such assertions as “false, misleading and a distortion of the judicial record.”

In a recent statement, signed by the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Uko Udom, the state government said it was compelled to respond in the “overriding public interest,” despite a pending court case instituted by the same group.

The government stated that contrary to claims circulating in the media, the historic case of Ntiaro and Ikpak vs. Ibok Etok Akpan and Edoho Ekid, decided by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in 1918, did not vest ownership of Stubbs Creek land in any ethnic group or community.

“The final judgement merely dismissed the claims before the court and granted title to no party whatsoever”, the government stated, adding that “any assertion to the contrary is false, misleading and a distortion of the judicial record.”

According to the statement, the land was lawfully reserved by the colonial government under Forest Reserve Order No. 45 of 1930, later amended in 1941, 1955 and 1962, with “the principal rights of the land forfeited to the Government upon the change of status.”

It said the area has since been administered under applicable laws by the Akwa Ibom State Government, which “has at all times acted within its lawful authority in the management and allocation of land in the area for legitimate public and economic purposes.”

Citing the 1999 Constitution and the Land Use Act, the government stated that all land in the state is vested in the governor to be held in trust for the common benefit of Nigerians, noting that claims of absolute ancestral ownership are subject to existing laws.

The government “categorically denies allegations of fraud or misrepresentation” regarding Stubbs Creek or investments there and warned it would take “appropriate legal steps” against any individual or group publishing false or defamatory material capable of undermining public confidence or discouraging investment

The statement also assured the federal government of “full access and Right of Way” for the proposed Coastal Highway through any part of the state.

The government statement followed an earlier report in which the Ekid People’s Union accused Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State of making comments that allegedly linked the community to terrorism, while he was defending the Coastal Highway project passing through the Stubbs Creek.

Ekid People’s Union maintained that the people of Ekid are the original owners of the land known as Stubbs Creek Forest Reserve, arguing that their ancestral ownership predates colonial rule.

The group cited historical occupation, customary ownership and a 1918 Privy Council case, which it claimed affirmed Ekid rights over the territory.

The union also accused the Akwa Ibom State Government of misrepresenting history to justify taking over the land for commercial interests and the proposed Coastal Highway, an allegation the state government has denied.

The group rejected any suggestion linking the Ekid people to criminality or terrorism, insisting they were peaceful citizens defending their ancestral land through lawful and civic means.