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Council Poll’ll Hold As Scheduled In Rivers, Fubara Assures …It’ll Be Best Ever Conducted Election 

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Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has assured that the scheduled Local Government Election will be conducted on the 5th October, 2024 because there is no encumbrance known to law to stop the process.

The Governor, therefore, urged political parties and candidates contesting for various positions

in the election and the electorate to be enthusiastic as they prepare to vote their preferred candidates that will become the new political leaders at the council level.

Governor Fubara gave the assurance shortly after an inspection tour round some sections of the 12.5km N225.1billion Trans-Kalabari Road project, yesterday.

The project is under construction, beginning from the Nkpor-Aker Road Roundabout in Rumuolumeni community in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, and is connecting Bakana community by over-bridge across the seas and other communities in Kalabari land.

Commenting on the Trans-Kalabari Road project, Governor Fubara: “We are in Rumuolumeni, which is the starting point of the Trans-Kalabari Road. If you remember when we came to flag off this project, it is a project that will connect the Tombia people to the city.

 

“So, we just came for inspection to see the progress of the job. I can say I am not too impressed, but considering the terrain, it is not a normal strong land where you just go clean the earth and just lay your asphalt.

 

“But I have told them that I need more speed because this project is very important project for me. As a matter of fact, I see it as one of my legacy projects. It is important that I achieve it before we complete our tenure,” he added.

 

Governor Fubara also visited the complex of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) where he interacted with the Chairman of the Commission, Justice Adolphus Enebeli and other principal staff.

 

The Governor said: “Our election will hold on the 5th of October, 2024. I’m aware that RSIEC told me that they already had an order mandating them to conduct the election on the 5th October, 2024, and the security agencies to support them.

 

“So, I think with that order, the election will hold. I might not be a lawyer but I know there is something they call first-in-hand, and since they have the first-in- hand, we will give them all the necessary support for that election to be conducted. And it will be one of the best elections ever conducted free and fair in this State.”

 

Addressing RSIEC staff, Governor Fubara said he has been inundated with rumours of plans by some misguided fellows to disrupt activities at the commission, and warned such persons to retrace their steps.

 

Governor Fubara stated: “What is important to me is the interest of Rivers State, that it has to be alive. It doesn’t belong to anybody. I don’t care who nominated you but do the right thing, that is what is important to me, because if we make a mistake today, it is going to live with us forever.

 

“Nobody has a right to come here. This is Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission. It belongs to Rivers State, and I am the Governor. So, if their is anything, let me know, I will come here myself.”

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Atiku Quits PDP, Says Decision Heartbreaking

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Former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar has resigned from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Alhaji Abubakar disclosed his intention to leave the opposition party in a letter addressed to the PDP ward chairman in Jada, Jada Local Government Area (LGA) of Adamawa state.
Alhaji Abubakar described his departure from the PDP as “heartbreaking”, saying the party has strayed from the ideals on which it was founded.
“I would like to take this opportunity to express my profound gratitude for the opportunities I have been given by the Party,” Alhaji Abubakar said.
“Serving two full terms as Vice President of Nigeria and being a presidential candidate twice has been one of the most significant chapters of my life.
“As a founding father of this esteemed Party, it is indeed heartbreaking for me to make this decision.
“However, I find it necessary to part ways due to the current trajectory the Party has taken, which I believe diverges from the foundational principles we stood for.
“It is with a heavy heart that I resign, recognising the irreconcilable differences that have emerged.
“I wish the Party and its leadership all the best in the future”, he added.
Alhaji Abubakar’s resignation from the PDP comes days after the opposition coalition politicians adopted the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as their political platform for the 2027 elections.
Among the coalition leaders are Rotimi Amaechi, a former Transportation Minister; Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 election; Nasir el-Rufai, former Kaduna State Governor; and John Oyegun, former Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Others include Sule Lamido, former Governor of Jigawa State; Uche Secondus, former PDP National Chairman; Babangida Aliyu, former Governor of Niger State; Sam Egwu, former governor of Ebonyi State; Aminu Tambuwal, former Governor of Sokoto State; and Liyel Imoke, former Governor of Cross River State, among others.

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2027: Group Vows To Prevail On Diri To Dump PDP For APC

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A group, ‘Concerned Bayelsa Stakeholders Forum (CBSF),’ has intensified calls on the State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, to leave the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The CBSF which comprises members of various political parties, non-partisan citizens and residents of the state also has non-indigenes and people from different religious organisations as members.
Speaking at a world press conference held in Yenagoa, the State capital on Tuesday, the group, through its convener who doubles as Technical Adviser to the Governor on Media/Public Affairs, Snr. Comrade Wisdom Ikuli, passed a confidence vote on Governor Diri, commending his selfless service to the State and the Ijaw nation.
Mr Ikuli averred that there was need for the state to align with the federal government. Citing the benefits of having a government at the centre that can attract development to the state, he noted that the PDP at the national level  had been long enmeshed in crisis.
“The current leadership of the PDP under whose platform the governor is leading the state has been hijacked by few individuals. This poses threats to the interest of the state.
“Presently, our state is standing alone as the only PDP state in the whole of the South South region. The above may not be too much an issue. The greatest challenge here is the hijack of the PDP by few individuals and the very dangerous traps that they have set for Bayelsa in 2027, particularly those that intend to fly the flag of PDP.
“There are concluded arrangements to hide under the excuse of crisis and countless court cases in PDP at different levels to work to nullify the nomination of all candidates that will emerge under the party platform. So, we can imagine the pains, agony and disarray that the state shall experience if the state remains in PDP.
“The ongoing Coalition is also an embodiment of people who conspired to deny Bayelsa State and indeed the entire Ijaw Nation, a second term at the Presidency in 2015. Thus, the coalition can never be an option.
“ It is based on the above that we unanimously appeal to the Governor to defect to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to show southern solidarity with other southern governors who are with Mr. President”, the group said.
“But as we move forward, one of the greatest priorities in the alliance with the centre should be the actualisation of the Agge Seaport that will help to boost the state economy and also bring about unimaginable transformation and prosperity.  In the next few days we shall begin a daily rally on the streets of Yenagoa to prevail on His Excellency to do the needful.
“Finally, His Excellency should ignore all opposing voices against his defection. We say this because they are all fighting to protect their individual political interest without prioritising that of the state and the entire Ijaw nation.
“ We wish to reassure His Excellency that vast majority of Bayelsans are with him and together, we shall move forward”, the CBSF added.
The group thanked President Bola Tinubu for appointing Ijaw sons and daughters into key positions, including Senator Heineken Lokpobiri as Minister of State for Petroleum Resources; Chief Samuel Ogbuku as Managing Director of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC); Chief Ebitimi Amgbare as Managing Director, Niger Delta Basin Development Authority (NDBDA), amongst others.
Meanwhile, the CBSF has also charged Governor Diri to prioritize the actualization of the Agge Deep Seaport project, saying it will boost the economy of the state and bring about transformation and prosperity, noting, however, that plans have reached advanced stages for the CBSF to hit the streets of Yenagoa with rallies with a view to prevailing on the governor to defect to the APC.

Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa

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Nasarawa Speaker Advocates Conducive Executive/Legislature Relations 

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The Speaker of the Nasarawa State House of Assembly, Danladi Jatau, has called for a good working relationship between the executive and legislative arms of the State for development to thrive at the grassroots level.
The Speaker made the call on Wednesday while hosting councillors from the 13 local government areas of the State in his residence in Lafia, the state capital.
Rt Hon. Jatau said that a good working relationship among the arms of government at the council level was key to development, hence, the need for his call in that direction.
He appreciated the councillors for condoling with him over the death of his younger sister, Hajaratu Jatau, and prayed to God to bless them abundantly.
“I started as a councillor, and today I am the Speaker. There is the need for a good working relationship between you and the elected chairmen for development to thrive at the grassroots. It is in view of this that I want to call on you to give your elected chairmen all the necessary and needed support to succeed. For development to thrive at the grassroots, you must embrace one another and see yourselves as team players,” the Speaker said.
Rt Hon. Jatau also called on them to coexist peacefully among themselves and continue to drum up support for Governor Abdullahi Sule’s administration to succeed.
Besides, he assured them that the state government would soon organise training for them to deliver effective service.
Rt Hon. Jatau also assured them that the state government would pay them their furniture allowance, as well as other benefits, to enhance their legislative work.
Earlier, the chairman of the Nasarawa State Councillors Forum, Mohammed Madaki, who is the Leader of Lafia LGA Legislative Assembly, said that the visit was to identify with the Speaker over the death of his sister.
The leader of the delegation urged the Speaker to see the death of his sister as an act of God and bear the irreplaceable loss.
Mr Madaki assured the Speaker of their loyalty and support at all times.
The chairman, however, appealed to the Speaker to intervene in the training of the councillors as well as the payment of their furniture allowance.
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