Politics
Opposition In Rivers, On Terminal Decline – Hon. Herbert-Miller
Hon. Herbert-Miller
Honourable
Damiete Herbert-Miller is the Rivers State Commissioner for Social Welfare and Rehabilitation. Speaking with Opaka Dokubo in his office in Port Harcourt, he bared his mind on sundry issues in the polity including the withheld State Constituency results of DELGA and the ongoing restructuring effort of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the National level. Excerpts:
How do the people of Degema Local Govt. Area feel about the withholding of their house of Assembly Constituency Result by INEC?
Terribly disappointed, Degema people are terribly disappointed in INEC and the reason is obvious. The election was very peaceful, collations were made and declaration also made by one Mrs Ihuoma Ibekwe, I won’t forget her name, as the AEO, Degema. I do not know where it is written that after declaration the REC in the State will choose to withhold or confirm the declaration.
I think that the law is very clear in that anyone who has any issues with the declaration should head to the tribunal. So, Degema people are indeed disappoint in INEC on their handling of this matter.
Even though the candidate has gone to Court, are the people of Degema contemplating any other means of expressing their grievances?
Of course you know that the court is where anyone not satisfied with any process heads to. As it stands, any other measure outside going to the court to seek redress could amount to taking the law into your hands and Degema people know this too well as law abiding people. No Degema person would want this injustice redressed outside the ambit of the law. I think the candidate has done the most appropriate thing.
However, what is most surprising is that even as the candidate has taken INEC to court to release his certificate of return, APC and their candidate have also gone to court asking the court to prevail on INEC not to uphold his (the candidate of the PDP) victory but to issue the certificate of return instead. Logically, the APC and their candidate have also acknowledged that the candidate of the PDP, Hon. Doctor Farah Dagogo won the election.
Our contention is that INEC should issue Hon. Farah Dagogo his certificate of return and let the APC proceed to the tribunal to argue their case.
How does this absence of a representative in the State House of Assembly affect your people?
How can we go on without a representative? It is affecting us very badly because beyond the issue of representation, if anyone needs a letter of recommendation, that is the simplest service any representative renders to his constituents. As it stands now, the people of Degema Local Government Area have no one to render them that service.
Secondly, should anyone have something to bring to the notice of the government like communal issues, who will speak for the people? I am a commissioner but I can’t speak because my service area is the entire Rivers State. But the member representing the constituency is responsible to the constituency primarily because he was elected to do just that. So, it is an understatement to say that the absence of a representative for the people of Degema Local Government Area is affecting the people very badly.
How would you assess the performance of the Governor so far?
Sometime in February I went on tour to out stations under my ministry and of course you know that we’re the ones in charge of the deaf, the dumb and the blind. At the end of that tour I said something. I said that when I went to the Special School, the deaf have heard, the blind have seen and even the dumb have spoken that Governor Wike is working. It is as simple as that.
You don’t need to be told, go round Port Harcourt. Recall that on the 27th of May when the former governor was celebrating this birthday, he said that he would see where Governor Wike will get money to pay salaries, not to talk of money to do projects. Has he not been paying salaries? Is he not carrying out projects everywhere? Even Federal projects are not left out. Go and see what is happening to the Eleme Junction to Onne axis of the East/West Road. He has done it with Rivers’ money. Wike in short is a miracle worker.
How prepared is your Ministry to accommodate repentant cultists vis a vis the amnesty office established by the Governor?
This ministry actually has three rehabilitation centre. We have one at Iriebe where we accommodate the mentally challenged. We also have a rehabilitation centre at Borokiri where we have shut down at the moment for safety reasons. And then we have a modern, state-of-the-art rehabilitation camp at Okehi, so it’s not something we will have to task our heads on how to do.
Of course, you know that in this ministry, 90% of our staff are social workers and they are well equipped to handle rehabilitation cases. We’re fully prepared should we be required to shoulder that responsibility.
What is your task as a Ministry and How do you assess that task?
My ministry’s functions are spelt out and we operate within the law. Essentially, we provide social services to persons living with disability and to the needy generally. We take care of returnees and deportees. Beyond that we also take care of and rehabilitate repentant militants, rape victims, etc.
Recently we met with FIDA. Before FIDA we met with the Doctors Without Borders whose programme is centred on rape victims at the moment and we are partnering with them to set up a safe home for women and children who are affected.
At the moment we have the case of a little girl who was raped by her father and who eventually got pregnant and has a baby. We have just taken her and her baby in at the Children’s home, Borokiri.
It has to be understood that our ministry is a service ministry where you don’t see physical projects. The projects we carry out are mainly on human beings. That’s why many people fail to appreciate what we are doing. For instance, about two days ago I saw a youngman rolling on improvised means of mobility and I asked him to follow me. We got to the office and I handed him a wheel chair.
He could hardly contain himself with joy. If you go to the prison now, you will see a lot of juvenile inmates. They are our responsibility and where we accommodate them is the Remand Home.
If you go to our family Welfare unit, we handle more than 20 cases on a daily basis. We also take the responsibility of not only rehabilitating the mentally challenged but we also take the task of reuniting them with their families, sometimes outside the state, after a successful programme. Only a few months ago, we took somebody to Ogun State. At the moment we’re considering repatriating 10 young people to Cross River State to reunite with their families.
We need a lot of money to successfully run our programmes that includes giving assistance to the physically challenged as well we’re presently seeing one physically challenged through the University of Calabar. Of course government cannot carry this responsibility alone and that’s why we expect support and partnership from public spirited individuals and Corporate bodies.
Do you have confidence in the ongoing restructuring effort in the Peoples Democratic Party?
From 1998 when I joined the PDP until now, I have never lost confidence in the party. My confidence in the PDP can never be shaken. In a manner of speaking and at the risk of being misrepresented, I wish to say that it is after all blessing in disguise that the PDP allowed the APC to take poltical power at the federal level because today the emptiness of the APC has been exposed to the world.
Of course, Nigerians are wiser now and 2019 is as sure as the morning sun for the PDP to take back power in Nigeria. In terms of the economy, in what ways have they fared better? Everything they promised, has it not failed? Is the pump price of fuel now N40 as they said? Is the Naira now exchanging for one Naira to the US dollar? What is it they promised that they have delivered?
Of course, for as many as have left the PDP will come back because we will get stronger and stronger. Indeed, the results of the last elections in Rivers State is a testimony to the fact. In my particular village and ward, the leaders of the APC refused to show up during the elections because they know they were not on ground. Who will vote for them when all that they promised are collapsed? Their minister has nothing to lie about any more. They are on a terminal decline.
The Senate has confirmed Professor Joash Amupitan as the new Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission.
The Red Chamber confirmed Amupitan after a voice vote conducted by Senate President Godswill Akpabio and after undergoing screening and answering questions posed by the lawmakers.
Amupitan had earlier arrived at the National Assembly complex earlier, exchanged pleasantries with Senators.
He was accompanied to the chamber by the Governor of Kogi State, Ahmed Ododo, and other dignitaries.
At about 12:50 p.m., the nominee was ushered into the Senate chamber by the Presidential Adviser on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Senator Abubakar Lado, and was already seated ahead of the commencement of the exercise.
Amupitan was allowed into the hallowed chamber after the Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele (APC, Ekiti Central), moved that Order 12 be set aside to allow visitors into the chamber, and he was seconded by the Senate Minority Leader, Senator Abba Moro (PDP, Benue South).
Senate President Godswill Akpabio welcomed Amupitan, his family members, and well-wishers to the Red Chamber, commending them for their presence.
Before introducing himself to the Senators for the question and answer session to take off, Akpabio disclosed to his colleagues that the nominee had been cleared by the office of the National Security Adviser after vetting.
According to Akpabio, the office of the Department of State Services had also cleared him.
The Senate President also said that the Office of the Inspector-General of Police, having done a fingerprint search on him, cleared him and said that he had no criminal records with the police.
The screening exercise commenced at about 12:55 p.m. following Akpabio’s opening remarks, during which he outlined the procedures to be followed by the lawmakers in considering the nominee’s credentials.
The screening session focused on Amupitan’s vision for credible elections, his plans for institutional reforms within INEC, and measures to deepen the use of technology in Nigeria’s electoral process.
Following his confirmation by the Senate, Amupitan will oversee preparations for upcoming off-cycle governorship elections and lay the groundwork for the 2027 general elections.
The Tide source earlier reported that President Bola Tinubu had nominated Amupitan, a Professor of Law from the University of Jos, to succeed Prof. Mahmood Yakubu.
The President’s letter conveying Amupitan’s nomination was read on the floor of the Senate by Akpabio during plenary on Tuesday.
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria and former Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Jos, Amupitan, is widely regarded for his expertise in constitutional and international law.
He said, although he was deeply concerned about some governors and lawmakers defecting to the APC, the party was working quietly behind the scenes to stabilise its ranks and rebuild public trust.
“If you ask me whether I’m concerned about our governors leaving for APC, I am more than concerned. But leadership is a burden. As a leader of a group of equal status, I cannot determine the decisions or inactions of my colleagues, but certainly, a lot of work is being done behind the scenes,” he said.
The Bauchi governor accused the APC-led federal government of using coercive tactics to weaken the opposition, saying the ruling party was bent on turning Nigeria into a one-party state.
“You know the style of leadership of the APC-led federal government in trying to make this country a one-party state. They have the power of coercion; they have the power of everything,” he said.
Governor Mohammed, however, maintained that the defections would not derail the PDP’s resurgence, stressing that most Nigerians at the grassroots remained loyal to the party.
“Even those who left are not finding it easier because most of the people at the grassroots level are PDP and are not happy with the defections. Sometimes it is done because of permutations and calculations. But I assure you I am not going anywhere. I am in PDP, and my state has no element of division,” he explained.
Governor Mohammed revealed that more defections could occur, including from lawmakers in his state, but insisted the PDP structure in Bauchi remained solid.
“Even today, I saw in the news that one of my senators is going. They are being controlled, they are being bought, but certainly, the state is PDP. Nigerians want change, and they believe they can get it through the PDP,” he stated.
The governor emphasised that the PDP had laid the foundation for most of Nigeria’s measurable achievements under successive governments and that the party remained the only credible platform capable of providing national renewal.
“Most of the measurable achievements by the federal government were done by PDP regimes. By the grace of God, if we stand firm, we will deliver. Some of us who won as governors were not even considered capable, and here we are. That’s what will play out in 2027,” he said.
Addressing concerns over potential threats to the forthcoming convention, the PDP stalwart said the party leadership was working to resolve internal disputes and litigations aimed at destabilising preparations.
“I cannot speak for the National Working Committee, but as a leader within the party, I know they are doing their best to address issues of litigations. Many are artificially created to undermine us, but we don’t have any faction in the PDP,” he said.
He noted that while some individuals had approached the courts to stop the party’s convention, the PDP remained more organised than most opposition parties.
“Comparatively, most of the other parties are not better off than us. We are better off than most opposition parties. We are the only ones intact; with one National Secretary, one National Chairman, and one Publicity Secretary. This meeting gives hope that at the end of the day, we will deliver,” he said.
On reports of Governor Peter Mbah’s rumoured defection from the PDP, Governor Mohammed said Governor Mbah had not formally declared any intention to leave and remained a respected colleague.
“Actually, Governor Mbah has not told us his position. It is a personal decision. We cannot remove his picture before he leaves. When he leaves, we will replace him with another person. Up till now, he has not told me he’s leaving,” he said.
He also dismissed speculation surrounding Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State, describing him as a loyal member of the PDP who had endured significant challenges in office.
“He has not left the party; he is still PDP. Everybody has his own style. He is a humble young man who has gone through so much and has done well to accommodate all the problems and challenges he found himself in,” he said.
Commenting on speculations about a possible 2027 presidential project involving former President Goodluck Jonathan, the Bauchi governor said the PDP remained open to prominent figures who wished to return or associate with the party.
“People are still interested in this party, and these big names being associated with us make us happy. As governors, we have resolved to put personal interests aside. We are united and will come up with leadership that will be the best choice for Nigerians to put in Aso Rock, inshallah,” he stated.
Governor Mohammed reaffirmed his commitment to the PDP and expressed optimism that new, visionary leaders would emerge from the party in 2027 to defeat what he called the APC’s ‘deceptive’ style of politics.
“If somebody goes, just like a bird, they go, they come. Please, don’t blame anybody at the governors’ level; we are doing our best, but it is beyond our control,” he said.
In a statement following his recent visit to the United States and Rome, Mr Obi said he used the pilgrimage as an opportunity to seek divine intervention for Nigeria’s unity, peace, and responsible leadership.
He stated that after addressing members of the Friendship Club in the US and speaking at the 1st Ubuntu African Youth Assembly in Washington, he proceeded to Rome to join his wife for a spiritual retreat.
“With hearts full of gratitude, we thanked God that, despite our differences and the many challenges faced over 65 years of independence, He has kept us together as one nation,” Mr Obi said.
During the pilgrimage, the couple visited the four major Papal Basilicas in Rome — St. Mary Major, St. Paul Outside the Walls, St. John Lateran, and St. Peter’s Basilica — where they met with other Nigerian pilgrims.
“Along the way, we met many Nigerian pilgrims: men and women of faith whose faces shone with quiet hope. Together, we renewed our trust in God’s mercy and in the promise of a better Nigeria,” he added.
Reaffirming his faith in both divine providence and civic duty, Mr Obi maintained that prayer must be matched with personal and collective effort.
“Faith does not absolve us of responsibility; it calls us to action. We must each continue to do our part, with honesty, diligence, and love, for our nation’s healing and progress,” he said.
Mr Obi was accompanied by his wife, Margaret, during the pilgrimage, which also included an audience with His Holiness, Pope Leo XIV, at the Vatican City.
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