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Omehia, Sekibo, No Threat To PDP …As Catholic Church Backs Amaechi –Wike
Contrary to speculations about the calibre of personalities in the Rivers State gubernatorial race, the Director-General of Amaechi’s campaign organisation, says the entry of Sir Celestine Omehia and Dr Abiye Sekibo into the governorship race is not a threat to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Speaking at a press briefing to flag-off Governor Amaechi re-election campaign at the weekend in Port Harcourt, Chief Wike noted that going by the political history of Rivers State, the people never align themselves with a minority party.
Chief Wike was quick to ask: Are the duo of Sir Celestine Omehia and Dr Abiye Sekibo of All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) and Action Congress of Nigeria (CAN) moving forward or backward? He said that the question had become necessary because the two political big wigs were members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) before now, but deflected to APGA and ACN respectively.
He contended that APGA or ACN could not win councillorship seats in any of the 23 local government areas of the state, let alone governorship seat.
His words, “As far as I am concerned, Sir Celestine Omehia who had subjected PDP to unnecessary legal tussle can never come back to the same party”.
Chief Wike further argued that going by the political history of Nigeria, Rivers State had never aligned with a minority party, insisting that the people of Rivers State would continue to move forward, not backwards.
He maintained that he would go personally to Sir Celestine Omehia in his house and challenge him to rescind his decision for joining APGA.
Any serious party, he said, should start going to the field to battle with the PDP for the soul of the oil rich Rivers State, rather than practising arm chair politics of bitterness and acrimony.
Meanwhile, Catholic Bishop of Port Harcourt Diocese, Most Rev Camillus Archibong Etukudo, has pledged total support for Governor Chibuike Amaechi’s second term bid.
Speaking at a special campaign dedication thanksgiving service at the Corpus Christi Cathedral, Port Harcourt organised by the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of the party’s campaign in Port Harcourt, yesterday, Rt Rev Etukudo said the ambition had been divinely ordained.
He said, “we have dedicated the whole campaign to God because if God says yes, nobody can say no”, saying that the church was solidly behind the governor and his administration.
The Catholic Bishop thanked God for His mercies and commended those who attended the church service.
In another development, Governor Chibuike Amaechi has urged his supporters and party faithfuls to rededicate themselves to God, while urging them not to be blinded by the victory and position they occupy.
He observed that though it was easy for man to be blinded by his present comfort and power, it would be foolish to forget the mercies of God at all times.
The governor used the forum to recall the travails he went through sequel to his assumption of office in 2007, noting that the experience had always strengthened his faith in God, hence, the coinage of the slogan “I believe”
According to him, the ‘I believe” slogan represents the unwavering faith he had and the anchor on which his administration was tied upon.
The governor said that his second tenure if given the chance would aim at consolidating on the success recorded in his first term especially in the area of employment generation and security.
Governor Amaechi was emphatic that without creating employment, it would be futile to maintain security because both were dependant on each other.
He therefore urged the church and the citizenry to pray for the administration and ensure they vote and protect their votes during the upcoming elections.
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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