Politics
Wike Assures Late Gberegbe’s Family Of Continued Support
The Governor of Rivers State, Chief Nyesom Wike, has assured the family of Late Dr Ferry Gberegbe of continued support of the State government.
Governor Wike gave the assurance, Saturday, during the funeral service in honour of Late Gberegbe at Botem Town in Khana Local Government Area of the State.
Recall that the Late Ferry Gberegbe was the PDP governorship election Agent for Khana Local Government Area who was allegedly murdered during the 2019 governorship Election by operatives of the F-SARS.
The Governor charged Nigerians not to allow anti- democratic forces hijack the democratic process and stressed that the spirit of Late Gberegbe has laid the foundation for the defence of democracy.
He said: “This young man died for our own sake. For the wife and the family, while I remain the Governor, I will continue to support you and the children.
“Even though we have taken care of the education of the children by what we have done, we will provide employment for the wife to sustain the family”.
The weekly State Executive Council meeting held last Wednesday and it was presided over by the State Governor. At the meeting, some crucial decisions were taken.
Honourable Commissioner for Information and Communications, Paulinus Nsirim who briefed Government House Correspondents after the meeting, said the state government took concrete steps to check illegal proliferation of sub-standard private schools in the state with the consolidation of two extant laws.
The Commissioner said , at the meeting, the council approved the amendment of the Education Law Cap 47, laws of Rivers State of Nigeria (1999) and the Rivers State Education Private Schools law Cap 48 laws of Rivers State of Nigeria (1999) under one legislation.
He explained that council took the decision to check the present situation of in discriminate proliferation of private schools in the state without compliance with basic requirements with respect to standard, curriculum, content and facilities.
Other decisions taken at the meeting included the official dissolution of the Petroleum Monitoring Taskforce in the state, and to warn motorists against indiscriminate parking of vehicles in front of Port Harcourt Mall.
Also last week, Governor Wike joined other prominent Nigerians to celebrate the former Executive Secretary of Nigerian Christian Pilgrims Commission, Dr John Kennedy Opara as he celebrated his 50th birthday
The Governor was represented by his Chief of Staff, Engr Emeka Woke at the event which took place at St Mary’s Catholic Parish, Umuopara Obetiti Nguru, Aboh Mbaise Local Government Area of Imo State.
Wike described the celebrant as a dependable person and a man of character.
Impact of last week Supreme Court victory of the Sokoto State Governor, Rt Hon Aminu Tambuwal was felt in Brick House . The Rivers State Chief Executive, described the victory as a confirmation of the overwhelming support given to Governor Tambuwal by the people of Sokoto State.
Wike commended the Supreme Court for allowing the will of the people to prevail.
He congratulated the Sokoto State Governor and enjoined him to work for the unity and growth of the state.
Within the week under review, Governor Wike inspected the ongoing construction of hostels and additional classrooms at the Real Madrid Academy and expressed satisfaction with the quality of work.
He disclosed that his administration has put in place an organisation that would independently run the institution to achieve targeted result.
Also last week, Governor Wike, his wife, Justice Eberechi Suzzette Nyesom-Wike, and other top Government officials attended the ‘ Five Nights of Glory’ of Salvation Ministries in Port Harcourt from the opening ceremony last Monday to the closing ceremony on Friday.
Chris Oluoh
Prof. Amupitan gave the warning on Saturday, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, during the South-South Zonal Readiness Assessment and Interactive Staff Engagement organised ahead of the 2027 general elections.
He said insecurity remained a potential challenge to the electoral process but stressed that the Commission would not allow threats against its personnel to undermine its constitutional responsibilities.
“Insecurity may pose a challenge, but our collective constitutional resolve is far stronger. Let me again send a clear message from Port Harcourt: anyone who attempts to threaten, intimidate, or harm our ad-hoc staff, NYSC members, or permanent personnel will be brought to justice under the full weight of the law,” he said.
The INEC Chairman, who was accompanied by National Commissioners, directors and technical aides, disclosed that the South-South engagement was the fifth in a series of zonal assessments, following similar exercises in the South-West, North-West, South-East and North-East.
He explained that his physical presence across the geopolitical zones reflected the Commission’s field-first approach, emphasising that electoral integrity must be established through effective operations at the grassroots.
According to him, the assessment would cover operational preparedness across the 123 Local Government Areas in the six South-South states.
On election security, Prof. Amupitan said INEC had moved away from reactive security arrangements traditionally activated around election day to a proactive, intelligence-driven framework known as the “ICCES Tentacle”.
He explained that the framework was designed to extend inter-agency security coordination from national and state headquarters to local government areas and Registration Area Centres, including remote communities.
He identified three critical pillars of the framework as mapping and mitigating security threats, protecting electoral personnel and infrastructure, and guaranteeing safe access to polling units.
The INEC boss said the security arrangement would provide comprehensive protection for electoral personnel, technological infrastructure, including Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices and server infrastructure, as well as voters.
He added that the framework was intended to ensure that every polling unit, irrespective of its geographical location or history of security challenges, remained safe and accessible for the exercise of democratic rights.
Prof. Amupitan disclosed that the South-South security architecture comprised approximately 60 major operational formations, headquarters and state commands operating under the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES).
The network, he said, brings together military, naval, air, police and other security and intelligence agencies across the six states.
“Together, this integrated multi-agency network represents the operational backbone that guarantees intelligence-led protection across every riverine creek, coastal axis, and land-based polling unit in the Niger Delta,” he stated.
Providing an overview of the region’s electoral significance, the INEC Chairman said the South-South had the fourth-largest voting bloc in the country, with 15,823,550 registered voters, representing 15.30 per cent of the national register.
Rivers State alone, he said, accounts for 3,736,434 registered voters spread across the 23 local government areas.
Alhaji Abubakar made the demand following revelations that some INEC registration officers allegedly abused their access to the voter registration system to introduce irregular records into the database.
In a statement issued by his Director of Strategic Communications, Mr Phrank Shaibu, the former vice-president described the development as a serious breach of the Commission’s internal safeguards and raised concerns about the integrity of the electoral process.
He urged INEC to identify the officials implicated in the alleged misconduct and explain what disciplinary or legal measures had been taken against them.
Alhaji Abubakar also called for an independent forensic audit of the preliminary voters’ register to establish the scale of the alleged manipulation, identify affected records and determine how the questionable entries were introduced into the system.
He further insisted that INEC preserve all relevant voter records, image files, system access logs and electronic audit trails to prevent the destruction or alteration of evidence before an independent examination could be conducted.
The former vice-president also demanded that the Commission disclose the identities of companies contracted to produce sensitive election materials ahead of the 2027 polls, arguing that transparency was essential to building public confidence in the electoral process.
INEC’s Director of Information and Communication Technology, Dr Lawrence Bayode, had earlier disclosed during a television interview that some registration officers across the country allegedly used their official login credentials to introduce irregularities into the voters’ database.
Dr Bayode explained that the Commission’s Automated Biometric Identification System helped identify questionable records and establish how some irregularities entered the system.
He, however, clarified that not all suspicious photographs were AI-generated, as some resulted from poor registration procedures.
The development followed public concerns over suspected AI-generated photographs, alleged duplicate entries and other inconsistencies discovered in the preliminary voters’ register published online on October 26, 2026.
INEC has maintained that the published document is a preliminary register and that it is reviewing questionable records ahead of the certification of the final Register of Voters.
The controversy has intensified calls for greater transparency and accountability in the management of the voters’ register as preparations gather momentum for the 2027 general elections.
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