Politics
RSG To Site RSU Faculty In Etche
The people of Etche Local Government Area who have been clamouring for the siting of a higher institution in the area now have reason to smile as the Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, has assured that the state government would take steps to ensure siting of one of the faculties of the state university in Etche before the expiration of his second tenure in 2023.
Governor Wike made the promise last Friday when a delegation of the Etche-America Foundation paid him a courtesy visit in Government House Port Harcourt.
The Governor expressed confidence that siting a faculty of the university would accelerate development in the area .
“ I will talk with the leadership of the state university to find a faculty that can be moved to Etche. You can go home and be assured that before I leave office, one of the faculties will move to Etche”, Wike told the delegation.
He noted that Etche-America Foundation (EAF) had shown strong passion for the development of Etche and urged other ethnic groups to emulate the foundation instead of concentrating all their interest on politics.
Leader of the delegation and chairman of the foundation, Dr Richard Nwankwoala, had listed the noble contributions of the association and presented a design of the Skills Acquisition Centre it intends to develop.
Also in Brick House last week, the governors and leaders of the South-South geopolitical zone rose from a meeting last Tuesday and demanded for an unreserved apology from the Presidency for aborting a crucial stakeholders meeting scheduled to hold in Government House Port Harcourt.
The Chairman, South-South Governors Forum and Governor of Delta State, Ifeanyi Okowa, who presided over the session said the botched meeting was at the instance of the Presidency to deliberate on burning issues affecting the region and the aftermath of the EndSARS protest.
Okowa who expressed disappointment that such important meeting was cancalled by the presidency after adjusting the meeting twice.
Another major event in Government House within the period under review was the solidarity visit by the Coalition of Nothern Groups ( CNG) to Governor Wike.
According to CGN spokesperson , Abdul-Azees Suleiman, the group was in the state to express gratitude to the Rivers State Governor for his leadership, sacrifice, statesmanship and unwavering commitment deployed in protecting the Northern community from the violence and violation of their rights and dignity during the recent mayhem in Oyigbo.
The group also commended Governor Wike for the promptness in redeeming the pledge of N200 million to the families of security personnel killed during the mayhem.
In his response, Governor Wike stated that he had no regret for proscribing the Indigenous Peoples Of Biafra (IPOB), stressing that his action on the outlawed IPOB was due to his belief in the unity of Nigeria.
He said the EndSARS protest was peaceful in the state until IPOB hijacked it, and killed six Army officers, four Police officers, and also burnt police stations and courts.
Also last week, the State Executive Council approved contract for the sixth flyover project in Port Harcourt.
Commissioner for Works, Eloka Tasie-Amadi disclosed this after the council’s meeting last Friday, adding that the contract which is expected to complete in twelve months is to be handled by Julius Berger .
Information and Communications Commissioner, Paulinus Nsirim, said the approval by the Council demonstrates a robust commitment to the urban renewal vision of Governor Wike’s administration and called on the citizens of the state to rally round the administration.
Governor Wike reacted to the last week defection of the Governor of Ebonyi State, Dave Umahi, and said it was Umahi’s quest to be presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC)that motivated his defection from PDP to APC and not because of Umahi’s allegation that injustice meted to South- East by PDP prompted detection.
Wike noted that while Umahi has a right to move to the APC, but for him to attempt to blackmail the PDP and paint it in a bad light was mischievous and unacceptable.
“ For the first time before PDP left office, they (South East) have never had Chief of Army Staff. They have had Senate Presidents. They have had National Chairman of the party, they have had Secretary to the Government of the Federation. They have had Minister of Finance.
“ Now tell me what APC has given to the people of South East since 2015, minister of Labour, minister of Science and Technology and minister of Foreign Affairs”, he said and advised Umahi not to allow his Presidential ambition destroy South East zone politically.
Also last week, the Rivers State Chief Executive delivered a keynote address at the Third Annual Nigerian Criminal Law Review Conference organised by the Rule of Law Development Foundation in Abuja held last Monday.
The Governor kicked against the Executive Order 10 of the Federal Government which permits deduction of funds from each state account to finance the judiciary.
He said it was politically motivated and geared towards the 2023 general election.
By: Chris Oluo
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The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, has warned that anyone who threatens, intimidates or attacks the Commission’s ad-hoc staff, National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members or permanent personnel during the 2027 General Election will face the full weight of the law.
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.
Five governorship candidates in Rivers State have signed the Rivers 2027 Citizens’ Charter of Demands, indicating their willingness to prioritise the people’s expectations if elected in 2027.
The candidates signed the document at the seventh edition of The Rivers We Want Town Hall Series, held under the theme, “Rivers 2027: The People’s Agenda”, in Port Harcourt, recently.
The candidates that signed the charter included Dr Gabriel Pidomson of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Barr Ivy West of the African Action Congress (AAC), Rev. Minaibim Harry of the National Rescue Movement (NRM), Prof. Ben John of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and Chief Nature Kieghe of the People’s Redemption Party (PRP).
The charter, which was presented by Dr. Frank Nelson and the Rivers State Chairman of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Comrade Samuel Ogan, outlines citizens’ demands in employment generation, education, healthcare, security, infrastructure, economic growth and environmental protection.
The candidates also presented their respective programmes for the state, highlighting job creation, improved education, accessible healthcare, security and infrastructure development as key areas of attention.
The organisers disclosed that governorship candidates who could not attend the event would also be given the opportunity to review and sign the charter.
About 170 participants attended the dialogue organised by the Rivers Peace Initiative in partnership with Super 93.3 FM, in collaboration with the Centre for Peace and Security Studies, University of Port Harcourt, and the Trade Union Congress, Rivers State Council.
The organisers said the initiative was aimed at keeping the demands of Rivers people at the centre of the 2027 electoral process, adding that elected leaders would be expected to account for the commitments they made to the electorate.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) in Rivers State, Mr Sunny Dada, has called for improved governance, accountability and effective leadership in the state ahead of the 2027 governorship election.
Mr Dada made the call while speaking at the seventh edition of The Rivers We Want Town hall Series, held under the theme, “Rivers 2027: The People’s Agenda”, in Port Harcourt.
He identified some of the major challenges confronting Rivers State, particularly in governance, economic development and security, and stressed the need for political leaders to address issues affecting the welfare of the people.
Also speaking, the Convener of the Rivers Peace Initiative, Mr Obinna Ebogidi, said the 2027 governorship election should go beyond political competition and focus on the needs and expectations of Rivers people.
Mr Ebogidi maintained that the electorate deserved a governance process that would place their interests above partisan considerations and ensure that political promises translated into tangible development.
By: King Onunwor
The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in next year’s election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to investigate and prosecute officials allegedly involved in manipulating the preliminary voters’ register through the introduction of artificial intelligence-generated photographs and other questionable entries ahead of the 2027 general elections.
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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