Politics
Rivers LGAs Are Autonomous – Hon Adiele
Mrs Okorite Carrie Adiele is the immediate past Caretaker Committee Chairman of Degema Local Government Area of Rivers State. In this interview with Opaka Dokubo, the former council boss shares her experience in office among sundry issues. Excerpts:
How would you describe your experience as chairperson for three months?
Fantastic! I had a good time with my people. I came down to earth with them. I saw them in their good selves and in their bad selves. I saw the political terrain of the local government area. The people, actually, had needed a governmental touch and in my own little way, I tried to give them the touch they had been yearning to get. I wish it was a little longer they would have had a reason to sing praises unto God.
What did you see as the most pressing need of the people?
I think they need healthcare facility, they need roads, they need water, they need electricity. These are the basic things that they had come demanding. To be honest, the people need adequate healthcare facility and I’m sure this was what His Excellency, Chief Nyesom Wike,Governor of Rivers State saw that made him to bring that cottage hospital to the area. Though it is still under construction, I know that by the time it is completed, it will be able to handle that basic problem of the people.
If given another opportunity, where will you concentrate your attention?
I would like to touch on the welfare of the youth. The youth really need attention. Secondly, the elderly ones really need some form of welfare packages if the economy was good enough, a monthly stipend of N5,000, N10,000 to the elderly would go a long way to help.
I really feel for them. Many times they come around and say they can do this, they can do that, they can farm, they can engage in one activity or the other. They are willing to do something but I could see age telling on them.
For the youths, yes they have all the energy but they really need orientation. Orientation in terms of having a skill or having some job to do as a source of livelihood. They need such orientation and the National Orientation Agency is trying.
The Orientation Officer there has ideas, he has wined and dined with them, he knew what the way forward for them is and I buy those his ideas.
If we could work on the basic things he had proposed to us, I can say that all these indulgences of our youths will be drastically reduced. He had a way to go with them but he didn’t have the where withall. If the government can come in, it will go a long way.
It has never been so good for women in Degema politically. what do you say?
It’s not been easy but in my own case, having been secretary of the council for eight months, the men were able to observe in me that women could also stand firm to take certain decisions, women can be trustworthy, they can keep up with the demands of administration. There are women out there who can even do much better but they have not had the opportunity to be there. That is why we praise His Excellency for giving women the opportunity. He open- handedly gave women the opportunity to come on board. He may have realised that women are wise, they could be knowledgeable and they can stand on their own administratively.
Take the example of our Deputy Governor, she has handled series of administrative jobs and found to be trustworthy in the past and now. She can be trusted at any level. There are women and there are women out there that can do it.
Women groups across the state have been calling on the governor to make himself available for election in 2019. Are DELGA women part of this?
Yes, DELGA Women are. In fact, women from all local government areas are. Women of Delga are even having a larger share of the number of women making the call. You know that our Deputy Governor is an indigene of Degema Local Government Area. We have come to realise that His Excellency has a special place in his heart for women. In decision making, women do well. He has confirmed that and that is why he has given us opportunity in strategic offices and we realise that it’s good we honour him, it’s good we say our kudos to him.
Be that as it may, we are still asking for more so that the percentage ratio can be increased in favour of women. He is quite good and he has given us the free hand to operate. We love him. He is a women-friendly governor and we want him over and over again. We cannot be tired of his type of governor.
Do you believe that the local government should be financially and administratively autonomous?
Autonomy is a principle. In this dispensation, the local government areas in Rivers State are invariably autonomous. Though His Excellency will tell you pay salaries, take care of security and all that, those are priority areas to him, but he has never imposed anything on anyone. He has left the local government administration to pure administrators to man the affairs of the local governments and there has not been any problems. So, I see the clamour for “freedom for Local Governments” as a mere principle.
If they say that the local government administration should be totally free, we are already experiencing that freedom in Rivers State. We are not being teleguided, we are not being controlled in any form. We are free, we know how to organise ourselves, we do our meetings, we take our decisions. Under the present administration in Rivers State, we experience a whole lot of freedom at the local government level.
Make a case for women involvement in politics in Nigeria
At the state level, I would wish more women to be in the State House of Assembly making the laws and policies. I would wish women to be at the helm of major parastatals in the state. Even at the federal level, I would wish women to be in the finance sector. This is because, of a truth, women have a certain level of reservation. They have their husbands to protect, they have their children to protect, they have their homes to protect and they have their world to protect.
As much as possible, there is a certain level of sanity in a woman’s life. The fear of embezzlement is more in women than in men. That’s the reality of it. Even at the family level, though you have the man, the family is invariably run by the woman. The man may be bringing the money, yes, but if you look at the nitty-gritty of family life, women are at the helm of affairs. I would wish judges, to be more of women, House of Assembly members to be more of women, etc and you will see our society grow. Let the percentage ratio between men and women be more in favour of women in politics and governance and the society will be better for it.
In your opinion, has the PDP, the ruling party in Rives State, done enough to win again in 2019 and the forthcoming local government elections?
Yes, the PDP has done enough. In Rivers State, they have done enough. In spite of the lean financial inflow into government coffers, inspite of the stiff opposition, in spite of the fact that PDP is not the party in government at the centre, if you take Rivers State as a case study, you will find out that PDP has more to offer to the people of Nigeria than any other party can do.
PDP is more realistic, it is more practical, it is more friendly, it is more humane; it has a broad spectrum. PDP is not the type of party that is conservative and becomes an embodiment of autocracy. PDP is a pure democratic party. It is a pleasure to identify with PDP anyday anytime in terms of behavioural pattern, in terms of manliness, in terms of courage. PDP is such a bold party that fears no odds.
I know PDP has done enough to win, even at the federal level.
Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday brushed aside the order of the Court of Appeal in Abuja which ordered him to stay proceedings in a suit that sought deregistration of the African Democratic Party (ADC), Accord Party and three others.
The Court of Appeal in a unanimous decision of a panel of three Justices had on May 22, 2026 directed the Federal High Court Judge not to proceed with the suit until an appeal pending before them and filed by Accord Party is resolved.
In a Certified True Copy Enrol Order of the Superior Court, Justices Mohammed Danjuma, Adebukola Banjoko and Oyejoju Oyewumi asked the lower Court Judge to stay proceedings until all issues on the appeal filed by the Accord Party were resolved
Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State had, through the Accord Party, applied to justice Lifu to join him as a defendant in the deregistration legal battle instituted by a group of former legislators.
The contention of the Osun State governor was that he had a stake in the Accord Party, being the platform he was seeking re-election in the August 15 gubernatorial poll in the state.
In his ruling, Justice Lifu on April 27 ruled against the Osun State governor, rejecting his request to be joined in the suit to defend his own position and interest.
Not satisfied with the Federal High Court decision, the Osun State governor, through his lawyer, Musibau Adetunbi (SAN), moved to the Court of Appeal in Abuja where he challenged the Justice Lifu decision to refuse to allow him join the suit.
After listening to the argument canvassed, especially that he has interest to protect as Accord Party gubernatorial candidate for Osun State governorship election, the three Justices of the Court of Appeal, unanimously directed Justice Lifu to allow them look into the grievances of the governor.
In specific terms, the Court of Appeal Justices directed Justice Lifu not to proceed further with the matter and fixed October 27 to determine the interlocutory appeal of the appellant.
However, when the certified enroll order and notice of appeal were served on Justice Peter Lifu by Mr Adetunbi (SAN), the judge rejected it on the ground that it was a ploy to arrest his judgment in the matter.
Although the judge had adjourned his judgment delivery in the matter indefinitely, he finally made a dramatic turn around on Monday and proceeded to deliver the judgment that has now proscribed the five political parties.
Actor turned politician, Mr Kenneth Okonkwo, has rejected the choice of former Rivers State Governor, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, as the running mate to Alhaji Atiku Abubakar in the 2027 presidential election on the platform of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
In a statement on Monday, Mallam Bolaji Abdulllahi, the National Publicity Secretary of the ADC, announced the party’s choice of Mr Amaechi.
However in a statement, Mr Okonkwo said that the choice of Mr Amaechi from the South South strengthens the continued marginalization of people from the South East.
According to the former spokesperson of the Labour Party, any arrangement that would not factor a person from the South East either as president or vice president in the party is anti-Igbo.
He contended that Chief Raph Nwosu, who founded the ADC in 2005 and willingly surrendered it’s leadership to Senator David Mark did not do so to entrench Igbo marginalization in the party.
The former actor said: “I heard from the social media that ADC has picked its vice presidential candidate from the South-South. If this is true, it is unfortunate, as this will continue the crude marginalisation of the South-East.
“This geo-political zone has neither produced a president or vice president since 1999. To deny the South-East the opportunity to produce the president or vice president in the ADC in 2027, will amount to perpetuating the marginalisation.
“The ADC was founded by Ralphs Nwosu from the South-East in 2005. He made the sacrifice to give up the party in 2025 for the coalition to usher in a better Nigeria. He couldn’t have made that sacrifice to marginalise his own people.
“I did not join the coalition to assist in marginalisation of my own people further. I am of the opinion that if we made a sacrifice to give up the national chairman and the president, it will amount to unpardonable injustice to deny us the vice president in 2027.
“I joined politics to fight for a better Nigeria where no region, geo-political zone, or person will be marginalised.
“The only favour I asked Atiku Abubakar, who openly declared that he is the pathway to the presidency of the South-East, is to show it by choosing someone from the South-East to be his vice.
“If it is confirmed that he has chosen a candidate from the South-South, I wish him well. I am not favourably disposed to campaigning for any presidential ticket that does not have a person of South-East origin as president or vice in 2027”
The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, on Monday said that the numerous projects being executed by President Bola Tinubu across the states in the southeast will give him upper hand over other presidential candidates during next year’s general elections.
Prof. Yilwatda stated this at the Abakaliki Township Stadium during a mega rally organized by the Ebonyi State government and Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, during which President Tinubu and other APC candidates for the 2027 general elections were adopted.
According to the APC National Chairman, no President had done for the southeast region what President Tinubu has done for them and expressed the confidence that the president would not only win in Ebonyi State but in the entire South East.
Prof. Yilwatda also used the occasion to address growing insinuations in some quarters that Ebonyi State had been conceded to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Dismissing the claim, Prof. Yilwatda said the state would not allow the PDP to win any position in the forthcoming general election.
“We will return President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Francis Nwifuru as Governor of Ebonyi State in 2027.
“We want to return all APC senators, members of the House of Representatives and House of Assembly candidates in 2027.
“Nobody has conceded Ebonyi to the PDP. Therefore, there is no vacancy in Ebonyi State. Ebonyi PDP has no place, and there is no vacancy at all in the Government House come 2027,” the APC National Chairman declared.
He commended the people of the state for their support for President Tinubu and urged them to re-elect him in the next presidential election in appreciation of what he has done for the state and the entire South-East through infrastructural transformation and human capital development.
Governor Francis Nwifuru, who also spoke at the event, said the state had no other presidential candidate for the 2027 general elections apart from President Tinubu.
He declared that Ebonyi remained a stronghold of the APC and vowed that the party would deliver the President in the state.
Gov. Nwifuru said President Tinubu had shown exceptional commitment to the state and deserved total support for appointing Senator Umahi as Minister of Works, a role he said Senator Umahi had performed creditably.
“Ebonyi has no other presidential candidate apart from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and we will return him in the presidential election.
“We are standing here today to tell the whole world, especially those using the President’s name to orchestrate division and confusion in this great state, that we have only one party, and that is the APC.
“This statement became necessary because some people are going around claiming they have discussed with Mr President and that he has handed Ebonyi over to the PDP. They are also saying that Chief Nyesom Wike is their leader and that Wike said the President has given Ebonyi to him.
“Ebonyi is not for sale. We are restraining ourselves because the people are with us. Nobody should push us because we have what it takes to confront anyone trying to destabilise us.
“We want to tell Mr President that he has earned our votes. He gave us what we had never had in Eastern Nigeria — the office of the Minister of Works. And this Minister of Works is not sitting idle; he is working,” he stated.
Senator Umahi, in his remarks, said President Tinubu had done what no other President had done for Ebonyi State and the entire South-East by executing numerous projects across the state and the region.
“Ebonyi State is a one-party state under Governor Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru. We are not going to repeat the mistakes of the past.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has done a lot, not just for Ebonyi State but for the entire South-East and other geopolitical zones,” he said.