Politics
Rivers Exco Okays Anti-Open Grazing Bill
The Rivers State Executive has approved a bill to ban open rearing and grazing of livestock in the state.
The council gave the approval in it’s meeting held last Wednesday at Government House Port Harcourt.
The State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Prof Zacchaeus Adangor, who disclosed this to journalists after the meeting said after exhaustive deliberation on the highlights of the bill, the State Executive Council approved it for onward transmission to the Rivers State House of Assembly for necessary legislative action.
“ In summary, once that bill is passed, no person will be allowed to openly graze livestock in Rivers State, except within the confines of a ranch. And to establish a ranch, you must apply to the state committee for approval. And that committee , having regard to the guidelines it is going to issue, may or may not issue approval to establish a ranch”, Adangor said.
He further said that the council also approved the Rivers State Residence Registration Agency Bill which will make it mandatory for residents in the state to register.
According to the Attorney General, “ that bill is going to establish an agency that will superintend the implementation of that bill. So if you come to Rivers State and you are going to stay in the state for more than two weeks, you will be bound to register “.
In same vein, the Honourable Commissioner for Agriculture in the state, Dr FredKpako, who also addressed journalists after the council meeting, said the council also approved the construction of a modern abattoir at Mgbuoshimi in Rumueme, Obio/Akpor Local Government Area.
The commissioner explained that the new abattoir will be an integrated facility sitting on a twenty- one pilots of land by the seashore .
Also last week, the Rivers State Chief Executive hosted the former Vice President of Nigeria, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. Abubakar who spoke to the press after the closed door meeting revealed that they deliberated on party affairs
“ Well, I came here to reconcile with the Governor on party affairs and how we can ensure that there is unity and stability in the party.
“ So that we can take over government in 2023. I believe that Nigerians can’t wait for 2023 to come, so that PDP will return”, the former Vice President said.
Describing the present security situation in the country as bad ,Atiku Abubakar urged Nigerians to be patient till the appropriate time when PDP shall unveil its policies on how it would address the issue of insecurity across the country.
“ I have never seen it ( insecurity) this bad. I am 70 years plus, I have never seen it this bad in terms of insecurity challenges, in terms of economy, in terms of unemployment. This is the worst”, he said. The former Vice President lauded Governor Wike for the tremendous leadership success recorded by his administration.
“ I think he (Wike) is the topmost Governor we have in the party. There is no doubt about that, in terms of projects,youth and employment, in terms of security”,
Another major event last week in Brick House was the courtesy visit to Governor Wike by the new Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Farouk Yahaya. The Governor urged the Chief of Army Staff not to allow his officers to abandon their professional duties and get involved in mainstream politics.
Governor Wike noted that the fight against insecurity in the country had suffered setback because army officers became partisan and could not stand on the side of professional practice because of their bias.
The Governor who restated the commitment of his administration towards giving needed support to security agencies in the state promised to sustain the support to enable the agencies to fight crime in the state.
In his speech, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Farouk Yahaya, said he was in the state on an operation visit to Six Division of Nigerian Army. Yahaya said he was using the visit to officially open the Combat Support Training week and invited the Governor to be their Special Guest of Honour. He commended the Governor for the support his administration has been providing for the Nigerian Army.Gov Wike was among the Governors who attended the PDP Governors’ Forum in Bauchi State last Monday.
By: Chris Oluoh
The Rivers contest is expected to draw heightened attention in the oil-rich state, as political actors position for influence in a district long regarded as strategic to the balance of power in Rivers State.
INEC disclosed that the by-elections will hold concurrently with the Ekiti State governorship election, underscoring what promises to be a politically charged day across several parts of the country.
Beyond Rivers, the electoral body listed other affected constituencies to include Nasarawa North Senatorial District, Dawakin Kudu/Warawa Federal Constituency in Kano State, Ondo South Senatorial District, and Enugu North Senatorial District.
The vacancies, according to INEC, arose from a combination of deaths, resignation, and other constitutional developments. In Nasarawa, the demise of Senator Godiya Akwashika has left a gap in a district considered a stronghold of the All Progressives Congress (APC). In Enugu, the passing of Senator Okey Ezea has set the stage for a competitive race in the South-East.
Similarly, the Ondo South seat became vacant following the resignation of Senator Jimoh Ibrahim, who now serves as Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, while the Dawakin Kudu/Warawa seat in Kano opened up after the death of Hon. Muhammad Danjuma Hassan.
Analysts say the Rivers South-East by-election, in particular, could reshape political alignments in the state, as parties jostle to fill the void left by Sen. Mpigi and consolidate their foothold ahead of future electoral contests.
Stakeholder from Bayelsa East Senatorial District, on Monday, endorsed the incumbent Senator representing them to run for a second term.
Leading the stakeholders, the former Commissioner for Culture and Tourism and Special Adviser to Governor Douye Diri on Political Affairs (iii), Dr Iti Orugbani, said the reason for the endorsement was based on the federal lawmaker’s trajectory of good deeds and massive execution of projects across communities of the Senatorial district.
Dr Orugbani highlighted some of the projects to include landing jetties, telecommunication masts and town halls amongst others, noting that Sen. Agadaga’s performance has exceeded those of others who hitherto represented the oil rich area.
Bayelsa East Senatorial District comprises Ogbia, Brass and Nembe Local Government Areas of the State.
The Governor’s aide who called on the State’s Eastern political enclave to respect the 2022 new zoning agreement, which guaranteed second term for Senators from the District, stressed the need for political tolerance and peace in the forthcoming 2027 polls.
“In 2022 the leaders and stakeholders across party lines from Bayelsa East held a meeting and altered the old single term for Senators from the district’s agreement and signed that begining from 2023 any Senator emerging from the district must serve for a minimum of two terms.
“In 2023, Senator Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo, then an incumbent Senator representing the Senatorial district under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was given a second term ticket by the party. Though he lost to the PDP.
“Now that the entire state is now APC and the District has an APC Senator in the person of Benson Agadaga from Ogbia LGA, why not also give him a second tenure?
“The stakeholders in 2022 changed the old political agreement because they saw that it wasn’t beneficial to the district any longer. And so, because it was Ogbia Local Government Area that started the old zoning arrangement by producing the first Senator in 1999, I want to plead that let Ogbia also begin the new two terms zoning agreement”, he said.
Also speaking, the duo of woman leader of a support group, ‘Agadema Women’, Mrs. Owadaba Jokori and the Information Officer of the Ijaw Youths Council (IYC), Central Zone, Comrade Ikio, stated that the incumbent Senator has done well for the district in the past three years that he has been in office.
They lauded the federal lawmaker for his infrastructure projects, especially the construction of landing jetties in select communities of the three local government areas of the district, commending stakeholders for supporting the lawmaker in his second term bid.
In his remarks, Senator Agadaga thanked the stakeholders for the confidence reposed in him and the endorsements he has received lately from constituents and admirers across political parties.
The lawmaker noted that within the past three years that he has been Senator, he has delivered dividends of democracy to his constituents across the Senatorial District, emphasizing that the call for him to be senator from the Brass Senatorial District came to him as a surprise, noting that he accepted the clarion call when the clamour became so loud.
“I was Chief of Staff to the State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, when various groups from the zone came calling on me to contest the 2023 Senatorial polls.
“Ever since winning the elections as a senator, I’ve continued to deliver on my mandate in both representation, lawmaking, oversight, project execution and support for constituents when called upon. And I shall continue to do more if elected for a second term”, the Senator said.
By Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa
Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja has set May 15 as deadline for definite hearing in a suit filed by a lawyer, Johnmary Jideobi, seeking to stop former President Goodluck Jonathan from contesting the 2027 presidential election.
The judge on Monday shifted the hearing date following the absence of the plaintiff, Mr Jideobi, and his lawyer in court without any information.
Apart from the absence of the plaintiff, who is a legal practitioner, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, who are 2nd and 3rd defendants in the matter, were also not in court.
Following the absence of the plaintiff and the two defendants, Chris Uche, SAN, representing Dr Jonathan, applied to the court to strike out the suit for lack of diligent prosecution.
Having joined issues with each other, Mr Uche said, the suit is liable for dismissal with a N5 million cost to be awarded against the plaintiff and payable to Dr Jonathan.
He argued that from all indications, the plaintiff has abandoned the suit and ran away upon sighting the preliminary objections raised against the suit, adding that the court is a busy place and not for unserious matters.
Justice Lifu, however, noted that there was no evidence of service of hearing notice on INEC and AGF to appear in court for the suit, adding that lack of service of hearing notice is fundamental.
The judge said rather than striking out the suit, he prefers to bend backward to accommodate the plaintiff and the two defendants for the last time.
While adjourning the matter to May 15, Justice Lifu ordered that hearing notice be served on the plaintiff and the 2nd and 3rd defendants who were not in court on Monday.
The plaintiff, Mr Jideobi, had filed the case seeking an order to restrain Dr Jonathan from presenting himself to any political party as an aspirant for the 2027 election.
He is also asking the court to stop INEC from accepting, processing or publishing Dr Jonathan’s name as a presidential candidate.
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