The Pacesetter Frontier Magazine

Tag: Wike

  • The PDP should be embarrassed that Wike is still its member – Prof. Okey Ikechukwu

    The PDP should be embarrassed that Wike is still its member – Prof. Okey Ikechukwu

    The Executive Director of Development Specs Academy, Okey Ikechukwu, has said that the PDP should be embarrassed that the former governor of Rivers State and Minister of FCT, Nyesom Wike is still a member, given his alleged anti-party activities.

    Ikechukwu, who spoke on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, however added that the former Rivers State governor remains a political asset.

    Ikechukwu said, “Wike, whether you like him a not, you must ask yourself: is this man a fool? The answer is no. Does he know what he is doing? Maybe. Can you disregard him? The answer is no. It is the PDP that should be embarrassed that Wike is still a member, given all that he has done and all that he’s doing.

    “It’s the PDP that should be embarrassed that it has not been able to manage such a man because Wike will be a political asset to anybody he works for. For those he is working for now, he is a political asset. But to allow him to bestride both lanes and be doing 160 kilometers per hour shows there is nobody controlling the traffic.

    “The PDP, with all due respect to the distinguished people in that party, is making itself look more ridiculous, not every day but every hour as the next hour comes. They should stop kidding themselves.”

    He slammed the opposition Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) for failing to manage its internal crises.

    The policy analyst said, “The PDP, a very robust party, a party which, during the days of (former President) Obasanjo, Audu Ogbe, and even Atiku (Abubakar) ran impressive campaigns. You had, I think, in 2003, three campaign teams. Today, it has shrunk into a whimpering collection of confounded men and women who are pretending to have a political party.

    “What else does the PDP do today other than talk about its quarrels? Well, occasionally, it makes press releases attacking the APC, thinking that that is political opposition.”

    According to him, the opposition to President Bola Tinubu’s administration is activists, civil society groups, concerned commentators, and elder statesmen who speak on national issues.

    “The whole point of opposition is that you present a profile that will make you attractive to the next person, that will make somebody say to themselves, ‘No, no, no, I need this man to replace this other guy; they don’t know what they are doing.’

    “Please, tell me what makes the PDP attractive today. Internally, it is in total disarray,” he added.

    The professor said that the party’s current preparations for the 2027 general elections, amid the internal crises, do not show that it will perform better at the polls, except it manages the problems.

    “So, in the next election, it will participate but it will not contest; it sounds contradictory.

    “You are taking part in an event but your preparation is such that we know that you are going to get there and get beaten thoroughly and carried out on a stretcher, except a dramatic reconfiguration occurs within that party, with clear attention to the need to modify the optics of people you see in the party,” he said.

  • Presidential Election: My people already know the candidate I’ll vote for – Wike

    Presidential Election: My people already know the candidate I’ll vote for – Wike

    GOVERNOR Nyesom Wike says Rivers state people already know the candidate he wants them to vote for in the 25 February 2023 presidential election, stressing that those expecting him to make public declaration on his choice candidate would wait in vain.

    Wike in Port Harcourt, Wednesday, for Rivers Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) campaign rally for Port Harcourt City Local Government Area, also accused Commissioner of Police, CP Okon Effiong of shying away from checking perceived infractions on elections campaigns by opposition parties in the state.

    Apparently responding to 2015 Rivers All Progressives Congress governorship candidate, Dakuku Peterside, who had dared him to declare his preferred presidential candidate, Governor Wike said he, at no point, promised to make public declaration on who to support for president.

    He said, “I never told anybody I will face cameras to announce to you this is who we will vote. I said I will tell Rivers people the candidate they will support. I did not state the method of telling it. I did not say I will hold live coverage to declare it.

    “And Rivers people know already. Are you no aware. So ‘mumu’ people who never win in politics are expecting me to make live declaration that we’re now going for Joseph (hypothetically).

    “Far from it. But you (Rivers people) are aware. Have we not said it? I’ve told people who don’t know. In G-5 we are fighting a guerilla warfare. The more you look the less you see.”

    On perceived indifference of the CP Rivers Police Command, to alleged infractions in campaigns by opposition parties in the state, Wike warned CP Okon that he would take over his job and unleash Neighborhood Watch, the state’s established community policing outfit on opposition parties.

    He said of the CP, “You are the one making them (opposition parties) to break the law. If you don’t do your work, we will take over your work from you. We will release our Neighborhood Watch. You cannot support people who are breaking the law.

    “You know the truth of the matter, you are scared so they won’t transfer you. You can be transfered anywhere, any day. So you are neither here nor there. Your fear of being transfered will not save you. Do your work. Nobody should intimidate you. Tell them not to push us to the wall.”

    (Vanguard)

  • Wike fumes as Ayu survives NEC sack

    Wike fumes as Ayu survives NEC sack

    The ding-dong in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) continued, yesterday, as Governor Nyesom Wike maintained his hard stance despite a confidence vote in Senator Iyorchia Ayu by the National Executive Committee (NEC) at a meeting attended by only six of the party’s 13 governors.

    Not even the decision by Walid Jibrin to step down as chairman of Board of Trustees (BoT) could pacify the Rivers governor, who insisted that it is either Ayu goes or no deal. He described Jibrin’s resignation as a charade and vowed to continue the fight for the right thing to be done in the PDP.

    The party has been immersed in crisis since the election of Atiku Abubakar and Ifeanyi Okowa as presidential and vice presidential candidates respectively.

    The Wike group has continued to insist on Ayu’s  replacement to achieve a North/ South in the PDP while Ayu, who is backed by some Northern leaders,  has said repeatedly that he would not quit.

    Tension heightened in the party, on Wednesday, ahead of NEC meeting, which was expected to take a decision on Ayu’s fate, as 15 members of the NWC, majorly from the South had moved a vote of no confidence. However, at yesterday’s NEC meeting, Minority Leader, House of Representatives, Ndudi Elumelu, moved a motion for a vote of confidence in the Ayu-led NWC. The motion was seconded by a NEC member from Kwara State, Balogun Ishola Fulani.

    When the acting BoT chairman, Senator Adolphus Wabara, called for a counter motion, some of those present shouted “them no come.”

    Speaking after the confidence vote was passed in the NWC, Atiku said the PDP would resolve its crisis and win the 2023 elections. “Family disagreements are normal. We are determined to resolve those internal disagreements. Disagreement should be removed within the party’s constitution and the rules guiding the party.”

    •No compromise

    Governor Wike has insisted that Ayu must step down as chairman, notwithstanding the resignation of Jibrin as BoT chairman. Jibrin had said he decided to quit because he wanted Atiku to win the 2023 general elections. He noted that if PDP wins the presidential poll, he would be given a bigger position.

    “All we want to make sure is that Atiku becomes the president of Nigeria by all means.  That is why I decided that me Senator Walid Jibrin,  I am stepping down from the BoT. And I  discussed this with the candidate and the candidate agrees with me. If the party wins I will be given a bigger position.”

    Reacting to Jibrin’s resignation, Wike said: “Who is talking about that? Do you want me to accept that the candidate and the chairman should come from the same place? I asked them to tell me the truth and they said no. I don’t like people when you are talking they will say ‘interest of Nigerians’. Who defines the interest of Nigerians, you? You that refused to obey the constitution of their party, are you speaking in the interest of Nigerians? This fight we will fight it to the end,”  he said.

    According to Wike, the issue at hand is that of justice and fairness. He said having produced the presidential candidate of the party, the north should not also hold on to the chairmanship of the party.

    “Some of you don’t know what is happening. You are being deceived; they are telling you Wike is causing problem. Wike is not causing problem; Wike is bringing peace to the country. Wike is advocating for justice, Wike is advocating for equity, and Wike is advocating for fairness.

    “We have finished with presidential primary. It is over and it is over. So, when people say, ‘You want to destroy the party because you didn’t win the primary’, I think they are sick, they have some mental problem.”

    He vowed to sustain the fight for a return to healthy party structure that would allow for an even representation of the interest of the north and south in the national leadership of the party.

    He spoke at the inauguration of the Ahoada campus of the Rivers State University and flag-off of staff quarters performed by Governor Makinde, yesterday.

    •Atiku told me Ayu must go

    He noted that the current hierarchy of the PDP did not give room for the interest of the south, particularly  when decisions are to be taken.  According to him, the resignation of the BoT  chairman is a distraction  because the PDP’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, had told him that the national chairman of the party, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu must relinquish his position.

    “Ayu said if the presidential candidate comes from the north, that he will resign after the convention of our party, and that the chairman of our party will come from the south. When the north central leaders met in the house Bala Mohammed, governor of Bauchi State, he said so there. When he met the caucus of the Senate, he told them that.

    “Now, when we finished our convention on Sunday, the candidate of the party came to see me in my house in Abuja on Monday around 10:30 am. The candidate told me I want us to work together, and then he said, look Ayu must go. I said why? He said because when a candidate comes from the north, the chairman will come from the south.”

    •Demand not due to presidential ticket loss

    Governor Wike challenged the presidential candidate to deny the comment and be ready to hear many other things that had transpired between them relating to the current crisis.

    “And I’m saying implement what you told me. What offence have I committed? It is nothing to do with Wike. It has to do with integrity. This is what he told me. I challenge the presidential candidate to deny this. If he denies it, I will go further to say so many things to Nigerians because enough is enough. We can’t continue this way.”

    •Jibrin non-issue

    “One ex-general went to see the BoT chairman and the candidate too went to see him to resign that we’ll give you advisory position. The BoT position is already advisory. What advisory position are going to give him? That is to insult us. And all of us are here. Our people are there not knowing what is happening. You think it’s Wike. It is you. It is your children. How can we be here the chairman and presidential candidate will meet, they will take a decision, nobody represents us. Just wait, pray let them win then you will see.”

    •Presidential figure backing Atiku, PDP

    The governor accused some vested interest in the PDP of being arrogant because they are being backed by someone in the presidency. He, however, warned those haughty individuals to also bear in the mind that an APC presidential aspirant the person they are relying on backed, failed to clinch his party’s ticket.

    “Why are they being so arrogant? I can tell you they are arrogant because they believe somebody in the presidency is backing them. But, what they don’t understand is the same person in the presidency backed somebody as APC presidential aspirant and the person failed. I will tell Nigerians at the appropriate time who the person is in the presidency that is backing them.”

    •I’m not causing troble

    He stressed that he was not causing any problem in the country. Rather, he was advocating that the right must be done.

    “Some of you don’t know what is happening in the country. You are being deceived they tell you Wike is causing problem. Wike is not causing problem. Wike is bringing peace to the country. Wike is advocating for justice. Wike is advocating for equity. Wike is advocating for fairness. Those of you who do not understand, how party functions, let me educate you.

    “We have finished the presidential primary. It is over and it is over. Some people said you want to destroy the party because you didn’t win the primary. I think you are sick. They have some mental problem. We have done with the presidential primaries and it is over.

    •Tackles Babangida

    He taunted Aliyu Babangida for going to the media to say that somebody was destroying the party because he didn’t win the presidential primary.

    “What an insult. This is the same man, who came out on television and said they, governors from the North, agreed to fail Jonathan in 2015 because they it was the turn of the North.

    “The same man (Aliyu) said they agreed to make sure PDP failed the election because they felt it was their own turn to produce the president. That was what he said. That is the man saying I want to destroy the party because I didn’t win the primary.

    “For Christ sake, in a contest, there must be a winner and a loser. I have no regret. We contested the election very well. And we’re not ashamed. If Aliyu was important, he should have come and pick form, let us deal with him.

    “As a serving governor, he couldn’t win senatorial election. You could imagine me going to pick senatorial election and do not win the election. That means something is fundamentally wrong with me. That means I have never performed as a serving governor. That is a vote of no confidence. Governor bye-bye; you didn’t do well.

    “And that is the man PDP is bringing to the television to campaign for PDP. Ask him, when he was a governor, what was his legacy project? How many people from this country came to commission project. Ask him.

    “So, you should ask, if I have come here today to campaign for our party, people will ask, you that are campaigning, what have you done in your state as a governor? As Aliyu Babangida, show me your report card when you were governor of Niger State.

    “I have been to Niger State, and I asked people, when this man was governor show me what he has done. Nothing. That is the man that would come to national television to tell Nigerians who to vote for. So, how can you recommend us who to vote, while when you were there, you could not perform?

    “That is not the issue. Today, I told Nigerians before that at the appropriate time, I’m going to speak. But, now that things are coming out, let me revealing to you small small, so that you people will know the kind of country we are in and you ask yourself question, am I part of this country?

    “We are talking about how you said, if the presidential candidate comes from the North, you will resign. And by the convention of our party, the national chairman of the will come from the South. When the North Central met, he said that in the house of Bala Mohammed, governor of Bauchi State. When he met the caucus of the Senate, he told them that.

    (Sun)

  • 2023 elections: Obi, Obasanjo, Wike, Atiku, PDP govs separate meetings in London breed suspense

    2023 elections: Obi, Obasanjo, Wike, Atiku, PDP govs separate meetings in London breed suspense

    Former president, Olusegun Obasanjo and the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, yesterday, met with Governor Nyesom Wike in London. Also at the meeting were Governors Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, Samuel Ortom of Benue State, Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State and former governors Donald Duke of Cross Rivers State and Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State.

    The news behind the meeting is yet to be ascertained, It was not clear if the meeting is related to the crisis engulfing the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) or if it is connected to the permutations ahead the 2023 presidential elections.

    The reporter also learnt that Atiku Abubakar and Wike’s camp also met in London last night. The meeting, which is coming on the heels of intense lobbying of Wike and his loyalists by the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu and the LP presidential candidate, Peter Obi, is the second time Atiku will be meeting with the Rivers governor, since crisis broke in the opposition party, two months ago.

    It was gathered that Atiku was accompanied to the meeting by the Adamawa State Governor, Ahmadu Fintiri, leader of a team set up by the PDP candidate to interface with the Wike on how to resolve the crisis.

    A top official in the office of the former vice president confirmed it. However, details of discussions  between Atiku and the Wike camp was still sketchy as press time

    A source close close to Atiku said: “They had useful discussions. I can tell you that both camps would soon reconcile their difference,” he said.

    Pressed to reveal more details of the discussion, the source said, “just wait and see. It is only  a matter of few hours or days.”

    The meeting came shortly after Atiku had cautioned his supporters against comments likely to jeopardise the unity of the party.

    He gave the caution, in a statement, by his media aide, Paul Ibe, yesterday.

    Early yesterday, Obi had tweeted that he would be traveling to the US for a series of events but would make a stop over at Frankfurt, Germany, today to meet with Nigerians living there.

    Earlier this week, it was also reported that Wike’s camp met with Tinubu in London. In an interview with BBC Hausa, the one-time running mate to Tinubu, Ibrahim Masari, confirmed that a meeting held and claimed that Wike would help the ruling party win the 2023 election.

    Following the fallout of the PDP primary, Wike’s camp had insisted that part of the conditions that must be met before it can take part in Atiku’s campaign is if the party’s national chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, relinquished for a southerner since the party’s presidential candidate is a northerner. Ayu has however remained adamant.

    The Rivers governor and his supporters have been on at logger heads with the PDP and Atiku since the emergence of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa as the party’s vice presidential candidate.

    While Wike camp has insisted that the PDP national chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, must be replaced as a condition for peace, the latter has said he would not resign his office.

    Also, Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, a staunch Atiku’s supporters and Wike has been engaged in war of words since the crisis stated.

    However, the PDP presidential candidate in his statement, cautioned his supporters and other members of the party to “desist forthwith from making statements that are capable of compromising the on-going work towards further strengthening the party and bringing all its leaders together.”

    According to him, “it has become imperative to appeal to all party members, leaders and everyone related to, connected with or associated with the presidential candidate of the PDP, Atiku to desist from making comments that potentially reduce the optics of PDP’s image as a united political party. This appeal becomes necessary in order to call the attention of party leaders and members to the diversionary antics of the ruling All Progressives Congress which, in manufacturing a false impression of division within the PDP, aims to hoodwink the Nigerian public to overlook the monumental failures of the ruling party. All the leaders of the party, including especially the governor of Rivers State, His Excellency Nyesom Wike and all governors of the PDP are united in working for the victory of the PDP in next year’s general election. It is also the very reason why the ruling party is manipulating the political process to create a sense of division in the PDP.

    “Because they know that there is nothing to campaign with from their records of performance in office, the APC has elected to play the role of the devil’s advocate, regaling in celebration of their imaginary invincibility upon a fraudulent claim that the PDP is divided. It is for this reason that appeal to every true member of the PDP and anyone who truly wishes the success of the PDP presidential candidate to not fall for the antics of the APC in making statements that could give credence to the false claim of divisions in the PDP.”

    (Sun)

  • ANALYSIS: An opposition within the opposition? How PDP might derail its ambition

    ANALYSIS: An opposition within the opposition? How PDP might derail its ambition

    ANALYSIS: An opposition within the opposition? How PDP might derail its ambition

    The fallout from the presidential primaries of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which culminated in the victory of Atiku Abubakar as the party’s flagbearer in the 2023 elections has led to a series of events akin to a blockbuster Nollywood movie.

    Despite the reported majority support of the PDP screening committee over the choice of Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, as the party’s Vice-Presidential candidate, Atiku, in his wisdom, decided to jettison this mandate by going for Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State.

    This led to the hitherto-combustible Wike turning into something of a recluse — which has caused unease amongst crucial stakeholders within the party who are worried over the present allegiance of the Rivers Governor.

    Further worry was etched into the foreheads of party heads when Wike issued a statement after the outcome of the party’s primaries; this was before Atiku’s eventual choice of Okowa as his running mate.

    Nyesom Wike, on Monday, May 30, accused some southerners of working against the zone getting the presidential ticket of the party, while addressing supporters in Port-Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.

    Wike made references to betrayal, conspiracy, and people who cannot keep to agreements, but he didn’t mention any name in particular.

    “As far as I am concerned, there is nothing to worry about. I contested election based on principle and agreement with all the southern governors and the leaders of the south that the presidency should go to the south this period,” he said.

    “We have done our own part and we never betrayed anybody, because it is not in our blood to betray. But it’s a shame to those people. Some of the governors from the south are the people they used to sabotage our interest. However, we have shown them that we are not like them. We have the capacity to do whatever is good for us.

    “I don’t want to talk about some other people who cannot even win election in their own places. I’ve told them that this election, whoever emerges, I will support, and I am not going to go back,” the Rivers State Governor said.

    ‘Undemocratic’ Atiku

    Samuel Ortom, the Governor of Benue State, further added to the malcontent by berating Atiku for ignoring democratic precepts with his choice of Okowa as a running mate.

    During an interview with AriseTV on Thursday, June 30, Ortom disclosed that the majority within the party ranks advocated and voted for Wike to be the party’s vice-presidential candidate.

    “Some of us believe Wike has the capacity to lead this country. Unfortunately, the PDP did not give him the opportunity and we further advocated that he should be the running mate. But Okowa was chosen and I expect him to reach out to Wike.

    “14 out of 17 committee members chose Wike which is not fair. But if we are in a democratic era and Atiku decided to give it to Okowa, more explanation is needed in order for us to work as a party. He ought to be consulted before the running mate announcement was made,” the Governor railed against Atiku’s decision.

    Nonetheless, in order to curtail a snowballing of events, Walid Jibrin, chairman of the board of trustees (BoT) of the PDP stated that the party would do whatever it takes to ensure Nyesom Wike doesn’t defect.

    Jibrin said this on Monday, June 28, while addressing journalists in Kaduna.

    Speaking on efforts to ensure that the party remains united ahead of the 2023 elections, Jibrin said a reconciliation committee will be constituted to visit the Rivers governor.

    This decision by Atiku might be akin to a fait accompli, with Ortom being insistent that Atiku botched the entire process by disregarding Wike.

    In the same AriseTV interview, the Benue Governor said that Atiku ought to have reached out to Governor Wike before announcing his running mate for the 2023 election.

    Governor Ortom said the choice only became a problem because Atiku asked stakeholders to deliberate and decide who his VP would be and then went on to choose another against the will of the stalwarts in whose hands he had earlier entrusted the task.

    He went on to say that the development would not have caused any bad-blood, seeing that ultimately the choice was Atiku’s; nevertheless, the PDP Presidential candidate ought to have reached out to those who are aggrieved over the selection, a move which he is yet to make.

    “All that was needed even before the pronouncement, after we did our recommendation, Wike would have been reached out to, he is a human being.

    “This is a man who has built the party today in PDP he has fought all night and all day to see that this party remains together. So, he would have been reached out to, to say that this is the decision we are taking and this is the reason we are taking this decision, and I think he would have understood,” Ortom explained.

    Atiku, in a move to appeal disgruntled stakeholders, said the party was doing its utmost to put its house in order ahead of the 2023 general elections.

    In a post on his official social media handles, on Thursday, June 31, he said he alongside the party leadership was working to address the feelings of all party members.

    “The Peoples Democratic Party will remain united. Focus on our actions. We are taking action to address the feelings of all party members. The unity in our community is my priority. Our resolve to unify Nigeria starts in our party and moves to the community, then on to society”.

    Even with the reconciliatory moves being put in place, rumors have emerged that opposition figures have reached out to Wike by capitalizing on his seeming grieve to persuade him to dump the PDP. This has caused more unease within the major opposition political party which is battling to keep its house in order ahead of the next general elections.

    Whether the reconciliatory moves embarked upon by the party would be enough to unify its ranks remains to be seen, but the major opposition party has a huge job on its hands quelling the opposition from within. And it has to do this in good time before the elections if it hopes to achieve its dream of displacing the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) from power.

    (Ripples)

  • PDP sets up panel to ‘beg’ Wike

    PDP sets up panel to ‘beg’ Wike

    The loyalists of Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, have listed conditions for the resolution of the crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party.

    Supporters of the governor, in separate interviews with The PUNCH on Sunday, said it was not late for the PDP’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, to revisit the issue of his running mate by dropping the Delta State Governor, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, whom he picked last month.

    As the crisis over Atiku’s running mate worsened, the Chairman of the PDP’s Board of Trustees, Senator Walid Jibrin, said the party had set up a nine-member committee to beg Wike.

    Sequel to his victory at the PDP convention, where he beat Wike and other contenders to the presidential ticket, Atiku had nominated Okowa as his running mate, despite the recommendation of Wike by a 17-man committee set up by the party.

    Certain chieftains of the party, including the Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, ex-Plateau State Governor, Jonah Jang and others, had criticised the choice of Okowa as the party’s vice-presidential candidate.

    There were reports on Friday that Wike snubbed a former Minister of Police Affairs and ally of Atiku, Adamu Waziri, who attempted to initiate a peace talk with him in Turkey.

    The party, also on Sunday, raised another panel headed by Atiku, to pacify the aggrieved Governor and prevail on him not to leave the party.

    Some members of the House of Representatives loyal to Wike contended that the PDP was bound to fail with its choice of Okowa as the running mate.

    The PDP lawmakers, in separate interviews with The PUNCH on Sunday, also took a swipe at the National Chairman of the PDP, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, criticising his role in the crisis that has followed the presidential primary of the opposition party.

    When asked if the party should substitute Okowa with Wike, a member of the House from Kogi State, Teejay Yusuf, said it was possible if the presidential candidate could see the value the Rivers governor would add to the PDP ticket.

    He said, “That will be the choice of the candidate. It would be his prerogative to do that. It is not for me to suggest that to him. If he sees that Wike will add more value to the ticket and say ‘with the way it is, I can manage the ripple effect of taking Okowa out,’ why not, if not?”

    “Okowa is a PDP governor but nobody can deny the fact that Wike has the will and the capacity to make this party stand on its feet.”

    The lawmaker, however, dismissed the possibility of Wike, who he described as “a party man,” dumping the PDP for another party or working with another party or presidential candidate through the backdoor.

    But he cautioned that the governor’s loyalty should not be abused.

    The lawmaker also condemned Ayu for allegedly taking sides in the crisis, when he should have been neutral as the leader of the party.

    Yusuf cited the example of how Ayu met with the Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal, and called him a hero.

    Tambuwal had stepped down for Atiku at the PDP primary, making it possible for the latter to defeat Wike who came second amid protests against the retention of power in the North when it was expected to rotate to the South.

    Speaking on the calls on Atiku to reconcile with Wike, he said, “That is a fact and that was what was emphasised by the leaders who spoke of recent, notably Governor Ortom and former governor Jang. I lend my voice to that, that one stoops to conquer. It is the normal thing to be done.”

    Meanwhile, Atiku has said that despite the internal conflict within his party, he does not see “a divided house”.

    He admonished the party not to lose focus on rescuing Nigeria.

    Atiku stated this in a newsletter in Abuja on Sunday.

    He stated, “One of the characteristic attributes of democracy that I admire a lot is that it is a system with an intrinsic asset of crisis management. It becomes even more interesting that, perhaps, the most noteworthy outcome of a democratic process is the greater possibility of conflict generation.

    “So, a remarkable lesson that I have learned in politics is that in some instances, conflicts are healthy realities. I know, for instance, that when conflicts arise out of genuine concerns about having an inclusive political process, it signposts the viability of that process and, more importantly, the eagerness of stakeholders to be active participants in the success of such process.

    In a move to resolve the crisis, the PDP has announced a nine-member reconciliation committee that would visit the Rivers State helmsman.

    Disclosing this on Sunday, the Chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees, Senator Walid Jibrin, also cautioned party members against unguarded utterances that could further plug the party into a deeper crisis.

    The committee, headed by Atiku, comprises Okowa, Ayu and his National Working Committee, Jibril; BoT members; PDP governors; former governors; ex-PDP minister and some party elders from zones and states.

  • Odili saved my political career

    Odili saved my political career

    Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has declared he would remain grateful to Mary Odili for her timely intervention that saved his political career in 2004.

    He spoke of this aspect of his political experience at the 70th birthday and retirement thanksgiving mass of Odili, as justice of the Supreme Court, at Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Chaplaincy, Catholic Institute of West Africa (CIWA) in Port Harcourt, yesterday.

    The governor recalled how he cried to Odili when he got hint that his name was not included among those cleared to contest either as first term or second term chairmen of local governments in the state

    According to Wike, Odili listened to him, and took the complain to her husband, Peter Odili, who was the governor of Rivers State then.

    He explained that the manner Justice Odili presented the matter got her husband acting on it immediately.

    He said, first, former governor Odili invited the then Rivers State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chairman, Uche Secondus, to confirm the observation and, thereafter, put a call across to the then national secretary of the PDP, Vincent Ogbulafor.

    “In 2004, that time, the husband was the governor. So, she was going to Bori Camp for women empowerment scheme. I was to run for second tenure as chairman of my local government (Obio-Akpor).

    “Now, they were having lunch with her husband and Secondus. And, I was told my name had been removed in the list. So, I ran down to Government House.

    “She has finished her lunch, left her husband and was entering the vehicle. I said mummy, I’m finished. She asked what happened, I said they’ve removed my name.

    “She ran back straight to her husband and informed him. Her husband asked who removed my name. At that time, Secondus had left. The husband then called the security at the gate, they stopped Secondus and asked him to come back. That was how I went back as second term chairman. For me, I can’t talk about my growth without mentioning her. If she was not around that day to see the governor, you know it’s not an easy thing. Her being around that particular day saved my career in politics. That was how I grew from there to become what I am today.”

    Governor Wike noted a vital lesson of life he learnt from Justice Odili, which is the determination to build the capacity to be successful in one’s career while not ignoring giving requisite attention to the family. He said there was a good balance she maintained that made her succeed both in her career as a legal practitioner, a mother and wife in the family.

    He said Justice Odili had remained an embodiment of care and compassion because without relenting, she treated everybody with dignity that they deserved.

    “I have seen somebody who is very compassionate, and very caring. The moment you’re around her husband, she takes care of you. She sees you as her husband’s person and so she will always relate with you. Some of us are direct beneficiaries of the care through our relationship with the husband.”

    Governor Wike commended Justice Odili for the 44 years of meritorious public service, which he described as no mean feat.

    In his Homily, the chaplain of the Chaplaincy at CIWA, Monsignor Pius Kii, exhorted on the physical and eternal benefits Christians derive when they love God, one another and their enemies.

    He emphasised that living a life of love demonstrates faithful discipleship, obedience to God and secures daily victory in life’s endeavours.

    Justice Odili described the joy she felt as unspeakable and a thing of honour to have Governor Wike, a sitting governor, doing a vote of thanks in her honour.

    (Sun)

  • I’ll tackle insecurity, ailing economy if elected president – Wike

    Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has vowed to expeditiously tackle the festering security and economic challenges facing Nigeria if elected president.

    Governor Wike maintained that at this critical juncture, the country desperately requires a leader with political will and courage to decisively end the scourge of insecurity and revive the ailing economy.

    He made the pledge while addressing Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) delegations from Borno and Yobe states in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, yesterday.

    He observed that in the past seven years, the security and economic situations in the country had deteriorated due to the incompetence of the current All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government.

    He said: “I came here today, because there is a problem, and that problem is that Nigeria is dying and we must not allow Nigeria to die. We must rescue this country. So, I came as a Nigerian, a member of the PDP, a party I have never left since 1998 till now. A party I have worked for and will continue to work for.

    “And so, I want to vie for the presidency of this country on PDP platform. I came because I feel concerned, I came because I have no other country to run to and therefore, I have come to offer myself to solve most of the problems that this APC administration could not solve.

    “Before, people used to talk about insecurity in Borno State. Today, insecurity is all over Nigeria. Hunger does not know Muslim, hunger does not know Christian. Insecurity does not known Muslim, insecurity does not know Christian. Insecurity does not know North, insecurity does not know South. You need somebody who will have the courage to fight insecurity in this country and I want to tell you, I have that courage.”

    He advised the delegates not to be deceived by those who might want to use geopolitical and religious sentiment to influence how they would vote during the PDP convention.

    According to him, the socio-economic and security challenges bedevilling the country does not exclusively affect Muslims or Christians alone.

    “Nigerians are aware that everybody is suffering. Nigerians are aware people are dying. Muslims are dying, Christians are dying. Northerners are dying, southerners are dying. We need somebody that can stop all these and that is me.”

    Governor Wike accused APC leadership of covertly scheming against his emergence as the standard bearer of the PDP.

    According to him, APC leaders were afraid that if he clinches the PDP presidential ticket, that would mark the end of their grip on power.

    The governor commended PDP leader in Borno State, Mohammed Imam, for being a steadfast and dependable political ally.

    In his welcome address, Imam said he was one of the friends who purchased the expression of intent and nomination forms for Governor Wike, because they were convinced of his capacity to lead Nigeria out of its current socio-economic predicaments.

    Imam, who spoke on behalf of PDP delegates in Borno and Yobe states, decried the nonchalance shown by the APC-led Federal Government to issues of security that have crumbled business in the two states.

    “We, in Borno and Yobe, are business people. We are bordered with three countries; Niger, Cameroon and Chad. Your excellency, our people are businessmen.

    “On a daily basis, lots of people here can attest to that, over 2,000 trucks load of goods come out from Maiduguri market, cutting (taken) across these three Trans-Sahara regions that I’ve mentioned: Maiduguri, Banki-Bama to Cameroon, Lake Chad, Niger, up to Central Africa, Libya.”

    Imam also expressed grief over the level of devastation that their communities have suffered within the period because of the unrestrained marauding Boko Haram killers.

    According to him, despite their cries, there has not been meaningful response from the Federal Government.

    He said they were now looking up to Governor Wike who is a man of vision and courage to rescue Nigeria, guarantee safety to Nigerians and improve the economy.

    “We are peasant farmers, we don’t go to farm now. Our people cannot access their farms. In the Lake Chad, we are fishermen. Forty percent of the fish consumed in Nigeria and other Sub Africa states come from Lake Chad basin.

    (Sun)

  • Wike declares for Presidency

     

    Rivers State Governor, Nyeson Wike, has declared intention to contest the 2023 presidential election, saying he is the best man to wrest power from the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Wike, who stated this when he visited his Benue State counterpart, Samuel Ortom, at the Government House in Makurdi, yesterday, said he was making his intention to contest for presidency known for the first time in Benue.

    “To remove APC from power, I’m the person who can tell them enough is enough. We must take this power and I’m ready to take it for PDP. God is with us that’s why APC keeps failing everyday,” he said.

    The presidential aspirant, who urged stakeholders to give him their mandates and not to sell their votes, assured he has the capacity to, “face this evil government.”

    He queried those founding fathers who ran away from the party and still want to be recognised, saying, “by the time you ran away, you sold your share as a founding father so you can no longer retain your position of founding fathers.

    “I stood for this party. I work for this party since 1998. I have nowhere to run to and that’s why anything that happens to this party I take personally. I have never relented.

    “In 2015, those who ran away made us loose election. Today, they are crying but some of us stood and said PDP will not die.

    “Some people want to use Nigeria to buy back their personal business. They talk about private sector. Mention the private business that survive. Is it banks that your father had? Everybody is an employer of labour. Even in my house, I have 50 people who feast from me.

    “They should stop deceiving us. I have performed as a governor and carry my shoulders high anywhere. I have the capacity to face this evil government. Just give me the mandate. I will speak the truth to power and nothing but the truth. I have the capacity to move this country forward,” he said.

    Wike promised that if elected, security would be his topmost priority.

    (Sun)

  • Wike takes action against oil theft and illegal oil refineries

    Wike takes action against oil theft and illegal oil refineries

    Oil marketers, under the aegis of Association of Tank Farm Oil and Gas Marketers of Nigeria (ATOGMAN), have commended Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State for taking action against illegal refineries and oil bunkering. Wike had issued a 48-hour ultimatum to the 23 local government areas chairmen to provide list of illegal refineries and their operators within their areas in the ongoing battle to stop the menace of soot. In addition, he ordered the redeployment of a divisional police officer in charge of Emohua Local Government Area of the state, for operating illegal refinery.

    The governor said, “he must leave this state. I can’t be governor here and the security man owns an illegal refinery. No, it is not possible. The man has to go. Take him to wherever they allow bunkering.”

    To this end, ATOGMAN’s National President, Lawrence Kanu, in a statement, yesterday, said the decision of Governor Wike would drastically reduce the act as Nigeria was losing N25 billion monthly to illegal oil operators. Kanu said ATOGMAN would support the governor in any way possible to ensure insidious act is nipped in the bud. He, however, called on Nigerians to provide intelligence to security agencies to arrest and prosecute unlicensed operators.

    “ATOGMAN hails Governor Wike’s actions and pledged to support fight against illegal bunkering.

    “All hands should be on deck, through community policing to stop the menace. With the recent development, if we can join hands together in the fight against illegal bunkering, it would help Nigeria economically, there will be no need for fuel increase as speculated by the Federal Government in February 2022.”

    He also applauded the Commandant General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Ahmed Audi Abubarkar, for disbanding the Anti Bunkering Unit in Rivers State Command and advised other agencies to do same. He advised that, “any officer that have served in Rivers State for six months, must be transferred to another state for effectiveness. “Same to be done nationwide. I mean massive transfer nationwide any officer serving in the South, South West and South East must be transferred to northern part, and those currently serving in northern Nigeria should be transferred to South East, South South and South West for efficiency.”

    Source: www.sunnewsonline.com

  • Wike attributes Nigeria’s suffering and failure to leadership incompetence

     

     

    Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has expressed regrets that 61 years after independence, Nigeria is still grappling with leadership challenge.

     

    He pointed out that because of such leadership failure, Nigeria is now at a point in its history needing God more than ever.

     

     

    He made the assertion at the interdenominational church service organised in commemoration of the 61st independence anniversary of Nigeria at the St. Paul’s Anglican Church, Port Harcourt, yesterday.

     

    The governor stated that there was hardly anything for Nigerians to celebrate because its leadership continues to entrench hatred, mediocrity, promote ethnicity and religion.

     

    “This is the time that Nigeria needs God more. The country is gone. Insecurity everywhere. Everyone needs to say God, we need You because man’s leadership has failed this country.”

     

     

     

    The governor noted that, perhaps, the only thing Nigerians could boast of celebrating is the existence of the name, Nigeria.

     

    “At 61 years, Nigeria is full of enmity, full of divisions, hatred, ethnicity. A country that cannot put themselves together. Everybody has responsibility; so, ask yourself questions, have I done my own part?”

     

    Governor Wike also observed the sorry state of Nigeria and said at 61, it was far removed from being a country that could compete favourably with prosperous countries of the world, given its abundant resources.

     

    The governor bemoaned what has become of the nation’s legislature that continues to approve anything for the presidency not minding the consequences.

     

    He also decried how the nation’s judiciary has succumbed to intimidation because its judges had abandoned their responsibilities out of fear.

     

    The governor wondered what fate Nigerians would have under such seeming tyrannical atmosphere.

     

    “We cannot do the right things. Other countries are talking about how their elections will be transparent, we are talking about how we will rig the election in 2023.

     

    “Simple thing… transmit election results electronically to show transparency; that, really, that the person you’re declaring won the election but, we are afraid.

     

    “Where is the legislature. A legislature that cannot think, a legislature of anything they (Presidency) bring is right, a legislature that cannot say Nigeria has nothing to regret from conducting free and fair election. A legislature that you’ll close your eyes, anything they bring about borrowing, you say borrow. A legislature that cannot say this money we are borrowing, where is it, where are you applying it? You have no confidence to ask questions.

     

    “The courts have been intimidated. The judges have abandoned their responsibilities out of fear. You’re seeing something that is wrong but because you will be summoned in the night, you abandoned your responsibility.”

     

    Governor Wike also blamed the woes the country has suffered on all Nigerians who have refused to do the right things but rather allowed the wrong things to be perpetrated in all facets of the society. He noted how ascendancy to leadership was no longer by merit but by ethnic affinity and religious consideration, even when such person did not have the capacity required to function in such office.

     

    He berated the church leadership over the inordinate dressing of a young man that he saw in the church. He attribute such sight to lack of discipline enforced in the church.

     

    In his sermon, Bishop of the Diocese of Niger Delta North, Rt. Rev. Wisdom Ihunwo, noted that only foolish people despise God and attribute their successes in life to their personal efforts and ingenuity .

     

    He said such foolish people abound in Nigeria because they have hearts of corruption, treat humanity with disdain and delight in doing abominable things and divert public funds for personal use.

     

    He said it was baffling that despite having leadership over the country, there was unabated spree of killings, a seemingly thriving kidnapping business with some officers of the nation’s military killed without drastic measures taken to return Nigeria to the path of sanity.

     

    Bishop Ihunwo, while charging the church to rise to speak courageously against the wickedness in the land, declared the judgment of God upon sponsors of such killings and kidnapping that have put Nigeria in a pitiable state, that its people cannot celebrate the independence of the country at 61 years.

     

    Special prayers were said for God’s favour and grace upon Nigeria and its leaders, Rivers State Executive Council, judiciary and the legislature, Governor Wike and his family as well as the church and its leaders.

     

     

     

     

     

    Source: www.sunnewsonline.com

  • FEEDING BOTTLE FEDERALISM: ALLOW VAT LEGAL BATTLE RUN FULL COURSE – EKWEREMADU

    FEEDING BOTTLE FEDERALISM: ALLOW VAT LEGAL BATTLE RUN FULL COURSE – EKWEREMADU

    …Calls for expedited hearing of VAT, stamp duty suits

    Former Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, has advised the National Assembly not to embark on any legislation over the collection of the Value Added Tax (VAT) and Stamp Duties, which are subjects of raging legal tussles between some states and the federal government, noting that allowing the litigations to run the full course could be a major step towards strengthening the nation’s federalism.

    Ekweremadu, who recalled that he had for over a decade been warning the nation against what he had since termed a “feeding bottle federalism” in which states depend on redistributed resources of other federating units for survival, held that any constitution amendment to transfer VAT collection to the Exclusive Legislative List, as reportedly requested by the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, would amount to changing the goal post in the middle of a game.

    He bared his mind in a statement by his media adviser, Mr. Uche Anichukwu, on Sunday.

    The lawmaker, who chaired the constitution amendment process in the Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Senate, asserted since past legislative efforts to get things right had failed or been scuttled, it was natural and imperative to allow the judiciary to play its role in shaping the nation’s federalism.

    He said: “I commend Governors Nyesom Wike and Babajide Sanwo-Olu as well as the Rivers and Lagos Houses of Assembly for their courageous moves. It is by so doing that our constitution or laws can be tested and our federalism strengthened.

    “In April 2012, I delivered a lecture at the Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, Canada, entitled ‘Nigerian Federalism: A Case for a Review’ wherein I forewarned that Nigeria would surely run into stormy economic weather unless we reinvented our federalism, steering the country away from a military-imposed ‘feeding bottle federalism’ to one predicated on self-reliance, hard work, enterprise, and resourcefulness to catalyse national development and economic prosperity. Many others have also made related calls. Unfortunately, few people were interested in what we were talking about.

    “Although we achieved a number of successes, perhaps my worst experience at the helms of the constitution amendment process was in the Seventh Assembly. We recorded the most elaborate amendments to our constitution, including the rearrangement of the Legislative Lists to devolve more powers to the subnational governments by moving certain items like Aviation, Railway, Power, Stamp Duties, among others to the Concurrent Legislative List. Unfortunately, the amendments were denied assent by the President.

    “But as a lawyer and lawmaker, I know that case law or judicial precedent, is also a veritable source of law. So, I think we should allow the Constitution and the laws of our land to be tested in the courts of law.

    “It is untidy for the Presidency or its agency to come through the backdoor to seek legislative intervention in its favour on the same matter that is prejudice.

    “The ball is now in the court of the judiciary and all we should seek at this juncture is an expedited and courageous adjudication of the lawsuits”.

    Meanwhile, Ekweremadu, whose doctoral thesis is on Fiscal Federalism, has equally advised every state to look inwards to boost its revenues since every part of the country had what it takes to prosper.

    “The bottom line of the raging tax ‘war’ is that having unwittingly killed industry, having elevated our nation to an oil dependent economy, and consequent upon the collapse of oil price amid other sources of energy, our economy is virtually collapsing, the naira has crashed to an all-time low, and the nation has come to rely more and more on taxes. Inevitably, some states have now begun to question some practices they feel fly in the face of federalism and justice, among them the collection and distribution of VAT and other taxes.

    “VAT is essentially a consumption tax and what states like Rivers and Lagos are saying in essence is that the federal government cannot continue to rob them of taxes paid on goods and services consumed in their states, some with environmental and social consequences that they have to deal with, but only to withhold as well as transfer a large chunk of such revenues to other states.

    “The major takeaway from our ailing economy, collapse of the naira, and the VAT and stamp duty imbroglio is that our feeding bottle strand of federalism is no longer sustainable. We must diversify and expand our economy now; and there is no other way than to remake our federalism to enable states to harness and unleash their endowments and comparative advantages.

    “Rather than begrudge states like Rivers and Lagos, all federating units should be encouraged and enabled to look inwards to reinvent themselves, boosting their respective competitiveness through improved security, human capital development, industry, and building of egalitarian and cosmopolitan societies to attract more investments and economically viable populations. That is how federations are meant to function”, he concluded

     

    Uche Anichukwu

    Media Adviser to Sen. Ike Ekweremadu

    Former Deputy President of the Senate

    12/09/2021