Nigerian Newspapers
Amaechi to Rivers CP: shoot me if you wish
ALTERCATIONS between Rivers Governor Rotimi Amaechi and State Police Commissioner Mbu Joseph Mbu continued yesterday, with the former challenging the latter to shoot him if he so desires.
Amaechi’s challenge came in the wake of allegations by local government chairmen that the police stopped their people from paying solidarity visits to Amaechi at the Government House in Port Harcourt, the state capital.
Recently, Amaechi accused the police chief of compromising the state’s security by allegedly leaking secrets to outsiders.
Mbu described the governor as a tyrant, who lacked respect for constituted authority.
The governor, who spoke yesterday in Port Harcourt where he hosted some supporters, led by Senator Wilson Ake from Orashi zone, vowed to defy the ‘no-rally order’ made by the police.
Amaechi said yesterday, while receiving Orashi people: “You (people of Orashi region of Rivers State) are by far stronger than me. I got a report yesterday (Monday), very late at night that police planned to stop you. You should have recorded them, so that we can show to the world, how much a tyrant the commissioner of police is.
“Let us assume you are coming to protest; the commissioner of police cannot say he banned protest, when it is part of your fundamental human rights, which are in the constitution. His personal order is now superior to the Constitution.
“We have been suffering. We are now in a police state in Rivers state. If they blocked the entire Orashi region, and not allowing more than a million persons, from Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni, Abua/Odual, Ahoada East and Ahoada West LGAs. All policemen in Rivers State put together are not more than 17,000. With their guns, they tried to stop you. What you showed them is called people’s power.
“That you came out, despite the fact that the police blocked all the roads, looking for people in buses and stopping them from driving out. That you still passed that road and came here, you are stronger than me. You are more courageous than me.
“Part of the fight we are getting now is because of our desire to protect our oil resources. There are politicians who have played politics with us. In the past eight years, they have not been part of government and poverty has set in.
“The danger in letting them to take power is that for four years, they will not be able to do anything, because for eight years, they have got nothing. By the time they finish chopping and remember that you are alive, it will be four years. They have been out for eight years and they cannot wait to come in. Promise me, we will stop them.
“They can bring 50 commissioners of police. They can bring 50 Mbus. Mbu can live in their house. Just promise me that the people’s power will defeat them the way you defeated them this (yesterday) morning. It does not matter, how much they want to come in. Only the people can defeat them.
“They have not taken your (Orashi) oil wells yet. They have taken oil wells from Etche people. They have taken from Kalabari people. They have taken from the Andoni. There is a claim by our sister state in Egbema and we also have boundary with Delta state. How do we know they will not claim from the Delta area?
“How do we know that if we close our eyes, the ones they are claiming in Egbema, they will not take them from us? You can never tell, how we will be losing our oil wells everyday.
“If I speak, they will say we are against government. Should I sleep as governor of Rivers State and be watching them?
“Orashi region, for now, is one of the highest producers of crude oil in Nigeria and we ask the Federal Government to do something around there. What have they done? That is our argument.
But the Rivers police yesterday denied stopping people from paying solidarity visit to the governor.
Spokesperson Mrs. Angela Agabe, said the allegation that supporters of the governor were barred from entering Port Harcourt, was incorrect.
She dismissed the allegations by the state government and some council chairmen that policemen stopped indigenes of four local government areas from paying solidarity visit to Amaechi.
“After God, you (people of Orashi region) are the next set of people that came out to support me, including your son, Dr. Peter Odili.
“There is no personal quarrel between me and anybody. It is the quarrel between Rivers State and the rest. We just have to defend our rights.
“We have a right to be Nigerians and Nigeria has an obligation to make us to be responsible citizens of Nigeria. We will forever be Nigerians. We will go nowhere else, because we believe in Nigeria. Nigeria must make us happy too. So that we can say to the world, ‘we are proud Nigerians’.
“My brother, Chibudom Nwuche (former Deputy Speaker of House of Representatives), said we are not running an inclusive government. My brother, the Governor of Ekiti State (Dr. Kayode Fayemi) told me that they call it stomach infrastructure.
“Part of the problems we are having is that our brothers, who have gathered in Abuja, have been hijacked by those who are not from Rivers state, to cause confusion in Rivers state.
“We are trying to complete the road to Nwuche’s village and we must complete it. If we have done that, what else is inclusive? What they mean by inclusion is stomach.
“Governors in this country have two choices to make. You either stand by the people or stand against the people. How do you stand by the people? Many people have been here and we have been hungry, in the midst of plenty. We have not had infrastructure. No employment. I am not saying it has improved, but we are moving towards improvement.
“I will not stand against you, just because I want to share the money. Everybody should read history. Once you leave office, all those who shared money with you, will forget you.
“You will be so lonely in your house. You will call one of them, I have not seen you for some time. Your Excellency, I am a bit busy. I will see you next week. Next week, he will not even come.
“If you stand with the people and respond to their yearnings for development, when you walk the street, you will see them behind you. We must stand together and resist them. The era of rigging must stop now.
“Why politicians do not care about you is because votes do not count. If they know that if you do not perform, you will not win, then the will be responsible.
“Nwuche said we are not performing. Ask him, when you were deputy speaker, what did you do? Let him not do it in Ahoada, let him do it in Ochigba (his village). As a speaker, I can show you the people I trained in the university.
“I can show you one person, as a speaker, I took overseas to study in the university and he is back. He is working now. Let him (Nwuche) not say you are comparing because you are a governor. When he was deputy speaker, I was speaker. I can show you the people I paid their fees in the university.
“If you want to be included in government, bring the ideas for development. Sit me down and criticise me for not developing your area. Tell me I am developing my village more than the other areas. Put facts. Let us argue. Let him (Nwuche) come for election.
“The fact remains simply that once the governor chooses to be on the side of the people, he must know that the rich people will come against him. Because the elite will come and ask you, since we put you there, what about the outcome. I assure you and our people that I will continue to stand by you.
“We are looking for a date we will demonstrate against what the Federal Government and the commissioner of police are doing in Rivers state. We have told our chiefs to get ready. Once we get a date, once we get people from overseas and Nigeria that will join us, we will give you the date. I have told the commissioner of police to be ready to shoot me. I will be in front.
“I will not sit here (Government House) and wait for you to march here and give me letter. Instead, we will put SSG here.
“Then, I will march in with the people. We will give SSG letter to give the Federal Government. So, that if they want to shoot me, they can shoot me, because we have the right to express our views.
“You have the right to criticise me. There is nobody that is a perfect man in the world. When you criticise me, my own job is to sit down and listen. If you are not talking from the stomach infrastructure, you must be making sense.
“I met with Nwuche, two weeks before he went to them. He said, ‘look, I am your supporter’. We had breakfast in my house. Ask him. He criticises other people very well. Let them remove me, if they want to remove me.”
From the accounts of the local government chiefs who made it to Government House, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in Abua/Odual, may have been disciplined by the police commissioner for allegedly ‘working’ with the Amaechi loyalists.
Udi Odum of Abua/Odual, who made the allegation, said the only option left to the people was to take their security destiny in their hands against invaders, since the DPO in his area has been removed.
According to the council chiefs from Ahoada East, Ahoada West, Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni and Abual/Odual, the DPOs in their respective domains had stormed their local government areas to stop their solidarity trip to the governor in Port Harcourt.
The council chiefs also reported that kidnapping, which the governor had reduced to the barest minimum, has become a thriving business in the state again.
Ahoada East council chair Cassidy Okegbidi said the abduction of National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members was causing a panic in his domain.
Okegbidi said: “Right now, there is no single NYSC member in my area.”
Some supporters of the governor claimed the area commanders of their localities came to their councils’ headquarters and aborted their scheduled trips to Port Harcourt.
Explaining the mission of the people for Orashi, Leader of Rivers State Caucus in the House of Representatives Asita Honourable Asita told the governor that they were at the Government House to show solidarity to him in the face of the on-going crisis within the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Ake said: “Our sons and daughters are beneficiaries of your human capital development. Governor Amaechi’s people oriented projects in the Orashi region cannot be compared to any past administration in the state.
“The workers of iniquity will not see you. The people of Orashi region and Rivers people will see the last day of the expiration of your tenure. Amaechi, please count on our support at all times.
“Our towns and villages are riddled with multiplicity of your high-impact developmental projects, spanning from Kubor in Abua/Odual Local Government through all the nooks and crannies of Orashi region down to Ndoni, at the Northern tip of the region.
“Finally, we are here as a people, united to salute your courage, which often times is misunderstood by your detractors. Your vision, forthrightness and indeed, your unparallel accomplishments in governance are worthy of emulation.”
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Posted in Nigerian Newspapers. A DisNaija.Com network.
Source: The Nation Newspaper
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•Deploy more personnel as army chief vows to wipe out terror group
•Security beefed up at N’Assembly
Deji Elumoye and Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja
Abuja, Nigeria’s seat of power, is under a massive security cordon following threats of attacks by insurgents and the increasing wave of banditry in the contiguous states of Kaduna, Kogi, Nasarawa and Niger States, THISDAY’s investigation has revealed.
There has been a wave of kidnappings in the outskirts of the federal capital, notably Pegi, Tuganmaje and Kuje among others, which the police have battled in recent times.
The security situation in and around the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was heightened by the pronouncement of the Niger State Governor, Mr. Sani Bello, that Boko Haram fighters who he said sacked 50 villages in the state and hoisted the terror group’s flag, were about two hours drive away from the FCT.
Security has also been beefed up at the National Assembly as operatives, yesterday, thoroughly screened every vehicle approaching the National Assembly complex in Abuja.
The deteriorating security situation nationwide prompted the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, to warn that the 2023 general election may not hold, demanding the declaration of a state of emergency as well as the convocation of a national conference.
However, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, yesterday restated the Nigerian Army’s determination to annihilate Boko Haram.
But the Governor of Katsina State, Hon. Bello Masari, cautioned against declaring a state of emergency, saying doing so isn’t the solution to combat the security challenges facing the country.
The security of the nation’s airports was also in focus yesterday as the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) said there was no threat to them.
THISDAY’s investigations showed increased presence of troops, police, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) personnel and intelligence operatives at the three strategic entrances to the city notably, Keffi, Zuba and Gwagwalada.
More checkpoints were also mounted around Gwagwalada and Keffi.
THISDAY also observed increased intelligence deployment at the entrance and the borders of FCT with contiguous states.
Beyond the borders, there were more deployments and police patrols inside the city and increased intelligence deployments as well.
Security sources told THISDAY: “There are deployments here and there but they are routine. Alertness is key to a secure environment.”
It was also learnt that security agencies were involved in frenzied meetings throughout yesterday.
The meetings, coordinated by the office of the Chief of Defence Staff under the new joint operational strategy of the armed forces, were aimed at coordinating a joint response to possible threats of attack to the FCT.
“I understand the security teams have been meeting for some days now and if you look around you, you will notice that there are increasing patrols and numbers of security personnel. The threats are not been taken lightly,” a source said.
National Assembly workers, lawmakers and visitors also had a harrowing experience accessing the legislative complex due to heightened security in the area.
Security operatives thoroughly screened every vehicle approaching the National Assembly complex in Abuja, impeding both human and vehicular traffic.
The Sergeant-at-arm of the National Assembly and other security agencies supervised the operations, leading to huge traffic build-up inside the complex.
Legislative staff, visitors and lawmakers were seen patiently waiting for their cars to be searched so that they could go ahead with the business of the day.
Some staff and visitors at some point got tired of waiting and were seen alighting from their cars to trek from the gate to the complex.
Meanwhile, the ONSA has said there is no threat to the nation’s airports.
A statement by the Head of Strategic Communication, Mr. Zachari Usman, said the reports of threats to the airports were an internal correspondence of security threat assessment misconstrued as security threat to the airports.
PDP Demands State of Emergency
In a related development, the PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, yesterday demanded the declaration of a state of emergency, warning that the 2023 general election might not hold if the federal government failed to tackle insecurity.
He called on the federal government to summon a national conference to address the spike in insecurity.
Secondus added that the national caucus of the party will meet today to discuss the state of the nation.
Addressing members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) in Abuja, Secondus said: “We are worried Abuja is not even safe. It is no longer politics. We got alert of plots to bomb and burn down our airports.
“We urge the federal government to declare a national state of emergency in security. There is the need to call a national conference to discuss the insecurity in the country.
“There may not be any election in 2023 in Nigeria due to insecurity. This government must listen to the people. The Buhari government should call a national confab to discuss security and state of the nation. It is no longer politics. This time we are not playing politics. Let’s keep politics aside and move the nation forward.”
He said the country had been grounded, regretting that there had been no matching response from the federal government.
Secondus said in the past, terrorism in the North was confined to the North-east, but with the report of Boko Haram occupying villages in Niger State, terrorism had spread to the North-central
“Herdsmen are also menacing in the West; gunmen causing havoc in the East; and the militants in the South; all killing, looting, raping, maiming and burning down homes. The situation is bad; Nigerians all over are living in fear,” he said.
The Senate Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, said the problem of Nigeria was outside of the PDP headquarters, while pledging the support of the Senate to the declaration of state of emergency in security.
Abaribe said he deliberately decided not to speak on the floor of the Senate but to allow the APC senators to speak so as to avoid being accused of giving a partisan colouration to the issue of insecurity.
He stated that only electoral reforms would give victory to the opposition party in the 2023 general election and ensure a democratic defeat of the APC-led federal government.
Also, the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu, commended the NEC and the PDP leadership for their collective efforts at resolving the House leadership crisis.
The NEC meeting adopted the position of Secondus, calling on the federal government to convoke a national conference to discuss the state of insecurity in the country, according to a communiqué read by the National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan.
Army Chief Vows to Wipe Out Boko Haram
The army yesterday reiterated its commitment to wipe out Boko Haram.
Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, told reporters in Maiduguri, Borno State that Boko Haram had been defeated in many encounters and would continue to be defeated until it’s annihilated from Nigeria.
“We will take on Boko Haram decisively, and we are committed to the focus of the operations, which is the total annihilation of Boko Haram from Nigeria,” he said.
The COAS, who was visiting the headquarters of Operation Lafiya Dole in Maiduguri for the fifth time since his appointment four months ago, said the visit was to boost the morale of the troops, reassure them and listen to any issues affecting them.
Earlier, the Theatre Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, Maj. Gen. Farouq Yahaya, lauded the visit, which he said had continued to boost the morale of the troops.
“We are honoured, we are grateful, we are encouraged by those visits. You provided us guidance, logistics and other things we required. We are most grateful for those visits,” Yahaya said.
State of Emergency Won’t Solve Security Challenges, Says Masari
Katsina State Governor, Hon. Aminu Masari, has, however, said declaration of a state of emergency won’t solve the security challenges facing the nation.
Masari, who spoke yesterday with journalists after meeting with the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari at the State House, Abuja stated that he was against the recent call by the House of Representatives for the declaration of a state of emergency in the security sector as it would not solve the problem.
According to him, declaring a state of emergency will not achieve the desired effect as the security structure and personnel to be used to execute the emergency are already overstretched in a bid to safeguard lives and property.
Sourced From: THISDAYLIVE
Tribune Online
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has recorded 62 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 165,110. The NCDC disclosed this on its official Twitter handle on Friday. “55 new cases of #COVID19Nigeria; Lagos-21, Yobe-19, Ogun-6, Akwa Ibom-3, Kaduna-2, Plateau-2, FCT-1, Rivers-1.” YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE COVID-19: Nigeria Recorded […]
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
Tribune Online
Sourced From: Tribune Online
By Olasunkanmi Akoni
The people of the South East region have been urged to explore the power of negotiation and mutual settlement in the face of ongoing killings and security challenges in the zone because the east can not afford another war at present.
Stakeholders from the South-East geo-political zone made the remark on Thursday, at the unveiling of the book, “Igbo, 50 years after Biafra,” written by Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Drainage Services, Joe Igbokwe, held at Ikeja G.R.A.
Speaking at the unveiling of the book, the chairman of the occasion, Mr. Cutis Adigba,
urged the people of the South-East to learn to build bridges across the country, so that they can realise their ambition of producing the next president of Nigeria.
Adigba urged leaders from the zone to discourage the move and agitation by some youths in the South East to go to war and secede out of Nigeria.
Also read: Banditry: Disregard viral video, Niger State gov’t urges residents
He said that Igbo have always found it difficult to rule Nigeria because they refused to build bridges across the six geo-political zones that made up Nigeria.
While describing the agitation as uncalled for, Adigba noted that after two decades that Nigeria returned to civil rule, the Igbo has predominantly identified with only one political party.
He maintained that remaining in one party can not advance the cause of the people of South East and cannot make them realise their objective of producing an Igbo man as president.
He maintained that the publisher of the book, Igbokwe played politics outside his state, so that the Igbo race can be integrated with one another race.
Adigba said the failure of the Igbo to reintegrate with other ethnic nationalities politically was responsible for the retrogression of the race in Nigerian politics.
Igbokwe, also addressing guests on the occasion, maintained that the Igbo are not advancing politically because they refused to be integrated into National politics, lamenting that, despite their success in business, they are not successful in playing politics at the national level.
Corroborating Dimgba, Igbokwe noted that there was the need for the Igbo people to stand up and build bridges so that their objective of producing the next president of Nigeria could be realised.
According to him: “I have decided to raise my voice, I hope my people will hear me while trying to quell the effect of the war, our people are spoiling for another war, mayhem is being unleashed in Igbo land, and there is palpable fear.
“Those who could speak have lost their voice, mindful of the consequences of their actions, I am calling on all Igbo leaders to speak up because all actions carry consequences, consequences of the silence will be too dastardly to sustain.
“Those silently supporting the wild wind should be careful or else they hand over to their children,” he said.
Igbokwe urged those spoiling for war to jettison their plan and embrace dialogue, urging them to learn from the South West region that despite the challenges faced after the annulment of the June 12, 1993, election, they did not go to war, and the region had the opportunity of producing two of her sons for presidential position in 1999.
“You have to build bridges to become president of Nigeria, but it is unfortunate the Igbo are burning bridges.”
Speaking at the event, Chief Uche Dimgba who is the coordinator of Igbo in All Progressives Congress, APC in Lagos, described Igbokwe as “a Frank, fearless and reliable leader, who based his views on issues and stand by his opinions, and we the Igbo have confidence in him and believe he can lead us aright.”
“He is a leader we Igbo believe in and we will follow him. If he can serve all the governors produced in Lagos State since 1999, he is a better man to follow because he possesses all the experience that can be of benefit to Igbo both at home and in the diaspora.”
The post Attacks on S’East: We must explore all options of negotiation — Stakeholders urge Igbo appeared first on Vanguard News.
Sourced From: Vanguard News
The government said that no worker should stay back beyond 6:00 p.m. within premises of buildings undergoing construction.
The post Insecurity: Lagos bans occupation of abandoned buildings appeared first on Premium Times Nigeria.
Sourced From: Premium Times Nigeria
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Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
Military, Police Ring Abuja to Forestall Boko Haram Attack
UFC: Usman gets N584m after beating Masvidal
Insecurity: Lagos bans occupation of abandoned buildings
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