Vote Out PDP, Secure Your Future, Amaechi Tells Rivers People

Vote Out PDP, Secure Your Future, Amaechi Tells Rivers People

Gov. Amaechi

Rivers State Governor and Chairman of Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi has urged Rivers people to vote out the PDP-led federal government in next year’s election to secure their future.

Amaechi spoke at the weekend in Degema Consulate, the headquarters of Degema Local Government Area of the state after commissioning 8,000-sitting capacity football stadium complex built by the On. Ibioni Daddy Pokima led administration in te area.

Amaechi said the PDP have nothing to offer Kalabari people, and one way for the people to regain their lost oil wells and benefit from democratic governance was to vote out the PDP.

Amaechi explained that the President was taking sides in the Soku oil wells matter, as he narrated the president's reaction during a meeting with Kalabari Chiefs.

“In that meeting, before Kalabari Chiefs, Mr. President said to us, ‘you people call it Soku, we from Bayelsa call it Oluasiri’. ‘Is Soku Oluasiri?', he questioned and the people said ‘no’.

“As President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, he is not supposed to take sides. The moment he said it is called Oluasiri, he is taking sides and we have no faith in Mr. President returning our oil wells. They have taken the (Soku) oil wells, they are spending the money because they have the Presidency. The only way you can get back your oil wells is to vote out Mr. President.

 The only opportunity you have now is your vote. Vote him out, he is not Rivers, He is from Bayelsa. He has not and will not serve us and I have said here, let Mr. President tell us what he has done for us", Amaechi said.

He noted with regret that his efforts to build Trans-Kalabari road in the state and reconstruct the  Emohua-Abonnema federal road already in deplorable condition was frustrated by President Jonathan.

He therefore called on the people to fight for their rights by using their voting strength to correct all anomalies by voting out the ruling PDP.

“When I was coming here (to Degema), I saw the Emohua-Abonnema road, it’s going bad. When I met the President with Kalabari Chiefs and I told the President: ‘that road is going very bad, if we don’t intervene now, that road will soon be impassable. Mr. President, that road is a federal road’, and he said, he knows. And I then asked: ‘Mr. President, can the Rivers State Government reconstruct that road? Because that is the only road by which Kalabari people come out to town’ but Mr. President said no."

"He told me ‘no' and said the (federal government) would do it. One year plus, he has not done it. So what you will do to make sure you have a road next year is to vote out PDP. If Mr President says he is our brother, because I hear Kalabari people say he is our brother, let him do our road, let him return our Soku oil wells."

“I begged him (President Jonathan) that the federal government is owing Rivers State N105 billion, he should take N50 billion from there and help me construct Trans-Kalabari road, he said, 'Amaechi, I will do it’. Three years after, Mr. President has not done it, so he is not a Kalabari man. Don’t follow your buccaneer brothers, who want to be governor and all that and  because of their personal selfish interests, they want to sell the Kalabari Kingdom. You are the youths, defend your kingdom. Nobody should take away what belongs to you. The Kalabari people are known to fight for their right. They are people who can stand up to any challenge to protect themselves and their people. One way to defend your kingdom is to vote out those who don’t have your interest at heart”, he noted.

On the commissioned project, Governor Amaechi commended Degema Council Chairman, Hon. Ibigoni Daddy Pokima for constructing the state-of-the-art Sports Complex named after late Rt. Hon. Tonye Harry, immediate past Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly.

Earlier, the Degema Council boss, Hon. Pokima said history was made in the local government area by the visit of the governor.

He said his administration has concentrated on providing democratic dividends to the people of the local government area and thanked Governor Amaechi for his immense support.

“Your Excellency, I feel a sense of fulfillment to say that Bakana, Oguruama, Amatamgbolo and Fuche communities have been hooked up to the national grid. Then we thought of coming back to our first dream – engaging and channelling the energy of our youths into meaningful venture other than in restiveness and militancy, hence the vision to build this sports complex."

“As a government, we are gratified that the vision we conceived about three years ago has come to solid fruition. I believe this complex will provide a serene and conducive atmosphere for our people especially our youths to develop and exhibit their sporting prowess”, he said.

After the commissioning, Governor Amaechi took a shot at goal to kick-off the peace tournament between Team Rivers and Team Degema.

Ajunwa: One Year as Chief Press Secretary

Ajunwa: One Year as Chief Press Secretary

By Madubuko Hart

It was Mahatma Gandhi, the once reformist from India, who said that man often becomes what he believes himself to be. Gandhi goes further to elucidate that if a man keeps on saying to himself that he can or cannot do a certain thing, it is possible that the man may end up by really becoming capable or incapable of doing it. So, it was not out of place when Governor Theodore Ahamefule Orji of Abia State announced on October 22 2013 in a press briefing by his Chief of Staff, Mr. Cosmos Ndukwe, saying that Mr. Charles Ajunwa is the Chief Press Secretary (CPS), replacing one Mr. Ugochukwu Emezue.

It is unmistakable one year after that Ajunwa has proved himself capable of the position of the CPS, having done well as one of the humble and finest reporters in the Nigerian media industry when he pitched tent with the famous ThisDay newspapers. The governor was clairvoyance in seeing Ajunwa and appointing him to serve him as his CPS, a position that requires hi-tech diplomacy and leadership tactics, of which Ajunwa has been showing that he was grounded in all of that.

Ajunwa’s humility and total submission to Jesus Christ and with his utmost characteristic to being God-fearing endear him to all and sundry that have investigated him or have had the opportunity to be in contact with him or have heard about him. He is a man of few words, but with positive actions that have enlivened the government he serves and brought about media respect against dissenters. Unlike what it used to be before he came in: Dissenters to the government were hounded and labelled kidnappers and anything unprintable, which were not supposed to be so.

From all indications, Ajunwa is not representing his boss with brickbats and wickedness, but with respect to the individual’s right to freedom of speech, when any airs his or her opinion that may not be truth against the government he serves. Ajunwa comes out and responds to such opinion by pointing out what the government he serves has done right and has been doing right and intends to do right in respect to the opinion, thereby putting the dissenter through with the rightful information that the dissenter had lacked.

Looking at the obedience with which Ajunwa handles his office, it reminds one with the phraseology by one Israelmore Ayivor thus: “You are your own canoe and you are your own paddle, so paddle your own canoe. Society had taught us to give away our power and abilities by making us to believe that other people are responsible for our success and failure. That is not fair!”

Yes, since Ajunwa assumed office one year ago, he has seen that it is not fair to molest opposition politicians or writers, but to always inform them with the information about the government he serves they perhaps had, but pretend they do not have and prefer to cast the public against the government. This graduate of University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN), Ajunwa who began his journalism career with the Daily Times in 2000 after his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme at the Guardian Newspapers, has lowered the tension that once circled around the government in Abia State, thereby making nonconformists to see the government of Governor T.A. Orji through the lens of objectivity and constructiveness, not through the destructive lens.

To be frank, with the information that circles around Ajunwa while investigating him in the cause of this essay, he is a prudent and prodigious man who is always concerned about his family name and his to always represent in the positive. Many people both in the ThisDay and Post Express Newspapers, where he later joined and worked in the Politics Desk before moving on to the African Economy, published by Development Economic Resources (DER) from where he joined THISDAY in 2008, have all said that Charles Ajunwa is an enchantment; a man who uses his quiet and calm voice and enviable brain to disarm any riotous or calamitous situation. A peacemaker, they have said he is.

Like Robert Kahn would say that new capabilities emerge just by virtue of having smart people… it is essential to say that humanity and the people of Abia State are lucky with a Chief Press Secretary to the governor like Charles Ajunwa whose word is his bond; a man who does not tell lies just for the lucre of power and position. Ajunwa who was also the National Assembly Correspondent for The Country Newspapers before his appointment as CPS, have shown that he has the talent to unearth potentials. This is plain in the creditability that Abia State has been enjoying in and out of the media since his emergence as the CPS.

Again, with the dexterity with which Ajunwa works shows that he loves the government that appointed him and he is working for, showing the government that it is  much more than the sum of its achievements. Possibly, Ajunwa is a student of Israelmore Ayivor thus: Those who mistrust their own abilities are being too wicked to themselves, discouraging themselves from doing what they should have been excelling in. If you are good at discouraging yourself, you can't be a good leader because leadership is built on inspiring others to face challenges. Probably, Ajunwa has been applying the words of Thomas A. Edison, which says that the first requisite for success is the ability to apply your physical and mental energies to one problem incessantly without growing weary.

Ajunwa is not a man of small moments of honesty. He is always an honest man. He has been showing the clause in Orison Swett Marden’s “Learn to Expect a Great Deal of Life”, which is: “The greatest thing a man can do in this world, is to make the most possible out of the stuff that has been given him. This is success, and there is no other.”

Thanks to His Excellency, Governor Theodore Orji of Abia State for his prescience in exploring Charles Ajunwa and appointing him as his Chief Press Secretary. While Ajunwa is showing that he is a man of honesty, the government and him are wished success, as the government lasts. According to Charles Luckman, success is that old ABC meaning ability, breaks and courage.

Madubuko Hart writes from Lagos.

Nightmare called Enugu/ Port Harcourt Expressway

Nightmare called Enugu/ Port Harcourt Expressway

By Odimegwu Onwumere

It is unmistakably secure to walk through the den of the Islamic sect called Boko Haram than drive on most roads in the South-East and South-South, especially on the Enugu/Port Harcourt Expressway.

Many motorists have constantly related their bad ordeals while plying the pit-of-hell.  Apart from Okigwe and Umuahia, Umuahia and Isiala Ngwa South, and Aba/Imo River Bridge at the boundary with Abia and Rivers States where the Expressway has conspicuously damaged, it is a nightmare travelling on the Expressway along Umuebulu Junction near Oyigbo Local Government Area, Rivers State.

On October 8 2014, this reporter took the picture of a truck carrying goods suspected to be tomatoes and pepper that fell on the road the Federal Government had in 2012 said it had awarded contract for the modernization. The red motor in the picture had its bumper removed by a spot that has worsened at the Umuebulu Junction.

These are infinitesimal tales of woes by motorists compared to the number of vehicles that get spoilt by the worsened highway per day, whereas the road was supposed to be so relevant.  It used to be the economic hub for both the government and individuals to convey their services from one place to another.

One bystander who did not give her name while filing this report said, “It is appalling that this road remains thus considering the fact that President Goodluck Jonathan is from the region where the road is situated.”

Many wondered if the people of South-South and South-East would vote for Mr. President in 2015 owing to his palpable aborted promise in 2011 that he would rebuild the road if voted into power.

(Report and Photos by Odimegwu Onwumere, Rivers State. Tel: +2348032552855).

Uduaghan replies critics, says Olejeme will be governor in 2015

Uduaghan replies critics, says Olejeme will be governor in 2015

Director General of Olejeme Campaign Organization, Mr. Emmanuel Oritsejolomi Uduaghan Thursday described the leadership of Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) as focused in vision, efficient in delivery and transparent in official conduct.

He also praised Dr. Ngozi Olejeme for making Nigeria, particularly Delta State proud by her achievements in NSITF, Trustfund Pensions Plc and other institutions.

“Dr. Olejeme occupies a special place in the hearts of the people. Her contributions to human capital development, governance and pension schemes in Nigeria, particularly Delta State are impossible to
estimate, to measure and to quantify” he said.

At a well-attended meeting of leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Asaba, Uduaghan not only praised Dr. Olejeme for setting high standards in pension matters and management of public finances but also accused some politicians and journalists of feeding the public
with cooked and calculated lies. “Some politicians and journalists are just executing a carefully
designed plan to discredit the aspirant and destabilize the campaign
organization to further their selfish ends” Uduaghan said.

He appealed to office and money seeking politicians and journalists to temper ambition and greed with concern for public good and genuine welfare of the people. “Misguided attacks by some politicians, self-acclaimed journalists and their backers will never deter Dr. Olejeme from repositioning NSITF or becoming the next governor of Delta State”.

Uduaghan, who further thanked the people for the confidence reposed on Dr. Olejeme, said the aspirant would continue to work for the good of Nigerians.

Regretting that the country is yet to fully tap her wealth of experience and knowledge, Uduaghan said “We are determined to work assiduously towards installing Dr. Olejeme as the next governor of
Delta State”

He urged Dr. Olejeme to keep up the good works, irrespective of theantics of some detractors who peddle false stories about NSITF.

“In any system, there are always destroyers. Dr. Olejeme should look away from these destroyers and get on with important matters, since they are arrogant and reckless politicians and journalists pursuing their selfish agenda” he added.

Expectations of Deltans will be met by Olejeme, says Uduaghan Chairman of Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund, Dr. Ngozi Olejeme has  the potential and capacity to deliver public goods and services, says Mr. Emmanuel Oritsejolomi Uduaghan.

Uduaghan, Chairman of Olejeme Campaign Organization, who unfolded initiatives aimed at improving the state and the people Tuesday in Warri, said Dr. Olejeme’s vision was an integrated rural and urban development programme, which would include electrification, communication, health care, education, security, roads and job creation.

Poised to excel, Uduaghan told top Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leaders in the state, prominent chiefs, clergymen, women and youth leaders that Dr. Olejeme would not only sustain the tempo of
development in the state but also strive to improve on the present record.

Exuding confidence in Olejeme’s plans for the state and the people, Uduaghan declared: “There will be a revolution in the education sector. Olejeme will take over WAEC fees for both JSS and SSS students throughout the state. She will also build and equip science laboratories as well as good libraries. She will provide text books and exercise books free of charge to students from primary to
secondary levels in the state. She will also address the challenges facing tertiary institutions in the state.

Continuing, he said “Olejeme will embark on small scale industrial projects in all the 25 local government areas of the state. All the state hospitals will be reactivated while new ones will be built where necessary. The hospitals will be well equipped with drugs, stand by generating plants and regular water supply.”
 

Promising to wage war against poverty and unemployment by constantly seeking for ways more jobs could be created for the ever increasing number of the unemployed in the state, Uduaghan said pension arrears crisis would be over in 2015.

“Agreement reached between government and the Joint Negotiation Council, Delta State Chapter will be implemented. Various artisan and craft centres will be opened in all the local government areas with technical instructors for the various artisan trades to keep our women very busy in the rural areas. Markets will be opened in strategic locations while abandoned markets will also be completed.”

“Olejeme will accord the well-deserved courtesy of royal father to traditional rulers. New vehicles will be provided and maintained by government for members of the state traditional council” he said.

Urging Deltans at home and abroad to support her, Uduaghan said, “Dr. Olejeme is qualified educationally, socially and politically to be the next governor of Delta State”

Jonathan’s Administration is a Disaster In Nigeria’s History, Says Ex-New PDP National Publicity Secretary

The six years administration of Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan as Nigeria’s President has been described as the most disastrous in the country’s history.

This verdict was given by one-time National Publicity Secretary of the defunct New Peoples Democratic Party (New PDP) and APC Chieftain, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, in a statement issued Wednesday in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.

“We should have been celebrating in recognition of Nigeria’s 54 years of nationhood but what we are rather seeing is a pervasive atmosphere of gloom as Nigerians are groaning day and night under the wicked rule they are being subjected to through the government of Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, which has abdicated its responsibility to the people, and in every way possible shows the wickedness of its reign,” Eze said.

According to him, “To say that Nigeria is currently at the cross roads – confused and not knowing what tomorrow portends, occasioned by the visionless and misguided leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the centre – is to say that appropriate words to describe the state of our nation under an uncaring and corrupt government can’t be found. Today, we have a government that cannot protect or guarantee our security as contained in the Constitution.

“To worsen the nation’s situation, President Jonathan has proven himself as incapable of running this country as his six years of administration have been most disastrous to the country’s history. Our hospitals have become more of consulting and mortuary centres; our federal roads are now death traps, after billions of naira had been budgeted and wasted and looted. We have an elected Government that hates democracy, but prefers ‘lootcracy’! Under this administration, the civil war years can be described as haven, as Nigerians are killed in droves today, without any solution at sight! Under this administration, Nigerians are so divided in both tribal and religious matters! Salaries of civil servants are not paid! Graduates are produced in millions yearly without any plan of employment for them. Instead of allowing these unfortunate graduates to live in peace, they are being defrauded by government agencies, while a good number has lost their lives in their search for non-existent jobs! We now have a government of deceit, which major achievement is making our nation a laughing stock before the international community. A government that has succeeded in making us a mockery before the international community and African leaders; which major achievements are traumatising and transforming the nation into darkness as well as digitalising corruption to such a level where a whopping sum of $10 million can be said to have developed wings, and unaccounted for. For leading Nigeria to its present comatose state, one cannot be far from the truth if one says that President Goodluck Jonathan is a colossal failure, in terms of his leadership style.”

Chief Eze berated President Jonathan for nursing the ambition to contest for re-election next year, describing it as dishonourable since Jonathan signed an agreement not to seek re-election and publicly reaffirmed that decision in newspaper interviews while begging Nigerians to give him a chance in 2011.  “After spending six years in office by 2015, he is still offering himself to contest the 2015 presidential election, which if he wins, will make him to rule the country for ten years; against the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that stipulates that nobody should rule the country exceeding eight years,” Eze said.

He reminded President Jonathan of his recent statement while reacting to calls from some quarters for him to seek re-election: “In deciding on an appropriate response to such calls, I will place the greater interests of national harmony, cohesion, unity, security, political stability, progress, equity, justice and fairness above any personal ambition or sectional agenda.” Jonathan, according to Chief Eze, “must know that his contesting will not be in the greatest interest of national harmony. He must, therefore, perish the thought if he really loves Nigeria and wishes to promote the greatest interest of national harmony.”

The former New PDP Spokesman also lambasted “the shameless PDP leadership that nominated President Jonathan, who has demonstrated incompetence as a hobby, to fly the PDP flag during the 2015 general election.” He lamented that “not minding the massive failure in all sectors of our economy, the immorality and the political implication on our nation of President Jonathan contesting the 2015 general elections; the various echelons of PDP leadership has adopted him as the party’s sole-candidate for the 2015 presidential election.”

On the way out, Chief Eze said: “Nigerians have no option than to rally together and ensure that this evil calculation is not allowed to see the light of the day as any extra day after May 29, 2015 with PDP leadership at the centre will be hellish for all of us.

“Are Nigerians actually tired of these evil cabals that have hijacked governance in the country? If yes is the answer; how to correct these anomalies associated with the poor leadership of our country by PDP lay in their hands. The fate of our country can only be ratified and put back on track if Nigerians rise and get PDP sacked by 2015. If not, the woes ahead on all of us may not be described. We have done too much talking! 

“The fact remains that should APC lose out in the 2015 general election, but God forbid, the true colour of President Goodluck Jonathan will be revealed to Nigerians. And the heat may be unbearable. The ball is now in the court of all Nigerians to do that which is necessary to rescue our dear from the imminent doom that awaits her, should we fail in this mission.”

Jonathan’s Boast to Recover Rivers State for PDP in 2015 Laughable —APC

Jonathan’s Boast to Recover Rivers State for PDP in 2015 Laughable —APC

The All Progressives Congress (APC), Rivers State Chapter, has dismissed as ridiculous, the boast by President Goodluck Jonathan that his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will recover the State from the hands of APC during the 2015 general elections. “This boast made on Saturday by President Jonathan during PDP’s South-South Rally in Benin City, the Edo State capital, is ridiculous because it runs counter to the realities on ground in Rivers State,” the State APC leadership said.

According to a statement issued Sunday in Port Harcourt by Rivers APC Chairman, Dr. Davies Ibiamu Ikanya said, “President Jonathan’s boast is obviously based on ignorance about current political realities in Rivers State. He may not have known that the State PDP leader and prospective governorship candidate, Junior Education Minister Nyesome Wike, has polarised PDP in Rivers State to the extent that it cannot even win a councillorship seat in a fair and free election.

“Apart from this, Chief Wike, on whom Mr. President is building his hopes of PDP reclaiming Rivers State, has lost political relevance since he left the mainstream of the political family that binds Rivers State together under the leadership of the man that made him whatever he is politically today – Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi. Wike is either deluding himself or deliberately feeding Mr. President with lies in a bid to feather his nest.”

Dr. Ikanya also cited Jonathan’s wickedness towards Rivers State as yet another reason why PDP can never recapture power in the State. He unleashed the following posers for the President: “On what basis should the people of Rivers State vote for PDP in 2015? Is it based on the wicked policies of the Jonathan administration against Rivers State and her people? Is it based on the ceding of our oil wells to his home State of Bayelsa and supporting Akwa Ibom and Abia states to take over our oil wells? Or is it because he has ensured that the Federal Government does not site any meaningful project in Rivers State? Or his deliberate refusal to implement the UNEP Report on Ogoni, President Jonathan has left no one in doubt of his deep hatred for Rivers State and her people, so how can we support him or any PDP candidate in 2015?” 

Rivers APC declared that “in any case, the feats of the Amaechi administration are enough to give us victory in future elections. These feats, which are well known, include making Port Harcourt the World Book Capital City, eradication of militancy, dogged fight for the oil wells and other rights of Rivers State and her people, as well as award-winning achievements in Education, Agriculture, Health, etc.” 

The party advised President Jonathan “to stop deceiving his confused followers about Rivers State or any State in the Niger Delta for that matter, as they have abandoned both PDP and his candidature as they have not benefitted from his regime as a region.” Dr. Ikanya made it clear that Rivers people have since adopted APC as the party of their choice and there is nothing the PDP or any other party can do about that.