…Says traditional rulers selling employment meant for their subjects will be dethroned

Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike has ordered the demolition of illegal sprawling market along the axis of Elele Alimini and Ahoada Towns of the East-West Road in the State.

He has directed all engaged in illegal activities in the area to quit because every standing structures at those places will be demolished with effect from Wednesday 9th June 2021.

Governor Wike gave the warning during the flag-off of construction works at the Ahoada Campus of Rivers State University, and the dualization of Ahoada -Omoku Road in Ahoada Town on Tuesday.

“Let me tell you, the state government has not authorised any market from that Ahoada Junction on East-West Road, keeping to your right and going back to Port Harcourt. Everything there are illegal structures.

“It doesn’t matter who own them.  Whether you come from the South, East, West or North, if you have any of those illegal market structures, from that junction down to Elele Alimini, I’ll bring all of them down.

“I did not authorise any market and nobody can build  market on the road. Not even a local government can do that. So, all of you who have been going to them to collect tolls from them, be prepared. No market must be on the East-West Road.”

Governor Wike also warned trespassers who have built private residences within the Western Ahaoda County High School, Ahoada to await the demolition team from the state government on Wednesday 9th June 2021.

“I have warned you severally and most of you think that nothing will happen. From next week’s Wednesday, anybody that has private residence built within the Western Ahoada County High School, I will bring it down. The land belongs to government and we will not pay any compensation.”

Speaking further, Governor Wike described as shameful the news of some traditional rulers who sell employment chances meant for their subjects to satisfy their selfish interests.

“I cannot bring develop to this place and criminality will be on the increase. We want companies to come to Ahoada but how will you get employment without companies? Everyday, you cry of unemployment when the few companies that have come, you’ll not allow them to stay. You and your traditional rulers will chase them away with your demands.

“You even sell chances of employing your own people. Woe betide that traditional ruler that I will catch one day, that is selling what belongs to (his) your people because you want to collect money,  I will dethrone that traditional ruler that day.”

Governor Wike also warned one Comasi, a notorious criminal terrorising entire Ahoada axis, to note that he cannot continue to kill people and go unpunished because time is up for him.

Former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Chibudom Nwuche performed the flag-off of the Ahoada -Omoku Road, described the event as historic, propelled by Governor Wike’s love for the Ekpeye people.

According to him, what matters in politics is the sense of value the people enjoy, and it is bad when it is about putting people down instead of lifting them up.

Similarly, while performing the flag-off of the Ahoada Campus of Rivers State University,  former Vice Chancellor of University of Port Harcourt, Prof. Joseph Ajienka commended Governor Wike for using the multi-campus system to drive educational and community development that  will also create access to education.

He urged the governor to transform the State University into an entrepreneurial institution where the products of teaching and researches will be developed to provide ready employments.

“I want to thank you for bringing a campus of the university to Ahaoda. Like I hinted, universities today have gone beyond teaching and research to entrepreneurship.

“The operators of universities today are able to transform the products of research into goods and services to contribute to development of start-up companies to employ more people to develop the economy.  I will plead that for the remaining part of your tenure, try and transform the Rivers State university to an entrepreneurial university.”

Earlier, the State government and Julius Berger signed the contract for the dualization of the Ahoada-Omoku Road Phase 1 at the Government House, Port Harcourt on Wednesday.

Governor Wike noted that though the Ahoada-Omoku road ought to be a federal project, the State government cannot to sit and watch her citizens suffer. According to him, work is progressing rapidly on the Egbema-Omoku section of the road.

Julius Berger director finance, Martin Brack thanked the Rivers state government for awarding the job to the company and promised it will be completed within 12 months.

Source: Kelvin Ebiri
Special Assistant (Media) Rivers State Governor

Governor Simon Bako Lalong of Plateau State says he will continue to rid the state civil service of workers who have questionable records, or are found to have tampered with their records.

His statement comes hours after announcing the sack of 532 workers, who were investigated using Bank Verification Number (BVN) system.

The Governor who disclosed this during a policy retreat for Permanent Secretaries held at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, NIPSS Kuru said the exercise will continue as those found culpable will face disciplinary proceedings.

Mr. Lalong told the Permanent Secretaries that the State was facing continuous decline in revenues from the federation account, which makes it very necessary to generate more revenue internally to meet the yearnings of the people.

This he said necessitated priority spending on areas that will yield revenues in all MDAs as well as the blocking of leakages in the system.

He reminded the Permanent Secretaries that Government business in Plateau State is now driven by ICT and as such, they must not only be proficient, but also mentor all civil servants in utilizing ICT for carrying out their day-to-day schedules.

Head of Service, Plateau State, Mr Sunday Chong Hyat said the Policy Retreat became necessary because of the appointment of 14 new Permanent Secretaries and the fact that the last exercise was held in 2015.

He said as accounting officers of various MDAs, the Permanent Secretaries have been equipped with relevant knowledge to enforce discipline and good conduct in line with extant rules and regulations of the civil service.

Nigeria has criticised social media giant, Twitter, for deleting President Muhammadu Buhari’s tweets, saying the company is playing double standards on issues relating to Nigeria’s domestic concerns.

President Buhari, on Tuesday had twitted civil war messages through his verified Twitter handle, @MBuhari, stating, “many of those misbehaving today are too young to be aware of the destruction and loss of lives that occurred during the Nigerian Civil War. Those of us in the fields for 30 months, who went through the war, will treat them in the language they understand.”

Twitter, deleted the tweet, stating, “this Tweet violated the Twitter Rules”.

Reacting to twitter’s action, Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said “Twitter may have its own rules; it’s not the universal rule. If Mr. President, anywhere in the world feels very bad and concern about a situation, he is free to express such views. Now, we should stop comparing apples with oranges. If an organisation is proscribed, it is different from any other which is not proscribed,”

The Minister criticised the social media company for conveniently ignoring inciting tweets by leader of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, and his cohorts, saying it is displaying the same biases it did during the #ENDSARS protest, where government and private properties were looted and set on fire, all in the name of right to protest.

The Minister said, “Any organisation that gives directives to its members, to attack police stations, to kill policemen, to attack correctional centres, to kill warders, and you are now saying that Mr. President does not have the right to express his dismay and anger about that? We are the ones guilty of double standards.

“I don’t see anywhere in the world where an organisation, a person will stay somewhere outside Nigeria, and will direct his members to attack the symbols of authority, the police, the military, especially when that organisation has been proscribed. By whatever name, you can’t justify giving orders to kill policemen or to kill anybody you do not agree with,” the Minister said.

Borno Governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, on Wednesday commissioned 580 units of two bedroom houses which were immediately allocated for resettlement of families displaced by Boko Haram who had, for years, been living at internally displaced persons (IDPs) camp.

Zulum unveiled the houses in Auno town of Konduga Local Government Area at a brief ceremony that was attended by government officials, the district head of Auno and displaced families which were given the houses under the state government’s drive towards safe and dignified resettlement of IDPs across the state.

The 580 houses were built by Borno’s Ministry of Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (RRR) on Zulum’s approval, while a resettlement committee co-chaired by commissioner for RRR, Engr Mustapha Gubio, and the Special Adviser on Sustainable Development, Partnerships and Humanitarian Support, Dr. Mairo Mandara, supervised allocation of houses and resettlement.

Governor Zulum symbolically presented letters of allocation to families and directed the resettlement committee to work towards moving more displaced families from IDP camps to dignified homes.

Zulum lamented that IDP camps have been faced with so many problems of prostitution, drug abuse and exploitation of humanitarian interventions by citizens who relocate to camps in the day time mainly to get food rations meant for those with more severe needs after which they return to their homes at night, leaving the real IDPs with less food allocations.

The Governor said it was in that regard that he directed the closure of government IDP camps at the Mohammed Goni College of Islamic Legal Studies (MOGOLIS) and the NYSC permanent orientation camps, while displaced persons were resettled. He noted that the measure aims at ensuring optimum use of MOGOLIS for academic activities.

In his welcome remark, Commissioner for Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (RRR), Engr Mustapha Gubio, explained that a total of 4,967 families, called households, were recently resettled with houses allocated to them in Damasak, Auno, Bama, Konduga town, Jere, Maiduguri and Marte.

Gubio also said that during house allocations, primary school teachers, nurses and security personnel were accorded consideration given their roles in communities.

The commissioner also announced more resettlement housing projects were ongoing and nearing completion amongst Kaleri, Warabe, Chibok, Ngarnam, Damboa, Marte, Dalori and more locations.