Nyesom Wike duly elected, says Supreme Court

The Supreme Court gave a verdict Wednesday: confirming the election of the Peoples Democratic Party candidate in the April 2015  Governorship Election, Nyesom Wike.

The justice ruled that he was duly elected and that they would provide the reasons for their verdict on 12 February.

Mr. Wike had lost at both the Election Tribunal and the Appeal Court.

Both the lower courts ordered a fresh governorship election and preparations were apace in the state, with politicians already doing what they know best, crossing carpets, with many dumping the Wike ticket, and throwing support for the APC candidate, Dakuku Peterside.

But in its verdict , the Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the election.

It also upheld the election of Governor  Ibikunle Amosun  of Ogun state and Dave Umahi as  Ebonyi State governor.

The court in three unanimous judgments in the appeals filed by Wike, his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), set aside the concurrent judgments of the Rivers State governorship election tribunal and the Court of Appeal, Abuja.

The appeals were all heard by a seven-man panel headed by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmud Mohammed.

Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, who read the lead judgments in the three appeals, upheld the return of Wike as winner of the election.

“I find and hold that this appeal is meritorious and it is allowed. The judgment of the lower court delivered on the 16th of November 2015 and the judgment of the tribunal delivered on 24th October 2015 are hereby set aside.

“The petition of the petitioners is dismissed. The return of Nyesom Wike as governor of Rivers State by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is restored,” she stated.

Justice Kekere-Ekun said she will provide reason for her decision on February 12.

Justices Mohammed, Ibrahim Mohammed, Sylvester Ngwuta, Kumai Akaahs and Amiru Sanusi, who were members of the panel agreed with Kekere-Ekun’s lead judgment.

The apex court also dismissed the appeal by the PDP governorship candidate in Ogun State, Adegboyega Isiaka.

Isiaka had challenged the judgments of the Court of Appeal and Ogun State governorship election tribunal, which both upheld the election of Ibikunle Amosun as governor of Ogun State.

Justice Akaahs, who read the lead judgment, held that the appeal lacked merit and dismissed it.

The court equally dismissed the appeal filed by governorship candidate of Labour Party in Ebonyi State, Edward Nkwegu.

Justice Chima Centus Nweze, who read the lead judgment, held that the preliminary objection raised by Umahi succeeds in part.

He resolved the two issues on the main appeal against the appellant.

“No merit in this appeal. Umahi is the duly elected governor of Ebonyi State. Reasons will be given on Friday, January 29,” Justice Nweze held.

Additional report from The Nation

Low Revenue Earnings Won’t Stop Projects – Wike

The Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, has assured that the poor federal allocation and internal revenue profile of the state will not deter his administration from executing people-oriented projects.

Speaking while flagging-off the construction of Iguwruta-Chokocho Road on Tuesday, at the boundary between Igwuruta and Etche, Wike decried the dwindling revenue and federal allocation, which he said has dropped to N5billion monthly.

He said, “the low revenue profile does not matter. Whether we get N1billion or N2billion, we have to continue to solve the problems of our people.”

The governor while decrying the plight of the road abandoned by the immediate past administration, said he had promised during his electoral campaigns to revamp the route even though it is a federal road.

Wike noted that government will not allow the people to continue suffering while waiting for Federal Government’s intervention, and therefore, urged the contractor, Setraco Nigeria Limited, to deliver the project in six months’ time.

As part of measures to fast-track the project, the governor announced that money will be directly deducted from the state’s internally generated revenue to pay the construction firm.

Calling on the communities to help secure the project, Wike enjoined the contractor to also engage them as part of local content to avert delays and hiccups.

Earlier, Commissioner for Works, Engr Kelvin Wachuku, had said the project falls into one of the short term visions of the governor to connect all parts of the state.

As a federal road, Wachuku disclosed that the route links Ngor Okpala in Imo State, further stating that the road covers over six kilometers with a two-metre median and side drains linking Igwuruta in Ikwerre Local Government Area and Chokocho in Etche Local Government Area.

The commissioner further stated that in line with laid down standards of the present administration, the project is expected to last for one year at the cost of N2.3 billion, as he charged the contractor to utilize the dry season and complete the project in due time.

Thank you Governor Wike, Congratulations to Etche people.

Reading the so many congratulatory messages addressed to me, on the occasion of the flag-off of the reconstruction of Igwuruta-Chokocho road continues to make me teary.

Truly, good things can make one cry, but let me quickly point out that the credit is not to me alone, but to all those who in one way or the other contributed to the success of this day.

My brothers and sisters who cried this cry with me, friends and relatives who amplified our cries, and well-wishers in Rivers State Government, who helped make our case for us, we all are shareholders in the success we are celebrating today.

I was there to see for myself and all I can say is a big thank you to God Almighty and to encourage our people to always put the society first, before personal gains, for the joy that comes with it is immeasurable. I feel that joy today and it is a marvelous state of mind to be in.

I just finished my chilled bottle of zero coke and a packet of Jacob's water for a well deserved refill. The sun was there and so was it's wife, the heat...but they couldn't deter us. After meandering through the crowd of people at the venue to at least get close enough to the Speakers of the public address system, I heard the following details:

Name of project = Igwuruta-Chokocho road

Distance = 6.6 kilometers

Cost of project = N2.3b

Contractor = Setraco

Expected time of completion = 12 months

My sincere gratitude goes to the Executive Governor of Rivers State, His Excellency, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, CON, for fulfilling his campaign promise of reconstructing this road that has spelled H.A.R.D.S.H.I.P. on the skin of Etche people.

Some people have labelled this project a scam and a campaign token, and you cannot blame them for it. My people have seen about N2.9b for a road reconstruction like this in Etche LGA sink into the pocket of politicians. Governor Wike has the opportunity to silence them all by completing this project and completing it well. Don't give money to any third party on this project, if you do, they will CHOP it and the project will not be completed.

On whether this is truly a scam or a campaign token, my response is that I LOVE THIS KIND OF SCAMS AND TOKENS. I also call on the Federal Government to flag-off their own scam and campaign token to Etche people. The slogan here is as unambiguous as NO INFRASTRUCTURE IN ETCHE AND OMUMA LGAs, NO VOTE!

THE STUMBLING BLOCK!!

Dear Governor Nyesom Wike,

Your efforts will amount to futility if the issues of illegal and indiscriminate sand mining is not checked. The attack on our environment by these criminals has put us at the risk of landslides and collapse of roads and bridges.

They have brought with them an increase in recklessness and road accidents, drug abuse, prostitution, armed robbery, gangsterism and touting, destruction of roads and farmlands. These guys are the real enemies and challenge Setraco will face. I USE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO CALL ON THE RIVERS STATE GOVERNMENT TO AS A MATTER OF URGENCY AND UTMOST IMPORTANCE, PUT A STOP TO THIS ATTACK ON THE LIVES AND EXISTENCE OF ETCHE PEOPLE.

Thank you again for charging Setraco to do everything it can to complete the road in 6 months.

Thank you for tying N400m of our IGR for the next 6 months to this project.

Thank you for the many other projects begging for attention, which we trust you will also do. The strong smell of deliciousness tells me that you will soon visit Igboh-Etche road, Obibi road, Omuma and its environs.

To my Etche people, we owe this project a duty. Part of that duty is to support the contractors to succeed, through constant monitoring and reports of observations. We must help Setraco deliver in record time so that we can also ask for more. As a people who have a long way to get to the level of development in other areas, so the least we can do is to be supportive of all that comes our way for the good of all.

Thank you and God bless everyone!

I DON TALK MY OWN!

Eze-Basil Chinwendu Oluo D'Oracle

For only the good people of Etche and Omuma LGAs.

Wike Fires DG Of Rivers Bureau Of Public Procurement

Daniel Efe

Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers state has sacked Rivers state director-general of Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Franklyn Nlerum.

The governor’s directive was conveyed in a terse government statement endorsed by Nkem Nwadibe, the special adviser to the governor on project costing and due process.

The statement said the Rivers state government has directed Franklyn  Nlerum to handover all government properties in his possession to the manager of finance of the BPP.

The statement further said the sack of Nlerum, (a Lawyer by profession) is with immediate effect and that the announcement of the name of the acting DG would be announced later.

In October last year, Nlerum had a disagreements with the members of the Rivers state branch of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCN) who accused him of a failed attempt to divert the sum of N540 million from the bureau’s account to a private company called Metropole Development Company. An allegation Nlerum dismissed as baseless and an attempt to tarnish his image.

The crisis reached its peak when the angry workers barricaded the entrance to the office of the BPP and called on the state government to probe Nlerum’s handling of the bureau’s finances.

At the time of the standoff between the workers and the embattled DG, the state secretary of the ASCN, Bashman Mohammed, a lawyer, had said this in a press briefing at the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) Press Centre in Port Harcourt, the Rivers state capital, had threatened that the association would call its members out for full blown strike if the DG continued to victimize workers for querying his style of administration.

Other allegations by the association’s secretary was that the director general unlawfully seized staff salaries and that all attempts made by the association to resolve the issue had fallen on deaf ears, and accused Nlerum of running the agency in contravention of the extant legislations establishing the bureau and the public service rules.

Mohammed said: ”The director general has been running the BPP in contravention of the extant legislations establishing the bureau and public service rules.” 

Nlerum had denied all the allegations and said his hands were clean and was no afraid of inquest. It was not clear at press time if his sack was an outcome of the findings of the state Government on the previous allegations against the DG.

Culled from www.naij.com

Wike to swear in Justice Okocha as Rivers CJ

Wike congratulates Daisy Okocha

Okafor Ofiebor

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike will on Monday, 4 January, 2016 swear in Honourable Justice Daisy Wotube Okocha as the substantive Chief Judge of the state.

A statement issued by Simeon Nwakaudu, Special Assistant to the Governor on Electronic Media, said that the swearing in ceremony will hold at the Executive Council Chamber of Government House, Port Harcourt by 10am.

Justice Daisy Okocha has been the Acting Chief of Rivers State since 29 May, 2015 when he was appointed by Governor Nyesom Wike.

On 30 November last year the State Government said the National Judicial Council, NJC, had recommended the extension of the appointment of Justice Okocha in acting capacity from 1 December, 2015 to 15 January, 2016.

Wike accordingly approved the extension of the appointment.

However, following the Court of Appeal judgement that dismissed the suit challenging the appointment of Justice Okocha as Chief Judge of Rivers State, the coast became clear for her swearing in as substantive Chief Judge by Wike

Culled from www.pmnewsnigeria.com