The lingering political war in Akwa Ibom and Rivers wings of All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is not likely to come to an end with a short-term reconciliation. At the moment, efforts to calm the frayed nerves of some of the aggrieved power gladiators, not yet paying off. In Akwa Ibom, PDP had parallel primaries. While the one Governor Udom Emmanuel identified with produced his immediate past Lands and Water Resources Commissioner, Pastor Umo Eno, as its governorship candidate, another primaries endorsed a two-term member of the House of Representatives, Michael Enyong, as the candidate at…
Author: Akanimo Sampson
United Nations political chief has warned that though digital technologies have offered “boundless opportunities” for sustainable development, education and inclusion, there is also a clear downside. , Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peace-building Affairs, Rosemary DiCarlo, has told the Security Council, “we have a critical opportunity to build consensus on how digital technologies can be used for the good of people and the planet, while addressing their risks. “But collective action by Member States remains essential towards this goal”. She noted that social media has transformed human rights and humanitarian advocacy, “making it possible to mobilize people around the world quickly…
The relatively peaceful Akwa Ibom State is currently on the boil as Governor Udom Emmanuel has retired Senator Bassey Albert and a member of the House of Representatives, Onofiok Luke, with the emergence of Pastor Umo Eno as the 2023 governorship candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Most of the power gladiators in the state, including the federal legislators had sought to hold Governor Udom hostage in the build-up to the state delegates’ congress for the recruitment of the governorship candidate. Most of the contenders withdrew from the congress that held on Wednesday in Uyo, the state capital, basing their…
The early endorsement of the immediate past Lands and Water Resources Commissioner, Pastor Umo Eno, by Governor Udom Emmanuel, worked the magic that threw the aspirant up as the governorship candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). This is the verdict of a frontline analyst of Akwa Ibom politics, Celestine Mel. According to him, the miscalculation of Senator Bassey Albert, and a member of the House of Representatives, Onofiok Luke, paved the way for Eno’s victory. Eno hauled 993 votes on Wednesday in Uyo, the state capital, to emerged the flag-bearer of the party in a widely boycotted delegates congress. Governor…
Some angry Rivers State youths are currently accusing the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of fast becoming a repressive tool for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). They were speaking against the backdrop of the anti-graft agency declaring the immediate past Accountant-General of the state, Siminalaye Fubara, and 58 others wanted for alleged N435 billion fraud. For Johnson Abiye, an Ijaw youth, the EFCC action was allegedly aimed at stalling the recruitment of Fubara as the governorship candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). ‘’As I see it, most of the drama of EFCC under the pretence of fighting corruption…
Former President Goodluck Jonathan is busy gyrating with All Progressives Congress (APC), President Muhammadu Buhari’s ruling party that has been demonizing him and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) since 2015, all because of his seeming desperate bid to return to the Presidential Villa. By popping in and dashing out of Aso Rock, and meeting APC stakeholders at will, Jonathan does not seem to be concern about the Igbo people of Eastern Nigeria, whose turn it is to take their tenancy at the villa if the rhetoric of ‘one Nigeria’ is to make any sense. Some Nigerians were expecting Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe…
Former Rivers State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman and governorship aspirant, Felix Obuah, has congratulated the governorship flag-bearer of the party, Siminalaye Fubara. In a thank you message to his supporters, Obuah told Fubara, ‘’I wish you the best and pledge my full support to ensure that our party again makes history by winning the governorship election in the state for three consecutive terms.’’ Adding, he said ‘’as we celebrate the peaceful and successful governorship primaries in Rivers we pray the good Lord also grant our mentor, leader, courageous and pragmatic Governor Nyesom Wike victory at the presidential primaries.’’ According…
Most likely, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that has been dominating the affairs of the deep pocket oil state of Akwa Ibom since 1999, might not find it very easy as usual to clinch victory at the polls in 2023. Besides the fact that some lesser political parties in the state are warming up to make a major political statement, All Progressive Congress (APC) appears to be ready for war with PDP. Some of the aggrieved PDP players who are at home with the ‘tricks’ of the party have defected to APC in a bid to take the battle to PDP.…
Conflict and the worsening security situation have contributed in spiking the worrisome displacement crisis in the world. This is the take away for NaijaNews during an interaction with some officials of the United Nations refugee agency in Nigeria. They made it clear that the worsening insecurity and the Boko Haram/bandits insurgency in the northern axis of the country, have contributed in the spike of the number of displaced persons around the world. The number of forcibly displaced people worldwide, according to the workers of the global agency operating in Nigeria, rose to 90 million by the end of 2021. The…
Some officials of the United Nations labour agency, International Labour Organisation (ILO) have disclosed from Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital that the recovery of the global jobs market is going into reverse. ILO, according to them, is blaming the COVID-19 pandemic and “other multiple crises” that have increased inequalities within and between countries. NaijaNews gathered that in some countries, the recovery is in trouble. For instance, in the last quarter of 2021 ILO saw significant gains in the number of hours worked globally. But in the first quarter of this 2022, the number of hours fell again significantly. According…
Foremost human rights and pro-democracy group, Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) is currently lobbying the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Jos, to strongly support its ongoing agitation to do away with some issues in the country’s constitution. CLO Chairman in Akwa Ibom State, Franklyn Isong, told NaijaNews that the rights group no longer comfortable with the existence of State and Local Government Joint Account as well as State Independent Electoral Commission (SIEC). CLO, according to him, is pushing for the scrapping of the joint account and deleting of SIEC from the Constitution of the Federal Republic of…
The Niger Delta will erupt in an orgy of violence if President Muhammadu Buhari releases the content of the forensic audit report of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), senior chartered accountant, told NaijaNews in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital on Tuesday night. According to the NaijaNews source, ‘’the stench of corruption in NDDC is very putrefying. Public officials were just plundering the interventionist agency, leaving the oil-bearing communities with the stigma of ‘oil curse’. ‘’With so many communities still lacking basic infrastructure, if President Buhari releases the names of those indicted for defrauding and swindling the Commission, angry youths…
Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State has started making backstage moves to douse the political fire in the state as tensions grow over the seeming nasty power games in the state. Udom who is also running for the presidential ticket of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says he will soon constitute a reconciliation panel to assuage aggrieved party chieftains during primaries in the state. The reconciliation bid is coming amid boycotts, protests, petitions and complaints as three senatorial candidates of the party emerged against the run of play allegedly, for the 2023 elections. Speaker of the state House…
The factional crisis of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State has taken a new twist. The State Publicity Secretary, Chris Finebone, says the matter has been presented to INEC headquarters in Abuja and ‘’we are awaiting their directives on what to do next.’’ After the party’s last National Convention, and the disposal of the very last court case against it, Finebone said APC in Rivers has been on ‘’fresh ascendancy and momentum. ‘’We have demonstrated the readiness and willingness to actively participate in the electioneering process which has kicked off with the conduct of delegate congresses.’’ Due to what…
Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State is currently taking advantage of every opportunity to deliver the message of his administration’s focus on tourism. This time, curators in the state are being tasked to organise, structure and distribute unique social guides, consisting of user generated content and other inspirational sources to attract, and guide visitors to museums. The governor’s Senior Special Assistant (SSA) on Tourism, Piriye Kiyaramo, made the development public while speaking as Chairman of the International Museum Day celebration, organised by the National Commission for Museums and Monuments, National Museum Yenagoa, at the Ijaw House. Kiyaramo who said museums…
People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Delta State is bracing for a tough battle in 2023 to further entrench its control in the Big Heart state, where Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege, is gearing to wrestle the dominant party to the ground. Omo-Agege is seeking the gubernatorial ticket of All Progressives Congress (APC) for the 2023 political war in Delta. APC has always been aiming to upstage the PDP. Winners have however, emerged from the PDP primaries for those seeking seats in the state House of Assembly. In the primaries held in Koko community of Warri North Local Government Area, the…
Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has highlighted the need for greater economic, social and environmental sustainability in the tea sector and its key role in empowering women and youth for improved food security and nutrition. This is coming as the world celebrates the International Tea Day 2022. FAO Director-General, QU Dongyu, in an address for the celebration says “the tea sector contributes to socio-economic development, representing a major source of employment and income for millions of poor families, yet it faces a number of challenges.” He said the tea sector “needs to achieve greater sustainability, from tea leaf to cup.”…
Nigeria is currently on the brink of devastation. But, this Africa’s most populous country is not alone on the drift. Informed humanitarian aid officials say the country is travelling along the path with Senegal and Niger. A diplomatic source in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, says leaders of these three African countries have already confirmed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, that they were on the brink of devastation. Nigeria, Niger and Senegal, according to the source, informed the UN chief that they too are suffering the impact of rising food prices, including in East Africa…
Around the world, the number of people in need is growing very rapidly. United Nations humanitarian affairs chief, Martin Griffiths, who is also the Emergency Relief Coordinator, says the number has risen by 10 per cent so far this year. According to him, around 303 million living in 69 countries, were in need of humanitarian aid and protection, compared with 274 million last December – a statistic which he described to reporters in Geneva, as “a sad record of human suffering.” “The number of people we aim to reach through our response plans, 202 million, is also more than 10…
A chieftain of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Davies Ibiamu Ikanya, has started to push for what he considers to be the right political choice and trajectory for the Ijaw ethnic nationality in the unfolding 2023 politics in Nigeria. This is sequel to the political developments in Rivers State concerning the arrest and trial of a member of the House of Representatives, Farah Dagogo, following the issuance of a 48-hour ultimatum for his release made to Governor Nyesom Wike by the Ijaw National Congress (INC). The subsequent reaction by Wike, according to Ikanya, has drawn the attention of the Ijaw and…
UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, has said that many migrants were denied access to basic services and excluded from recovery plans. This is even in spite of the fact that they worked on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic, risking their own lives to save others. Guterres was speaking in New York while addressing the official opening of a meeting to review progress towards implementing the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, adopted by governments in 2018. The first International Migration Review Forum will also examine the interplay between migration and broader concerns, including the pandemic, conflict, development finance,…
An independent, non-profit capacity building organisation that is working to strengthen democratic governance and citizens’ participation in Nigeria, Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC), has charged the country’s bicameral Legislature to wake up to its responsibilities. PLAC wants the National Assembly to bring to bear and fully exercise its constitutional responsibility of oversight of the Federal Government and its agencies charged with the responsibility of providing public services and defence of the country. PLAC’s Executive Director, Clement Nwankwo, who made the call in a statement also notes with concern the continued holding of passengers kidnapped from the Abuja-Kaduna bound train…
Apparently persuaded by the ongoing global campaign against fossil fuel, the Diri administration has started to reposition Bayelsa State economy on the path of survival in a post-petroleum era. An administration insider said from Yenagoa, the state capital that government has started to look in the direction of tourism and the blue economy. Environmental rights advocacy activists around the world have been pushing for a bold and immediate action to address the climate emergency. The main cause of the climate emergency, according to them, is fossil fuels. One of them, Nnimmo Bassey of Nigeria who is the Director of Health…
The gruesome murder of Deborah Samuel and the wanton destruction, looting and burning the properties of Igbo people in Sokoto and in some parts of Northern Nigeria is causing serious concern in some Igbo circles. Igbo National Council (INC) rose from a meeting in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital that lasted to the early hours of Saturday, strongly condemning the callous murder of the student, saying ‘’enough is enough’’. President of the Igbo group, Chilos Godsent, an engineer, told our correspondent on telephone that their Port Harcourt meeting is of the view that Northern elites should immediately caution and…
Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) has run into turbulent waters with the Ogoni people of Rivers State. Kinsmen of the late Ken Saro-Wiwa, wants the oil pollution remediation agency probed. President of Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), Fegalo Nsuke, is saying that the Ogoni people represented by their mass movement, MOSOP, are calling for a probe into the finances of HYPREP. Nsuke said his kith and kin are accusing the Ogoni cleanup management agency of allegedly looting around $200 million meant for the cleanup. He was speaking from Bori, the traditional headquarters of the Ogoni people,…
The media within the week was awash with a piece of news item from former Lagos State governor and All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential aspirant, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who vowed that he will not retire from partisan politics until he becomes the president of Nigeria. The Tinubu story made the round the same time the Presidency was busy rebuking Northern Elders Forum (NEF) on their unguarded outburst, noting that the restive northern elders have no right to ask any ethnic group to leave Northern Nigeria. The Dei Dei uprising in Abuja, which allegedly spread to Nyanya, and the seeming organized…
Joint Task Force (JTF), a special security outfit comprising soldiers, the police, and other armed security agencies in Akwa Ibom State has neutralized a dreaded militants’ leader, Otobong Moses, who is alleged to have kidnapped and killed more than 28 people in Etim Ekpo and Ukanafun Local Government Areas of the state. Our correspondent gathered from military sources in the area that the operation that brought down Otobong Moses, the leader of Iceland Confraternity was not an easy one on Wednesday night. Before the fatal shots that snuffed life out of the notorious terrorists’ leader, local sources say, their peaceful night…
Etim Ekpo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State is currently on the boil as former National Legal Adviser of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Emmanuel Enoidem, a lawyer, and his erstwhile political son and former Chairman of the Local Government, Uduot Jack, are involved in a messy political combat for the political soul of the area. Sources in the area say as a result of the bitter political rivalry, small arms are proliferating in the area. Some of the indigenes who did not want their names in print, alleged that the area has been a safe haven for cultists who have…
A senatorial aspirant in Akwa Ibom State says the National Assembly under the leadership of Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabianila, is to be blamed for the mess Nigeria has found itself and not President Muhammadu Buhari. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) aspirant, Inibehe Okori, who is seeking to represent Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District (Akwa Ibom North West) in the Red Chamber of the country’s bicameral Legislature, says federal legislators have not been effective in handling the affairs of the country. According to him, ethno-religious considerations, not patriotism, have been paramount in arriving…
Akwa Ibom State 2023 governorship aspirant, Akan Okon, says he is determined to make the state prosperous with enduring legacies. Okon was speaking at Nsit Atai during a consultative visit to the chapter leadership of the People Democratic Party (PDP) and statutory delegates. The former commissioner assured that his administration, if elected as the next governor of the state, will embark on completing the projects initiated by Governor Udom Emmanuel, especially the Ibom Deep Seaport project. According to him, it was during his tenure as the commissioner overseeing the Ibom Deep Seaport that the Federal Executive Council approved the commencement…
