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Roads in Niger Delta that produces Nigeria’s wealth are in Deplorable Condition, Clark Tells Tinubu

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The roads in the Niger Delta that produces Nigeria’s are in deplorable condition, Elder Stateman, Chief Edwin Clark has urged President Bola Tinubu to declare a state of  emergency on them

Clark, who made the appeal at a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday, said if the infrastructure in the areas remained in deplorable conditions the situation will contribute to the continuous decline in oil revenue accruing to the government.

He lamented that the country’s hope of revamping the national economy was being challenged with the unfortunate state of affairs in the South-South region. 

Clark decried the recent calamity in the region when 20 were burnt following an accident that occurred at Koko Junction on the Warri-Benin highway due to bad roads.

He said the dilapidated state of the road has a direct link to the calamity which the people of the South-South region continue to face daily due to the most inhuman situation of the federal roads in the region. 

The Ijaw National Leader noted with regret that despite the fact that the region produced the bulk of the wealth of the nation, it’s impact was not being felt by his people saying that rather the people are nade to play the s3cond fiddle

He said, “We see the impact of the natural resource that is daily taken out of our soil here in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and almost every other part of the country, we are left to wallow in this total neglect, marginalisation and deprivation.”  

Explaining further he said the recent accident at the Koko junction could have been averted if the President Muhammadu Buhari government, efforts had been made to look into the state of our roads. 

He said , “The East-West Road remains an ugly stain on Nigeria political administrative logic, especially for something considered as signature project, because of its economic significance.  

“No substantial inch of construction work has been added in the eight years of the Buhari Administration. Sections of the road supposedly constructed were washed away like whitewash on walls by the 2022 floods, obviously due to the poor standard of work done”.   

“As you would expect, that road is right now, especially at the time of this 2023 rainy season, in total disrepair and a death trap where there is daily carnage.  

“The connection between Calabar and Itu, that is,  in the section between Cross River and Akwa Ibom remains one of the most dangerous roads in the world, even though the NNPC Ltd is supposed to have taken it 

“over. Coming further down, under your government, you have gratefully awarded the section around the Refinery by Eleme Junction.  For this, we are grateful. 

“However, the connection between Rivers State and Bayelsa State has four major sections which collapsed due to the 2022 floods and has remained unrepaired.

“Such that a normal journey that would have taken one and half hours between the two states now take three hours and more.  

“If you continue to the axis between Patani and Warri, there are at least four major spots again where the road has totally collapsed and can no longer be passed.

“The commuters now have to go through bush paths in order to continue their journey.  

“Between Warri and Sapele, there are so many bad spots, also washed away by floods and this continues from Sapele to Benin which led to the mammoth death in numbers at Koko junction. 

“If one may ask, what is the status of the US $333m Bodo-Bonny Road, a project expected to open up opportunities for rapid socio-economic development of the areas, even with a reported contribution of US $167m by the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Limited?

Meanwhile, four years ago, the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, while addressing the House of Representatives Committee on Works, disclosed that 524 road projects were ongoing in the six geopolitical zones of the country. Fashola said there were four multilateral-funded road projects, 81 under the Presidential Infrastructural Development Fund and 45 others being funded under the Sukuk bond.

“Certainly, billions of naira, from the Niger Delta oil and gas resources have been approved and expended on the construction and rehabilitation of roads and bridges across the country, excluding roads and bridges in the South-South zone.”

Clark said some of the roads and bridges reportedly completed or being constructed/reconstructed, among others, included the Kano-Maiduguri Road linking Kano-Jigawa-Bauchi-Yobe and Borno States Section II, covering over 177km.

He said, “From the information that was made available, in terms of kilometers (length of the roads), the South-South had the least with only 52.2 kilometers. 

“The North Central had 1,479.9 kilometers; North West had; North East had; South-East had 122 kilometers and South-West had 119 kilometers. 

“What were the reasons for such an absurd distribution? What was the yardstick? He queried.

He also added that the Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, neglected the South-South zone in the allocation and distribution of projects by his ministry, in tandem with the established pattern of the Buhari administration. Even the housing units being built by the federal government across the country, we are unaware of any being built in the south-south.

He said, “Recall that when the $311 million Abacha loot was returned from the United States in 2020, the South-South was excluded in projects designated for the fund, which included the second Niger Bridge, Lagos-Ibadan and Abuja-Kaduna-Kano expressways, as well as the Mambilla Power Project in North East zone; no project in the South-South zone was listed. That scenario was repeated with the Ibori loot.”

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Niger Delta

APC fumes as Court bars pro-Wike lawmakers from sitting

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The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State has expressed displeasure with the court order restraining the pro-Wike lawmakers from further sitting.
Following the battle for supremacy between Wike and Fubara, the 27 pro-Wike lawmakers defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the opposition All Progressives Congress(APC)
However the PDP, on whose platform they were elected, swifty approached the court, seeking an order declaring their seats vacant.
The Rivers State government, however, welcomed the development.
The Commissioner for Information and Communication, Joseph Johnson, said, “The law has spoken, and once the law speaks, rascality must cease.”
But the Publicity Secretary of the Rivers APC, Chibuke Ikenga, alleged judicial compromise and executive interference.
The injunction, which restrains the 25 lawmakers from holding legislative activities, followed a similar ex parte order on May 10.
In the latest ruling, Justice Wali restrained the 25 pro-Wike lawmakers “from parading and holding out themselves as members of the Rivers State House of Assembly and/or meeting/sitting at the auditorium of the House of Assembly Quarters located at off Aba Road, Port Harcourt, or at any other place whatsoever to purport to carry out the legislative business of the Rivers State House of Assembly, their legislative seats having been declared vacant, pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.”
The judge also restrained Fubara and the Rivers State Attorney General, who were joined in the suit as the 26th and 28th defendants, respectively, “from dealing with, interfacing, accepting any resolutions, bills and/or however interacting with the first to 25th defendants in their purported capacities as members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, their legislative seats having been declared vacant with effect from December 13, 2023, pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.”
Its Publicity Secretary, Ikenga, said the party was not surprised, alleging that the executive was procuring pronouncements outside the law.
He said, “We do know that there is an integrity question on Justice C. N. Wali. We are not unaware that they have all been compromised, particularly himself and a few others.
“They are pandering to the whims and caprices of the executive who today is their paymaster represented by the governor. So, it is expected that they will continue on that trajectory by taking decisions outside the provisions of the law.
“They are doing so for pecuniary reasons and we understand that. They have descended into the arena of politics, which is disturbing. They have nosedived integrity, they have compromised their positions of authority and behaving in an unholy manner,” he said.
Asked if he would advise the Amaewhule-led lawmakers to appeal the ruling, he said there was already a subsisting judgment by a Federal High Court.

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Niger Delta

Clark tackles Ganduje, Damagum for colluding with Wike to sabotage Rivers people

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Elderstatesman and the leader of the Ijaw nation Edwin Clark has accused the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Umar Ganduje and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Amb. Umar Damagum of colluding with Former Governor of Rivers State Nyesom Wike to sabotage the elected Government and Governor or Rivers State, Sir, Siminalayi Fubara
In an open letter to the duo he urged the other executive members to order.

“As a patriotic old statesman, I strongly believe that I should address this letter to you to call to order FCT Minister, Chief Nyesom Wike, because he is dancing naked in the open market in the politics of madness in Rivers State with one leg each in the two parties.
“I know both of you are fully aware and involved in the political crisis in Rivers State which is caused by Wike who is controlling the two parties in Rivers State particularly the PDP.
He advised both chairmen to withdraw from the madness of politics of Rivers State to avoid the dangerous crisis facing Rivers State, one of the most important states producing the resources used to sustain the economy of this country.

“I hope you do not forget that the International Oil Companies (IOCs) and the deep seaport of Onne are very well established in Rivers State.
“How can the Federal Government and the two main political parties allow an individual to disrupt and cause confusion, harassment of the democratically elected Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara on the guise that he alone and not the people of Rivers State made Fubara Governor, in his provocative and inciting statement?
According to him, the support given to Nyesom Wike by both party Chairmen has made him courageous enough to intimidate and anger the Rivers State Governor and Government and this is seen as an act to overthrown the duly elected Governor, which is criminal.
Finally, I am therefore appealing to you, in the interest of peace and stability in Nigeria to disassociate yourselves from the diabolical and mischievous plan by Wike for no just cause to bring down the Government of his successor, Governor Fubara.
“I strongly advice both of you to retrace your steps and take charge of your political parties in Rivers State and not leaving it for Wike who is neither PDP nor APC.”

“Nyesom Wike aggressively boasted that nobody can remove the member representing Ogu-Bolo Constituency. Therefore one is tempted what this dangerous, diabolical and mischievous politician can do to breach the constitution and cause a breakdown in law and order in the country.
“He is not in a position to amen section 109 (1g) of the constitution and he is not in a position to undermine the Supreme Court judgement which has now been firmly accepted as precedent, which binds all Courts in Nigeria.
“Listening to Wike who is a self imposed leader of the party PDP and the champion of madness in Rivers Politics is also controlling the ruling party APC by appointing a caretaker committee under the former Chief of Staff to Governor Rotimi Amaechi, Chief Tony Okocha, while he is not the legitimate chairman of APC in Rivers State.
“The legitimate Chairman Emeka Beke was suspended and was replaced with Chief Tony Okocha, because of his close relationship with the Leader of APC in the state, in person of Rt Hon Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi. “Chief Tonye Cole, the APC gubernatorial candidate in Rivers State also belongs to the elected executives. “Nyesom Wike, in order to impress the Presidency and APC in Abuja, decided to create the Chief Tony Okocha led caretaker committee with which he now deals with the APC in Rivers State with the approval of the National Chairman of APC.
“One maybe tempted to ask the National Chairman of APC why he chose to deal with a caretaker committee of APC which the Minister of FCT, Nyesom Wike had earlier presented the committee to him in the APC secretariat in Abuja before constituting it as a caretaker committee.
“But curiously, you now deal with a caretaker committee instead of the elected Chairman. I hope you are aware of the court action filed against you and APC by the elected Chairman of APC in Rivers State, Emeka Beke.
“The old APC members by law are the APC leaders because they were never removed before the illegal caretaker committee was imposed on Rivers State, who are loyalist to Wike.
“The legally constituted executives are in court, challenging the imposition of the caretaker committee on Rivers State chapter of the APC by the NWC.
“By his statements, he made it very clear that he is at work in Rivers State to intimidate, harass, disorganise the state in order to replace Governor Fubara with the former Speaker of the House of Assembly, Hon Martins Amaewhule, through impeachment. In his usual contradiction, he stated at a new year banquet on Sunday 7th January 2024, in his massive building standing tall in a large expanse of land, that this trouble between him and the elected Governor started when the Governor and others planned to remove Hon Amewhule as speaker of Rivers State house of Assembly and Wike reacted that you can’t do that to an Obiakpo son. “Meanwhile, he had held meetings with his loyal 27 members of the House to impeach the newly elected Governor of Rivers State. The House met at an ungodly hour at 7am and 23 members signed the notice of impeachment against the Governor and as part of the arrangement, the 27 members again met at the same venue on 11th December 2023 and defected en mass to APC, singing APC songs and waving APC flags and both of you were part of this wicked arrangement made by Wike.
“Indeed, that was the day the almighty Wike wanted to install an APC Government in Rivers State to show President Bola Tinubu how influential he was in Rivers State.”

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Niger Delta

Fubara moves to probe Wike’s adminiatration

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Governor Sim Fubara of River State is not resting as he has announced his next move to probe the administration of former Governor Nyesom Wike
The Governor made the dusclosure while swearing in Hon Dagogo Iboroma as the Attorney General of the State and Commissioner for Justice.
The Governor charged the newly sworn-in Commissioner to be prepared for what was ahead, as he would be overseeing the setting up of a panel of enquiry to probe the activities of Government within the last 8 years in the State.
The governor lamented the grand-scale sabotage against his administration, saying that the state was in a critical situation.
He said it had become obvious that the political crisis could no longer be resolved

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