General
Rivers APC Urges Wike to Protect Residents from Attacks
By Nwaorgu Faustinus
Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has been urged to place premium on the lives of residents of the state.
This appeal was made by the Rivers State chapter of opposition party in the state, All Progressives Congress (APC).
The party said in a statement issued by its spokesman, Mr Chris Finebone, that it was miffed and highly disturbed that since the nomination process for a legally compromised local government council election for chairmen and councillors by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State, shootings and maiming have, once again, resumed across the state.
The party noted that it was important to mention that the charade of an election is being organized by the PDP and for the PDP even though some fringe parties claim to participate.
According to the Rivers APC, it is shocking to note that mere primaries for chairmen and councillors for a supposed local council election will result in the large scale shootings, maiming and violence that are now further compounding the dangers of kidnapping, robberies and killings that Rivers people and residents are living under.
“It is important to mention that the ongoing PDP-on-PDP orgy of violence underscores our consistent position that Gov. Wike and the PDP are responsible for the spate of killings and violence that have bedevilled Rivers State before, during and after the 2015 and subsequent elections in Rivers State.
“These killings, whether in ONELGA or other areas of Rivers State, members of the APC have remained the target. So far, over 1000 APC souls have been lost to this PDP violence in the State from 2014 to date.
“Curiously but noteworthy is that, with the eruption of violence in the ongoing PDP council primaries in Rivers State, all doubts about those who are responsible for the electoral violence in the State have been cleared. Sadly, the violence by PDP members on fellow PDP members still carry collateral consequences on law-abiding people and residents of Rivers State including peace-loving members of the APC.
“Again, even as resort to violence takes centre stage in the ongoing PDP primaries, other electoral malfeasances are reportedly being perpetrated across the State.
“In Isiokpo, one Chukwudi Dimkpa has accused Gov. Wike and his henchmen of imposition of candidates. In Etche, materials were reportedly hijacked and aspirants beaten into coma. In Ibaa, individuals diverted materials. Similar cases have been reported across the State.
“The APC believes that the present electoral malfeasance by the PDP has cleared all doubts and re-affirmed that PDP and its members are responsible for all deaths, pains and agonies the people and residents of Rivers State have had to go through from 2014 to date. To the PDP, electoral misbehaviour is ingrained in their DNA hence the ease with which they unleash it even upon their own members.
“Governor Nyesom Wike must go beyond disqualifying his gun-toting boys from contesting PDP primaries, he must rein them in and allow law-abiding citizens to have their peace across the State. It is said that you may borrow trouble but you should not lend it to your neighbour.
“More importantly, the APC calls on the Commissioner of Police, Rivers State Police Command and all other heads of security agencies in the State to do the needful to ensure that the PDP-on-PDP violence currently pervading the state is contained from spilling out into full scale war.
“Residents and people of Rivers State have been through too much, further pains should not be brought on innocent people by a bunch of blood-thirsty hooligans whose only pathway to electoral office is violence, killing and maiming having learnt same from their leader, Governor Nyesom Wike,” the party said in the statement.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The federal government of Nigeria has assured that it is ready to fulfil the Paris Agreement on Climate Change to ensure effective gender inclusion.
This was disclosed by Mr Chris Ngige, the Minister of Labour and Employment, during the inauguration and inception workshop of the project in Abuja tagged The Nigeria Initiative for Climate Action Transparency (ICAT), Just and Gender Inclusive Transition (JGIT) Project.
The project is aimed at helping countries to better assess the impacts of their climate policies and actions and fulfil their transparency commitments.
Mr Ngige said the objective of the inception meeting was to launch the ICAT Just Transition project and increase awareness among the national stakeholders for a better understanding of its implementation.
He said that ICAT, an International multi-stakeholder partnership of the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), was supporting Nigeria in setting up Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) of a Just and Gender Inclusive Transition(JGIT).
The minister, represented by Ms Daju Kachollom, Permanent Secretary in the ministry, said Nigeria had signed a Project Cooperation Agreement (PCA) with the UNOPS, represented by the ICAT management.
According to him, the PCA is to firm up the process leading to the take-off and implementation of the project over a 12 months period.
“The objectives of the project, among others, include developing JGIT monitoring and MRV and ensuring it links with the sectoral MRV system.
“Another objective is to Enhance Transparency Framework (ETF) implemented by the Federal Ministry of Environment to achieve synergy, institutional memory, and stakeholder inclusion and cooperation.
“It will further enable a tripartite cooperation between government, labour, and employer associations to achieve a Just and Gender Inclusive Transition going forward with the implementation of the Paris agreement,” he said.
The minister said that the ICAT project would be implemented by a team of national experts and international ICAT consultants under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment.
On his part, Dr Yerima Tarfa, ICAT, JGIT Project Team Lead, said the initiative would help to increase the overall transparency capacities of countries and assess the contribution of policies and development objectives.
According to him, this is by providing appropriate methodological information and tools to support evidence–based policymaking.
Dr Tarfa noted that Nigeria was the largest economy and leading oil producer, and most populous in Africa.
“It faces the unique challenge of having to diversify its economy away from fossil fuels (petroleum, natural gas, and increasingly, coal) while responding to the unmet energy needs of its growing population.
“Nonetheless, Nigeria is turning this challenge into an opportunity by increasing the use of renewable energy, reducing its carbon footprints, and eliminating gas flaring.
“Nigeria’s National Determined Contributions (NDCs) is committed to a 20 per cent emission reduction by 2030 unconditionally and 45 per cent conditional, with focus on power and electricity, oil and gas,” he said.
The team lead said the highlights of the NDCs include ending gas flaring by 2030 and a 30 per cent energy efficiency level by 2030.
He said the inauguration of the inception workshop would provide the opportunity to create awareness and build a national cross-knowledge sharing that would provide a platform for key stakeholders to facilitate the implementation of the Nigeria ICAT JGIT Project.
He added that this would further set up an MRV of Just and Gender Inclusive Transition and its Roadmap for implementation in Nigeria.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
An appeal court sitting in Abuja on Friday upturned the judgment of the Osun governorship election tribunal, which removed Mr Ademola Adeleke as Governor of Osun State.
In January, the tribunal declared the former Governor of the state, Mr Gboyega Oyetola, as the authentic winner of the 2022 governorship election in the state.
While Mr Adeleke contested for the position under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr Oyetola flew the flag of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Mr Adeleke was declared winner of the poll by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), but Mr Oyetola, who contested as a sitting governor, approached the tribunal to dislodge the winner.
He argued that Mr Adeleke won through an electoral fraud, over-voting and his prayers were answered, as the tribunal upturned INEC’s decision and declared him the winner.
However, Governor Adeleke appealed the judgement and today, a three-member panel of justices held that the election tribunal erred when it ruled that Mr Oyetola and the APC proved their allegation of over-voting.
The appellate court held that Mr Adeleke was validly elected as the governor of Osun State and restored his mandate.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has disclosed plans not to rely on oil multinationals and the federal government to raise funds for development projects in the region but instead pursue Public-Private Partnerships arrangements to drive development in the Niger Delta region.
According to the NDDC Managing Director, Mr Samuel Ogbuku, this PPP model would ease the financial burden of the central government.
Mr Ogbuku, speaking during an Executive Management and staff meeting at the commission’s headquarters in Port Harcourt, announced that a summit was in the offing to enable stakeholders to explore opportunities for collaboration.
He stated the NDDC would not relent in its PPP campaign to bring sustainable development to the Niger Delta region.
“We intend to leverage our PPP initiative during the summit, which will take place in April. It will help us to showcase what we can offer and show the world the future of NDDC.
“We cannot continue to rely on international oil companies and the federal government to raise funds for development projects. We intend to show the world that NDDC has been rebranded.
“We will take the campaign to all relevant organisations. Last week, we were at the meeting of the Oil Producers Trade Section, OPTS, of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Lagos. Henceforth, NDDC will be attending the OPTS quarterly meetings.”
The NDDC boss further stated that the commission would also focus on capacity building for youths in the region.
“We are going to focus on youth development programmes; we have come up with a new concept of working with the Niger Delta Chamber of Commerce in the training of our youths and young entrepreneurs.
“We will show the world that we have young entrepreneurs. The various Chambers of Commerce will help us to make the programme sustainable. We will focus on empowering young people because the government cannot employ everybody.”
On NDDC’s commitment to its contractors, Mr Ogbuku affirmed that the Commission was engaging them to arrive at practicable ways of liquidating the debts saying, “We have been meeting with the contractors, and gradually, all legitimate debts will be defrayed.”
The NDDC boss said there was a need for reform within the Commission in order to bring it in line with the NDDC Establishment Act. For instance, he said, “we are reorganising the directorates to bring the number to only 13 provided for in the Act.”
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