Former governor of Rivers State and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Barrister Nysom Wike has been dealt a serious blow in the ongoing local government elections in the State.
With results announced so far from Obia-akpor local government area of the state, where Wike comes from, shows that he lost his polling unit to the All Peoples Party (APP).
More details to follow….
Loyalists of Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Chief Nyesom Wike, have taken to the streets to protest Governor Siminialayi Fubara’s decision to proceed with the local government elections in Rivers State, defying a Federal High Court judgment that cancelled the polls.
Leading reporters reports that the protesters comprised chieftains and members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
They demanded that Governor Fubara obey the court’s decision, citing concerns over the legitimacy of the electoral process.
In a similar move, hundreds of All Progressives Congress (APC) members gathered at the party’s secretariat in Port Harcourt, preparing to embark on a protest of their own.
It should be noted that the police on Friday announced its decision not to partake in the election.
Northern youths under the canopy of the Northern Youth Leaders Forum (NYLF), have called for the immediate arrest and sacking of Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Barrister Nyesom Wike, over threats to democracy.
The forum which comprises 50 youth groups from 19 Northern states and the FCT, made the disclosure in a statement issued on Wednesday, September 4.
The group condemned Wike’s public threat to cause a crisis in PDP-controlled states, describing it as a call for anarchy and a threat to democracy.
The NYLF expressed concern over the Federal Government’s silence and inaction, accusing them of turning a deaf ear and blind eye to Wike’s “inimical, ruthless, arrogant, proud, boastful, and irresponsible utterances.”
The group demanded Wike’s arrest and signing of an undertaking to not initiate or carry out his threat. They also called for his removal from the Federal Executive Council and suspension from the PDP.
The NYLF assured their support for the Senator Bala Mohammed-led PDP Governors Forum and Governor Fubara, stating they will do everything possible within the law to support them.
Former Rivers State Governor and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike and other chieftains of the party accused of various acts of anti-party activities, are to appear before the Chief Tom Ikimi-led Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) disciplinary committee.
Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the party, Ibrahim Abdullahi, confirmed this development in a Channels Television programme, Sunrise Daily, on Monday.
Specifically, Abdullahi explained that Wike had been summoned via a letter to appear before the Tom Ikimi-led PDP disciplinary committee set up by the party’s National Working Committee.
The PDP Spokesman said, “Three weeks ago, we put up two committees in place, that of reconciliation and disciplinary, and Nyesom Wike is one of the persons to face the disciplinary committee, which is headed by elder statesman Chief Tom Ikimi.
“The disciplinary committee will look into issues of anti-party activities. We’ve been receiving petitions regarding anti-party activities or sabotaging the party throughout the primary, leading to where we are now. These petitions against Wike and other party members have been aggregated and sent to the committee.
“Some party members even felt that Wike shouldn’t have gotten to this level still as a member of the PDP and they have been writing to the leadership.”
Speaking further, Abdullahi said the former Rivers state governor’s statement about “putting fire in their (PDP Governors’ states” is wrong and unacceptable.
Speaking further he said, “Wike should be able to manage his words carefully; that was a very disappointing remark. We weren’t expecting him to say that, and to be honest with you, we are not with him on that.”
Abdullahi stated this barely two days after Wike expressed his gratitude to President Bola Tinubu for allowing him to serve in his administration.
This is despite his relentless criticisms and his threat against PDP governors for supporting Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State.
Recall that Wike while addressing party members during a factional PDP Congress in Port Harcourt on Saturday, Wike threatened to cause a political crisis in the states of any PDP governor who tried to interfere in the party’s affairs in the South-South state.
The FCT minister also stated that anyone angry with his position in Tinubu’s government should go and hug a transformer.
Other party chieftains such as former Kogi State Governorship candidate, Senator Dino Melaye is also said to have been summoned to appear before the panel.
Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, has declared the Park and Pay scheme in the nation’s capital as illegal.
Wike made the declaration during a live media parley with select journalists in Abuja, on Wednesay.
The interactive session was put together to mark his one year in office.
The minister said, “A call from a senior advocate, brought to light a scheme that has been siphoning government funds under the guise of a legal operation.
“The scheme, which appears to have been operating under the radar, highlights a critical flaw in the system that allows private consultants to pocket the lion’s share of revenues meant for the government.
“These are things we need to fight within the system. Sometimes, if you don’t bring it to our attention, we may not know. We can’t be everywhere.
“The incident unfolded when a Senior Advocate of Nigeria reached out to me with a troubling report. He said, ‘Sir, some people came to our office and they are trying to seize our cars. They claim to be from the Transport Secretariat. I asked him to give the person the phone, and I asked the person, ‘Who are you?’ He said, he is ffrom ‘Park and Pay from the Transport Secretariat.”
Wike, who was unaware of such activities, immediately sought clarification.
“I wasn’t aware of this, so I called the person in charge of it. I asked, ‘Who collects the money?’ Unknown to us, there are agreements between the secretariat and some people who claim to be consultants. So, the consultant takes 80%, and the FCT administration takes 20%,” Wike explained.
The minister declared their activities illegal, assuring that immediate action would be taken to dismantle the operation.
“I’m trying to say that it’s illegal, and nothing like that exists. And if my colleague hadn’t called me, I wouldn’t have known,” he concluded.
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has sparked debate with his recent fashion choice and dance moves.
The former Rivers State governor wore a Versace blue street-style coat, reportedly worth millions of naira, to work on Monday.
A viral video shows Wike dancing to Flavour’s hit song “Big Baller” at his Abuja residence, surrounded by cheering men.
The luxury coat, allegedly priced at £1499 (N2,910,121) and €2120 (N3,489,289) by online stores, has raised eyebrows among many who question the need for such an expensive outfit.
Wike wore the coat to the Mabushi bus terminal construction flag-off ceremony.
While some praise his fashion sense and dance moves, others criticize the need for such a show of extravagance.
Watch the Minister’s dance moves below:
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has threatened to unseat an unidentified lawmaker for criticising his successes as the FCT Minister.
Mr Wike made the threat during the inauguration of the construction of Mabushi Bus Terminal, Phase I, in Abuja on Monday.
He said that he overheard a federal lawmaker castigating, on Arise TV, the successes being recorded in FCT.
The minister said that the lawmaker particularly criticised the rot in schools and the absence of quality hospitals in the territory.
You, as a legislator, what have you done? How many bills have you sponsored for us to improve our education and health sector?
“I challenge that legislator. If you are very popular, in 2027 come and run under Abuja, we will fail you.
“Do you think that what happened last time will happen again? It will not happen again.
“Luckily for me, I am the FCT Minister now. So that is my territory and I’m not afraid,” he said.
Mr Wike further said,“With all due respect, what you don’t know, you don’t know, what you know you know.
“The good thing for you is to tell people you don’t know when you don’t know, then people will educate you.
“The Honourable Minister of State, Dr Mariya Mahmoud and my humble self, have not been in office for more than 11months and the person is angry that people are praising us.
“If you don’t want or you are angry about that, go and hang yourself in a transformer.
“If we have done well; we have done well. If we haven’t done well; we haven’t done well. I’m proud to say that in the short time that President Tinubu has appointed us, we have done well.”
The minister warned that if the lawmaker is angry with the praises they are receiving for doing a good job, “by next year, your blood pressure level will go very high.
“This is because the praises you would see would be too much,” he said.
Mr Wike, a former governor of Rivers State, is a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) but serving in the All Progressives Congress (APC) federal government.
In a related development, Ireti Kingibe (LP-FCT), who appeared on Arise TV on Monday complained that she was being sidelined in the running of the FCT.
Mrs Kingibe particularly claimed that her constituency was being marginalised, adding that there was no clean water for the residents of Abuja.
She also said that roads being constructed across the FCT were not addressing the needs of the majority of the people, namely healthcare, water, education and security.
(NAN)
Supporters of Governor Siminalayi Fubara have destroyed the statue of former governor Nyesom Wike in Obio/Akpor Local Government Council, Wike’s hometown.
The development follows Fubara’s directive for Heads of Local Government Administration (HLGAs) to assume leadership of the 23 council areas, following the expiration of the three-year tenure of elected chairmen, vice chairmen, and councillors.
The crisis has its roots in a court ruling recognizing a three-man House of Assembly, which annulled the tenure extension granted by the 27-member Assembly loyal to Wike.
Despite the ruling, chairmen insisted on remaining in office for six more months.
In Ikwerre, Samuel Nwanosike, the immediate past Executive Chairman, defied Fubara’s directive and stormed the council secretariat.
Nwanosike, a close ally of Wike, accused Fubara of sponsoring insecurity in the state, claiming that the governor has armed youths who have attacked local government chairmen and police across the 23 council areas.
The situation across the state has more or less been the same, with youths laying siege to the different Local Government Secretariats.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has postponed its National Executive Committee (NEC) and National Caucus meeting, following the protracted rift between its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike.
The meetings of the two critical organs were originally scheduled to hold tomorrow and Thursday.
A statement by the PDP National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, said ponement was due to “unforeseen circumstances”.
He said new dates for the meetings would be announced in due course.
Although the secretary did not disclose the “unforeseen circumstances” that warranted the postponement, party sources said the decision was informed by a hardline position taken by the Rivers State governor in the ongoing effort to reconcile him with Atiku.
Among other demands, the Wike camp has called on the National Chairman, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, to step aside and allow one of his deputies from the South to take the office.
The demand is being made in view of the fact that the PDP presidential candidate, the chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT) and the National Chairman are all from the North.
A source said the invitation extended to Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu by Wike to commission projects in Rivers State ruffled some feathers in the top party hierarchy of the PDP.
According to the source, Wike’s decision to invite the Lagos State governor, who is of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), to commission projects in a PDP-controlled state, was meant to spite the party leadership.
Wike had on July 8, received three APC governors – Governors Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State, Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State and Sanwo-Olu – a few days after Atiku announced Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa as his running mate.
PDP stakeholders are said to be uncomfortable with the latter-day hobnobbing of the Rivers governor with APC chieftains, especially close allies of the APC presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
Wike was reportedly favoured by some highly placed PDP stakeholders and powerful interest groups for the party’s vice-presidential slot.
But Atiku on June 16, announced Okowa as his running mate, against a recommendation by a selection committee, which tipped Wike for the position.
Atiku had won the May 29 PDP presidential primary with 371 votes while Wike came second with 237 votes.
UNDERATE RIVERS AT YOUR PERIL, WIKE WARNS
Wike yesterday vowed that anybody undervaluing his state’s political capability would be taught a painful lesson in 2023.
He spoke in Port Harcourt during the inauguration of the Orochiri-Worukwo (Waterlines junction) Flyover by Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
According to him, the dynamics of contemporary politics had made it unpopular to just gift votes away without the assurance of derivable benefit for the people.
Wike said: “If you say Rivers State does not matter, Rivers State will tell you that you don’t also matter at the appropriate time. If you don’t like us, we will not like you. If you like us, we will like you.
“Nobody will use our votes for nothing. Our votes will matter and Rivers State must benefit from anybody that we are going to support.
“Politics now is no longer just voting for somebody; it is about what you will do for the people of Rivers State.”
He said it would be difficult for any conspirator to upset the voting pattern of Rivers State and support for the PDP.
The governor added that those who looted the treasury of the state would not be supported to become Rivers State governor.
He said: “Those who looted the treasury of the State will not come here to be governor of Rivers State and I have challenged them.
“I am fully in charge. I am not that kind of governor people will go to Abuja and hold meetings against. I am fully in charge here.”
Wike also berated a columnist, Mr. Yemi Adebowale over an article titled, “Wike, a Governor Possessed By Spirit of Flyovers.”
He said the writer goofed on claims the governor was building flyovers at the expense of pension gratuities, salaries and promotion arrears to civil servants.
He further explained that the invitation of the Lagos State Governor was not the first time persons of other political parties were urged to inaugurate projects in Rivers State.
Sanwo-Olu, who inaugurated the flyover, commended Wike for his strong commitment to the delivery of physical infrastructure in Rivers State.
He said: “I would like to specially commend my brother, Governor Wike, for his strong commitment to the delivery of physical infrastructure in Rivers State, a commitment that has been recognized by all and sundry, and which has earned him the appellation of ‘Mr. Projects’ within and outside Rivers State.”
Sanwo-Olu said though he and Wike belonged to different political persuasions, the invitation extended to him sent a very strong message that politicians and political leaders, could come together across political and ideological divides, for the good of the people.
He said: “There is also a strong message being made today about expanding our capacity to play politics without bitterness. This symbolic gesture by my friend and brother is one that should become standard practice across Nigeria.
“There is also a lot that we can learn from one another, and experience that we can translate from one part of the country to the other.
Rivers State Commissioner for Works, Dakorinama George-Kelly said the project had been completed on schedule with specified quality.
He said: “The project has an overall length of 840 meters and the overall cross-sectional width of 17.6meters, 7.3 meters on each lane. It has a one-meter walkway on both sides and two meters of media. We have a total asphaltic pavement area of 29000 square meters.”
Source: NigeriaDispatch
