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Wike not ready for peace in Rivers crisis – Clark tells Tinubu
Wike not ready for peace in Rivers crisis – Clark tells Tinubu
Former Federal Commissioner for Information and South South Leader, Chief Edwin Clark has declared to President Bola Tinubu that the immediate past Governor of Rivers State and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA, Nyesom Wike is not ready for peace in the political crisis rocking the state.
In a statement on Thursday in Abuja, the Elderstatesman and Ijaw leader reiterated his call on President Tinubu to sanction Wike and call him to order to allow the elected Governor, Siminalaye Fubara to govern Rivers State peacefully.
Clark said, “The continuous activities of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and immediate past Governor of Rivers State, Mr. Nyesom Wike, are clear indications that he is not ready for peace in Rivers State.
“It will be recalled that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, intervened in the crisis when he issued an “8-point pact” to both parties which include: That the Governor of Rivers State, Siminalaye Fubara and his allies should withdraw all court cases pertaining to the matter, even though this is against the 1999 Constitution and against popular opinion of Rivers people and indeed Nigerians, His Excellency, Governor Fubara and his associates, including the Speaker recognised by the court, Rt. Hon. Edison Ebie, have complied with this proclamation.
“The expectation is that the 26 decamped legislative members who had filed cases in court, would have also done same. But they refused, giving rise to the judgment delivered by Justice James Omotoso, on Monday, 22nd January, 2024, stating amongst other things, the nullification of the 2024 Budget which was presented by Governor Fubara, passed and signed into law. Justice Omotoso said he based his judgment on the fact that the legislatures said there was nol evidence of settlement of the matter before him.
“That the Legislatures should drop the impeachment proceedings initiated against the Governor. This, the legislatures have complied with.
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“That Martins Amaewhule should be recognised as the Speaker of the House of Assembly. Governor Siminalaye Fubara, has complied with, even though it is against the 1999 Constitution which he swore to uphold and against public opinion and outcry. Having defected to another political party, Martins Amaewhule ceases to be a member of the Rivers State House of Assembly, in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.
“That Governor Fubara should represent the 2024 Budget, which had already been passed and signed into law, to the legislatures. Governor Fubara is handicapped in complying with this term of settlement because there is a pending case in court brought against him by Leaders and Elders of Rivers State, precluding him from representing an already passed budget which has been signed into law. Until the case is dispensed and or determined, he can do nothing on this issue.
“That salaries and benefits for all the legislatures and staff should be restored. This, also, Governor Fubara has complied with, against the 1999 Constitution which he swore to uphold and against public opinion and outcry. Going by the Constitution, these 26 members or so, are no longer members of the Rivers State House of Assembly. That the Legislatures should choose where they will sit to conduct their legislative duties. The legislatures had chosen a place where they have continued to sit, even before President Tinubu intervened in the matter. Again, this directive is also against the Constitution, because byl constitutional provisions, it is the duty of the Governor of a State, to provide accommodation for Legislatures of a State to perform their legislative functions. This played out during President Tinubu’s budget presentation to the members of the National Assembly, when he recognised Nyesom Wike as landlord, because he is the Minister of the FCT.
“From the above, it shows clearly that Governor Fubara, obeyed Mr. President and carried out his directives, in violation of the 1999 Constitution “for the sake of peace”, except that which he is currently precluded from doing by the courts. Even though majority of Nigerians were not happy with the terms of the settlement.
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“Having done all these against the Constitution which Siminalaye Fubara, as Governor of Rivers State swore to uphold, Nyesom Wike is not seen, wittingly or unwittingly, by his latent or otherwise conduct, advancing peace in Rivers State.
“Let the truth be told to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Nyesom Wike is not ready for any form of peace. Therefore, I call on the President, once again, to sanction Mr. Wike and call him to order to allow the elected Governor, Siminalaye Fubara, whom he, Nyesom Wike, claimed he made to govern Rivers State peacefully. However, I did not anticipate that Mr. President would proclaim an 8-point agreement that appears to be one-sided and unconstitutional, when I appealed to him to call Nyesom Wike to order.
Section 1 of the 1999 Constitution states that;
“This constitution is Supreme and its provisions shall have binding force on all authorities and persons throughout the Federal Republic of Nigeria”
and; Section 109 (1g) states that;
“A member of a House of Assembly shall vacate his seat in the House if – being the person whose election to the House of Assembly was sponsored by political party, he becomes a member of another political party before the expiration of the period for which that house was elected provided that its membership of the latter political party is not as a result of a division in the political party of which he was previously a member or of a merger of two or more political parties or factions by one of which he was previously sponsored”
“Mr. President, I humbly submit that, given my age and status as a senior citizen of Nigeria, I cannot accept any action that undermine or violate the provisions of the 1999 Federal Constitution of Nigeria as amended and the freedom of Nigerians as expressed in their constitutional and democratic rights.”
Wike not ready for peace in Rivers crisis – Clark tells Tinubu
News
Yahaya Bello govt spending third term in office through Ododo – Clark
Yahaya Bello govt spending third term in office through Ododo – Clark
Elder statesman, Chief Edwin Clark, says the former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, administration was nothing to write home about.
This is even as he asked the embattled former governor to surrender himself to the authorities.
Bello has been in the news for days on end over money laundering and financial impropriety.
He was declared wanted after he evaded the economic and financial crimes commission (EFCC) who had stormed his Abuja residence to apprehend him.
Speaking on Bello’s time as the governor of the middle belt state, Clark, who is the leader of the Pan Niger Delta Forum, PANDEF, stated that state sponsored violence, corruption, civilian repression and political killings were rife when Bello was in office.
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Clark also pointed out that Bello is still running the show in Kogi state as he is currently spending third term in power through the incumbent governor, Ododo, who he planted in office.
“Yahaya Bello is just being stubborn. He has been living very very rough…having a very rough government, corruption, killing of people in the place during elections and so on,” Clark said during an interview on Arise TV on Thursday.
“There’s time for everything and it has come for him to answer questions. He should go to court. He should go to court to answer the substance of the case, where did he get the money from?
“Is it true or not that the money he paid to the American school belongs to him or belongs to the government of Kogi State?
“The behaviour of the new Governor shows Yahaya Bello is in power for the third time. Ahmed Ododo is just running after him.
“I just want to plead with Ododo to do the needful so that the youth in this country will have something to fall upon.”
Yahaya Bello govt spending third term in office through Ododo – Clark
News
‘Unfounded accusation’ – Obi slams Umahi over instigation of Igbo against Tinubu claim
‘Unfounded accusation’ – Obi slams Umahi over instigation of Igbo against Tinubu claim
Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, says he is not in the business of whipping up ethnic sentiments or amplifying Nigeria’s fault lines to gain socio-political mileage.
Obi said this reaction to comment made by the Minister of Works, David Umahi, at an event on Wednesday on the Lagos-Calabar road project.
Obi has been vocal in his criticism of the road project, calling it a misplaced priority as it is not what Nigeria needs at a time of lean resources and plethora of challenges begging for drastic solution.
Umahi while speaking at the event said Obi’s position on the Lagos-Calabar coastal road project amounted to pitting Nigerians of Eastern extraction, who are majorly Igbos, against the government of President Bola Tinubu.
He also accused Obi of demolishing property without compensating those affected when he was Anambra governor, Obi was inciting South Easterners against the government
“When His Excellency Peter Obi was the governor. He made a statement saying, “Any infrastructure that stands in the way of the road must go. And there would be no compensation paid.” That’s what he said,” Umahi said.
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“And I think he’s inciting some of the South-East people that are not well informed. He is inciting them. And gets them into trouble,” he added
Reacting to Umahi’s allegation of divisiveness and sedition in a statement on Wednesday, Obi opined that he is a preacher of peace and advocate of unity who always wants what is best for the country.
Obi, who described criticisms that he is inciting Igbo against Tinubu’s government as baseless, stated that he won’t wallow in the murky water of divisive ethnic politics like many of his contemporaries and opponents do.
He stated, “My focus is on fostering constructive dialogue and inclusivity, rather than engaging in divisive politics, Claims of incitement are baseless distractions. I have always advocated unity and advancement, refusing to partake in reactionary divisive politics.
“I refuse to be reduced to the level of those who wallow in ethnic politics. Worse still, I have never and can never descend so low as to base my political aspirations on any sectional or ethnic interest.”
The former Anambra governor also said there were no comparisons between the demolition he did when he was governor and what the Tinubu-led government was currently doing.
‘Unfounded accusation’ – Obi slams Umahi over instigation of Igbo against Tinubu claim
News
NDIC jacks up deposit insurance cover from N500,000 to N5m
NDIC jacks up deposit insurance cover from N500,000 to N5m
The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has announced a significant increase in the maximum deposit insurance coverage levels for Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) and other financial institutions, effective immediately.
During a press conference in Abuja on Thursday, NDIC Managing Director Bello Hassan disclosed, “For Deposit Money Banks, the increase of the maximum deposit insurance coverage from N500,000 to N5,000,000, would provide full coverage of 98.98% of the total depositors compared with the current cover of 89.20%. In terms of the value of deposit covered, the revised coverage would increase the value of deposits covered by deposit insurance to 25.37% compared with the current cover of 6.31% of the total value of deposits.”
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Hassan further explained, “The increase of the maximum deposit insurance coverage for primary mortgage banks from N500,000 to N2,000,000 would provide full coverage of 99.99% of the total number of depositors and would increase the value of deposits covered by deposit insurance to 43.10% of the total value deposits from the current cover of 40.60%.”
Additionally, Hassan noted, “The increase of the maximum deposit insurance coverage for subscribers of Mobile Money Operators from N500,000 to N5,000,000 per subscriber.”
NDIC jacks up deposit insurance cover from N500,000 to N5m
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