Delta 2019: Ibori endorses Gov. Okowa for Second Term

By Oyibo

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 FORMER Delta State governor, Chief James Onanefe Ibori has endorsed the current governor of the State, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa for a second tenure in office, and called on Deltans to support him to enable him complete his transformation agenda for the state.

Chief Ibori made the endorsement at a reception ceremony hosted by Mr Mike Diden, the member representing Warri North in the Delta State House of Assembly and friends under the platform of Delta Political Vanguard in Oghara, Delta State at the weekend.

Governor Okowa (left) and Chief James Ibori.

Ibori said, although he was still sleeping and resting, he said, “I have a right to ask my people to support his administration until 2023 to be able to complete his agenda for Delta State”.

Delta State Governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa (left) and Former Governor of Delta State, Olorogun James Ibori during a Grand Reception in Honour of Governor Okowa at the Otor-Agbon palace of the Ovie of Agbon Kingdom, HRM Mike Omeru, Ogurimerime.

Speaking in Pidgin English, he said, “it is true that I am still sleeping and resting and it is not time for me to start politics. I am very grateful for the way you leave what you are doing at home to come and welcome me. After I have rested, I will start to make comments and you people will hear what I have to say.

“As a father, when a child shows you his report card that he passed his examination, you will clap for him. As a leader, when you see what is good, you applaud it.

“Governor Okowa is laying a foundation for the development of Delta State and four years will not be enough and he will need another four years to continue to do this.

“I support his agenda and I will back up whatever I say. When he finished, we shall continue from there”, the former governor further stated.

He urged all Deltans to be united and stay together, saying they should maintain the peace in their respective domains particularly in the riverine areas as Okowa need a peaceful atmosphere to perform.

“You gave him the mandate; you should support him to actualize this mandate.

“We should continue to reposition our state as a strategic state in Nigeria.

“Be loyal to your governor, be loyal to your state,” he said.

Earlier, the leader of the Delta Political Vanguard, Mr Mike Diden told newsmen that the event was organized to welcome home the former governor, adding that wherever he wants them go, there they will go.

·         Source: The News Guru

JAMB begins sale of 2017 UTME forms March 20

-The Joint Admission and Matriculations Board (JAMB) says it will begin the sale of the 2017 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) forms on March 20.

Dr Fabian Benjamin, JAMB’s Head of Public Relations made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Bwari.

Benjamin said the date was fixed following an agreement that was reached on the harmonization of the examination timetable at a meeting with other exam bodies on Jan. 24.

“We will begin the sale of the admission forms on March 20, while UTME is scheduled to hold in May.
“We are ready to commence the sales of the 2017/2018 admission forms for UTME and Direct Entry forms on the said date,’’ he said.

NAN reports that JAMB recently emphasized that it would organise an optional mock examination before the 2017 UTME.

Based on information published on its Twitter handle @JAMBHQ, the date of the Mock examination will soon be announced.

According to the board, the purpose of the mock examination is to allow candidates “FEEL’’ what the main examination will be like.

The board, however, said the mock examination would be “completely optional’’ as it would not be a pre-requirement for writing the actual UTME.

It added that candidates can choose to either take the mock examination or not.

The board also disclosed that Interswitch Payment on the e-Facility portal has been temporarily disabled and that the list of its accredited centres soon be announced.

1,000 PDP members defect to APC in Akwa Ibom

Not fewer than 1,000 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members in the Eket Federal Constituency and Ikot Ekpene Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom state have defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

 PDP members that defected to APC in Akwa Ibom.

The Punch reports that the defection is believed to be part of political realignments ahead of the 2019 general election.

Governor Udom Emmanuel hails from Eket Federal Constituency while the Senate Minority Leader Senator Godswill Akpabio comes from the Ikot Ekpene area, which is the political headquarters of Akwa Ibom North-West Senatorial District.

The defection has reportedly caused panic within the PDP and Emmanuel’s cabinet particularly as most of the defectors are said to be Akpabio’s allies.

The defectors were received on Saturday, March 11 by the APC at the Eket residence of Bassey Dan-Abia (Jnr.), a former member of the House of Representatives for the Eket Federal Constituency, who himself defected to the APC just on Monday, March 6.

Dan-Abia saluted the boldness and the courageous decision of the defectors to follow him to the APC and asked his followers to respect constituted authorities, especially the APC-led Federal Government.

In Ikot Ekpene, Ime Mboho, a former board member of the Ethical and Attitudinal Reorientation Commission, led the defectors.

He said his decision to leave the PDP was not to spite or disgrace anybody but because of injustice and impunity in the party.

 “We are leaving the PDP for good. This is a party that has not learnt from its past mistakes but continues to hold on tenaciously to impunity. The PDP does not value commitment.

“Other people in Ikot Ekpene have to make hay while the sun shines by joining the APC which has the people’s interest at heart,” he said.

This development comes just days after the Independent National Electoral Commission released the timetable for the 2019 general elections.

The INEC national commissioner in charge of the south-west, Solomon Soyebi, made the announcement at a press briefing in Abuja on Thursday, March 9.

MOU: Delta govt. wades into Host communities/oil firms’ rift

·       Pleads with communities not to shut down oil operations

The Delta State Government through the office of the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice has waded into the rift between Host Communities in OML 34 and the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) over alleged refusal to comply with terms of the Project Global Memorandum of Understanding for the Domestic Gas Project and the Steady State Global Memorandum of Understanding by the Oil company.

Governor Okowa

 The Cluster Development Boards had petitioned the Attorney-General of the State accusing NPDC of failing to respect the terms of the Agreements, threatening to shut down the operations of the Company in the affected communities if urgent and immediate steps were not taken to resolve the face off.

The Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Peter Mrakpor who presided over the mediation meeting between the Cluster Development Boards of the various communities that make up OML 34 and representatives of the multi-national oil giant, NPDC, disclosed that he was acting on the instruction of the Delta State Governor, Senator Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa to resolve all community/oil coy related disputes. He said the move was aimed at protecting the rights of the people as well as to create the enabling environment for investors to do business in line with the ease of doing business objective of the state government.

Mr. Mrakpor who succeeded in restoring peaceful community relations between the hitherto disputants told all parties involved to respect terms of all agreements reached even as he reiterated government decision that all MoU negotiations and reviews involving Host Communities and companies operating in their domain must be driven by the Ministry of Justice, adding that the days when terms of agreements were violated with impunity were long since gone. He stated further that the Ministry of Justice will henceforth enforce the compliance all such agreements through the Court system. 

He charged the Management of NPDC to improve on its community relations and ensure that funds meant for the Communities for developmental purposes are released without further delay. He urged the Communities to be calm and not to resort to self-help or shutting down of oil facilities.

Earlier, Chief Nuwawan Oghenero Aladey who spoke on behalf of the Clusters while thanking the Delta Attorney-General for the peace initiative which he described as first of its kind lamented the poor attitude of NPDC towards the Communities. He accused the company of denying youths in the area employments, refusal to pay courtesy visits to traditional rulers and Community Leaders in the area, non-payment of backlogs of Peace awards and refusal to release project funds as contained in the signed MoU to the communities.

NUJ Indigenous Chapel elects new exco in Asaba

·      Berth Ozah emerges chairman

The Indigenous Newspapers and Magazines Chapel, INMC, of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) Delta State Council has elected a new executive Council to manage its affairs for the next three years.

In a keenly contested chairmanship position election held at the chapel secretariat in Asaba, Comrade Barth Ozah defeated Comrade Andy Emephia by 11 votes to 9 votes to emerge as Chairman of the Chapel.

Nigeria Union of Journalists INMC new Executives taking the oath
 of office. L-R: Comrade Bertholomew Ozah (chairman), Comrade Austin
Azu (Vice Chairman), and  Comrade Kenneth Orusi, secretary.

The positions of Vice Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer and Auditor, were filled in by candidates who were elected  unopposed, in a free, fair and credible electoral process supervised by the state NUJ executive council led by the Vice Chairman, Comrade Felix Igbekoyi, Secretary, Comrade Churchill Oyowe and Financial Secretary, Comrade Celestine Afakoba.

Prior to the elections, Delta NUJ Chairman, Comrade Norbert Chiazor had called for a free and transparent process, even as he had urged the incoming INMC Exco to ensure that they build on and consolidate the very successful gains of the out-going executive of the Chapel.

 Comrade  Chiazor commended the indigenous chapel for being a leading light among other chapels in the state council stressing that the chapel has played special roles in developmental journalism and urged the new executives to sustain the tempo.

He advised them to live and operate within the ethics of the profession, guiding its tenets, principle of practice to further promote the integrity of journalism as empowered by existing constitutional laws.

Earlier in his reports, the former chairman of the chapel, Comrade Spence Friday Idighri commended members for their support for his leadership and regretted areas his administration could not meet up with but expressed optimism that the incoming leadership would build on it.

While enumerating his achievements in the area of acquisition of intra-model rented apartment for the chapel through the assistance of top government functionaries, including  captains of industry and other well meaning Nigerians, appealed to the new executives to work with unity of purpose to sustain the legacy left behind.

Chairman of the Credentials Committee, Comrade Ben Ogbogo, while presenting the electoral report said that the Credentials Committee was set up a month ago and they have complied with the provisions of the NUJ Constitution in the conduct of the election.

A motion for the dissolution of the former executive Council had then been moved after the past administration had presented it's performance report through the immediate past chairman, Comrade Spence Friday Idighri.

At the end of the keenly contested elections, Five officers were elected to steer the affairs of the new executive of the Chapel.

The new executive members with their portfolios are: Batholomew Ozah, Chairman, Austin Azu, Vice Chairman, Kenneth Orusi, Secretary. Others are Godfrey Divine, Treasurer and Kent Ewelikwu, internal Auditor. The remaining positions were returned as there were no nominees to fill them for now.

In his victory speech, the newly elected chairman, Comrade Batholomew Ozah promised to continue from where the former executive stopped.

Ozah said: “I want to thank you for entrusting the chapel in our care. We are going to continue from where the former executive stopped and we also promise to improve on it.”

He however solicited the support and co-operation of his members and state council to ensure positive delivery for the chapel to succeed.

Buhari resumes work, notifies National Assembly

By Nnenna Ibeh T

President Muhammadu Buhari today, Monday, March 13, resumed work at the Presidential Villa in Abuja after his sojourn in Britain for medical check-up.

The president resumed a few minutes after 10 am immediately the car of his Aide-de-Camp Lawal Abubkar was seen parked at its official designated location at the forecourt by the Council Chamber, the Nation reports.

President Buhari, first day at work after long medical trip in London.

Also, Femi Adesina and Garba Shehu, the special adviser and assistant to President Buhari on media and publicity respectively were seen in front of the Council Chamber moving towards the presidential residence.

The president also signed a letter of resumption notifying the National Assembly of his plan to start work today.

President Buhari in statement through Adesina said: “In compliance with Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the President has formally transmitted letters to the Senate and the House of Representatives, intimating the National Assembly ‘that I have resumed’ my functions as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria with effect from Monday, March 13, 2017, after my vacation.”

The president at work on his desk.

Meanwhile, a National Television's photojournalist attached to Villa followed the duo into the presidential residence.

It was also gathered that the vice president Yemi Osinbajo is expected to meet with the president in his office today, March 13.

The chief of staff to the president Abba Kyari also moved from his office to the President’s office.

An Ambulance usually packed by the Council Chamber was also driven to it’s position around 11.16 a.m.

Usually before resuming work, President Buhari meets with some top officials of the Villa.

The president returned to Nigeria on Friday, March 10, after a 49 days medical vacation in the United Kingdom.

Upon his return, President Buhari while speaking with some top government officials said he purposely came back on a Friday to allow Osinbajo continue in his capacity as the acting president.

Also, the presidency in a statement had said that the president will resume work on Monday after he rested during the week.

·         Source: Naij.com

Victor Ochei is APC South-South Caucus secretary, as Emeror emerges co-leader of party in Delta

·        Feuding Delta APC leaders agree to sheathe their swords

The political profile of former Speaker of Delta state House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Victor Onyekachi Ochei has received a notch up with his emergence as the secretary of the All Progressives Party (APC) South-South caucus.
He earned his appointment at the recent South-South
caucus meeting of the party held in Port Harcourt, attending by notable party chieftains that included the National Chairman of the Party, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi, who is the caucus' chairman, Senator Victor Ndoma Egba, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Kachikwu, among numerous other APC chieftains. 

Rt. Hon. Victor Ochei

By this appointment, he becomes the head of the administration in the South-South caucus secretariat of the APC, with the Minister of Transport, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi as the caucus’ Chairman.

Similarly, Chief O’tega Emeror, APC’s former Delta State governorship candidate in the 2015 elections has also emerged as co-chairman of the party’s leadership committee in Delta state. By the appointment, he becomes co-chairman of the committee with the Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu.

The appointments are coming just as the party is in the thick of rebuilding the party by reconciling all party’s to the various dispute in the party, a situation that has rendered the party comatose.

Accordingly sources hinted that the entire move to get the party going forward resulted in the disputants resolving to withdraw all cases in court so as to pave the way for genuine and enduring reconciliation that will culminate in the party holding its state congress.  

With the resolution by the various party leaders to sheathe their swords and create a rancor free atmosphere in the party, sources said that morale of party faithful has been lifted, adding that the new atmosphere of reconciliation will engender alignment and realignment of forces, culminating in peace within the party necessary for the party to move forward.