Press Release
PRESS CONFERENCE HELD ON THE IMPOSED SETTLEMENT OF PRESIDENT BOLA AHMED TINUBU ON THE RIVERS STATE CRISIS
By Chief (Dr.) E. K. Clark (19th December, 2023)
PRESS CONFERENCE HELD ON THE IMPOSED SETTLEMENT OF PRESIDENT BOLA AHMED TINUBU ON THE RIVERS STATE CRISIS
By Chief (Dr.) E. K. Clark (19th December, 2023)
Firstly, I wish to commend President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for heeding the various calls, including our own, to mediate in the on-going crisis rocking Rivers State by calling Barr. Nyesome Wike to order so as to restore peace and tranquillity in the State and avert any problem similar to that which occurred in 2013, when Barr. Wike was Minister of State Education.
However, the terms of settlement as contained in the Communique issued at the end of the reconciliatory meeting is what is baffling, appalling and unacceptable to the people, especially, the Ijaw ethnic nationality. From the terms of settlement, it is obvious that President Tinubu sees his role as a mediator, to once again, show gratitude to the current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), for “delivering” Rivers State to him during the past Presidential elections, having first of gratified him by making him the Minister of FCT.
First Observation:
The composition of the attendees of the meeting was one sided in favour of Nyesome Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), because while Martins Amaewhule, a former Speaker, (because he has automatically lost his seat the very moment he decamped to another political party), was present at the meeting, it would have only been equitable and expedient, for Edison Ehie, the Speaker as affirmed by constitutional provisions and by the granting of the court, to be in the meeting, if there were sincerity of purpose.
The 8 resolutions reached, are the most unconstitutional, absurd and obnoxious resolutions at settling feuding parties that I have ever witnessed in my life. As a matter of fact, some medias captured it very well when they described it as Directives. And for the fact that such thing was done at the Villa, the seat of the Federal Government of Nigeria, is sacrilegious, because any place housing or is a custodian of symbol of authority, ought to be sacred.
It is obvious that Governor Siminialayi Fubara was ambushed and intimidated into submission. President Tinubu should know that with all the powers he possesses, he cannot override the Constitution. From all that transpired at the meeting, the laws of the land have not been obeyed. President Tinubu simply sat over a meeting where the Constitution, which is the fulcrum of his office as President and which he swore to uphold and abide by, was truncated and desecrated.
27 or so members (because the figure is not certain), of the Rivers State House of Assembly left the political party on which platform they were elected. The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is very clear on that. Section 109 is quite clear on that and it says:
A member of a House of Assembly shall vacate his seat in the House if
Being a person whose election to the House of Assembly was sponsored by a political party, he becomes a member of another political party before the expiration of the period for which that House was elected:
Provided that his membership of the later 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;
The Speaker of the House of Assembly shall give effect to subsection (1) of this section, so however that the Speaker or a member shall first present evidence satisfactory to the House that any of the provisions of that subsection has become applicable in respect of the member.
Nyesom Wike is quite abreast of these constitutional provisions. He shouted his voice hoarse calling for the removal of persons like David Umahi as Governor of Ebonyi State, Ben Ayade as Governor of Cross River State and Bello Matawalle as Governor of Zamafara State, when they decamped from the PDP on which platform they were elected into office, to the APC, citing the above constitutional provisions. What has changed?
A Court of competent jurisdiction has pronounced Edison Ehie as the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly. That Ruling has not been vacated, and based on that he exercised the duties conferred on him by Section 109 (2) as quoted above, when the 27 or so members openly defected to APC, waving the flags of the party and singing President Tinubu’s campaign songs, from the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP). As at today and going by the Constitution, the Rivers State House of Assembly has four members who are recognised by the laws of the land Therefore, on what premise is Mr. President saying that the 27 decamped members should go back to the House? Under what political party, the PDP or the APC. The directives of Mr. President is absurd and cannot hold water. Mr. President should be aware that Siminialayi Fubara, today, is the elected Governor of Rivers State in the same manner Bola Ahmed Tinubu is the elected President of the country. And as a Governor, Mr. Fubara possesses all the powers as conferred on him by the Constitution.
2. Re-Submission of the names of Commissioners who have resigned their Appointments:
Another “directive” of Mr. President that the names of the Commissioners who were nominated by Nyesom Wike and who resigned on their own volition, and who have lost their trust in Governor Fubara, should be represented to the Rivers State House of Assembly for clearance to become Commissioners again, is ridiculous. Who is nominating them to become Commissioners again? Is it Mr. President? Was Mr. President thinking that he was mediating in a matter between Nyesom Wike and employees in Nyesom Wike’s private company? Is it what Nyesom Wike means when he talks about “structure”, referring to Rivers State as his personal holdings or enterprise?
3. Re-Presentation of a Budget already signed and passed into Law:
Another unthinkable “directive” of Mr. President is that a Budget which has been passed into Law, should be represented. It is absolutely ridiculous and unconstitutional.
By President Tinubu’s actions and directives, he has overruled the Constitution of the country; he has shaken the foundation of the country’s democracy. People lost their lives fighting for democracy in this country. Today, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has made of no effect the blood of the freedom fighters shed to salvage this country. He has thrown the country’s democracy fifty years backwards; this is unacceptable. Rather than building a strong system and society, we are building strong, invidious characters, with our national patrimony through corruption and avarice.
By the actions of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, he has really shown his dislike and disdain for the Ijaw people. and confirms his hatred for them. And as the leader of the Ijaws, we will resist it.
Nyesom Wike is not an emperor. For the eight years he was in power as Governor of the Rivers State, he ruled with an iron fist. As Governor, he will not accept such treatment from anyone, as he is spear heading to be meted out to the current Governor of the State, Siminialayi Fubara. Barr. Wike destroyed his opponent’s houses and even threatened to kill them as cried out by Senator Lee Maiba from Ogoni, and Dr. Abiye Sekibo from Okrika
It is still fresh in our memory, how Nyesom Wike, as Minister of State, Education, used federal might to fight the then Governor of Rivers State, Chibuike Amaechi that almost led to the grinding to a halt of governance in Rivers State when the Judiciary was closed down and the House of Assembly was shut down by the then Governor, Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi. President Jonathan did not interfere in his action because if he did, he will definitely be breaching Section 5(2) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal republic of Nigeria, which President Tinubu has deliberately breached, despite his oath of office to uphold and promote the Constitution. Nyesom Wike is Minister now, and again, he is using the federal government to truncate the wishes of the people of Rivers State. The rule of law in the country is completely truncated by President Tinubu. While it will be noted that presently, the National Assembly is discussing on the Bill of Local Government Autonomy, President Bola Tinubu is directing Governor Fubara to put into effect, a Bill passed by people who are no longer law makers.
4. The members of the House of Assembly choosing where they will sit to carry out their legislative duties:
It is the duty of the executive to provide legislative accommodation for the Houses of Assembly including the National Assembly, and not the members of the House of Assembly to choose a place to meet. It is in this vein that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in presenting his Budget to the National Assembly, recognised the FCT Minister, Nyesome Nwike, as the land lord, because he is of the executive arm of government. It is the FCT that owns the National Assembly complex and maintains it. It is, therefore, ridiculous and unconstitutional for President Tinubu to direct, in his settlement, that the members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, should meet wherever they want to meet.
We will resist such draconic, arbitrary and unconstitutional action by Mr. President and his customer Nyesom Wike. We will go to court to challenge this so-called one-sided and oppressive action of Mr. President.
On his part, the Executive Governor of Rivers State, Siminialayi Fubara, who has the mandate of the people of Rivers State to govern them for the next four years, has shown feebleness of character, by agreeing and appending his signature on a document containing such absurdity. He has betrayed the people who elected him as Governor and those who stood behind him in this cause. Mr Fubara has shown naivety in his actions; by signing that document, he has signed his death warrant, believing that the President will show him some sort of favours. Mr. Fubara’s mandate is Constitutional and so, he cannot surrender it in the face of intimidation from any quarter. And it is quite unfortunate. Did he go to that meeting to speak and justify his actions, or he went there to take directives from an equally elected President. As Governor of a State and as the Chief Security Officer of the State, he has shown tremendous lack of courage and competence. It will be in his best interest to resign if he cannot govern the State as constitutionally provided, or he may as well decamp and join APC, and be taking directives from Nyesom Wike and President Tinubu on the governance and leadership of the State.
Like I stated earlier, these obnoxious directives will not stand. The people of Rivers State, particularly, the Ijaws, who are in the majority and who have about 11 (eleven) Local Government Areas, out of the 23 Local Government Areas in the State, will resist it. Because by it, President Tinubu has delivered Rivers State to Nyesom Wike as a reward for “delivering” the State to him. I call on the people of Rivers State and indeed all well-meaning Nigerians, to stand up against it, using all Constitutional and legal means, because we do not know the next State in the country that will be affected or pawned to another political customer by President Tinubu, as political patronage. It is absurd, it is draconian. It is transactional. It is a rape of our democracy. The people of Rivers State should remember that it was the same lopsided solution/directive that President Tinubu gave to the people of Ondo State but they resisted and rejected it. Today, the needful has been done in that State.
Bola Ahmed Tinubu would not allow himself to be treated the way he oversaw Mr. Fubara being treated. We all can recall what happened when he governed Lagos State for eight years, and when he successfully resisted President Olusegun Obasanjo’s dictatorial tendencies when he tried to prevent him from creating more Local Government Areas in Lagos State. Nigerians hailed Bola Ahmed Tinubu for standing up to the occasion. That made him to be the undisputed leader of Lagos State. But today, he is overseeing such draconian and authoritarian action as President of the country, giving directives to a Governor to take action on things obviously not in tandem with the nation’s Constitution.
I, Senator Edwin Kiagbodo Clark, as leader of the Ijaw nation, and as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Ijaw National Congress (INC), decided to hold this emergency Press Conference with the full authority of my people. We are prepared to face any consequences that may result in the political crisis in Rivers State. We will resist any attempt subtle, subterranean, convert, overt, to make an elected Ijaw son, Siminialayi Fubara, the Governor of Rivers State, a servant, a stooge to Nyesome Wike, who had boasted that any attempt by the Governor to touch his so-called ‘Wike’s structure’, with the connivance and support of President Bola Tinubu, will be resisted by us.
Like I said, we will go to go court to resist this oppressive action using all available constitutional and legal means. It is on this note I wish to appeal to the youths who are aggrieved, to remain calm, as we will use legal means to dethrone this hydra headed monster, called oppression.
Enough is Enough.
Chief (Dr.) EDWIN Kiagbodo Clark, OFR, CON
IduwiniVoice
Ordinarily, I would not descend into the digital alleys where faceless commentators roam, wielding borrowed pens on behalf of desperate political patrons. But when deliberate distortions are paraded as concern, and when silence is mistaken for weakness, one must respond not to validate the messenger but to preserve the sanctity of truth.
This so-called “Open Message” signed by one Oribo N. Einstein is nothing more than a veiled hatchet job authored by a faceless cyber apologist doing the bidding of his undisclosed paymasters. Let us be clear: this is not the voice of a “concerned Ijaw son.” It is the recycled rhetoric of those who have long sought to muzzle the Ijaw Nation’s conscience with orchestrated attacks on most visible advocates.
The writer, in a desperate bid to sound profound, acussed – President of the Ijaw National Congress-of being “too available” and “eroding the Sacredness” of my office by speaking to power. What audacity! When did it become unfitting for a representative of a historically marginalized people to voice their concerns with clarity and courage? Or is it that my interventions have rattled certain interests, hence this pitiful attempt to chastise the messenger of the Ijaw nation?
Let it be known that I do not speak to please, neither do I speak for applause. I speak because history demands it. I speak because silence in the face of injustice is complicity. I speak because the Ijaw people can not afford to return to the shadows while others dictate the terms of our existence.
It is laughable that the writer attempts to lecture me on dignity and statesmanship while hiding behind a digital mask. Who is Oribo N. Einstein? When last did he stand under the sun or sleep in the creeks with the very people he now claims to defend?
He quotes Aristotle and Syrus, but forgets that wisdom is not in quoting ancient names, but in defending living truth. Let me remind the anonymous writer: the throne I occupy is not ceremonial-it is a seat of responsibility, forged in struggle, anchored in sacrifice. If you mistake visibility for vanity, then perhaps you have never known the weight of leadership in a land where silence can be fatal.
The appointments of a few sons and daughters of Ijaw extraction-however appreciated-do not equate to the resolution of decade-long neglect. I have praised those efforts where due, but I will not allow crumbs to be mistaken for justice, nor shall I allow isolated gestures to be used as political tools to silence the broader demands of our people.
If the writer truly believes that I a “dancing to every drumbeat,” then he is clearly deaf to the deeper rhythm of the Ijaw struggle. For each word I utter is measured, each stand I take is considered, and each silence I break is done after careful and wide consultations with relevant groups and leaders across Ijaw nation, because history would not forgive me if I didn’t. So, to which of the above stakeholders does Oribo belong?
Let me advise those sending proxies to do their bidding: if you wish to engage me in person, my office, or the wider Ijaw nation, do so with identity, with credibility, and with honesty. Do not hide behind digital ink to insult a stool that generations have died to uphold.
The Ijaw National Congress will not be cajoled into docility. Not by orchestrated PR stunts. Not by those who seek to decorate silence as statesmanship.
We are not at war with any administration, but neither are we asleep. We will continue to engage constructively, demand justly, and speak boldly-until equity is no longer an exception, but the norm.
Let the merchants of confusion and their ghostwriters take note: your pen may be swift, but truth is eternal. And unlike you, history remembers those who stood.
Signed:
Prof. Benjamin Ogele Okaba,
President, Ijaw National Congress (INC).
Press Release
PRESS RELEASE: Otuaro Appreciates President Tinubu GCFR Over Solid Support Towards the Success of PAP Programme
* Presents Laptops To 663 Scholarship Beneficiaries
By Favour Bibaikefie
The Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) has expressed unreserved gratitude to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR over what he describes as a totall support towards the success of the programme.
This was conveyed via a Press Release Otuaro made through his media aid, Igoniko Oduma at the conclusion of the offive’s distribution of laptops to final year beneficiaries of its scholarship scheme aimed at enhancing their academic research in universities across Nigeria.
The campagin which commenced in April saw the presentation of laptops to the last batch of final year students. Otuaro announced that a total of 663 laptops were presented to the beneficiaries in the 26 partnering and 72 non-partnering universities at the end of the exercise, which lasted until May 2025.
The PAP also carried out physical verification and orientation programme for the newly deployed 3,171 beneficiaries in the resumption list for the 2024/2025 academic session.
Various teams coordinated by the PAP’s Head of Education, Dr. Charles Ariye, visited the schools to distribute the laptops to the beneficiaries and perform the verification and orientation programme.
Speaking on the laptops distribution, the PAP Administrator, Dr Dennis Otuaro, reiterated that the decision was based on the realization of the usefulness of the mobile computing device to the students’ academic pursuit and overall success.
He said the gesture was in fulfillment of his promise to the scholarship beneficiaries during his tour of partnering universities in 2024.
While expressing optimism that the laptops would help the beneficiaries a great deal, Otuaro urged them to make good use of them and justify the government’s huge investment in their education.
He also said the physical verification and orientation programme was part of his leadership’s policy of due process, transparency and accountability to ensure a headcount of all beneficiaries, and enlighten the fresh beneficiaries on the PAP’s education policy.
Otuaro advised all PAP scholarship students to take their studies seriously and shun acts capable of putting their academic pursuit in jeopardy and ruining their bright future.
He restated his leadership’s unwavering commitment to implementing the programme’s objectives for the advancement of the Niger Delta and in support of President Bola Tinubu’s avowed commitment to the region’s peace, stability and development.
“We will continue to partner with the institutions and create access to university education for our youths, thereby reducing the human capital gap in the Niger Delta and contributing to national manpower development.
This is also with a view to deepening efforts to ensure sustainable peace, stability and socio-economic growth in the region in line with the renewed hope agenda of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR”, Otuaro said.
The PAP helmsman expressed profound appreciation to the president for his massive support for the programme, noting that it demonstrates his undiluted love for the Niger Delta and the youths in particular.
Signed:
Mr Igoniko Oduma
Special Assistant on Media to the Administrator, Presidential Amnesty Programme
21/05/2025
“The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Western Zone condemns in strong terms allegations made against High Chief Government Oweizide Ekpemupolo alias Tompolo and Dr Dennis Otuaro by the Itsekiri Progress Group (IPG) and other faceless groups within the Itsekiri ethnic nationality.
“Ordinarily, Council would not react to mischievous allegations such as the ones raised by these elements who are frustrated by the outcome of the recent delineation exercise in Warri Federal Constituency, but doing so could allow falsehood to appear as truth.
“To set the records straight, High Chief Dr. Government Oweizide Ekpemupolo (Tompolo) and High Chief Dr. Dennis Otuaro are sons and distinguished leaders of Ijaw nation who have contributed immensely to the progress of the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in his first two years in office.
“It is evidently clear that the efforts of Tompolo’s Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited has caused the country to attain stable daily oil production volumes. Not only is Nigeria’s daily oil output approaching the two million barrels mark, Tantita is leading the charge for environmental cleaningness in the creeks in the face of a heavy degradation occasoned by oil bunkering activities in the past.
“Also, the company has overseen the employment of thousands of youths in the Niger Delta Region, with a huge chunk of that number taken from the Itsekiri ethnic nationality.
“On the other hand, Dr. Otuaro has reformed the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) from its lost days to an entity of hope and solution to the Niger Delta region, drawing accolades and commendations from the Presidency, NSA and critical stakeholders in the region.
“Council, thus finds it unacceptable that multiple faceless groups under the guise of agitating for a review of the outcome of the delineation exercise would condescend to mischievousness and blackmail against two illustrious sons of the Niger Delta working hard to see that the President succeeds.
“We take full responsibility of the recent Boro Day celebration held in Warri, wherein thousands of Ijaw youths marched across our territories in the city of Warri, in memory of our late Hero, Major Isaac Jasper Adaka Boro. The event is a yearly ritual for the Ijaw people, and Dr. Otuaro’s appearance at the last outing was at the behest of Council, who beckoned on him to make a guest appearance as a critical stakeholder to the body.
“We therefore find it unreasonable and illogical for both Tompolo and Otuaro to be fingered for a joint statement by the Ijaws and Urhobo’s calling on the Independent National Electoral Commission to speedily implement its recommended outcome from the delineation exercise, and urging the First Lady not to influence the process as she is mother to all.
“May we remind the Itsekiri nation that as First Lady, Senator Remi Tinubu is mother to the entire country, and not solely owned by the Itsekiri nation. Hence, every Nigerian is obliged to make demands of her, which the Ijaws and Urhobos illustrated through their statement.
“Finally, The Ijaw Youth Council urges the Olu of Itsekiri, Ogiame Atuwatse III, and other leaders to call their youths to order and refrain from beating the drum of war in Warri and environs.
“While protest is a right for every Nigerian, the Itsekiris should take a cue from the Boro Day procession organized by the Ijaw Youth Council Western Zone that was peaceful in every way.
“We also condemn actions of the uncontrollable Itsekiri youths who protested in territories outside their jurisdiction, blocked major roads with tyres, destroyed properties, and attacked peaceful Ijaw people; all actions that could lead to retaliation and a breakdown of law and order.
“Council, therefore, urges President Tinubu to order INEC to implement the delineation outcome without any further delays to avert a looming crisis that may impede the progress and success of his administration.”
Signed:
Comrade Nicholas Igarama
Chairman, IYC Western Zone
Ebi Joshua Olowolayemo Esq
Secretary, IYC Western Zone
Comrade Tare Magbei
Information Officer, IYC Western Zone