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Buhari Must Go, Christians Demand …CAN Embarks On Nationwide Protest …As President Meets Trump In US,Today
Some Catholic priests, early yesterday, embarked on a peaceful protest in Akure, Ondo State, against the disheartening killings in the Middle Belt and other parts of Nigeria, insisting “Every Soul Matters”, and calling on President Muhammadu Buhari to take responsibility for the carnage and vacate office.
The demonstration comes days after suspected herdsmen stormed St. Ignatius Catholic Church, Ukpor-Mbalom Parish, Gwer East Local Government Area of Benue State, killing two Catholic priests and 17 parishioners.
The deceased were members of the parish who were in the church to attend the 5:30am Mass and burial ceremony.
Meanwhile, the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to resign.
The CBCN urged President Buhari to choose the part of honour by “stepping aside to save the nation from total collapse.”
The CBCN made the call in a communique signed by its President, Most Rev. Augustine Akubeze, and Secretary, Most Rev. Camillus Umoh, last Thursday.
The bishops, in the communique titled, “When will this barbarism end?” condemned the incessant attacks by the suspected herdsmen, whom they said had turned the country into a massive graveyard.
They also noted that the rate of insecurity in Nigeria had become an embarrassment in the international community while describing the killing of the priests in the Gwer East Local Government Area of Benue State, last Tuesday, as being “carefully planned.”
The communique read: “That our two priests, Fr. Joseph Gor and Fr. Felix Tyolaha, along with their parishioners were waylaid in the course of the celebration of the Holy Mass early in the morning, suggests very clearly that their murder was carefully planned. This wicked act cannot be said to be a revenge attack (as is often claimed).
“Whom have these priests attacked? Indeed, we have just discovered that on January 3, this year, Fr. Gor tweeted, ‘We are living in fear. The Fulani are still around here in Mbalom (where they (priests) were killed). They refuse to go. They still go grazing around. No weapons to defend ourselves.’
“Their desperate cries for security and help went unheeded by those who should have heard them. They could have fled but, true to their vocation, they remained to continue to serve their God unto death.
“We are sad. We are angry. We feel totally exposed and most vulnerable. Faced with these dark clouds of fear and anxiety, our people are daily being told by some to defend themselves.
“But defend themselves with what? The Federal Government, whose primary responsibility it is to protect lives, for its part alleges that those who ask the people to defend themselves are inciting them to take the laws into their own hands. But how can the Federal Government stand back while its security agencies deliberately turn a blind eye to the cries and wailing of helpless and harmless citizens who remain sitting ducks in their homes, farms, highway and now, even in sacred places of worship?
“In spite of several calls on the President in the last two years to reconfigure his security apparatus and strategy, which the President has deliberately placed in the hands of the adherents of only one religion and the lack of confidence expressed by the CBCN in the security agencies, the bloodletting and destruction of homes and farmlands had increased with intensity and brutality.
“We are sad and fear that the clock is ticking. The bomb must be defused quickly before it explodes.
“Since the President, who appointed the heads of the nation’s security agencies has refused to caution them even in the face of the chaos and barbarity into which our country has been plunged, we are left with no choice but to conclude that they are acting a script that he approves of. If the President cannot keep our country safe, then he automatically loses the trust of the citizens.
“He should no longer continue to preside over the killing fields and mass graveyard that our country has become. Repeated calls from us and many other Nigerians on the President to take very drastic and urgent steps to reverse this ugly tragedy that threatens the foundation of our collective existence and unity as a nation have fallen on deaf ears.
“It is clear to the nation that he has failed in his primary duty of protecting the lives of the Nigerian citizens. Whether this failure is due to inability to perform or lack of political will, it is time for him to choose the part of honour and consider stepping aside to save the nation from total collapse.
“Government should encourage and empower citizens to secure themselves and their environments. This is not the time to disarm people with legally procured weapons of self defence.
In Markudi,the Christian Association of Nigerian, CAN, has called for the immediate resignation of President Muhammadu Buhari over his inability to tackle the ceaseless herdsmen killings and security challenges confronting the country.
The association also appealed to the international community to intervene in the crisis to save the country from relapsing into a religious crisis stressing that the attack on the Church in Benue was a jihad that should be stopped.
Speaking at a peaceful procession organised by the Benue State chapter of CAN, Chairman of the chapter, Rev. Akpen Leva who led the procession, which had participants baring placards with several inscriptions including, “President Buhari resign now”, “enough of the genocide in Benue, “arrest the leadership of Miyetti Allah” and “Benue State” and “self defence is the answer” noted that killings had become a source of physical and mental agony for the people of the state.
Rev. Leva said, “the barbaric mindless and well planned massacre of Benue people has no doubt brought tears running down the chicks of everybody in Benue State.
“We as CAN, wrote to the federal Government of Nigeria on the matter no answer or response was received. It is a fact that the silence and the indecision of the federal government is rather an encouragement to the militant herdsmen to perpetrate all these evil upon the people of Benue State.
“We are convinced that the Federal Government is acting the script of Miyetti Allah.
The President, Christian Association of Nigeria, Rev. Dr. Samson Ayokunle, had, last Wednesday, directed all Christians in Nigeria to embark on nationwide protest over the murder of the priests and 17 worshippers.
The Christian body also declared Sunday (yesterday) a National Day of Protest against what it described as “unending killings in the country,” urging Christians in Nigeria to hold peaceful protests within their church premises.
At the Holy Ghost Catholic Church in Wadata, most of the parishioners, especially women, neither wore necklaces nor earrings as a sign of anger and grief
The Kogi State chapter of CAN staged a peaceful protest as ordered by the national body.
The protests, carried out in various church premises, were aimed at drawing the attention of the Federal Government to the need to step up actions against the incessant killings going on in parts of the country.
The placard-carrying protesters with various inscriptions called for concerted efforts to stop the spate of killings before people start to take up arms to defend themselves.
Kogi State Chairman of CAN, Bishop John Ibenu, who spoke with newsmen after the protest at his Chapel of Freedom Church in Lokoja, said the protests were peaceful in the state.
He called on the Federal Government to set up a Truth and Reconciliation Commission over the menace of herdsmen attacks in the country.
Ibenu said, “It is a national day of prayer and protest, Christians don’t protest; if we have to, that means the issues have reached the peak.
“We spend time to pray for the nation and Kogi State and also for the future.
“Kogi State CAN, in obedience to the directive of national CAN, observed the day in our church premises.
But, Imo State chapter of CAN boycotted the order to protest the killing of the two Catholic priests.
All the churches that one of our correspondents visited yesterday in the state capital observed their normal church services without any protest, as reportedly directed by the national leadership of CAN.
Speaking to our correspondent, the CAN Chairman in the state, Apostle Godson Ibeji, said that the chapter was not formally informed via any means of communication.
The CAN chairman said that apart from newspaper publications, there was no correspondent from the CAN national secretariat informing them to march round the city in protest against the killing of Christians in North Central of the country.
Ibeji said, “There was no official communication or correspondent asking Imo CAN to march round the city in protest against the killing of two Catholic priests and other Christians in Benue State.
Meanwhile, the Methodist Diocese of Ereko has called on the Federal Government to redouble efforts to halt massive killings in Benue, Taraba and other parts of the country.
This was contained in a communiqué issued at the end of the 2nd synod of Methodist Diocese of Ereko held at the Wesley Church, Ikoyi, in Lagos and signed by Rt. Rev. Olukayode Adeogun, Bishop of Ereko and Lay President, Mr .Gori Ogunyemi.
The communique viewed with grave concern the state of affairs in Kaduna, Benue, Taraba, Yobe, Kogi Adamawa states and other parts of the country, saying it was saddened at shortcoming in the fight against insurgency which had not shown any signs of abating.
It, therefore, called on the Federal Government to redouble efforts to secure the release of the remaining 113 Chibok girls and Miss Leah Haribu, who was one of the girls kidnapped from Government Science and Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State who is yet to be released by her captors on the reason that she refused to be converted to Islam.
The Synod also asked God-fearing and committed Christians to contest for offices at all levels in 2019 while also encouraging every Christian to ensure that they register and collect their Permanent Voters Card (PVC) in fulfillment of their civic responsibilities.
The synod with the theme: “Strive for Peace and Holiness,” a gathering of ministerial and lay leaders of the church urged all Christians to live a life that reflect the virtue of peace and holiness which Jesus came to this world in human form to exhibit and thereby restored to humanity the glory which was lost in the Garden of Eden.
The Synod also lent its voice to the several calls for restructuring of the nation, believing that if attended to, it would take the wind out of the sails of the various insurgencies in the country.
The Synod frowns at lack of accountability and double standards at various levels of governance, hate speeches and the influx of illegal arms which were threatening the stability of the country.
The Synod commended the Lagos State Government for the opening of a mobile cancer centre for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, signing of the preservation and promotion of Yoruba language bill as a bold step in re-emphasizing cultural values, but noted that the present Cleaner Lagos Initiative had not met with the expectations of waste disposal in Lagos.
It called on the state government to address the obvious inadequacies to avoid the outbreak of cholera and other communicable diseases.
The synod said while promising not to cease to fulfill its role as the prophetic voice and vanguard of truth and righteousness in the nation, it would commit itself to continue to pray for peace and progress of the country.
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We’re Working To Improve Quality Of Life Of Rivers People -Fubara …As Taraba Gov Inaugurates 6.55km Okania-Ogbogoro-Mgbaraja Roads Project
Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has reiterated the commitment of his administration to render quality service that will improve the quality of life of residents, and strengthen the platform to promote unity.
Governor Fubara gave the assurance at the Okania-Ogbogoro Road junction, venue of the inauguration of the 6.55km Okania-Ogbogoro-Mgbaraja (and Mgbuoba) Roads project in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, yesterday.
The road cuts across Okania community through Ogbogoro, and connects Port Harcourt Ring Road project under construction, and was inaugurated by the Taraba State Governor, Dr Agbu Kefas.
Governor Fubara said that during the campaigns, he saw the roads in terrible condition, made a promise to fix them, and noted that that promise has been kept.
He emphasised that his administration will never be reckoned with abandoning of projects that it started, which is why he is particularly excited that the road has been fixed to ease the inconveniences suffered by the people.
The Governor said, “What we are doing here today is very simple: Promise made, promise fulfilled. I told you that whatever we are going to start, we are not going to leave it halfway. So, we have come here this afternoon to fulfill that promise.
“I am so excited, and I am so happy. I am leaving here with so much joy that we have done something that has so much impact, and importance in the lives of our people. So, I feel very fulfilled. Government is about the people. Government is knowing, understanding and seeing what you can do to make life easy for your people.
“We understand the situation of this road. Fortunately, I have a few friends who also live around here. So, there is nothing you will say that I don’t know. As a government, we will continue to do those things we know will make life easy for you.”
The Governor thanked members of the communities in the area for their support to his administration, and also for cooperating with the contractor to ensure completion of the project.
He assured the people that their request for the rehabilitation of the Community Secondary School and Health Centre, will be looked at and addressed immediately, saying, “Our government is a government that takes the interest of our people very seriously.
“There is no government without the people. It is only the people that keep the government going. So, what we will continue to do is to make sure that the problems and interest of our people are top on our list,” he assured.
Performing the inauguration, Taraba State Governor, Dr Agbu Kefas, said roads are not just physical infrastructure but represent a commitment to facilitate ease of transportation, boost local commercial activities and improve quality of lives for the people of Rivers State.
Dr Kefas noted that Governor Fubara has provided the people good roads, and like other good roads, it will serve as an artery of development, further connecting communities, enhancing access to essential services while unlocking economic potentials.
He said, “By completing this project, Your Excellency has, once again, demonstrated the transformative impact of visionary leadership. When I was coming in with the Governor on a ride, I saw the joy, the happiness of the voiceless people who were abandoned and neglected in this area, coming out to wave and welcome us.
“It wasn’t a hired crowd. Everybody, those who couldn’t make it to this place, in front of their homes, they were waving at us, and I was telling the Governor: this is all about good governance. He listened to the people, and solved their problems. So, it shows that he is doing the right thing, and I want to thank you, my brother, for what you are doing for the good people, especially the poor people even in difficult times.”
Governor Kefas further said: “As we celebrate this milestone, I am reminded of the importance of collaboration and shared vision among us as Governors. Together, we can inspire our people, improve their lives, and create lasting legacies in our respective states.”
Providing the project description, the State Commissioner for Works, Barrister Elloka Tasie-Amadi, recalled that when it was flagged-off in May, 2024, the project was for a 5km stretch but was extended in October, to include Mgbaraja axis, increasing the length to 6.55km, explaining that the 10.3 meter wide, and 5km of drains road, has now linked Apara Kingdom to Nkpor Kingdom.
In his address, Chairman of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Amb Chijioke Ihunwo, described the road as a very significant route that was abandoned for years until Governor Fubara intervened and fixed it, promising that Obio/Akpor people will not take the gestures of the State Government under Governor Fubara for granted.
Speaking on behalf of China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), the firm that handled the project, Eric Shen, said they are happy to be part of the infrastructure development strides of Governor Fubara, stating that though the rains posed significant challenge, they have delivered quality road network to serve the connectivity needs of the people.
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We’ll Implement Judicial Commission’s Report On Arson, Killings -Fubara …Says Such Violence Must Stop In Rivers
Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has assured of implementing the recommendations of the report submitted to him by the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into the Arson, Killings, and Wanton Destruction of Property at some local government council headquarters on or around Monday, October 7, 2024.
Governor Fubara gave the assurance when the seven-member commission, led by the Chairman, Justice Ibiwengi Roseline Minakiri, submitted four volumes of reports of their investigation and recommendations to him at Government House in Port Harcourt, yesterday.
The Governor declared that his administration will neither tolerate nor allow such level of violence in the State anymore because it is not profitable or productive.
He said, “We are not going to be part of any system that would encourage any destruction in this State. And for that reason, we had to inaugurate this commission, so that this commission should look into the remote and immediate causes of this problem.
“And I believe that the recommendations of this commission, with the help of God and the support of everyone, we will make sure that we implement the recommendations.”
Governor Fubara said: “We are going to take it to the next stage. The report will be presented to the Executive Council, and there, we will surely come out with the White Paper and with the White Paper. I can assure you, we are going to follow it to the end.
“Nobody is above the law, including me. So, provided what we are doing is within the confines of the law, we will do it with the help of every one.”
Governor Fubara recalled how, before 2014, a group of persons had ran wide recklessly in the State, burning down court buildings.
He noted that it is such persons, who had recently surfaced with their destructive tendencies, and have extended the violence to local government councils, killing people and destroying government property.
Governor Fubara wondered why somebody will spend so much money to build a structure intended to last as legacy of the administration but would eventually be part of its destruction in the name of politics.
Governor Fubara clarified that he has never been part of such destructive politics that continue to set the State backwards and frustrate progressive development strides.
Governor Fubara said: “I make bold to say it, I have never been and will never be a party to anything that will bring shame, disgrace, destruction to our dear State.
“It is our State. If it is well with us, it will be well with everybody. As a matter of fact, why should I encourage destruction, when I know that when you finish spoiling things, you still need money to rebuild them.
“I am an accountant, I know the importance of how we can manage money. Rather than spoil, you should use that money to do a new thing for the State.”
Governor Fubara vowed: “So, I am going to ensure that we put a stop to that level of violence or such unreasonable violence. I call it unreasonable violence because it doesn’t mean anything in politics.
“Politics is a business of interest. There is no permanent friend, no permanent enemy. Some persons who were not even in our support, today, they are here following us because their interest is the most important thing.
“Likewise tomorrow, if the interest changes, they will also go their different ways. So, why burn down the house?”
Governor Fubara thanked members of the commission for being bold, focused, and accomplishing their task with determination in the face of physical and legal threats.
In her presentation, Chairman of the seven-member Judicial Commission of Inquiry, Justice Ibiwengi Roseline Minakiri, said they had put their findings into four volumes, including the recommendations.
Justice Minakiri explained: “We have here four volumes of the report. We have the memoranda, which is the memoranda we got after we made our publications.
“We also have the exhibits that came with the memoranda. We have the proceedings and the records. At the end of the day, we came up with the main report.”
Justice Minakiri advised that the recommendations of the report should be studied and implemented so that people can be deterred from such callous acts and the sought-after peace secured for the State.
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We Are Eager To Showcase The Best Of Rivers State -Fubara …Declares Federation Of Public Service Games Open
The Rivers State Government says it is committed to providing a memorable experience for all delegates participating in the Federation of Public Service Games(FEPSGA) hosted by the State Government.
Governor Siminalayi Fubara stated this during the opening Ceremony of the 43rd Edition, Public Service Games, titled ”Simplified Rivers 2024″, at Sharks Stadium, Port Harcourt, last Sunday.
Speaking through his Deputy, Prof. Ngozi Nma Odu, Governor Fubara said “Our hospitality is renowned and we are eager to showcase the best of Rivers State. From top-notch facilities to a secure environment, we have everything in place to ensure a seamless and enjoyable experience for all participants.”
Governor Fubara said to ensure the success of the games his Administration has put in place comprehensive plans and preparations with four venues approved for the events which include the Sharks Stadium, Alfred Diette -Spiff Civic Centre, Port Harcourt Club and the University of Port Harcourt.
The State Chief Executive urged participants to remember that the true spirit of FEPSGA goes beyond winning medals, stressing that it is about building bridges of friendship, fostering a sense of community and celebrating our diversity.
According to him, we envision a public service that is more productive, more efficient and more effective, a future where public servants are empowered to deliver exceptional results driven by a culture of excellence, innovation and teamwork.
The Governor reiterated that while a healthy mind and body are essential for high productivity, regular physical activity boosts our mood, increases energy levels and enhances our cognitive function. We are eager to showcase the best of Rivers State. From top-notch facilities to a secure environment.
In her address Head of the Civil Service of the Federation Mrs Didi Esther Walson-Jack, who spoke through Dr.(Mrs) Magdalene Ajani, Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Interior Commended Governor Fubara for hosting this year’s event, and for his dedication to promoting sports and fostering unity in the country.
She noted that the event which serves as a platform for furthering unity, camaraderie and sportsmanship amongst public servants, was a celebration of their shared commitment to excellence, resilience and service to the nation.
Also speaking the National President of the Federation of Public Service Games (FEPSGA), Comrade Amaebi Aloku, said Rivers State got the nod to host the annual event because the Federation was pleased with the vision of Governor Fubara in identifying with the needs of the Civil Servants in the State, in terms of their welfare and being one of the first State to implement the new minimum wage and even taking it above what was approved by the national.
Earlier the Head of Service Rivers State, Dr George Nwaeke had welcomed all participants to the State and expressed gratitude to the Governor for approving and making available the resources to host the games, noting that it was an opportunity to interact with all Civil Servants across the nation.