Rivers
Elder Statesman Tasks Buhari On Restructuring

An elder statesman and prominent Niger Delta stakeholder in Rivers State, Rev. (Dr) Sokari Soberekon has appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to implement his proposal on restructuring before the presidential election.
According to him, the comprehensive proposal he sent to President Buhari and the National Assembly last year has the perfect solutions to the lingering problems of the country, and appealed to the President to without further delay, implement the proposal which he said will solve the problems of the country if well implemented.
He said, he is saddened that he has not got any feedback from the President or the National Assembly since he sent the document, adding that there is nothing to show that they are doing anything about it.
He felt the only reason they do not want to do any thing about the proposal is to continue to embezzle the resources of the Niger Delta and keep oppressing the oil producing Niger Delta and her people.
“There is no way you can get the best of yam without slicing or peeling it. The same way, Nigeria needs to be sliced for everyone in the country to enjoy the benefits of being a citizen of Nigeria and the slicing of the country is restructuring the country into six autonomous zones that will control their resources and pay taxes to the centre which is true federalism. Each of the zones should be headed by a Vice President that will be voted into power for a single tenure of 12 years which means there will be six Vice Presidents in the country”, he added.
He said in a statement in Port Harcourt that each Vice President will serve as a President General for two years on a rotational basis, which are all well articulated in the proposal.
“Every presidential aspirant that is contesting or willing to contest should contest in their zones for the Vice President”, he intoned
According to him, “this will drastically reduce the huge amount of money spent on election in every four years and also lessen the tension in the country in every four years due to electioneering activities”. He also said “the politicians will not use our God-given oil to play politics again.”
He also called on the British Government to come to the aid of the Niger Delta people “because it is the CORE states of Calabar, Ogoja and Rivers that gave them the trump card to win when 14 European countries were scrambling for Africa, Nigeria in particular at the Berlin Conference in 1884-1885”, It is the core states of Calabar, Ogoja and Rivers that brought in the Europeans, that is why the headquarters was in Calabar before it was moved to Lagos after amalgamation. The amalgamation document was only signed by the Obong of Calabar and the British should remember the commercial treaty signed in 1775 at the Bight of Brafia that opened way for trading between them and the Rivers people. Then, they were known as seafarers and the Rivers people, were known as bay farers. Seafarers are the sailors while the bay farers are the people living at the front of the sea. The Bight of Brafria is where the seafarers and the bay farers met to sign the commercial treaty” he said.
Soberekon who described himself as an agitator, emancipator and Senior Advocate of Niger Delta (SAND) said he was instrumental to the establishment of the oil derivation formula during the Second Republic under the watch of former President of the country, Alhaji Shehu Shagari in 1981. He is the General Overseer of Christ Jesus Link Gospel Publishers Church.
Rivers
Police Investigate Officer’s Suicide In PH
The Police Command in Rivers State has confirmed the commencement of an investigation into the death of a police officer who allegedly took his own life in Port Harcourt.
The command’s spokesperson, SP Grace Iringe-Koko, disclosed this to journalists on Tuesday in Port Harcourt.
“We received a report about an officer who allegedly killed himself.
“However, we are currently investigating the report to ascertain what transpired”, she stated.
Iringe-Koko reported that the Commissioner of Police in the Sstate, CP Olugbenga Adepoju, directed that the case be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID) for a thorough investigation.
According to viral reports Monday, Insp. Maxwell Zabu, formerly a security detail to Victor Ihunwo, a former Chairman of Port Harcourt City Council, allegedly shot himself at Ihunwo’s residence in Eagle Island, Port Harcourt.
A source familiar with the incident said the matter was reported to the Azikiwe Police Division in the area.
“Following the report, detectives from the division visited the scene as part of preliminary investigation procedures”, the source added.
Rivers
Perm Sec Tasks NUJ Leadership On Unity
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information and Communications, Rivers State, Mr. Emmanuel Ndah, has charged the leadership of the State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) to ensure that all factions of the union are collapsed, especially now that the election is over.
Ndah gave the charge when the newly elected executives of the council and some of its members led by the Chairman, Comrade Paul Bazia, paid him a courtesy visit in his office at the State Secretariat Complex, Port Harcourt, yesterday.
The Permanent Secretary said he will do everything within his reach to ensure that the union is put in the front burner as far as their demands are achievable within the directives of the Sole Administrator of the State, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas (rtd).
He also promised to ensure that the demands of the union get to the appropriate quarters.
According to him, the effort of the State Sole Administrator is to carry out programmes that can be achieved in six months and urged the NUJ to make demands that can be achieved within the period.
“The (Sole) Administrator has put so much effort to not only carry out achievable programmes, but also ensure peace and security in the State”, he said.
He, therefore,instructed the new executives to carry every member of the union along in the scheme of things.
“After the election, the union is now one. Carry everybody along so that the union will move forward”, he said.
The Chairman of NUJ, Bazia, had earlier assured the Permanent Secretary that the new executive was ready to work with the government to change the negative narratives and move the State forward.
Bazia further emphasised that the union will ensure factual reportage that will bring about the development of the State.
He also said the essence of the visit was to introduce the new executives to their host and lamented the deplorable condition of the NUJ Secretariat and urged the Permanent Secretary to help push the demands of the union to the state government, while highlighting some of the challenges faced in the Council.
“In terms of mobility, we have no vehicle, the one we have is in a bad shape. Most of the facilities are bad, so we need you to help push our issues to the Administrator pending when our Governor will be restored”, he said.
He thanked the Permanent Secretary for receiving members of the union within a short notice.
King Onunwor
Rivers
Rivers Judiciary Denies Reports On SOLAD’s Sack
The Rivers State Judiciary has denied claims of media reports online that a judge of its High Court issued a ruling in favour of Governor Siminalayi Fubara against former Governor Nyesom Wike and President Bola Tinubu allegedly sacking the Sole Administrator of the State, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd).
A statement signed by the Chief Registrar of the State High Court, David Ihua-Maduenyi, on Wednesday in Port Harcourt, described the purported report as false and misleading, particularly for linking a judge of the State High Court, Justice Boma Diepiri, to a ruling that reportedly came from a Federal High Court.
According to the statement, Justice Diepiri is a Judge of the Rivers State High Court and not of the Federal High Court and currently on Easter vacation, which commenced on Monday, 14th April.
The Chief Registrar further clarified that the Federal High Court and the State High Court are separate entities, stressing that “the inclusion of Justice Diepiri’s name in the fabricated report underscores the crass ignorance of the author”.
The statement, signed by Ihua-Maduenyi, reads in part, “The attention of the Rivers State Judiciary has been drawn to a fake news report alleging that His Lordship, Hon. Justice Boma Diepiri, delivered a judgment sacking the Sole Administrator of Rivers State. This is false in its entirety.
“Justice Diepiri is a judge of the High Court of Rivers State, not of the Federal High Court as was falsely reported.
“Additionally, His Lordship is currently on Easter vacation which began on Monday, April 14, 2025”.
It advised the general public and members of the media to always cross checked information concerning the judiciary before publishing, and disregard the said report in its entirety, saying “its an embodiment of falsehood and fabricated story”.
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