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You Lack Capacity To Rescue Nigeria, Ortom Tells Buhari
Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to hand over to Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, saying from all indications, the president lacks the capacity to rescue the country from the worsening economic and security predicaments confronting the nation.
The governor, who spoke, yesterday, during an interaction with newsmen in Makurdi, among others, said “Since the inception of our country Nigerian even before the independence we have never witnessed this kind of nepotism that is going on in our country.
“We have never witnessed this level of disunity in our country. We have never seen this level of insecurity and we have never seen this kind of economic downturn the way we have it today.
“I am a grassroots person, so, I appreciate the feelings of the people out there. I feel so sad and I also pity the president of our country because those surrounding him are deceiving him and he is not aware of the plight of our people. The basic responsibility of any government we were told is the provision of security for lives and property. The level of insecurity in the country today is worrisome.
“Those people who are complacent and living in their comfort zones without looking at the reality of what is happening in our country today should have a rethink. It is really unfortunate that I have over 1.5million IDPs in Benue State out of the projected seven million population that I have in Benue, and more than 80per cent of the IDPs are farmers that earned us the appellation of the food basket of the nation.
“Today, they are in IDPs camps suffering. As if that is not enough, every day you wake up to the news that Fulanis with the consent of the Federal Government have decided to make life unbearable for my people in Benue State.
“How can we allow our country go on with this level of impunity by the APC led Federal Government? How can they allow these Fulani herdsmen to come and murder, kill and rape our women and children? So, the Federal Government has completely failed and I want to call on our President, Muhammadu Buhari, to accept the fact that he has failed this country and I want to advise him to honourably resign as president of Nigerian.
“He can resign and hand over to his vice to handle the affairs of this country; otherwise, this country is going down. No wonder in 2014 I saw a video clip where the president promised Nigerians that his APC government was going to take Nigeria from the top to bottom.
“And today, if nothing is done, if the president does not rise up to the responsibility of taking this country out of the bottom to the top, we are going underneath.
“Those who are keeping quiet should continue, but I have said my beat. They can insult me and also send the EFCC after me and declare all the things we do right as wrong. But I have nothing to hide, if you come after me I will approach the courts because I have nothing to hide.
“I will always stand for truth, equity, fairness and justice and that is all. This country belongs to all of us. It is not about a Fulani president or President Buhari. We have had Fulani presidents who I adjudged as the best we have ever had. We had President Shehu Shagari, a Fulani man from the caliphate.
“He was a good leader. He provided security for lives and property. We had President Umaru Yar’Adua a Fulani man from Katsina State. He did very well and till tomorrow nobody has provided the solution to the Niger Delta crisis more than President Yar’Adua, a Fulani man.
“The issue today is about incompetence, it is about non-performance, it is about barefooted leadership, it is about lame-duck, it is about somebody without a vision and direction to lead our country.
“So, I call on President Muhammadu Buhari to resign. If he wants APC to continue he should hand over to his vice to take up from there. Anybody who is deceiving President Buhari telling him that he has performed well is a liar.”
The Rivers State Chief judge, Justice Simeon Chibuzor Amadi has granted pardon to six inmates standing awaiting trial at the Port Harcourt maximum correctional center.
The six lucky inmates granted pardon on Tuesday by the state Chief Judge included Nwekeala Chizoba, Samuel Emmanuel, Aniete Kelvin, Ebube Fubara and Goddey Okpara who were on awaiting trial as murder suspects and have all spent between 10 years to seven years in the custody without a proper information filed against them in the court.
Justice Amadi during a special gaol delivery exercise last Tuesday at the Port Harcourt Maximum Correctional Centre opined that the special gaol delivery was part of activities lined up to commomerate the 2024/2025 legal year in the State and restated the commitment of the state judiciary in decongesting the correctional centre and ensuring that those inmates who are not supposed to be there are removed from the custody.
The state chief judge stressed the need for all stakeholders to work together to build a society that supports rehabilitation and gives a second chance to anyone or group of people who have fallen short of the expectation of the law and have been punished accordingly.
He stressed that the National Judicial Council(NJC) encourages judges to pay more attention to criminal matters to enable them to decongests the correctional facilities, noting that since his assumption into office, his administration has been able to reduce the number of inmates in Nigerian Correctional Centres and the Port Harcourt Correctional Centre in particular, to less than 2,000 as against the over 4,000 inmates previously in the faculty.
According to him, “as they release the deserving inmates, they affirm their commitment to justice, compassion and rule of law but that they must not forget the fundamental principles of justice delivery system which is truth and fairness, integrity and equality before the law.”
I encourage you all the released inmates to return to your families and become better citizens. You must not engage in action that will return you all back to prison. Let me say that while the judges show empathy to you all, it does not absolved individuals from being held accountable for actions against individuals, corporate organisations and state which the law frowns at, ”he stated
The Chief Judge thereafter stood down the exercise to enable the DPP to intervene to case files following the fact that majority of the persons listed to benefit from the exercise are facing murder charges and adjourned to a date that will come before December.
Earlier in his goodwill message, the outgoing state Comptroller of Nigerian Correctional Centre, Port Harcourt, Felix Lawrence, who was recently promoted to the rank of Assistant Controller General, commended the state judiciary led by Chief Judge, Justice Simeon Chibuzor Amadi for their continuous effort aimed at ensuring justice and decongesting the facilities.
Other activities lined up for the event included special church service at St Paul’s Cathedral , Anglican Communion, Rebisi Port Harcourt, inspection of guard of honour by the state Chief Judge mounted by officers of the Nigerian police and a special court session held at the ceremonial court hall.
By: AkujobiAmadi
The Director General of Rivers State Bureau on Public Procurement (RBoPP), Dr. Ine Briggs, has explained that the Sir Siminalayi Fubara administration plans to enforce transparency in governance through public procurement.
Speaking at a one-day Public Procurement Enlightenment workshop organised in collaboration with the State Local Government Service Commission for newly elected chairmen, vice chairmen, secretaries and leaders of legislative assemblies, Dr. Briggs said it is key for grassroot development.
She stated that the Sir. Fubara administration plans to reduce wastage and at same time infuse efficiency in public expenditure.
The RSoPP DG said the local government political office holders remain key drivers in the new vision hence the workshop is to arm them with knowledge on how to execute projects in tandem with needs of the people.
“ Your role in the prudent management of public resources is, therefore, not just administrative it’s the cornerstone of delivering the dividends of democracy. Every procurement decision you make must reflect a commitment to fairness, transparency and accountability” Dr. Briggs submitted.
One of the key goals of the administration she further reminded the participants was to use their offices to foster economic growth through public procurement.
She warned that the law establishing the agency empowers it to penalise defaulters, but that what is more important is voluntary compliance to the laws.
In addition to that, she said urged the local government council leaders that champion the practice and implementation of public procurement law.
On his part, Acting Chairman of Local Government Service Commission, Pastor GoodLife Ben Iduoku averred that the aim of the workshop is to arm key stakeholders in the local government system to generate new ideas, innovation and strategies in tandem with government policies and programmes.
The workshop dealt on various topics on procurement planning, methods, Understanding Bid Process, including types of Construction Contracts and law.
Some participants were awarded excellence and meritorious awards as part of the programme.
By: Kevin Nengia
The 19th anniversary of the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS), Rivers State Chapter, recently ended in Port Harcourt in grand style, with participants from various schools including proprietors, the academia, civil society groups and top government functionaries charting the way forward for educational improvement.
The 19th NAPPS anniversary christened, ‘Innovation and Adaptation: Transforming Challenges Into Opportunities’ was held at Casoni Hotels, Port Harcourt.
In his remarks, the Chairman of the Rivers State Chapter of the association, Dr. Jaja Adafe Sunday expressed gratitude to the members and executives for their untiring efforts towards the achievements of the body.
He sought the intervention of government on the lingering crisis on the economy as it is affecting the running of schools.
He decried high cost of things including fuel and raw materials which has adversely affected the running of schools and payment of teachers.
Dr. Sunday hinted that the current economic situation in the nation is biting hard on the operations of schools, saying inflation, removal of fuel subsidy, fuel scarcity, poor electricity supply, tariffs and lack of government grants are some of the challenges faced by schools, and urged the members to brace up to the challenges, as it is the panacea to building a brighter future.
Guest speakers from the health sector and the academia thrilled the gathering on the essence of basic education which they said is the key to national development.
Former Dean of the Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Professor Azuru and the Chief Medical Director of Meridian Hospitals, Dr. Odo Iyke were some notable guest speakers who delivered lectures at the occasion.
Some distinguished proprietors also got special recognitions and awards.
The 19th anniversary cake was cut by the Rivers State NAPPS Chairman with representatives of the state government assisting.