Rivers
LG Boss Tasks Traditional Rulers On Security
The Chairman of Andoni Local Government Council, Chief Erastus Awortu, has told traditional rulers in the area to ensure sustenance of peace and security in their respective domains.
Awortu made the call, Monday, during the quaterly meeting of the Andoni Traditional Rulers Council with him at the council headquarters, Ngo Town.
Speaking shortly after he declared the meeting open, the Chairman lamented that the crisis and hatred experienced among the leadership and various communities in the area were often orchestrated by some merchants of division and conflict in the area.
Awortu expressed the need for the support of royal fathers, chiefs and stakeholders in tackling certain issues to maintain the existing peace and harmony installed by his administration.
He urged them to use thier traditional positions to bring unity and peace among the various communities in their domains.
“Yours is a call as royal fathers and traditional rulers to serve the people through quality leadership and selfless sacrifice.
“As traditional rulers, you are fathers to all in your domains. You are the custodians of the values, customs, and traditions of the people.
“We urge you to use your position as royal fathers to unite all the people and promote peace and harmony in your various Kingdoms.
“Our local government needs everyone in formal and informal positions of leadership to speak up for, and to uphold a common humanity.
“Too many merchants of hate and division menace our land, they seek to have their bread buttered by the suffering and destruction that violence brings.
“They promote a persistent victim mentality, pushing a narrative that relegates and diminishes people and inclines them to base conduct.
“They package ordinary people into the mistaken and dangerous belief that the dice is always loaded against them because of politics and chieftaincy wrangling, thereby fuelling a baseless sense of rage and hate.
“When and wherever violence wreaks havoc on life, they see opportunity to feather their nests, rather than embrace their responsibility to work to ensure everyone’s right to life, movement and residence is respected.
“These merchants of division do all these for their personal relevance and bank accounts. Most of them live safely away from the theaters of the violence they induce.
“Many have homes in the safest parts of Port Harcourt, Abuja and cities abroad. Their children and youth are tucked safely away in private schools within Nigeria and abroad, with the proceeds from the relevance that violence and hatred earn for them”, he said.
The chairman explained that his administration was desperately into bringing the incessant attacks and killings that have claimed so many lives and properties in various communities in the area to an end.
He disclosed that the local government council is able to achieve on some developmental gestures because of the relative peace, adding that no meaningful development can take place in an atmosphere of violence.
He urged the traditional rulers to give support to the government in restoring the lost glory of the LGA, and consolidating on the ongoing initiative to bring development among the people.
“This government has consistently demonstrated its commitment to security and peace building not only in Andoni, but in every parts of the neighbourhood LGAs, we explored various avenues for peace and we got it.
“We don’t want anyone in the name of chieftaincy wrangling or community crisis to drag our dear LGA back to the era of doom again.
“There is no doubt that security efforts and intelligence gathering must improve and we will continue to discharge our responsibility to uphold security and uphold the laws of the land.
“But we must all soberly acknowledge that the ultimate guarantee of peace is the willingness of people to live together in harmony and mutual respect”, Awortu said.
In his remarks, the new Chairman of the Traditional Rulers Council and Paramount Ruler of Ikuru Town, King Aaron Ikuru, promised to synergise with the council chairman to bring sustainable peace and socio-economic development to the area.
He said: “We will adopt more proactive measures to sustain peace and unity in our communities.
“I will embark on sensitization of my people to be law abiding, live in peace and be security conscious and love one another.
“I will gather all the various entities in our area to promote peace. We shall pay special attention to the youths, efforts would be made to provide jobs for the youths”.
Also speaking, the Chairman of Asarama Divisional Council of Traditional Rulers and member of Andoni Area council of Traditional Rulers, HRH, Daniel Okikere Ibani, thanked the Council Chairman for the developmental gesture across the LGAs.
Ibani, the partamount Ruler of Iwoma Community in Andoni, also thanked the Council Chairman for his re-inclusion into the Andoni Area Council of Traditional Rulers to represent Asarama Division in the Area.
He promised to promote peace, unity and also join hands with the council Chairman to sustain the existing peace and development in the area.
Ibani warned that his administration as chairman of Asarama Divisional Council traditional rulers will not tolerate any form of gangsterism among the chiefs, youths and the entire people of Asarama Kingdom, saying that the era of compromise and grace had elapsed.
By: Enoch Epelle
The Rivers State Chief Judge, Justice Simeon Chibuzor Amadi, says the state judiciary has a total of 23,870 cases pending in various courts in the State.
This figure includes all cases pending in Magistrate, High, and Customary Courts, as well as Customary Court of Appeal in the State.
Justice Amadi stated this while presiding over a special court session held to mark the comencement of the 2024/2025 new legal year held at the auditorium of the High Court in Port Harcourt, Thursday.
The State Chief Judge, while giving the breakdown of performances by the Judiciary in the last year ended, revealed that the stastics of the cases brought before the courts from October 30, 2023 to 30th September 2024 is 31,886, while cases filed stood at 14,791 and cases disposed in the period under review is 22,725.
He further disclosed that the State Judiciary and the customary courts generated a total of #525,322,478,83 as revenue in the last judiciary year under review.
He described the special court session as an annual ritual of the judiciary marked to herald the beginning of a new legal year, stressing that it affords the judiciary and all stakeholders the needed opportunity to take stock of the activities of the judiciary in the past one year in order to improve, with a view to strengthening the justice administration.
The number one state judiciary officer stated that the judiciary had undertaken a lot of capital infrastructure in the year ended to ensure the comfortablility of the workers and judicial officers, and announced that additional high courts would be constructed at Okehi and Degema to ease the challenges of numerous cases coming from such jurisdictions.
Justice Amadi further disclosed that the state judiciary has a total of 51 judges, 57 magistrates, 30 Chairmen of customary courts, and 60 presiding members, adding that the state judiciary has 12 judicial Divisions, 37 magisterial Districts, and 30 customary courts.
“We lost seven judiciary staff, Port Harcourt NBA lost 16, Okehi branch 1, Bori branch 2, and Ahoada branch 2 . Creation of a judicial Division is based on cases filed from such area and we recommend for approval of such and not for politically based”, he stated.
The State Chief Judge used the opportunity to thank the State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, for the support given to the judiciary in the state, noting that the success recorded by the judiciary in the state was attributed to the huge support from the State Governor.
He also appreciated the efforts of the security agencies and the media for their various cooperation and support and urged them to sustain such in this legal year .
In their various speeches at the event, the State Attorney General and Commissoner of Justice, Dagogo Isreal-Ibroma, SAN; the Leader of the body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria, Rivers State, OCJ Okocha, SAN; and the Chairman of NBA, Port Harcourt Branch, Mrs. Eke Cordelia, commended the achievements recorded by the state judiciary and urged that more measures be put in place to enhance speedy dispensation of justice.
The special court session was preceded by a church service.
By: Akujobi Amadi
A religious body in Rivers State, the House of Jesus Christ Ministries, has appealed to the warring politicians in the State to stop the orgy of violence over leadership supremacy and embrace genuine dialogue.
This is contained in a recent statement by the Parish Church Council (PCC) meeting of the church.
The statement, which was signed by the General Overseer, Apostle Joseph Emmanuel; Secretary, Evangelist ThankGod Akpanowoh; Parish Women Leader, Mrs. Promise Aniebet William; and Parish Evangelist, Elder Aniefiok Benneth, noted that the spate of violence witnessed across the state has taken unimaginable dimensions with the recent killings, wanton destruction of properties, and the burning down of Council Secretariats.
It said if care is not taken, the crisis could extend to homes, and therefore called on the warring parties to stop and gove room for a lasting solution.
Blaming the Federal Government under the watch of President Bola Tinubu, who it said had been seemingly passive in handling the political difference between the former Governor of the State and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Chief Nyesom Wike and his successor, Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
“The kind of crisis we are seeing cannot be rationalised. Whether in Rivers or Lagos, whether we are talking of state violence of political upheavals rocking the state, we plead as a church with the contending politicians to pull back their hatchets of indifference for the sake of peace, unity, stability and progress, and allow the possibility of genuine dialogue to begin, and lasting peace restored”, the church said.
Noting that the xurrent wind of democracy blowing in the state is one of the legacies of Governor Siminalayi Fubara and others who preach peace, love and development in the state, the Church cautioned against further crises “in the once peaceful state for posterity”.
It urged the current politicians in the country to emulate the peaceful disposition and virtues of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, which is instrumental to the prevailing peace in the state, in the face of continued provocations.
By: Bethel Toby
Rivers State has topped the performance chart in the implementation of the Nigerian Community Action Resilience And Economic stimulus (NG -CARES) programme in the South-South and Nigeria.
This was contained in a report released at the just-concluded two-day peer learning and experience sharing event in Port Harcourt.
According to the report, Rivers State performed excellently in all aspects of the programme implementation.
The state was followed by Delta State, which emerged second both in the South-South and the country at large.
Meanwhile, the World Bank has approved an additional $500million for the extension of the programme for the next three years.
World Bank Task Team leader, Dr.Lire Ersado, said at the event that the programme has lived up to expectations as it has gone along way to alleviate the sufferings of millions of poor and vulnerable Nigerians.
Ersado, who was represented by Professor Folorusho Okumadewa, said NG CARES has gotten the right strategies and approach in making sure that poor and vulnerable Nigerians can smile.
He said the programme, which was initially setup to address suffering caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, is even more relevant today with a view to addressing the plights of Nigerians affected by flood and other natural disasters.
Ersado said the Port Harcourt meeting, which is the sixth in the series of meetings held across the country, will provide opportunity for all states in the country to cross check their performances with each, as well as learn from the successes and failures of each other.
Also speaking, Rivers State Commissioner for Commerce And Industry, Barrister John Otamiri, said the programme was in line with the State Government programme of alleviating the sufferings of the people.
He also said the government is ready to partner with NG CARES to alleviate the sufferings of the poor and vulnerable in the society.
Otamiri said also assures that Rivers State is safe for investment.
While reeling out its performances, National Coordinator, NG CARES, Dr. Abdulkarim Obaje, said the world Bank is passionate about the programme , adding that the bank has graciously extended the programme for another three years with an additional $500 million.
He said within the last three years $750 million was disbursed to the 36 states and FCT in 160 delivery platforms.
Obaje added that 9.2 million poor and vulnerable Nigerians also benefited from the programme across the country in the last three years.
Earlier, Rivers State Coordinator, RiV CARES, Mrs. Ephraim George Imaonyani, commended the delegates for choosing Rivers State for the South-South meeting.
By; John Bibor
