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Wike dissolves state executive Council

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Governor Nyesom Wike on Thursday dissolved the Rivers State Executive Council and expressed profound gratitude to the cabinet members for their services to the government and the state.

Wike announced the dissolution after the State Executive Council special valedictory session held in Port Harcourt.

Wike, in a statement issued to newsmen by Kelvin Ebiri, the Special Assistant to the Governor on Media, directed all the commissioners to hand over government property in their custody to the permanent secretary or most senior director in their respective ministries.

Wike commended members of the cabinet for their immense sacrifices, commitment and dedication to service which was responsible for the tremendous transformation in the state for the past eight years.

He stated that those who served as cabinet members could confidently return home with their shoulders high having successfully changed the narrative of governance in the country.

“Be happy to say, yes, I participated when they said Rivers State became one of the leading states in this country; when they said there was infrastructure revolution in the state,” he said.

Wike described the immediate past administration before his administration as callous and vicious for looting state assets and not formally handing over to his government.

He however, thanked God for the privilege that he would be successfully handing over to the incoming Governor, Siminialayi Fubara.

The governor implored the cabinet members to conscientiously pray for the success of the incoming administration.

According to him, all we need is to pray for the incoming government, support them, where he finds you necessary to be part of his cabinet, do not disappoint us by saying no.

In her remarks, Dr Ipalibo Harry-Banigo, the Deputy Governor of Rivers, thanked the governor for availing the privilege to be the first female Deputy Governor to serve the state since its creation in 1967.

She stated that history would remember Gov. Wike for his gender sensitive policy which also paved way for another woman, Prof. Ngozi Odu, as her successor.

In his remark, Dr. Tammy Danagogo, the former Secretary to the Rivers state Government, said he was proud to be part of Gov. Wike led transformation government that changed the landscape of the state with impactful infrastructural projects.

Similarly, the Head of Service, Rufus Godwin, noted that Wike led administration assumed office in 2015, with purported 54,372 of civil servant on her pay roll after the introduction of biometric system reduced to 39,451.

Also, the former Chief of Staff, Government House, Emeka Woke, thanked the governor for giving him the opportunity to serve the State under his administration.

Former Rivers State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Prof. Zacchaeus Adangor, SAN, said by virtue of his appointment, he had learnt how to apply law for public good.

Prof. Adangor commended Wike for recovering the state Oil wells from other states through the ministry.

In his speech, George -Kelly Alabo, the former Commissioner for Works, disclosed that over 920 kilometres roads and 600 kilometres of drains were constructed by Gov Wike’s administration since 2015.

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FCT court discharges, acquits Adoke in OPL 245 trial

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Justice Abubakar Kutigi of the FCT high court has dismissed the charges of fraud, bribery and conspiracy filed against Mohammed Bello Adoke, former attorney-general of the federation, by Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Ruling on the “no case” submission made by Adoke, Kutigi said the EFCC failed to prove its charges of fraud, bribery and money laundering and ruled that the defendant has no case to answer.

He discharged and acquitted the former minister on all counts.

The judge said the allegation of illegal tax waivers granted to Shell and Eni was not corroborated by the Federal Inland Revenue (FIRS) or any authority in government.

On the alleged N300 million bribe said to have been given to Adoke by Abubakar, the court ruled that the EFCC did not provide any evidence to prove its case.

Nigeria has now lost virtually all the cases it filed or joined in Italy, the UK and Nigeria.

This is expected to finally bring litigation over the OPL 245 saga to a close.

The EFCC had earlier conceded that it did not have sufficient evidence to oppose the applications by Adoke, who was listed as first defendant, and others — although it insisted that Rasky Gbinigie had a case to answer over the alleged forgery of company documents to remove the name of Mohammed Abacha as a director.

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DHQ declares eight wanted over murder of army personnel in Delta

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The Defence Headquarters has declared eight persons wanted in connection to the killing of army personnel in Okuama community, Delta state.

The 17 army personnel were killed on March 14 during an operation in the community.

DHQ named those declared wanted as Akeywiru Omotegbono, Ekpekpo Arthur, Andaowei Bakrikri, Igoli Ebi, Akata David, Sinclear Oliki, Clement Oghenerukevwe and Reuben Baru.

The names of the deceased soldiers are A.H Ali, D.E Obi, S.D. Ashafa, U. Zakari, , Yahaya Saidu, Danbaba Yahaya, Kabir Bashir, Abdullahi Ibrahim, Bulus Haruna, Sole Opeyemi, Bello Anas, Alhaji Isah, Clement Francis, Abubakar Ali, Adamu Ibrahim, Hamman Peter, and Ibrahim Adamu.

After the killing of the army personnel, President Bola Tinubu and the military high command promised that the perpetrators would be brought to justice.

On Wednesday, the personnel were buried at the military cemetery in Abuja and were posthumously conferred with national honours by President Tinubu.

The president also offered scholarships to children of the late officers.

Speaking during the burial ceremony of the late personnel at the military cemetery in Abuja, Taoreed Lagbaja, chief of army staff (COAS), said it was “highly demoralising” that the soldiers were killed by those they were equipped to protect.

The army chief added that it took over 72 hours of searching to recover the vital organs of some of the deceased soldiers.

He added that the Nigerian Army exercised “a lot of restraint” in the search for missing arms and body parts of the deceased soldiers.

The army chief also said some of the widows of the slain officers are pregnant.

“The Okuama killing has added to the care of the Nigerian Army and, by extension, the Nigerian state, 10 widows, three of whom are four, five, and eight months pregnant, 21 orphans, and many other dependents, which include parents,” Lagbaja said.

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Flights disrupted as protests rock Port Harcourt airport

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Flight have been disrupted at the Port Harcourt International Airport, after the people of Omagwa and Ipo communities in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State, barricaded the entrance while protesting lack of power supply and other amenities.

It has grounded operations at the airport and passengers are stranded.

The situation has also caused a gridlock stretching from the Airport Road to adjoining communities.

The protesters, who trooped out as early as 7am on Wednesday, lamented that despite hosting the international airport and suffering from noise pollution daily, they are not paid any form of compensation and there are no good schools in the area.

One of the protesters, who gave his name as Oki, accused the airport authorities of neglect, saying, “We in Omagwa and Ipo don’t have light for over 10 years. We want compensation for the noise pollution coming from the airport every day. We are tired. That is why we are here. ”

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Bodex F. Hungbo, SPMIIM is a multiple award-winning Nigerian Digital Media Practitioner, Digital Strategist, PR consultant, Brand and Event Expert, Tv Presenter, Tier-A Blogger/Influencer, and a top cobbler in Nigeria.

She has widespread experiences across different professions and skills, which includes experiences in; Marketing, Media, Broadcasting, Brand and Event Management, Administration and Management with prior stints at MTN, NAPIMS-NNPC, GLOBAL FLEET OIL AND GAS, LTV, Silverbird and a host of others

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