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RIVERS APC CALLS FOR THE DECLARATION OF A STATE OF EMERGENCY IN RIVERS STATE

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The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State is calling on the Federal Government of Nigeria to declare a “State of Emergency” in Rivers State, as a result of the current spate of lawlessness across Rivers State, occasioned by the broadcast made by Governor Siminalayi Fubara, the Executive Governor of Rivers State on Monday, 17th June, 2024, in which he directed the Heads of Local Government Administration in the State to take over the affairs of the councils, and await “further directives.”

Sir (Chief) Tony C. Okocha, DSSRS, JP, the Leader/Chairman of the APC in Rivers State made the call earlier today in a press briefing at the Rivers State Secretariat of the APC in Port Harcourt, on “The State of Affairs in Rivers State”, following the violence that erupted in several local government areas in the State after the broadcast of Governor Siminalayi Fubara by the supporters of the Governor.

Speaking to newsmen during the press briefing, the Rivers APC Leader/Chairman said, “l want to use this opportunity to absolve the members of the APC in Rivers State.”

“We are not part of the ongoing war in Rivers State. I also want to absolve the innocent citizens of Rivers State, who are going about their legitimate businesses to put food on the table.”

“They are not part of the war. The war is between Governor Siminalayi Fubara versus Governor Siminalayi Fubara. That is the war in Rivers State. The Governor is unteachable. He doesn’t take wise counsel”, he added.

“The Chief of Staff to the Governor is the one leading armed thugs – Non State Actors – who are brandishing guns to various local government areas, and causing mayhem.”

“The Federal High Court, and the State High Court am told cannot sit. Young men are brandishing all manner of guns everywhere like it is their right now, and they’re doing it at liberty.”

“The boys have been let loose on the innocent citizens of Rivers State, and the people living and doing business in the State. The Police is helpless, and the Governor himself is also helpless.”

“In Omuma local government area, a Police officer was shot dead. A Vigilante Member was also shot dead. Was that necessary”?

“A boy in Ahoada was also shot dead. He was a former Students’ Union Government (SUG) President of the Captain Elechi Amadi Polytechnic, here in Port Harcourt. That boy died yesterday. He was carrying and waving “Asawana flag”, and was saying Asawana is not a love song. He is gone. These are the ones that are reported.”

Speaking further, Sir (Chief) Tony C. Okocha said, “We are in a trouble in Rivers State. We are in a state of war, and it is because the Governor is unteachable and doesn’t listen to wise counsel, even the counsel of Mr President .”

“The APC in Rivers State, the APC that I represent today is asking and demanding for a State of Emergency in Rivers State, so that Rivers people will live in peace because it will be too late to cry when the head is off.”

“The reasons and the indices of war, full blown war are palpable and clear. The Federal Government of Nigeria should do what they should do so that the situation does not degenerate into a situation that we will be seeing fire everywhere. This is our position as a party in the State.”

On the submission by Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, a former Governor of Rivers State, who was the immediate past Minister of Transportation of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, that 84% of Nigerians doesn’t like the government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Sir (Chief) Tony C. Okocha said, “We distance ourselves from that personal expression of his idiosyncrasies. It is not our position as the APC in Rivers State, it is his own position.”

“We support, whole and entire, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and we have passed a vote of confidence on him, consistent with what was done by the South-South leadership of the APC in a meeting that held in Calabar, the Cross Rivers State capital on Sunday, the 16th day of June, 2024,” Sir (Chief) Tony C. Okocha said.

Amb. Vincent Gbosi,
Special Assistant on Media to the Chairman,
Caretaker Committee (CTC),
All Progressives Congress (APC),
Rivers State.

June 19, 2024.

 

Politics

2027: Buhari’s loyalists move to stop Tinubu’s re-election bid

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As Nigeria inches toward the 2027 general elections, President Bola Tinubu is facing growing resistance from within his own political family.

This is just as key allies of former President Muhammadu Buhari, once united under the All Progressives Congress, APC, banner, are now aligning with opposition forces to stop Tinubu’s second-term ambition, Ekwutosblog has observed.

What started as quiet disagreements among key figures in the APC has now grown into open resistance, driven by some of the most trusted allies of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

Prominent figures like ex-Kaduna governor, Nasir El-Rufai, former SGF, Babachir Lawal, as well as former ministers also in Buhari’s cabinet, Rotimi Amaechi, and Abubakar Malami, once pillars of the APC, are now rallying around a new opposition alliance, raising fresh questions about unity in the ruling party. A former National Chairman of the APC, John Odigie-Oyegun is also not left out.

This emerging coalition recently found a new political vehicle in the African Democratic Congress (ADC), which has controversially adopted former Senate President David Mark as interim national chairman and ex-Governor Rauf Aregbesola as secretary.

The cracks within the APC are not new. Tinubu, who played a pivotal role in Buhari’s ascension to the presidency in 2015, now finds himself increasingly isolated from those he once helped empower.

The APC was formed in 2013 as a coalition of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Buhari’s CPC, and the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP).

The union, though strategic, was always fragile. Buhari’s successful 2015 run, his fourth presidential attempt, was largely credited to Tinubu’s political machinery in the South-West and key alliances with northern heavyweights like El-Rufai and Amaechi in the South.

By 2023, however, the tide had turned. Tinubu, who described his presidential bid as a “lifelong ambition,” clinched the APC ticket against fierce opposition within the party.

He triumphed in a general election marred by currency redesign chaos, the controversial Muslim-Muslim ticket, and questions about his health and coherence on the campaign trail.

Significantly, he lost in all three ‘K states’: Kano, Kaduna, and Katsina, long considered strongholds of Buhari’s northern base, but still clinched the presidential seat.

The relationship between Tinubu and Nasir El-Rufai was always politically transactional.

After initially being nominated for a ministerial role in Tinubu’s cabinet, El-Rufai was dropped following a security report. Their fallout was swift and bitter.

“Forgive me for bringing this evil Tinubu to power in 2023. It won’t happen again in 2027. The guy is gone,” El-Rufai reportedly told a group of supporters in May, a quote that went viral on social media and emboldened anti-Tinubu elements in the North.

El-Rufai, a former FCT Minister and a strong critic of Asiwaju, has since defected to the Social Democratic Party (SDP), where he is reportedly helping midwife the broader coalition that includes elements from the ADC, PDP, SDP, and disenfranchised APC members.

Yet, while the coalition appears formidable on paper, with political veterans like Atiku Abubakar, Sule Lamido, David Mark, Tambuwal, Amaechi, and Babachir Lawal on board, questions remain about its cohesion and ideological clarity.

Even Dumebi Kachikwu, the ADC’s 2023 presidential candidate, has dismissed the coalition’s move as illegitimate, noting that they are working with a defunct leadership of the party.

“The coalition is dealing with people whose tenure expired in 2022. We are watching with amusement,” Kachikwu said in a statement.

Despite the opposition, Tinubu is no political novice. Dubbed the “master strategist” for his role in shaping the APC and delivering Lagos to the opposition in 1999, he has weathered countless political storms.

A senior aide to Tinubu, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the president is “unfazed” by the coalition and is already reconfiguring his alliances.

“Remember 2023? They said he wouldn’t survive the Muslim-Muslim backlash. They said he wouldn’t win the APC ticket. He did both. Don’t write him off,” the aide said.

Tinubu is also reportedly in talks with key northern traditional and political power blocs to rebuild trust, particularly in states he lost during the last cycle.

Also, there are claims in some quarters that Tinubu may likely drop his vice, Shettima, and settle for Rabiu Kwankwaso from Kano State.

With the PDP fractured and the APC facing a mutiny from within, 2027 could reshape Nigeria’s political order yet again. But for now, both camps are playing the long game.

Meanwhile, some loyalists of former President Muhammadu Buhari, under the aegis of the Forum of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), recently declared support for President Bola Tinubu.

Those who met in Abuja on Thursday and declared support for the president included the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dr. Tajudeen Abbas (who sent in his apologies); Katsina State Governor, Dr. Dikko Radda; Niger State Governor, Umar Bago (who also sent in his apologies); Foreign Affairs Minister, Maitama Tuggar; former Governor of Nasarawa State, Senator Tanko Al-Makura; former Katsina State Governor and ex-House Speaker, Aminu Bello Masari; and Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), General Buba Marwa (retd).

They said that while individuals have a right to pursue their political ambitions elsewhere, they do not have to do so under the cloak of “defunct CPC members.”

Answering a question about whether the bloc would still support Tinubu, one of the leaders, Hon. Farouk Adamu, expressed optimism that the president would be its candidate even in 2027.

“We are with Tinubu just like our leader (Buhari), and secondly, it is our conviction that Tinubu will continue to be our candidate in 2027,” he said.

The anti-Tinubu coalition believes it can recreate the 2015 miracle, when disparate opposition forces united to unseat a sitting president.

But Tinubu, whose political playbook remains unpredictable, might just have a few surprises left.

And in Nigerian politics, underestimating a master tactician often comes at a high cost.

List of Buhari’s loyalists, associates in ADC

Rotimi Amaechi

Abubakar Malami

Hadi Sirika – Buhari’s nephew

Rauf Aregbesola

Kashim Imam

Chief John Odigie Oyegun

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Amaechi blames Tinubu for poor state of economy

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The former governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, has questioned the whereabouts of the savings from the fuel subsidy removal and naira floating policies under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.

Amaechi, who was a former Minister of Transportation under ex-President Muhammadu Buhari’s government, made this known during an interview with Channels Television on Thursday.

According to him, the Nigerian economy is dying under Tinubu.

Amaechi noted that the purchasing power of Nigerians has been watered down by the Tinubu government.

“You are making savings from the fuel subsidy and floating the naira; where is the money?

“You get N16,000, for instance; in Buhari’s government, that will get you ten times as much, for instance, let’s assume, today, you get 120,000. You can only get four tyres. Which do you prefer?” he said.

Amaechi is part of the opposition coalition alongside former Vice President Atiku Abubakar that moved to the African Democratic Congress on Wednesday.

Recall that in 2023, Tinubu’s administration announced the removal of fuel subsidy and the floating of the naira. Prices of goods and services in Nigeria skyrocketed because of the policies.

Meanwhile, Tinubu’s government has stressed that the cooling of inflation, which stood at 22.97 per cent in May, and the relative stability of the naira at the foreign exchange market (N1,525.83 per dollar as of Thursday) are indications that the country’s economy is on the right track.

In January 2023, before Buhari exited the seat of power, Nigeria’s headline inflation stood at 21.82 per cent, and the naira exchange rate to the dollar was around N745.

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Rivers: I won’t disclose details of peace deal with Fubara – Wike

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Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, says he will not reveal details of the recent truce brokered between him and suspended Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara.

The minister however declared that peace has returned to Rivers State.

Wike made this declaration on Thursday during a media chat at his residence in Abuja. He said rather than disclose details of the peace deal, he would instead allow people to speculate.

“I will allow you to speculate, it’s not my business. All I know is that peace has come. If you are not satisfied with that, there is nothing we can do. What is important is that peace has returned, whatever thing anybody says is not my business,” he said.

Ekwutosblog recalls that President Bola Tinubu, last month, hosted a conciliatory meeting between Wike, Fubara and the suspended members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, signaling a return to peace in the state.

The President suspended Fubara, his deputy, Ngozi Odu, and members of the Rivers Assembly in March 2025, after a heated and long-drawn political impasse in the oil-producing state.

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