Tag: Rivers state

Rivers cancels ₦134bn secretariat contract, demands ₦20bn refund

Aminu Imam
Rivers cancel

The Rivers State Executive Council has cancelled a ₦134 billion contract awarded by the former sole administrator of the state, Vice-Admiral Ikot Ete Ibas (rtd), for the reconstruction of the State Secretariat complex in Port Harcourt. The contract, awarded to the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CECC) during the period of emergency rule under Ibas, was nullified by the Council at its meeting yesterday. Following the cancellation, the Council directed CCECC to refund the ₦20 billion mobilisation fee already paid for the project. Also, the Council approved the constitution of…

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Rivers: After 50yrs, Nigeria set for first crude oil export terminal  

Aminu Imam
Rivers export terminal

Barring any unforeseen issue, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will commission the $400 million Otakikpo On-shore Crude Oil Export Terminal in Rivers state on October 8. This historic project marks the first crude export facility to be built in Nigeria in over five decades, reinforcing President Tinubu’s commitment to reviving the energy industry and boosting national productivity. Located in Ikuru town, Andoni local government area, the terminal was developed by Green Energy International Limited (GEIL), the operators of the Otakikpo Field in OML 11. It represents a major breakthrough for indigenous…

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Ndume insists Rivers emergency rule wrong

Aminu Imam
Ndume on Rivers

…Hails Fubara’s maturity A former Senate Majority Whip, Senator Ali Ndume, has insisted that the emergency rule declared by President Bola Tinubu in Rivers State was wrong, while commending Governor Siminalayi Fubara for his maturity in the face of the political crisis. Ndume, a chieftain of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP), spoke to journalists in Port Harcourt on Wednesday, on the sidelines of the ongoing 2nd 2025 ECOWAS Parliamentary Seminar. The Borno lawmaker and member of the ruling All Progressives Congress, known for his criticisms of the Tinubu government,…

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31yrs after, Tinubu honours ‘Ogoni-4’ with National Awards

Aminu Imam
Tinubu honours 'Ogoni 4

Thirty-one years after their deaths, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu yesterday conferred posthumous national honours of Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON) on the Late Ogoni leaders: Albert Badey, Edward Kobani, Theophilus Orage and Samuel Orage, collectively remembered as the “Ogoni Four”. Tinubu announced the conferment while receiving the report of the Ogoni Consultations Committee at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. Recall that in 1994, in Ogoniland, Rivers State, internecine strife culminated in the lynching of the four prominent Ogoni chiefs by irate youths. They were reportedly holding a meeting…

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Rivers: Lawmakers resume with probe, as Fubara stays away

Aminu Imam
Rivers lawmakers resume

Democracy returned to Rivers State yesterday, after President Bola Tinubu lifted the 6-month emergency rule, but the absence of Governor Siminalayi Fubara from duty sparked fresh suspense across the state. However, while thousands of supporters thronged Port-Harcourt streets expecting Fubara’s triumphant return, the governor was nowhere to be found, fueling doubts over whether he had even returned from his overseas stay during the crisis. In sharp contrast, the Rivers State House of Assembly, which was suspended alongside the governor in March, wasted no time reconvening for plenary. Presided over by…

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Tinubu suspends Rivers emergency rule

Aminu Imam
Fubara to resume

…Fubara to resume today President Bola Tinubu has suspended the emergency rule in Rivers State. In a statement issued by the Presidency yesterday, Tinubu asked Siminalayi Fubara, the suspended governor, to resume work today, Thursday, September 18. The President also asked the Deputy Governor, Ngozi Nma Odu, and members of the Rivers State House of Assembly to resume their duties. Tinubu had declared a state of emergency in Rivers State six months ago. Tinubu, while lifting the state-of-emergency in the oil rich state on Wednesday, said, “It therefore gives me…

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Rivers: Ibas announces completion of Tinubu’s mandate

Aminu Imam
Rivers Ibas announces

The Sole Administrator of Rivers State, Vice Admiral (Rtd) Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas, has declared that the mandate entrusted to him by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been fulfilled. The announcement was made yesterday at Government House, Port-Harcourt, during the presentation of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) report on the just-concluded council polls. Recall that President Tinubu declared a six-month state of emergency in Rivers on March 18, 2025, following the prolonged political crisis between Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike. Following the declaration, Ibas was mandated…

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Rivers: Wike reclaims grassroots control, as Fubara shuns LG polls

Aminu Imam
Wike reclaims grassroots

Local government elections in Rivers State yesterday highlighted the widening gulf between suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his political benefactor, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, (FCT), Nyesom Wike, as both men charted contrasting paths in the state’s tense power struggle. While Wike turned out to vote and praised the exercise as peaceful, Fubara boycotted the polls altogether, reinforcing perceptions that he is increasingly sidelined from the state’s political machinery. At his polling unit in Ward-5, Opobo/Nkoro LGA, electoral officials and materials arrived on schedule, but the governor never appeared.…

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Rivers: ADC records over 800,000 members

Aminu Imam
ADC to EFCC

Rivers State chapter of the African Democratic Congress, (ADC), says the party is growing in strength with over 800,000 members. Speaking at a press conference in Port-Harcourt, Rivers state at the weekend, the party’s spokesman, Luckyman Egila, expressed his delight with the increasing number of its members, which includes prominent politicians, two former governors and federal lawmakers in its ranks. He described the Rivers State chapter of the ADC as the beautiful bride of the party, stating that ADC has been “receiving key politicians into its fold” ahead of the…

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Tinubu brokers peace between Fubara, Wike

Aminu Imam
Tinubu brokers peace

…‘Ex-Gov. to finish term, drop 2027 bid’ – Sources President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has reportedly reached a discreet political settlement that allows Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara to complete his current tenure on the condition that he forfeits any ambition to contest the 2027 governorship election. According to published details, the deal was finalised during a closed-door meeting in Abuja, attended by key political figures including Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike. As part of the arrangement, Wike is said to have secured full authority to nominate…

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