Politics

More Troubles In Rivers As LG Chairmen Sacked By Wike In 2015 Vow To Reclaim Offices

Published

7 months ago

March 4, 2025

Elected local government chairmen in Rivers State, who were sacked from office in 2015 have vowed to return to take over local government administration in the 23 local government areas of the state soon.

The chairmen of the 23 local government areas, their deputies and councillors in Port Harcourt said following an Appeal Court judgement which invalidated their sacking by the Nyesom Wike’s administration in 2015, that they are the right people to take over the leadership of the LGAs in the state.

It would be recalled that the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, RSIEC, had on 23rd, May 23, 2015, conducted the local government election at the tail of the Chibuike Amaechi’s administration.

But, Chief Wike on resumption of office had sacked all the 23 local government chairmen and councillors elected in the 2015 LGA election.

Consequently, a federal high court had in its judgment on the matter nullified the matter on 9th July, 2015, voided the election conducted in 2015.

But 10 years after, on Friday 28 February, 2025, an Court of Appeal sitting in Port Harcourt , upturned the decision of the lower court which sacked the 23 LGA chairmen, ruling that the 2015 election was without encumbrances.

Speaking on behalf of the elected Chairmen, Hon. Benson Imie, who was elected Chairman of Andoni LGA, noted that when the Supreme Court in its judgement on Friday voided the local government election conducted in the state in 2024 that vacancies ensued in the LGAs of state.

He said: “It will be recalled that the Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt Division has set aside the July 9, 2015 judgment of the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt which nullified the Local Government Council election conducted by the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) on May 23, 2015.

“Delivering judgment on Friday, February 28, 2025 on the appeal filed by the Chairmen of the 22 Local Government Councils challenging the nullification of the 2015 Council election in Appeal Number CA/PH/172/2024 (Hon. Augustine P. Ngo & 22 Ors v. People’s Democratic Party & Ors.), the Appeal Court nullified and set aside the judgment of the Federal High Court on grounds of violent breach and flagrant abuse of the Appellants’ right to fair hearing jealously protected and preserved under Section 36 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) and plethora of case laws, holding that the election of the Appellants was without any legal encumbrances.”

Imie stated that following the Appeal and Supreme Court judgements that the right people to take over the local government administration in the state are those who where elected in the 2015 election.

He said: “It must be recalled that, at the time of the judgement referred to above, there was no vacancy at the Local Government Council and that constrained the Appeal Court from making consequential orders in relation thereto. On the other hand, and on the same date of Friday 28th February, the Supreme Court in one of the matters decided upon on the said date sacked all the council chairmen elected on 5th of October, 2024 for contravening the extant provisions of RSIEC Laws, among others.

“In the light of the foregoing, vacancies in various Local Government were ensued. In view of the above, the rightful persons to occupy the vacant positions at the Local Government Councils are the duly elected Chairmen, Vice Chairmen and Councilors in 2015 having been judicially recognized by the Court of Appeal after a protracted legal battle.”

Also, Reginald Ukwoma, who was elected as Etche LGA Chairman, noted that the chairmen and their councillors don’t need to be sworn in again, because they had taken the oath of office before they were removed from office in 2015.

Ukwoma said: “We don’t need swearing in again. We have been sworn into office, we cannot take another oath of office. At the moment we will wait to receive the Certified True Copies of the Appeal Court and the Supreme Court judgements, them we will know when to resume office.”

Politics

Umahi Fires Back At Makinde Over Lagos-Calabar Highway Cost

Published

1 day ago

October 11, 2025

Editor

The Minister of Works, David Umahi, has fired back at Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, over his recent comments questioning the cost per kilometre of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, insisting that the governor misunderstood the technical details of road construction and cost evaluation.

Speaking during an inspection tour of the Keffi Bridge and the Nasarawa–Toto Road projects, alongside the state governor, Abdullahi Sule, on Saturday, Umahi said the cost of the highway had been carefully computed in line with global engineering standards and should not be reduced to “political soundbites.”

Governor Makinde had queried the minister’s estimated figures on the cost per kilometre of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, which is one of the signature infrastructure projects of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

Makinde, who spoke at an event in a viral video on Friday, said there was no need for the Minister of Works, David Umahi, to be “dancing around the cost” of the project.

He said, “These are elementary questions. And it makes no sense (sic). A process is ongoing, payment has been made, and you are saying, ‘How has this money been utilised?. The money is meant for the project, and it will be paid according to the work done.

Responding to the inspection tour, the former Ebonyi governor described Makinde as “a brother and friend” but said it was improper for him to publicly accuse him of “dancing around” figures.

“I heard that my brother and friend, Governor Makinde of Oyo state, said something about the cost per kilometre. I don’t want to join issues with him. I think he is an engineer, I think he is an electrician, they call it ‘elect-elect’. But this road construction matter, ‘elect-elect no reach there’,” Umahi said.

He continued, “I am his senior both in governance and in engineering practice. So, anything he doesn’t understand, he should call me and ask. I have great respect for him as my friend and brother, but he should withdraw the statement that I’m dancing around. I never danced around. If he insists, he should come for a debate, which is very important.”

Defending the project further, Umahi explained that there was no ambiguity in determining the cost per kilometre, stressing that it must be understood in both estimated and average terms.

“There is no ambiguity in cost per kilometre,” he said. “I am teaching them that cost per kilometre can be divided into estimated cost, which has elements of variance, and average cost, which is definitive. The average cost of a definitive project and the estimated cost are probable elements.”

He explained that the estimated cost includes allowances for contingencies and variation of price, which may not eventually be utilised.

“When the project is completed, and you remove what you didn’t use, such as contingencies and VOP, then you have your actual cost,” he added.

Umahi expressed amusement that some critics had resorted to asking Artificial Intelligence to explain the difference between estimated and average cost, only for the AI’s response to align with his explanation.

“When somebody who is dangling without knowledge goes to ask AI what the difference is between cost per kilometre and average cost, I’m happy that AI told him exactly what I said,” the minister quipped.

He also cited the National Universities Commission’s clarification on who qualifies as a professor, noting that practical experience in the field also counts as expertise.

“I’m happy that the NUC programme on who is a professor also made me right. You can become a professor by the reason of your practice. And I think God has made me one when it comes to practical, field engineering programmes, that’s what it is; you can’t take it back,” Umahi said.

Politics

Enugu Gov Mbah Set to Dump PDP

Published

3 days ago

October 10, 2025

Editor

Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah is set to dump the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, for the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, next week.

National Chairman and Deputy National Chairman, South-East, of the APC, Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda and Emma Eneukwu, respectively, broke the news in Abuja on Friday.

The APC national leadership revealed Mbah’s imminent defection to the ruling party while swearing in the newly inaugurated members of the Enugu State caretaker committee, led by former state chairman, Ben Nwoye, at the party’s national headquarters in Abuja.

The governor is expected to announce his defection at an event schedule to hold in the state next week.

Chairman of the newly inaugurated caretaker committee, Nwoye, who confirmed the development, said the governor will join the ruling party alongside all his appointees.

There are speculations that Taraba State Governor, Agbu Kefas, is also set to join APC.

Politics

Makinde Calls Out Umahi Over Coastal Highway Cost Analysis

Published

3 days ago

October 10, 2025

Editor

Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has weighed in on the cost of the controversial Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project that was approved by President Bola Tinubu.

Makinde, who spoke at an event in a viral video on Friday, said there was no need for the Minister of Works, David Umahi, to be “dancing around the cost” of the project.

The governor was reacting to a heated exchange that unfolded live on television between Umahi and Arise TV presenter Rufai Oseni on Tuesday.

Oseni had requested the minister to analyse the cost of the project, kilometre by kilometre.

The request didn’t sit well with Umahi, who declared himself “professor” of practice in engineering while elaborating that the costs of the road in kilometres are not the same and would be too complicated for the journalist to understand.

He said, “These are elementary questions. And it makes no sense (sic). A process is ongoing, payment has been made, and you are saying, ‘how has this money been utilised?. The money is meant for the project, and it will be paid according to the work done.

“When a certificate is generated, and it is approved through a process in the Ministry of Works, it will then be given to the funders, who will, in turn, check if the works were done. How can you be asking for cost of kilometre? The prices are different. The next kilometre is different from the next kilometre.

“Keep quiet and stop saying what you don’t know. I’m a professor in this field. You don’t understand anything. I understand engineering very well. You have no knowledge of what you ask. You have no knowledge of what you’re asking.”

Oseni, who also refused to back down, responded, “Minister, it’s alright, keep dignifying yourself, and let the world know who you truly are.”

However, justifying the journalist’s question to the minister, Makinde said, “They asked a minister how much is the coastal road is, and then you (Umahi) are dancing around and going to say that no, the next kilometre is different from the next kilometres. Then what is the average cost?

“When we did the Oyo to Iseyin road then, it was about N9.99 billion, almost N10 billion. About 34 or 35 kilometres, average cost is about N238 million per kilometre.

“But when we did Iseyin to Ogbomoso, that was 76 kilometres, it was about N43 billion, average cost is about N500 million per kilometre. And we had two bridges, one over the Ogun river and then one at Ogbomoso end.”

The PUNCH reports that last year, the Federal Government announced the commencement of construction work on the 700km Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, which spans nine states and includes two spurs leading to the northern states.

Umahi made the announcement during the official handover of the first phase of the project, made up of 47.47 kilometers of dual carriageway, to Hitech Construction Company Limited, and which is to be constructed in concrete pavement.

This was contained in a statement issued by his Special Adviser (Media), Uchenna Orji.

According to him, the Minister who was in company with the Federal Ministry of Works’ Controller in charge of Lagos State, Mrs O. I. Kesha, emphasised the need for all contractors handling Federal Government’s road projects to deliver within a record time, noting that the government would not allow variation arising from delays or slow pace of work once mobilisation had been done.