The Rivers State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Prof. Zaccaeus Adangor, SAN has rejected his redeployment to the Ministry of Special Duties (Governor’s Office), and consequently resigned from the State Executive Council.

Adangor’s resignation came barely 24 hours after the state Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, redeployed him in a minor cabinet reshuffle on Tuesday.

Fubara, in a letter issued on Tuesday by the Secretary to the State Government, Dr Tammy Danagogo, redeployed Adangor alongside the State Commissioner for Finance, Isaac Kamalu, who himself was moved to the Ministry of Employment Generation and Economic Empowerment.

Letter by the commissioner
Adangor and Kamalu, as well as seven other commissioners who had previously resigned from Fubara’s cabinet in the heat of the political crisis that rocked the state, are loyalists of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.

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Adangor’s resignation was contained in a letter he personally signed, dated April 24 and addressed to the SSG on Wednesday and obtained by The PUNCH correspondent.

The letter was titled, “Cabinet Reshufflement: Notice of Rejection of Deployment and Resignation from the Rivers State Executive Council.”

Adangor accused Fubara of willfully interfering with the performance of his duties as Commissioner.

He further said the governor had in the last few weeks directed him not to defend, oppose, or appear in suits instituted against his office and the Government of Rivers State by persons admittedly hired and sponsored by the Government of Rivers State.

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The six-point letter reads, “My attention has been drawn to your letter dated April 23, 2024, and widely circulated on social media whereby I was “deployed to the ministry of special duties (governor’s office).

Letter by the commissioner

“Further to the referenced letter, I hereby give you notice of my rejection of the said deployment and resignation from the Rivers State Executive Council with effect from the 24th day of April 2024.

“I wish to state for the record that I am no longer willing to continue to serve in the administration of His Excellency, Siminalayi Fubara, Governor of Rivers State, in any capacity whatsoever.

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“It is important to mention that the Governor of Rivers State had in the past couple of weeks willfully interfered with the performance of my duties as the Honourable Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Rivers State, by directing me not to defend, oppose, or appear in suits instituted against the Honourable Attorney-General and the Government of Rivers State by persons admittedly hired and sponsored by the Government of Rivers State.

“Having served the Government and good people of Rivers State dutifully as a member of the Rivers State Executive Council for the past five years, it has become imperative for me to quit the administration in order to preserve my reputation.

“I wish the administration of His Excellency well.”

The Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo has suspended Dana Airline operations due to concerns surrounding the safety and financial viability of their operations.

One of the airline’s craft with registration number 5N BKI skidded off the runway at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos on Tuesday morning.

READ ALSO: Commuters Stranded As Petrol Stations Shut In Anambra

Details later

Thousands of commuters and motorists in Anambra State were stranded on Wednesday following the shouting down of petrol stations across the state.

It was gathered that most petrol stations in the major cities of Awka, Onitsha, Nnewi, Umunze, Ekwulobia and other environs were dispensing fuel on Wednesday morning.

From the Upper Iweka parks in Onitsha to the Aroma roundabout in Awka and other major cities, the situation was the same.

As a result, the limited number of vehicles on the road significantly raised transport fares by more than 200 per cent.

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Commuters who managed to get on the few available buses were forced to pay exorbitant prices.

For example, commercial transporters charge N500 for a trip of N200, whereas a trip of N500 costs between N1,200 and N1,500.

The sudden development caught numerous commuters off guard, forcing several commuters to trek to different locations.

It was also observed that many offices and business premises have not been opened as of 10:30 am because employees have not reported for duty.

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The reason why the petrol stations were shut down could not be immediately ascertained.

Meanwhile, the development generated a lot of mixed feelings among the public.

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While some people believed that the petrol stations were on strike, others believed that it was a deliberate attempt by the marketers to increase the pump price of the commodity.

A tricycle operator plying the Onitsha axis, identified as Tochukwu, said, “I bought fuel from the black market for as high as N1,350 per litre this morning to do work as we discovered that filling stations did not open.

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“Some of my colleagues went to Asaba in Delta State to get the product, that is why the prices of transportation are high this morning.

“We don’t know why the filling stations are shut, but we are hearing that it is like they are in a meeting somewhere in Awka.

“We have experienced this kind of situation before and when they came back from their meeting that day, they hiked the pump price of petrol. It’s likely to be the same situation, we are watching as events unfold.”

A commuter at Awka, identified as Chinwe Okeke, said, “I have been standing at the Regina Caelis bus stop, for over two hours waiting to board a vehicle to UNIZIK, but it has been difficult. The vehicles that are coming have been charging very exorbitantly, I don’t know what is really happening.”

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Contacted about the development, the Anambra State Commissioner for Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Anthony Ifeanya, said, “There is no cause for alarm and commuters and motorists should not panic.

“It’s likely that the petrol marketers are in a meeting and whenever they are having such a meeting, shutting down petrol stations is a way of compelling every member to attend the meeting. Their meeting usually starts from morning till noon.”

It was also observed that the sudden fare hike also affected both inter-state and intra-state movements.