Metro

Rivers PDP Supporters Protest With Charms, Local Pots

Published

3 years ago

April 5, 2023

The Rivers State Peoples Democratic Party supporters have continued their protest by adopting fetish materials in front of the Independent National Electoral Commission Port Harcourt office in their demands to see the electoral materials used for the March 18 governorship election that was held in the state.

Recall that the PDP protest began on Monday and turned violent when the governorship candidate of the APC, Tonye Cole, and some members of the party executive arrived at the GRA junction to proceed to the INEC office, just a few metres away along Aba Road in Port Harcourt.

Cole had insisted that he and his team would visit the INEC office on Tuesday to continue their demand.

However, it was learnt that they decided to stay back to avoid the fisticuffs and pandemonium that led to him being injured during the protest on Monday.

The PUNCH correspondent, who was at the scene of the day two protest, observed that the protesters placed several fetish materials in the middle of the road with a man dressed like a ‘juju priest’ adorned in red cloth with his head and waist wrapped with palm fronds, presiding over affairs, pouring libations, and making incantations in a local dialect.

He added that the barricades that were erected by security operatives on both the Waterlines axis and the GRA junction leading to the INEC office remained, as motorists and commuters are barred from accessing the hitherto busy express road.

The protest, which had since been led by the Deputy Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Edison Ehie, and the Ikwerre Local Government Area Chairman, was joined by more lawmakers on Tuesday, including the 32-member House leader, Martins Amaewhule.

“The police must arrest him (Cole) today because we don’t know what to tell the family of the dead PDP supporter. The wife and children are crying at the hospital. Why must we continue to fold our hands and allow criminals to steal our money because they are using thugs?

“The Nigeria Police must rise to the occasion. We are ready to die for our rights. We are ready to die to defend our mandate. Enough is enough,” Ehie stated.

The protesters later presented an acknowledged copy of the PDP’s petition dated March 24, 2023, in which the ruling party demanded that the INEC release Certified True Copies of electoral materials.

Reacting to Tuesday’s protest, Beke, however, said the APC will do everything within the law to get what it needs to file its case at the election petition tribunal.

He said, “They blocked the INEC office with juju, are you not aware? Didn’t you see what they tied there? That tells you what they are up to. Do they have the right to block INEC’s office? You can see what they are doing.

“For us, the world has known our demands, and we are going to get what we are asking for within the law. We never said they (INEC) should not give any other person what they are asking for.

“No, we asked that they give CTC documents, and we have done that petition to the Inspector General of Police because we feel we won’t get justice from the police in Rivers State.”

Meanwhile, Governor Nyesom Wike has faulted the demands of the state’s APC governorship candidate, Cole, to inspect election materials at the INEC office in Port Harcourt.

Wike expressed surprise that a candidate, (making a veiled reference to Cole) personally went to the INEC office to inspect CTC documents of election materials.

He spoke at the commissioning of the Government Secondary School in Kpor, the headquarters of the Gokana Local Government Area of the state, on Tuesday.

He stated, “Have you seen where a candidate is going to INEC to say that he wants to collect CTC? What are his lawyers doing? What are his agents doing?

“Those are the duties of lawyers. What CTC do you want to collect? Let people see the truth of the matter. You lost the election; you lost the election.”

In separate news, the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr Johnson Sinikiem, in a statement, has urged all political parties that applied to inspect election materials to visit their local government offices for such purposes.

The statement partly read, “The commission has received nearly fifty (50) of these applications since the conclusion of the presidential, National Assembly, governorship, and state Assembly elections in Rivers State.

“And a good number of these applications have been processed in accordance with the date of receipt of such applications and payment of certification fees. This process is still ongoing.

“The commission has also advised all applicants to visit our local government offices where these documents are domiciled for inspection while we work out modalities for inspection of other documents domiciled at the state office in accordance with available spaces.

“The Management of INEC Rivers State, therefore, wishes to assure all applicants and the general public that the Commission is committed to discharging its constitutional and lawful duties without preference or bias.”

Meanwhile, the state Commissioner of Police, Okon Effiong, has warned politicians to stop dragging the police into politics.

While noting that “the police remain neutral and focused on their constitutional duties,” CP Effiong warned that “unnecessary protesters hindering vehicular and commercial activities will not be tolerated.”
PUNCH

Metro

Edo Assembly Declares Okpebholo’s Projects Unprecedented

Published

17 hours ago

December 10, 2025

Editor

The Edo State House of Assembly has described projects embarked upon by Governor Monday Okpebholo as unprecedented in the history of Edo State.

Deputy Speaker of the House, Hon. Atu Osamwonyi, made the assertion when he led members of the legislature on a comprehensive oversight inspection of several ongoing infrastructural projects.

Other lawmakers on the oversight team included Hon. Addeh Isibor, Hon. Yekini Idaiye, and Hon. Ugabi Kingsley.

Hon. Osamwonyi, who spoke during an assessment tour of the Sapele Road Flyover, said the lawmakers were in the field to verify the progress of work and ensure that funds appropriated by the Assembly were being judiciously utilised.

According to him, the flyover represents a milestone for Benin City and reflects the governor’s commitment to infrastructural renewal.

He emphasised that unlike past administrations where funds were approved with no tangible results, the Okpebholo-led government had demonstrated transparency and visible delivery.

“In my entire life in Edo State, this flyover project is the first of its kind. We are here physically, and work is ongoing,” he said.

The Deputy Speaker added that the Assembly had earlier inspected the Ramat Park Flyover on Monday, noting similar levels of progress.

“This is the fifth site we have visited since yesterday. We are impressed with what we have seen so far, and as a House, we will stand by the governor to ensure he finishes strong,” he said.

At Ogheghe, Old Sapele Road and Ekae Road—where a 14-kilometre road and concrete drainage network is underway—Hon. Osamwonyi described the construction efforts as unprecedented, expressing astonishment at the level of work done within a short period.

He insisted that the legislature does not play politics with accountability and would speak the truth at all times.

“If Governor Okpebholo was not doing well, we would say it. But I stand here today to affirm that the funds appropriated are being used judiciously for the benefit of the people.l”, he noted.

He further remarked that despite limited financial resources, the governor had delivered projects many believed were impossible.

The Deputy Speaker recalled that several communities, particularly in Ogheghe, previously suffered from severe road degradation that made access impossible, even for motorcycles.

“But today we are standing here with joy. The governor has brought democracy to Edo in a way the people can feel,” he said.

According to him, contractors handling the projects confirmed that although the initial timeline was two years, work would likely be completed within one year and six months due to the speed of implementation.

“That tells you that Governor Okpebholo is not eating Edo people’s money,” he added.

Hon. Osamwonyi stressed that the Assembly would resist any attempt to derail the governor’s momentum.

“This is the continuity we want in Edo State. Anybody who wants to thwart the governor’s efforts, we will not agree,” he said.

The oversight team also visited the 5.86-kilometre road project linking Amagba and Obagie-N’Ebvuosa, where the engineer handling the project reported that 4.3 kilometres of drainage had already been completed.

Metro

Edo Final-year Student Dies In Sign-out Motorcade Crash

Published

23 hours ago

December 10, 2025

Editor

A yet-to-be-identified final-year student of Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo State, has lost his life in a road crash after he and some other students embarked on a motorcade parade to celebrate the completion of their final examinations.

It was learnt on Tuesday from a Facebook user, Inside Edo, that the accident occurred on Monday shortly after the students finished their final examination.

Inside Edo disclosed that the vehicle had attempted to overtake another before losing control and ramming into a truck.

The post read, “A tragic accident has occurred at Ujoelen, close to the primary school, resulting in the death of a newly graduated student of Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma.

“According to eyewitnesses, the crash happened during an attempted overtaking by one of the vehicles involved.

“The risky manoeuvre reportedly led to a loss of control, causing the fatal incident. Residents who were nearby rushed to the scene, but the victim could not be saved.”

Similarly, the News Agency of Nigeria reported that the students were said to have been driving recklessly before crashing into a stationary truck.

The deceased was said to be part of a convoy made up of fresh graduates of the university.

NAN reported, “He was reportedly part of a convoy of fresh graduates who took to the highway on Monday shortly after their signing-out activities.

“Witnesses said the group drove recklessly and failed to observe basic safety rules during the celebrations.

“The tragedy occurred when the deceased attempted to overtake a moving truck but collided with a stationary vehicle parked along the road.”

Efforts to get the reaction of the Edo State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Cyril Mathew, proved abortive, as the official number available on the FRSC directory was not reachable at the time of filing this report.

Meanwhile, NAN reported that Mathew later confirmed the incident, adding that one person died while five others were injured in the crash.

“The students, after writing their last paper, took to the road in a convoy.

“In the process, one of them overtook another vehicle and rammed into a stationary truck,” NAN quoted Mathew as saying.

Metro

One Dies In Oyo Fire, Two Rescued

Published

23 hours ago

December 10, 2025

Editor

One person lost her life in a fire incident at Agbaakin Street, behind Testing Ground, Iwo Road, Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, on Monday.

This was contained in a statement by the Chairman of the State Fire Service, Maroof Akinwande, in Ibadan, on Tuesday.

He said the fire resulted from a lighted charcoal cooking pot left unattended, which ignited nearby combustible materials.

Akinwande added that the firefighting operation was successfully carried out with the support of officers of the Federal Fire Service.

“The fire emergency was received at exactly 20:18 hours on Monday, December 8, 2025.

“On getting there, it was two rooms on the upper floor of a private residential building of 12 rooms engulfed by fire.

“One person (female) was recovered, while two persons (males) were rescued alive. The fire also affected only two rooms, and the whole building and other properties worth millions of naira were saved by the officers of the agency.

“The fire incident was a result of a lighted charcoal cooking pot left unattended, which ignited nearby combustible materials. The operation was jointly carried out with the Federal Fire Service, Ibadan Command,” he explained.

In a related development, a fire incident on Tuesday engulfed the Agric Business Development Agency at Total Garden in Ibadan.

A statement by the State Fire Service Chairman, Akinwande, said the agency received a telephone call through Mr Akinyinka reporting that fire had ravaged the place.

“The incident was reported at exactly 09:20hrs on Tuesday, December 9, 2025, through a telephone call by Mr Akinyinka (the General Manager, Oyo State Fire Services Agency) to the office, reporting a fire at the above-stated address.

“The officers, led by ACFS Oyeniyi Taofeek, swiftly mobilised and deployed to the scene. Upon arrival, it was discovered that electrical sparks from a solar inverter control board on the upper floor of the building resulted in the fire.

“The swift response and professional intervention of our officers prevented the situation from escalating into a fire disaster. The use of portable fire extinguishers was employed during the firefighting operation.

“No casualty was recorded, and properties worth millions of naira were saved by the fire service. The fire incident was a result of electrical sparks from the inverter system,” the statement read.

The chairman, therefore, advised the public to always use correct cables and other electrical materials for their installations.