….lists reasons that qualify the President as a Niger Delta son
…Commends Rivers State people for not falling prey to the pranks and plots of Abe
*Correct the erroneous insinuations on Amaechi’s charge
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers state, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, has released 30 points that he said stand President Muhammadu Buhari out as someone with equal regard as a Niger Delta son.
In a statement he issued on Wednesday in Port Harcourt, Eze noted that unveiling these serious interventions by the APC administration is to correct the erroneous impression in some quarters that President Buhari has done nothing to improve the region, not minding that it is the region that lays the golden egg through which the economy of Nigeria is sustained.
Eze, who is one of the loudest APC voices in the South-South region, maintained that President Buhari’s desire to develop Niger Delta region, particularly Rivers State, is very obvious contrary to what was obtainable under the PDP administration led by Dr Goodluck Jonathan, who accepted that he did nothing in his six years as the President of Nigeria to develop the region.
The party chieftain, who blasted Senator Magnus Abe, the Senator representing the South-East Senatorial District of Rivers state, for joining forces with enemies of APC, particularly against President Buhari, by doing everything humanly possible to weaken and decimate the chances of the party or the President making any impact in the forthcoming general elections in the state.
According to the media guru, “Abe, by his pranks and antecedents, thought that with the damages he has visited on the APC that the good people of Rivers state will refuse to come out en masse to welcome Mr. President, but with the huge and unprecedented crowd that came out to welcome Mr. President, all his plots have fallen like a pack of cards”.
He reiterated that any party man conniving with opposition party to destroy his own party because of selfish interest is nothing but exhibition of “shameless politics”
Eze who has shouted himself hoarse on the devious plot of Senator Magnus Abe since 2018 pleaded that now that both PMB and Oshiomole has seen the damages that Abe and his group have caused the party, it is left to them to do the needful.
He maintained that Rivers APC members are the most committed, dedicated and loyal party faithful amidst all forms of intimidation and oppression from 2014 till date including the legal quagmire, they are still holding their ground and for the party to mobilise this type of crowd less than 24hours shows that the party is well rooted in Rivers State and needed a little push for the party to form the next government come May 29th, 2019.
Eze, however, encouraged all the good people of Rivers State to consider the great inputs that the administration of President Buhari has made in the state and vote him massively as voting for PDP will cause regression in most of the projects that APC had map out to rescue the state from the hands of Governor Wike and his maladminstration in the state
On the Supreme Court ruling of 12th February, 2019, Eze commended and congratulated Barrister Chimenem Jerome for causing for the first time, the Supreme Court Justices to admit their fallibility & mistakes on their ruling against Rivers State APC.and counselled that a seven man panel be set up to review all the judgments accordingly. This is very encouraging and hopefully APC in Rivers State will get justice to all the bottlenecks and obstacles put on our path in our bid to rescue Rivers State from the hands of misguided leaders.
Eze therefore appeals to all and sundry to keep faith with God who is the sole determinant of the political direction of Rivers State to work out his will accordingly as I am very hopeful that with the Appeal Court ruling of today directing INEC to list APC candidates for the 2019 general elections the mission to rescue Rivers State from Wike and Abe is still very possible. According to the Led Judge, “I have made an order for stay of execution to INEC and it subsist”
He expressed happiness over the speeches of the APC National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshimhole and others for recognizing the fact that Senator Magnus Abe has been an enemy to the future and prosperity of APC in Rivers State and now that he has succeeded to endanger the political future of some of our best politicians in his camp, let us wait and watch what future portends for them. Nobody that pays evil for good will ever be happy, Eze further highlighted
Eze describes as most unfortunate.and disturbing the erroneous insinuations being peddled around based on Amaechi’s charge during the presidential rally in Port Harcourt stating that APC will match whatever Wike and his group intends to bring to the table on the election day. What many fail to understand and appreciate is that Wike who have been given a matchet as a royal staff by some communities in Rivers State have promised to use it to annihilate all the APC structures in Rivers State. Eze asks, “do a leader like Amaechi sit and watch what happened to the APC members in 2014/2015 where they were killed like goats to be replicated again without any means to checkmate Wike? Amaechi’s charge was only meant to warn Wike not to embark upon any exercise that may cause mayhem before, during and after the elections and not that he (Amaechi) intends to unleash mayhem in the State.
He described Amaechi as a simple and unassuming leader who detests shedding of human blood for any reason
Eze in conclusion listed approval to begin refund of N1.3 trillion to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), 44 modular refinery licenses, Maritime University, Transport University in Ubima (Rivers State), Historic Bonny Road, as major ones
Details:
The 30 points
1. Sitting and construction of the Federal University of Transportation in Ubima, Ikwerre council area of the state: The University to be built by China Civil and Construction Company (CCECC) is part of the federal government’s efforts to develop qualified manpower that will manage the many railways facilities across the country and other transportation facilities. Apart from the University of Transportation in Rivers State, a similar university had earlier been approved to be sited at Daura, Kastina state.
2. Completion and commissioning of the International Wing of the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa in Rivers State.
3. Construction of an industrial park, which benefits from start to completion and inauguration, would be enormous to Rivers state and her people, to be sited on 10,000 acres of land on which the complex, an envisaged city on its own, would stand.
4. The Federal Executive Council (FEC) approval of contracts of N47Bn for road projects in the country, including redesigning and reconstruction of the Aba/Port-Harcourt section of the Enugu/Port-Harcourt Expressway.
5. Dredging of Port Harcourt Seaport and provision of navigational aids for Escravos, at the sum of N13Bn.
6. Commencement of the implementation of the Ogoni clean-up exercise and the execution of the multi-billion naira Bodo/Ogoni-Bonny Road project, which when completed “would open up the economic potentials of the Niger Delta region beyond the shores of Nigeria, all in Rivers state”.
7. President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration has started the release of over one trillion naira owed the Niger Delta Development Corporation (NDDC) by previous federal administrations, including the administration of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, to assist the body complete most of its projects in Rivers state and other states in the Niger Delta region.
8. Rivers State benefited from the unprecedented allocation of over N125Bn out of the N8.612 trillion appropriation bill presented by President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday, November 7, 2017 to the National Assembly to fund capital projects in 2018 in the Niger Delta region.
9. Rivers State benefited from the N53.89Bn earmarked for the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs and N71.2 billion for NDDC for capital projects, also to benefit from the budgetary allocation for the Niger Delta Amnesty programme retained at N65Bn, with the budgetary allocation of N17.32 billion earmarked for the completion of the East-West Road.
10. Rivers State benefited from the Maritime University located at Okerenkoko in Delta State, with N5 billion budgeted in the 2018 budget for its formal take off. This is a University aimed to assist in the development and emancipation of the Niger Delta region.
11. To demonstrate the seriousness over the full implementation of the Ogoni clean-up exercise and the execution of the multi-billion naira Bodo/Ogoni-Bonny road project, budgetary provisions were all made in the 2018 budget, which when completed, would open up the economic potential of the Niger Delta region beyond the shores of Nigeria, all in Rivers state.
12. The APC-led federal government, apart from the above-named projects, embarked upon the following projects: the Calabar-Lagos Rail Line that cuts across Rivers state, the renovation/reconstruction of both Enugu-Port Harcourt Road and the West-East Road, the renovation of the Afam Power plant in Rivers State, resumption and reconstruction of the Enugu-Port Harcourt rail line, etc. All these projects were abandoned by PDP governments. It also includes appointment of sons and daughters of the region into key and crucial ministries and agencies.
13. PMB’s administration also ensured that indigenes of the region are placed on full academic scholarships so that they can have access to quality education with monthly stipends.
14. Under PMB’s administration, approvals for the establishment of modular refineries across the nine states of the Niger-Delta and a total of 38 licenses have been issued, covering high-scale refineries of 50,000 to 250,000 barrels per day.
15. About 10 of the modular refineries have secured their permit to construct and two of these 10 refineries are already under construction, and were completed by the end of 2018 under the Buhari-led administration.
16. The Buhari-led administration has ensured the resumption of construction works on abandoned projects awarded to different contractors across the Niger-Delta since 2006, including the all-important East-West Road.
17. The President Muhammadu Buhari administration set up the presidential initiative to boost agriculture and industry in the nine states of the Niger-Delta and Enugu, an initiative to revamp moribund industries in the region and to also inject new life into the agricultural sector.
18. The Buhari-led administration has completed six cassava processing plants in Bayelsa, Rivers, Abia, Ondo, Cross River and Imo states.
19. Under the President Buhari administration, more than 700 youths and women have acquired skills in different areas of business, trade and craft.
20. Also, 130 youths in the Niger Delta were trained on poultry, aquaculture, crop production and were given N1 million naira each by the Buhari-led administration.
21. In the Niger-Delta region 214 women who specialize in poultry and snail production were given between N350,000 to N500,000 each by the Buhari-led administration.
22. Another 198 women and youths in the Niger-Delta region were trained on ICT & business hub, poultry & fish production under PMB’s administration.
23. Still, 60 youths from the Niger-Delta region were trained on assemblage and repair of phones under President Buhari’s administration.
24. Under PMB’s administration, no fewer than 275 youths in the Niger-Delta region have benefited from the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) and its joint venture agro skills acquisition through the Green Rivers Project Scheme.
25. The Vice president, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo paid a visit to the Niger Delta region where he met with their elders and engaged them in discussions that restored peace to the region.
26 Under President Buhari’s Administration, the abandoned AKK pipeline that will enable delivery of gas from the south into the north and open up gas delivery to homes was repaired and restored.
27. PMB’s Administration was able to work with the Niger-Delta leaders hence, the PANDEF group was set up which makes it easy to have a body that could engage the federal government.
28. The Buhari-led administration came up with the Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialization Programme aimed at addressing the exit of gas flaring in the Niger Delta region.
29. President Buhari’s Administration has put up a framework for community-based participation in the protection of oil and gas pipelines, and oil and gas assets in the Niger Delta region.
30. Key appointments to sons and daughters from the region.