… it’s now clear he is a conveyor of false information

The Ekpeye Advocacy Group in Ahoada of Rivers State has cautioned Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi from deliberately distorting facts on the gruesome murder of SP Bako Amgbashim and other issues.

This was contained in a statement jointly signed by Olimini Chinuzoke
(Convener) Nnamdi Ezebalike
(Director Publicity) stating his numerous distortions linking the FCT minister, Nyesom Wike.

Apparently irked by this ugly trend, the group putting the records straight in a rebuttal said:

“Our attention has been drawn to the barefaced lies told by the Governor of Rivers State His Excellency Sir Siminalayi Fubara at Ahoada town on Friday 6th December 2024 while commissioning the remodeled Government Girls Secondary School Ahoada.

“The governor had openly declared that Ekpeye kings especially Eze Ekpeye Logbo HRM Kelvin Anugwo and Eze Igbu Akoh HRM Cassidy Ikegbidi who were arrested, detained and prosecuted by the Nigeria Police for alleged complicity in the gruesome murder of the DPO of Ahoada Police Division late SP Bako Amgbashim, were rather singled out for persecution because of their support for him in the cause of the political crises in Rivers state, an assertion that is obviously a lie.

“The expression on the faces of Ekpeye people at the arena when the governor made the comment clearly indicted their resentment as all Ekpeye people know the facts and extent of involvement of all arrested persons in the Bako murder saga.

The group explained that: “At first one would have been tempted to consider the comment as one of the governor’s usual and frequent misfires in public without facts as experienced few days ago in Etche when he said that the past administration of Chief Nyesom Wike did not commission any project in Etche for 8 years but it took a social media post by one of our sons Mr Marshall Obuzor to draw the governor’s attention with evidences that contrary to his claim, projects were initiated and commissioned in Etche by the Wike administration.

“This the governor later admitted and retracted his false claim while speaking at Ahoada even though he tried to undermine the importance and significance of the Wike projects to Etche people.

“Ordinarily we wouldn’t have bordered to react to the governor’s lies because of the obvious facts of the Bako murder, but we are compelled to do so for record purposes and for the sake of the general public who may be tempted to take the governor’s words serious because it came from a governor.

“We are also compelled to react bearing in mind that the governor did not make such pronouncement unconsciously but rather deliberately to distort facts, play politics and whip unnecessary sentiment from the public. Of course the governor knows very well that there is no link between SP Bako’s murder and his self inflicted political ordeal as both do not occur same period.

“It is on record that DPO Bako was murdered on Friday 9th September 2023 and the Ekpeye Kings were arrested on the orders of the Commissioner of Police on Sunday 11th September while his political ordeal occurred on 30th October 2023, a time the Ekpeye kings were already two months in detention.

” This being the fact which the governor is very much aware of, it then baffles common reasoning why the effort to associate himself and his political ordeal with the dastardly act, except there is any behind the scene details not known to us but then we recall also that weeks before Bako was murdered by 2Baba and his gang, the governor had also publicly referred to 2Baba and his gang as “those Cassidy boys”.

“The governor’s decision to associate himself with the circumstances surrounding Bako’s death has also given credence to comments credited to his Chief of Staff Rt Hon Edison Ehie that he was instrumental to the dismissal of the case in court and release of the kings.

“This has severally been collaborated by Eze Kelvin and Eze Cassidy who have been expressing thanks to Edison for their release.

“Of utmost concern to us is the governor’s decision who is the Chief security officer of the state to trivialize and politicize the globally condemned murder of SP Bako Angbashim and the resort to condemning and tarnishing the image of the Nigeria police for the arrest and prosecution of the suspects linked to the Bako murder.

“Our worry in this effort to downplay the gravity of the Bako’s murder and other heinous crimes in Ekpeye is that despite the killing of 2Baba, gruesome murders have continued to occur in Ekpeye on a daily basis without any deliberate effort by the state nor the local governments to end the insecurity. In the past 2 months alone over 20 gruesome murders have been recorded in Ekpeye without the authorities blinking an eye.

” Some of these include the killing of 5 persons in Edeoha town on 20th October, be heading of 2 persons in Ihuowo town, killing of 2 persons in Odiabidi town, killing of 3 persons at Ula
Ehuda on 22nd October, killing of over 5 persons within Ahoada town, killing of paramount ruler and youth leader of oshiugbokor town on 8th September 2024 and yesterday’s murder of Mrs Akpani and her 5 years old son while her stomach was ripped open and the baby in her womb harvested with other organs at Ula Upata community and many more.

“In the just concluded local government elections, all the known cultists and murderers in Ekpeye were allocated councilorship slots which they used their wives, girlfriends or relatives all this to us is an effort to empower these criminals and embolden them to perpetuate their killings and intimidate the people to submission.

“We therefore wish to use this opportunity to plead with the security authorities to come to our aid as there appears to be a deliberate effort to exterminate Ekpeye people.

The All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party say they are ready for legal battle as the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal commences hearing of the petitions challenging the outcome of the September 21, 2024 poll.

Independent National Electoral Commission declared the APC candidate, Senator Monday Okpebholo, winner of the poll, while the PDP candidate, Dr Asue Ighodalo, was declared the first runner-up.

The PDP and Ighodalo, however, rejected the result of the poll, which they alleged was manipulated and therefore filed a petition before the tribunal.

Ahead of the tribunal’s pre-hearing today (Monday), the Edo PDP Caretaker Chairman, Tony Aziegbemi, called for a fair examination of the evidence before the tribunal.

“That is what we expected the tribunal to do. Our lawyers will be there to show clearly that the election was stolen by the All Progressives Congress. For us as a party, we believe that the judiciary will look at the evidence that we have overwhelmingly to show that the election was stolen and we expect our lawyers to do justice to that.

“We expect the judiciary to look at the case dispassionately based on the evidence before them and take a decision that will have traces of justice,” he said.

On the other hand, the APC Publicity Secretary, Peter Uwadiae-Igbinigie, expressed confidence in his party’s legal team and readiness to challenge the PDP’s petition.

He said: “We are prepared for the tribunal as we are respondent in the petition being filed. We have some of best hand in our legal team. We have also looked at the petition they filed and without prejudice to the case they filed, we want to say that we are ready to meet them in court.”

He added: “We are also ready to expose any PDP’s act that can be prejudicial to the case. We know that the calibre of those who have been appointed into the tribunal are people who are impenetrable and have proven integrity.”

Uwadiae-Igbinigie further stated: “We know the case they have filed against us and we have also filed our responses. Edo people will now know that the PDP has lost electoral value in the state while the APC government is ready to embark on programmes that will better the lot of Edo people.”

INEC had declared APC’s Okpebholo the winner of the election with 291,667 votes, defeating PDP’s Ighodalo, who garnered 247,274 votes, and the Labour Party’s Olumide Akpata, who received 22,763 votes.

Dissatisfied with INEC’s declaration, the PDP and six other political parties have approached the tribunal to contest the result.

The tribunal, led by Justice Wilfred Kpochi, is set to hear seven separate petitions, with the PDP seeking to nullify the result and have Ighodalo declared the winner.

Other petitioners include the Accord Party, Social Democratic Party, and Allied Peoples Movement, each challenging the election results and naming INEC, Okpebholo, and the APC as respondents.

The National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has dismissed the purported dismissal of Hon. Ugochinyere Ikeagwuonu from the party by his ward executives.

National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Debo Ologunagba, said this in a statement in response to a viral letter from the Umuopia/Umukegwu Ward Chapter, of the party in Imo State, purporting to have expelled the federal lawmaker.

Ologunagba said, “The attention of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been drawn to the purported expulsion of Hon. Ugochinyere Ikeagwuonu from the Party by the Umuopia/Umukegwu Ward Chapter of the PDP in Imo State.

“The NWC declares the said purported expulsion as null and void and of no effect, not being consistent with the express provision of Sections 57 (7) and 59 (3) of the Constitution of the PDP (as amended in 2017) and laid down Rules of our great Party.

“Section 57 (7) of the Constitution of the PDP is clear in providing that “Notwithstanding any other provision relating to discipline, no Executive Committee at any level, except the National Executive Committee, shall entertain any question of discipline as may relate or concern a member of the National Executive Committee, Deputy Governors or members of the National Assembly…”

“Also, Section 59 (3) of the Constitution of the PDP is unambiguous in providing that “Notwithstanding any other provision of this Constitution relating to discipline, no Executive Committee at any level except the National Executive Committee shall entertain any question of discipline as may relate or concern a member of the National Executive Committee, President, Vice President, Governors, Deputy Governors, Ministers, Ambassadors, Special Advisers or member of any of the Legislative Houses”.

“It is therefore clear that no Ward, Local Government or even State Chapter of the Party has the power to suspend, expel or discipline a member of the National Assembly in any form whatsoever without due recourse to the National Working Committee as provided by the Constitution of the PDP.

“The NWC strongly cautions that the PDP is an organized political Party governed by strict adherence to the provisions of its Constitution and Rules and will not allow any individual or group at any level to violate its Constitution and Rules under any circumstances whatsoever.

“The NWC states that Hon. Ugochinyere Ikeagwuonu remains a bona-fide member of the PDP with all rights, privileges, recognition, obligations and charges all leaders, critical stakeholders, members and supporters of our Party in Imo State and the nation to disregard the purported expulsion.

“The NWC calls on all Party members in Imo State to remain united and continue to work together in the overall interest of our Party and the people.”