12092018 - APC PRIMARIES: Gov kick against conditions for consensus candidate

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Uvwie people to Nigerian Army:
Leave our land or kill us
By Festus Ahon
ASABA—THE people of
Uvwie Kingdom,
Uvwie Local Government
Area, Delta State, have
threatened a showdown
with soldiers, saying they
were prepared to die than
allow the continued
plundering of their land,
adding that they will drag
Nigerian Army to the
United Nations and the
World Court should they
continue to hold on to their
land.
The community, in a
statement by their counsel,
Chief Victor Otomiewo,
lamented the disregard of
the Army to the orders of
President Muhammadu
Buhari and the House of
Representatives
Committee on Public
Petitions to discontinue the
acquisition and sales of
By Gab Ejuwa
IWERE Revolutionary
Movement, IRM, and
Benin River Crusaders
Group, BRCG, have
threatened to shut down
Chevron Nigeria Limited
flow stations in Abiteye,
Otunana, Makaraba, Dibi
and Olero over alleged
conversion of funds, illegal
alleged dealings with
contracts and entitlements
belonging to cluster
offshore communities.
In a statement by
Christopher Abuma,
Director of Operation of
IRM and Samson
Eyituoyo, spokesman of
BRCG, after their
emergency meeting in
Warri North Local
Government Area, Delta
State, yesterday, they
alleged that top Chevron
staffers have continued to
carry out these illegal
activities despite subsisting
court orders stopping them.
their land to private
individuals.
Otomiewo said: “The
Uvwie people of Uvwie
Kingdom have finally
resolved to take their
destinies into their hands
by resorting to a
showdown with the
authorities of the Nigerian
Army any moment from
now.
“Sometime in December
2017 and January this year,
the Uvwie people took their
agitations for the release of
their land by the Army
authorities to House of
Representatives
Committee on Public
Petitions.
“At the public hearing of
the committee, Uvwie
people were able to make
a case to the committee for
the release of their land as
the Army High Command
was unable to produce a
The groups, made up
members of the cluster
communities of Itsekiri
ethnic nationality that are
host and impacted in the
operational area of
Chevron, said: “We
gathered that funds meant
for the communities are
being laundered by some
single document to
establish its continuous
hold on to the land of the
Uvwie people under the
guise of a supposed
acquisition.
“The Committee, also by
its letter of March 29
addressed to the Chief of
Army Staff and the
Commanding Officer of the
3rd Battalion, Nigerian
Army, Effurun Barracks,
signed by the Chairman of
the committee, directed the
Chief of Army Staff to stop
any kind of work on the
land, pending the final
resolution of the House on
the petition of the Uvwie
people.
“In June, President
Buhari directed the Army
High Command to stop the
selling of the land of the
Uvwie people to private
developers. Instead of
adhering to the President’s
highly-placed individuals
in total disregard of court
orders in a suit before the
state High Court, Warri.
“We will not hesitate to
shutdown Chevron flow
stations in Abiteye,
Otunana, Makaraba, Dibi
and Olero should they
continue with these illegal
order, the Army High
Command has been
persistent in their activities.
“Recently, the Army
invaded Ohorhe town, an
Uvwie community sharing
boundary with the land
supposedly acquired by
the Army and planted
several sign posts with the
inscription Army Land,
Keep Off.
“The military authorities
have concluded plans to
invade the town and pull
down every structure with
a view to demarcating the
land into plots for sale to
private developers through
the instrumentality of the
Nigerian Army Properties
Limited, a company
incorporated by the Army
authorities.”
At press time, effort to
reach the Army authorities
for comment on the matter,
were abortive.
DELTA NORTH: Delta North senatorial district aspirant, Chief Paul Osaji (middle) and his
supporters at Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, state secretariat in Asaba, during the submission of his
nomination/expression of interest forms.
Itsekiri groups threaten to shut Chevron operations
BENIN—EDO State
Organising Secretary
and Director of Contact and
Mobilisation, African
Democratic Congress,
ADC, Mr. Matthew
Edaghese, has advised
President Muhammadu
Buhari not to see the visit
of the United Kingdom's
Prime Minister, Theresa
May, and other world
leaders to Nigeria as an
endorsement of his
performance.
Speaking in Benin, Edo
State, yesterday, Edaghese
noted that “it is laughable
and ridiculous for anybody
to lay claim or see the visit
of world leaders to Nigeria
as an endorsement of
Buhari’s performance.
“The British are working
towards Brexit. So they
need market for their
goods, should they exit the
EU and America is in trade
war with China and other
world powers; they are
renegotiating their trade
agreement.
activities.”
The group called on
relevant security agencies
and the international
community to urgenly call
Chevron to order as they
may not give notice on the
issue again before shutting
down the entire flow
stations in their land.
World leaders’ visit not endorsement, ADC
tells Buhari
By Gabriel
Enogholase
“So coming to Nigeria to
shop for economic
opportunities should not be
mistaken for Buhari being
popular in the international
community.
“Their opinion on Buhari
is not hidden. Theresa
May, said the country has
become poorer under
Buhari’s leadership.
“She pointed out that as
much as 90 million
Nigerians are living below
poverty level. That is not
endorsement, but
condemnation of the very
appalling situation.”
Refusal to sign Electoral Act
plot to rig elections—Wike
G OVERNOR
Nyesom Wike of
Rivers State has said the
refusal of President
Muhammadu Buhari to
sign the amended
Electoral Act was part of
the plot to rig the 2019
elections.
In an interview at the
Government House, Port
Harcourt, yesterday,
Governor Wike said the
plot by All Progressives
Congress, APC-led
Federal Government
was basically to write
results against the
wishes of Nigerians.
His words: “All they are
prepared for is to write
the results. Most of
them, who have left
Peoples Democratic
Party, PDP, to APC told
Navy arrests vessel
with stolen crude
By Jimitota
Onoyume
W
A R R I —
NIGERIAN
Navy has arrested a
vessel, MV Skye, with
524 metric tones of illegal
crude on the Escravos
water in Delta State.
Parading the nine crew
members arrested
aboard the vessel on
Forcados river,
Commander NNS Delta,
Commodore Ibrahim
Dewu, said: “It was
unfortunate that the
vessel had been arrested
for similar offence in
2014.
“It was released on
COMMUNITY Engagement
Coordinator
and Communication
Management expert,
Mr. Happy Apai, has
been invested as the 40th
President of Rotary Club
of Warri, District 9141.
Apai, in his acceptance
speech, outlined six core
projects estimated at N25
million his board
intends to actualise in
the 2018/2019 Rotary
year.
They include
acquiring land for the
construction of Rotary
Peace Centre in Warri,
conducting of human
rights and voluntary
principles’ training for 40
officers of the Police in
conjunction with
Leadership Initiative for
Transformation and
Empowerment, LITE,
Africa, completion of
work in the ongoing
Physiotherapy Centre
at Central Hospital,
Warri, provision of
me ‘my brother, look I can
confidently tell you that
these people are not
prepared for the elections.
All they want to do is write
the results and, let heaven
fall’.
He said: “In my state, it
won’t happen. I know they
will kill a lot of people. But
if that is the sacrifice, we
will make it.
“As we speak, they will
shoot everywhere and
INEC will say ‘no,’ there
will be no election.
“They will make sure
that there is so much
violence in Rivers State so
that elections will be
postponed and then after
elections in other states,
they will move down all the
security men to Rivers
State.”
bond by a Rivers State
High Court sitting in Port
Harcourt.
“Surprisingly, the vessel
found its way into Excravos
with 524 metric tones of
crude with no approval in
some of its compartment.
So we are handing over
the re-arrested vessel to
the Economic and
Financial Crimes
Commission, EFCC, for
necessary action.”
Principal Detective
Superintendent Officer of
EFCC, Mr. Richard
Ogberagha, said: “We will
determine the substance,
quantity and know if the
content is approved. DPR
is taking samples.”
Warri Rotary gets 40th President
notebooks and teaching
aids to selected schools as
well as organisation of
Spelling Bee
Competition for some
secondary schools in
Warri South, Warri South-
West, Warri North, Uvwie
and Okpe Local Government
areas of the state.
Burial
MRS. Victoria Otokiti-
Aleshinloye, 76, is dead.
She died August 20.
Funeral ceremonies will
hold on Wednesday,
September 19, and
Thursday, September 20,
at Iloro-Ekiti and Ipoti-
Ekiti, respectively. She is
survived by Mr. Segun
Otokiti, Miss Kemi
Aleshinloye, Mrs.
Comfort Otokiti, daughterin-law,
among others.