Rivers Has Nothing To Show For Supporting PDP, Says Wike

 The February 25 presidential election will be used to prove strategic importance of Rivers State in Nigeria’s politics, Governor Nyesom Wike said yesterday.

He said there was nothing to show for the state’s support for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) since 1999, stating that Rivers would no long be dumping ground.

Wike spoke at Elele Civic Centre, where he kicked-off the construction of Elele Internal Roads in Ikwerre Local Government Area.

He reminded the people that Rivers stood strong in the scheme of national affairs, adding that anybody supported by the state should reciprocate the gesture.

The governor described as unfortunate that instead of appreciating the reality, some people have been busy issuing political threats against the state.

He warned those dishing out threats to have a rethink to avoid problems. 

According to him, Rivers had remained the bedrock of the PDP since 1999, provided the party with bulk of votes and logistics than any PDP state in the country.

The governor boasted that there would have been no PDP without Rivers State.

He said: “Despite the state’s contributions, there is nothing of note, in terms of project that can be reckoned as benefit to justify the support,” the governor said.

Wike recalled that Rivers refused to enter into negotiation with the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government as done by other states and did not give President Muhammadu Buhari 25 per cent votes in the 2019 election despite the heavy military presence in the state.

He explained that Rivers ranked above other states and therefore must be treated with respect.

Ahead of the elections, the governor disclosed that some politicians were mounting pressure on the National Assembly to speedily pass the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) N500 billion budget.

He said: “Since the NDDC was established, look at the money that has gone into the commission, what can we show for it? The NDDC has become a cash cow for politicians. The President has just inaugurated the new board of the NDDC.

“You know what is going on now? There is N500 billion budget for NDDC. Election is coming from February 25, Now, what the politicians have done is to put pressure on the National Assembly so that they will pass the N500bb budget for NDDC.”

He explained that some politicians with vested interest in the 2023 general elections had already determined how the NDDC budget would be siphoned at the detriment of the election.

Wike described as regrettable that those overseeing the affairs of the NDDC have been sons and daughters of the oil-producing states, yet, the commission had never deemed it appropriate to seek the input of the state in its budget preparation.

He said the Rivers State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice had been mandated to challenge some perceived fraudulent provisions of the budget, such as the allocation of N60 billion for building a spurious safe haven for a particular security agency and N4 billion for cleaning of gutters, in court.

The governor lamented that the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs had been rendered redundant, as supervision of the NDDC had become the sole responsibility of the minister.

Speaking on the project, Wike told the people of Elele that the entire roads network in the town would be reconstructed to serve as part of appreciation for their support to his administration since 2015.

He explained that all the indigenous contractors being used by his administration have shown capacity and assured that no project would be abandoned.

Urging them to support his quest for consolidation by voting Siminialayi Fubara as his successor and Prof Ngozi Ordu as his running mate, Wike assured that the duo will build on the foundation laid by his administration.

Providing the description of the project, Rivers State Commissioner for Works, Dr. George-Kelly Dakorinima Alabo, said the Elele Internal Roads was awarded to the contractor, Oki & Sons Ltd on the 28th October 2022.

According to him, the nine-kilometre will have six-kilometre drains with three-month completion date.

London police speak on Dokpes's Arrest, Say it’s Connected to A Rape Allegation

 The London metropolitan police have spoken on the incident involving Raymond Dokpesi , founder of Daar Communications.

According to a report by PUNCH , an email from the London police confirmed a “71-year-old man” was arrested on an allegation of rape at Heathrow Airport on Sunday.

The police added that the rape allegation happened in August 2019, and the date for further probe into the case has been fixed for early April.

However, Dokpesi’s identity was not confirmed in the correspondence.


“On Sunday, 8 January, a 71-year-old man was arrested at Heathrow Airport on suspicion of rape. The arrest relates to an allegation of rape in August 2019. The man has been bailed, pending further enquiries, to a date in early April. Enquiries into the circumstances continue,” the mail reads.

“Please, note that we don’t confirm the identity of any person who has been arrested but not charged.”

On Sunday, Dokpesi, who clocked 71 last year, was delayed by Immigration after a trip from Frankfurt on a Lufthansa airlines flight that arrived in the UK .

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain was on a London trip following the invitation of Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the party, by the British government to share perspectives on issues around the next month’s presidential election in the country.

According to the management of AIT, Dokpesi’s media establishment, he was released after a couple of hours and his passport was stamped and he was cleared by British Immigration officials for entry into the country.

Dokpesi is the deputy director-general(technical and systems) of the PDP presidential campaign council.

Peter Obi Apologies To Delta Central Residents, Promises A Revisit

 I sincerely want to apologise to the Traditional Rulers and the people of Delta Central, who gathered at Olomu, the people of Isoko who I was supposed to meet at Oleh and the people of Agbor who came out in their numbers to welcome me to their domains.

However, it became impossible to carry out the visits following the mammoth crowd. I apologise and promise to repeat the visits. -PO

Chinese Brands Take The Lead On The List Of Global Top Brands 2022-2023

 China ranks first in the world in the production and sales of consumer electronics. As an important global manufacturing base for consumer electronics, China is home to the manufacturing bases and R& D centers of most of the world's major electronics production companies and OEM. About 80% of the world's personal computers and over 65% of smartphones and color TVs are produced in China.

Chinese brand shine in the world, evidenced by lists of this GTB. Among them, the "2022-2023 Top 10 CE Brands" list is occupied by Chinese brands such as Huawei, TCL, Haier, BOE, Hisense, Xiaomi, Midea, Lenovo, Gree and Skyworth. What's more, Samsung, Apple, Xiaomi, VIVO, OPPO, Honor, Realme, Motorola, Huawei, and TECNO are the 2022-2023 Global Top 10 Smart Phone Brands, more than half of which are from China. The "2022-2023 Global Top 10 TV Brands" list includes Samsung, LG, TCL, Hisense, Changhong, Xiaomi, SONY, Skyworth, CHiQ, and Sharp, and Chinese brands account for half. Awards released concurrently are the "2022-2023 Global Top 50 CE Brands", the "2022-2023 International Innovation Enterprise Brand Award" and so on.

This year's selection evaluates the participating brands from four dimensions, industry popularity, global strategic layout, influence on international market, and product innovation. In combination with data and jury evaluation and online voting, an authoritative, professional and fair award list finally comes out.

he innovative capabilities of China's consumer electronics have been demonstrated by numerous "world's-first" consumer electronics products launched in recent years, such as the mobile phone with foldable flexible screen, the multi-screen TV, the 8K laser TV with a rollable screen, the 4K 240Hz curved gaming monitor and the 5G laptop.

TCL won three individual awards in this selection, showing its super strength in the display field. The eye-catching new product TCL 4K Mini LED TV C845 won the "Gold Award for New Generation Display Technology". By fine-tuning the amount of light, mini-LED backlight technology can improve the black contrast that traditional LEDs are not good at and the powerful quantum dot technology can improve color richness, saturation and gamut to a higher level to bring exceptionally powerful and precise control of brilliantly bright and deeply dark areas of the image, delivering unparalleled depth and dimension. C845 has obtained the industry-leading IMAX Enhanced certification and is equipped with a series of core black technologies with high refresh rate and low latency for users to experience viewing with top sound quality and smooth games at home.

The TCL QD-Mini LED Smart Screen X11 won the "Award for Innovative Mini LED Display of the Year". It adopts the QD-Mini LED display technology, which combines the advantages of LCD and OLED. It upgrades the traditional surface light source to a pixel-level point light source and presents higher brightness, color gamut and lifespan than OLED while achieving ultra-high contrast. So it is the real next-generation large-screen display technology. The TCL NXTPAPER 12 Pro, which won the "Award for Innovative Eye Protection Technology of the Year", uses multi-layer eye protection paper-like display technology to retain natural colors, filter harmful blue light, and maintain excellent visual effects. In addition to excellent visual performance, NXTPAPER technology also enables users to enjoy a comfortable tactile experience when writing, drawing or taking notes on a paper-like screen.

AMAA Founder, Peace Anyiam-osigwe, Is Dead

 Nigerian filmmaker and founder of the African Movie Academy Awards, Peace Anyiam-Osigwe, is dead.

According to reports, she died in Lagos.

Her colleague, Obi Emelonye, confirmed her death via his Instagram account on Tuesday.

Peter Obi: If The Presidency Is By Turn, It Is my Turn As An Igbo Man

 The Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party, LP, Mr. Peter Obi has said those pushing the narrative that he was stingy were those who feel threatened by his commitment to enforce fiscal discipline in the use of public funds.

He debunked claims that he was stingy by nature.

Obi said this while speaking as a special guest in a programme at the Human Rights Radio popularly called Berekete Radio, in Abuja, on Monday.

Obi explained that the perception about him being stingy is his fiscal discipline in the management of public funds and those who lose out in the blockage of waste consider this as being stingy.


According to him, ordinary Nigerians have critical roles to play in the selection process of who governs this country and they can only do that through their Permanent Voters Card.

The LP Standard bearer said he is seeking to be hired by the real owners of Nigeria- the ordinary downtrodden citizens of this country who have suffered hardships in the midst of plenty.

He said he is seeking office because he wants to build a new Nigeria where the populace are secure and productive.

Obi also took time to explain to the listeners why it was important that the antecedent of all applicants should be considered before an applicant is considered for job placement.

The former Anambra State Governor used the opportunity to take listeners through his resume in the public and private sectors, said that having done it well in the past, he is well equipped to do better being the most qualified of all the candidates.

He said, “Saving money is not in the constitution of Nigeria but my Presidency will change our sharing mentality to saving and production mentality.“

On the issue of corruption, Obi promised that if elected, he will draw the line and face the future as he would not close shop to chase thief although he noted that the looters would not be allowed to go free.

He equally described nepotism as a huge corruption especially when leaders pick unqualified persons who maybe of the same family with him and allocate land and contract papers to them.

Obi disagreed with a questioner that when people enter office like President or Governor the office changes them, instead he said that money and power expose who such persons really are.


The candidate further explained that Northern Nigeria is the nation’s new gold mine and oil this, he explained can only become a reality when the right people like himself and his running mate, Dr. Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed are given the chance to unlock Nigeria’s potential.

He said, “The poverty in the country can only be tackled through production and it’s only through it crimes and criminalities can be reduced. Those bandits are factory workers who are doing nothing.“

Speaking about the thorny issue of the Biafra agitation, Obi declared that “the Biafra war ended 52 years ago and that is the position. I am a Nigerian and running for President as a Nigerian.

“If the President is to be given by whose turn it is, as an Igbo it’s my turn but I am in the race as a Nigerian wishing to be hired based on my track record, competence and capacity.”

He expressed regret that Nigerian leaders have not shown sufficient compassion for the plight of the ordinary people they govern.

Obi described such people “are annoying God by turning grace into entitlement.“

Buhari: Attempt To Destroy Nigeria Failed

 The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), on Monday in Damaturu, the Yobe State capital, said God foiled “deliberate attempts to destroy Nigeria.”

Buhari also said the country has “bounced back” from its troubled days; thanking members of the Armed Forces and the Police for their sacrifices in protecting the country.

“There was a deliberate attempt to destroy Nigeria but God did not permit it,’’ Buhari said at the palace of the Emir of Damaturu, Hashimi II El-Kanemi.

This is according to a statement signed by the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina.

Expressing delight at the return of normalcy in Yobe State and Northeast Nigeria, the President thanked Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State and his Borno State counterpart, Prof Babagana Zulum, for their persistence in reconstructing schools, health centres and institutions destroyed by the misguided terrorists.

He noted that ‘‘there was a deliberate attempt to destroy Nigeria but God did not permit it,’’ adding that “God has helped Nigeria to bounce back.”

He also commended members of the Armed Forces and the Police for their sacrifices in protecting the country

The President recounted that having fought to defend Nigeria’s unity during the Civil War, those who were part of that experience would never ‘‘allow anybody to fiddle with this country again.’’