Supreme Court verdict on Rivers, victimised lecturer’s deteriorating health, other top stories from South-south

Ned Nwoko’s allegation against Delta governor

Delta North senator Ned Nwoko said last Sunday he rejected a Land Cruiser SUV and a N10 million monthly offer from Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta State.

Mr Nwoko, who recently defected from Nigeria’s main opposition PDP to the ruling APC, said he declined the offer because the money belongs to the people of the oil-rich state.

“I don’t want to answer a senator for the sake of it. That is why I was angry with the Delta governor when he wanted to give me a land cruiser and a monthly N10 million,” the senator said, adding that the state government would have used it to attack him if he had accepted the offer.

For inside details of this weighty allegation published on Monday, click the link.

Still, on Monday, we reported that efforts by Nigeria’s anti-graft agency to rid the society of fraudsters paid off, with a lawyer being arraigned over an alleged N1.3 billion forex fraud.

The suspect, EFCC said, disguised as a bureau de change operator to defraud his victims.

‘Nobody should interpret my body language,’ Nigerian governor tells new commissioners

Within the week under review, Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State told his newly sworn-in cabinet members not to interpret his “body language”.

PREMIUM TIMES reported on Tuesday that the governor told the new commissioners that their appointments were not to ignite fights with state leaders at any level of government.

Still, in Akwa Ibom, the state government ordered operatives of the Vehicle Inspection Office to vacate roads after a branch of the Nigerian Bar Association in the state drew its attention to a pending court judgment in that regard.

Details of this story published on Thursday are just a click away.

On the same day, we reported that the ailing lecturer, Inih Ebong, who was unjustly sacked over two decades ago by the University of Uyo, relapsed after responding to treatment for cardiac failure.

Mr Ebong, an associate professor of theatre arts, is also facing homelessness over his inability to pay rent. He is appealing for help from the public.

We reported on Saturday that Governor Eno has queried over 200 aides for being absent at official government functions without permission. The aides were given 48 hours to reply to the query.

Supreme Court sacks Rivers council chairpersons

After almost a year and a half of political turmoil, the Supreme Court delivered a verdict on the political feud between Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike.

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Governor Fubara, in his reaction to the judgement, said, “Although we disagree with the judgment, we are bound to obey as law-abiding government,” suggesting that though the nation’s highest court may have ended the legal challenge, the political solution is far from over.

In the verdict, the court sacked the local council chairpersons in the state, stopped federal allocations to Rivers, and restored pro-Wike lawmakers as legitimate assembly members, a matter the state government argued was not before the court for determination.

Click on the above links for details of the verdict and reactions.

Away from politics. In the neighbouring Edo State, we reported on Wednesday that the police have arrested five suspects in connection with the gruesome murder of a seven-year-old boy and the assassination of a local vigilante commander.

Also, in Delta, we reported on Saturday how 12 passengers were burnt to death in an accident along the Benin-Auchi Highway.