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Wike Accuses Army of Running Oil Bunkering Syndicate in Rivers
Governor Nyesom Wike has accused the Nigerian Army of running illegal bunkering in Rivers State.
The governor accused Jamil Sarham, the general officer commanding the Army’s 6 Division in Port Harcourt, of raising a team of soldiers to steal and sell petroleum products in the region.
“The GOC has his own team now doing oil bunkering for him because he wants to be chief of army staff,” Mr Wike said while receiving a team of military personnel from ‘Operation Delta Safe’ on Wednesday. “If you give that kind of person chief of army staff, what kind of security would we have in this country?”
“He cannot be removed here because they know the role he is playing for them: sabotaging our security architecture,” the governor added.
Mr Wike said Mr Sarham, a major-general, regularly divulges confidential security briefings to criminals, and the military leadership’s reluctance in removing him was deliberate.
“We would have security meeting, he will release it to criminals,” Mr Wike said. “And chief of army staff will leave the man here because he is playing their role.”
Mr Wike said he has been leading security efforts to “reduce crime to the barest minimum,” in Rivers, which ranks amongst Nigeria’s most volatile states. But the army constitutes an obstacle for success, he alleged.
The ‘Operation Delta Safe’ is a joint-security patrol of the Niger Delta region, where cases of oil theft and disruption of oil installations are regularly reported. The courtesy visit to Mr Wike was led by Akinjide Akinrinade, a naval rear admiral and overall head of the operation.
Mr Wike said it would be difficult for ‘Operation Delta Safe’ to arrest military personnel sent on oil bunkering mission if they encountered one another in the creeks.
The governor did not provide any evidence to substantiate his allegations. His media adviser, Oraye Franklin, told PREMIUM TIMES he has nothing to add to the governor’s comments.
Mr Wike, a member of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, has made unsubstantiated allegations in the past against Buhari administration officials and security chiefs. Following the discovery of a cash haul in Ikoyi in April 2017, Mr Wike claimed the money belonged to Rivers State, having allegedly been plundered by his predecessor, Rotimi Amaechi.
But when asked to provide evidence during forfeiture hearings, the governor failed to make any submission to the court. The money was later claimed by the Nigeria Intelligence Agency and forfeited to the Nigerian government.
Mr Wike has also regularly accused the government and security agencies, including the police, of plotting to assassinate him without corroboration.
Mr Sarham declined comments to PREMIUM TIMES about the allegations on Sunday morning. He admitted the allegations were “grievous,” but said he had not received clearance to make a public statement as of 9:20 a.m. on Sunday.
The Army spokesperson, Sagir Musa, told PREMIUM TIMES he could not comment on the allegations Sunday morning.
He asked that enquiries should be directed to Aminu Ilyasu, a spokesperson for the 6 Division. But Mr Ilyasu, a colonel, also declined comments, saying he was at a function and could not immediately say when it would be a good time for him to speak.
Messrs Wike and Sarham have clashed repeatedly since the army chief was appointed as the GOC of 6 Division in August 2018.
During the elections, the governor accused the army of undermining democracy in Rivers, after a series of deadly shootings forced the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to suspend results collation.
At least two soldiers were killed in the state during the elections between February and March. About a dozen people were killed across the state during the elections.
The electoral body, INEC, also criticised the Army’s conduct during the elections.
Days before the governorship election on March 9, Mr Sarham accused Mr Wike of offering bribes to military officers. The governor denied the allegations, dragging Nigerian Army to the International Criminal Court over the killings, injuries and destruction of properties recorded across the state during the elections.
Premium Times
Headlines
Your Presidential Ambition Dead on Arrival, Presidency Mocks Atiku As PDP Stalwarts Defect to APC
The Presidency has delivered a jab at former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, declaring his 2027 presidential ambition and coalition-building efforts “dead on arrival” following the defection of Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori and other top PDP figures to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
In separate posts on X, Presidential aides Bayo Onanuga and Tunde Rahman mocked Atiku’s attempts to rally opposition forces, saying recent developments show his coalition is crumbling before it even takes off.
Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, wrote: “Atiku’s political future looks bleak. The coalition that he, El-Rufai, Babachir, and new member Baba-Ahmed are cobbling together has disintegrated. Potential allies, including former running mate Ifeanyi Okowa and defunct CPC members, are giving his leprous group a wide berth. Atiku is a loser again.”
Tunde Rahman, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, posted earlier in the day: “Things are really getting perilous and the future looks so bleak for former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s coalition. After the PDP governors washed their hands clean of any such coalition plan, the defunct CPC wing he is also counting on has proffered support for President Tinubu.
Today (Wednesday), he got his biggest shocker ever. His 2023 election running mate, former Delta State governor Ifeanyi Okowa, and Okowa’s successor, Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, dumped the sinking PDP ship and hopped aboard the APC plane, and by inference, crossed over to the PBAT side.
Indeed, the counting of PDP governors crossing over to APC has begun. Isn’t Atiku’s coalition dead on arrival?”
The coordinated remarks followed a major political realignment in Delta State, where the governor, his predecessor, former Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, and the entire PDP state structure defected to the APC – an event seen as a significant blow to Atiku, who has been working to form a broad opposition alliance against President Bola Tinubu ahead of the 2027 elections.
Okowa was Atiku’s running mate in the 2023 presidential election under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Atiku has yet to respond to the defection or the presidential aides’ comments, though acting national chairman Iliya Damagum earlier described the Delta exit as “unfortunate,” while insisting that the party remains focused and resilient.
The Lagos State Government has disclosed that a staggering 31,596 public school students failed the 2024 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), raising alarm across its education sector.
The figures, unveiled by the Lagos Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Jamiu Tolani Alli-Balogun, during a ministerial press briefing on Thursday in Alausa, Ikeja, showed that 54.3% of the 58,188 students from public schools who sat for the exams failed.
The commissioner said the pass rate was 45.7%.
The failure rate comes despite the government’s significant financial backing — a whopping N1.577 billion was paid on behalf of the students to cover WAEC fees.
“Suffice to say that the sum of N1,577,794,000 (One Billion, Five Hundred and Seventy-Seven Million, Seven Hundred and Ninety-Four Thousand Naira) only was paid by the State Government as examination fees for 58,188 students who were captured for year 2024 WASSCE,” Alli-Balogun announced.
In a bid to tighten accountability and avoid wastage, the Commissioner disclosed that biometric and image registration was carried out to accurately determine eligible students for government sponsorship for the 2025 WASSCE.
“The exercise successfully captured and registered 56,134 students as bona-fide beneficiaries of the Lagos State Government’s sponsorship for the examination,” he added.
However, the Lagos State Government rolled out a bold educational intervention – the Eko Learners’ Support Programme for WASSCE and NECO Candidates – aimed at reversing the tide of academic failure in the state’s public schools.
Launched on January 14, 2025, the initiative is part of a broader commitment by the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education to equip Lagos students with tools for success.
“This forward-thinking initiative was designed to support and empower young scholars in attestation of the Ministry’s commitment at advancing interest and management of the educational system in Lagos State,” Alli-Balogun stated.
He said with a vision to broadcast 320 lessons across 10 key subjects, including English, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Economics, Government, History, Literature-in-English, and Yoruba, the programme aims to bring world-class tutoring directly into students’ homes.
Thw commissioner said each 30-minute episode would air on Lagos Television (LTV) and be archived across major platforms like YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter), creating a digital learning library accessible to every student.
“It is a supportive eco-system that fosters academic achievement, creativity, critical thinking… every student deserves the opportunity to attain their full potential, regardless of their background or socio-economic status,” the Commissioner declared passionately.
Alli-Balogun urged students, especially those in boarding schools, to seize this opportunity.
“It is on this note that I urge and encourage students’, more importantly, students in our boarding schools, to take full advantage of this initiative, as education is a lifelong journey,” he said.
Former Governor of Delta State, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential running mate in the 2023 election, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, has dumped the PDP for the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Okowa confirmed the news of his defection to ARISE NEWS on Wednesday following the announcement of the current governor of Delta State, Sheriff Oborevwori, who also defected from the PDP to the APC on Wednesday.
The development was disclosed by Senator James Manager after a six-hour meeting at Government House, Asaba.
“All PDP members in the state, including the governor, former Governor Okowa, the Speaker, the state party chairman, all the local government chairmen and others, have agreed to move to the APC,” Manager stated. “We cannot continue to be in a sinking boat.”
Delta State Commissioner for Information, Mr Aniagwu Charles, officially confirmed the sweeping political shift, attributing the decision to the need for renewed direction and enhanced governance in the state.
“There is a need for us to adjust our drinking patterns. And in adjusting that drinking pattern, we needed to make a decision that would further help to cement the development in our state,” he said.
Aniagwu added that the move aimed to sustain progress in law, security, and welfare, likening the PDP to a “palm wine whose taste has changed,” necessitating a change in “drinking party”.
He further indicated that the defection was unanimously agreed upon by key PDP leaders and stakeholders in the state, with a formal public declaration expected on Monday.
“By the grace of God, on Monday next week, we will be able to make a very big statement confirming that we are moving into the APC,” he said.
The mass defection represents a dramatic realignment in Delta State’s political landscape and could significantly alter party dynamics in the broader South-South region, historically a PDP stronghold.
Okowa will be received on Monday by Vice President Kashim Shettima alongside Governor Oborevwori.
AriseNews
