In a strategic move to solidify his standing in Rivers State politics following the recent rift with his political godfather, Nyesom Wike, Governor Siminalayi Fubara has commenced a series of engagements to consolidate support for his administration....CONTINUE READING THE FULL ARTICLE>>>
Fubara’s recent diplomatic overtures included visiting neighbouring Bayelsa State, where he met with Governor Senator Douye Diri and Senator Azuta Mbata from Rivers State.
Governor Fubara is said to be reaching out to politicians within and outside the state, aligning and realigning forces, whose association he thinks can help him navigate the maze of political crisis produced by the recent faceoff with Wike.
Yesterday, Fubara visited his nearest neighbour, Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, and Senator Azuta Mbata from Rivers State, to seek further unity between the two states.
During the visit to Diri, Fubara commended the governor and the people of Bayelsa State for their show of solidarity with his administration during the recent political crisis in Rivers.
He told Diri that if he accepted the brotherly handshake extended to him, then he would not sneeze in isolation because they would be stronger together as they forged ahead as one people.
In his speech, Diri thanked Fubara for the visit and his initiative towards a mutually beneficial working arrangement with Bayelsa State. He pledged his willingness to work with Fubara.
Former governor of Bayelsa State, Diri’s predecessor, Dickson Sirake, was also at the meeting. Earlier, Fubara visited Mbata at his residence to felicitate with him on his birthday and wished him more glorious years in good health.
The police command in Rivers on Thursday confirmed the abduction of three persons along a road leading to Port Harcourt International Airport in Rivers.
The victims were abducted on the Obiri Ikwerre Road stretch leading to the airport late on Tuesday. SP Grace Iringe-Koko, the spokesperson for the command, said in Port Harcourt that police were already in pursuit of the abductors.
“The commissioner of police, Olatunji Disu, has tasked our tactical team commanders and the divisional police officers within the jurisdiction to implement adequate security measures.
“These measures have been put in place to ensure that the criminals are apprehended,” she stated. The victims were travelling from the airport area to the Obiri Ikwerre Road when they were attacked on the road.
Emmanuel Biira, who escaped the attack, stated that more than three persons were taken from the taxi he boarded. He said of the 10 vehicles ambushed by the kidnappers, a few of the passengers were whisked away while some managed to escape into the nearby bushes along the highway.
“The incident began when our vehicle ran into an ambush near the airport junction roundabout as we were heading to Obi Ikwerre flyover.
We encountered an ambush with eight to 10 cars. As we approached the scene, the kidnappers began shooting randomly into the air.
“As soon as the shooting began, we turned back towards the airport junction, but the kidnappers double-crossed us,” he explained.
Mr Biira reported that occupants of other vehicles who tried to escape from the abductors were shot at and forcibly taken away. “After the hoodlums crossed us, I jumped out of the car to run, but there was nowhere to go. But at that moment, the Lord showed me a car to hide behind.
So, I quickly hid under the car, and as I did, three kidnappers walked by – dragging a man while one of them got into the car I was under to turn off the engine.
“I am alive today because of God’s mercy and covenant of protection over His children,” he added. He said his wife would have been a young widow and his children fatherless if one of the stray bullets had hit him. “I am immensely grateful to God alone. Thank you, Jesus Christ,” Mr Biira said.
Actress Glynis John has died at the age of 100. The British actress was popular for her role as a suffragette who reconnects with her children thanks to a magical nanny in the blockbuster 1964 movie musical “Mary Poppins.”
Johns, a versatile film and stage veteran who won a Tony Award in 1973 for her role in the Stephen Sondheim musical “A Little Night Music” and was nominated for an Oscar for the 1960 film “The Sundowners,” died of natural causes at an assisted living facility in the Los Angeles area, said her manager, Mitch Clem.
She appeared in dozens of films in a movie career that spanned more than 60 years but her role in “Mary Poppins” as Winifred Banks, the distracted suffragette mother who seems to care more about her cause than her two children, was the one for which she will be most remembered…CONTINUE READING>>
