TheNewsGuru

Tag: Tonye Cole

  • ‘This war continues’ until you suspend Wike – Tonye Cole blasts Tinubu

    ‘This war continues’ until you suspend Wike – Tonye Cole blasts Tinubu

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Rivers State, Tonye Cole has warned that “this war continues” until all political actors, including FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, are suspended.

    Cole while speaking as a guest on Channels RV’s ‘Politics Today’ called on President Bola Tinubu to demonstrate fairness and balance in addressing the political crisis in the state

    According to the APC chieftain, President Tinubu to take a balanced approach following his declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State.

    “The political work behind the scenes still has to happen,” Cole said.

    “The President has to step back and really be the Father of the Nation at this point in time. He has taken a position which he says is for the good of the people, but then the political actors on both sides have not been acting on the good of the people.”

    Cole further urged all political actors at both state and federal levels should step down if peace must reign in the state.

    “Everybody who is a political actor within the state level should step down, everybody who is a political actor within the federal level should step down, let’s bring everybody to status quo and let’s start building from there,” he stated.

    Cole acknowledged that President Tinubu took “very tough decisions” on the administrative side by declaring a state of emergency but called for political solutions to the crisis.

    “The decision politically has not yet been taken in the way that is going to resolve this crisis and until that is done, I’m afraid that this war continues,” Cole warned.

  • Rivers governorship poll: Tribunal reserves judgment in Tonye Cole’s petition

    Rivers governorship poll: Tribunal reserves judgment in Tonye Cole’s petition

    The Rivers State Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja, on Wednesday, reserved judgment in the petition filed by Mr Tonye Cole, the All Progressives Congress (APC)’s candidate in the March 18 governorship poll in Rivers.

    Cole is challenging the victory of Gov. Siminalayi Fubara of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    The three-member tribunal, headed by Justice Cletus Emifonye, adjourned the matter for judgment after parties adopted their final written addresses and presented their arguments for and against the petition.

    While Fubara scored 302,614 votes to win the election, the APC candidate had 95,274 votes while Beatrice Itubo of the Labour Party (LP) scored 22,224 votes to come third.

    Speaking to newsmen shortly after the sitting on Wednesday, Chief Tuduru Ede, SAN, the lead counsel to Cole, said about 40 witnesses were called and exhibits running into a thousand were tendered in the course of the case.

    “The main plank of our case is that the 2nd respondent (Fubara), as at the time of the election, was not qualified to run.

    “He didn’t resign from his post as Accountant-General and Permanent Secretary in Rivers State.

    “We led evidence to that effect and we await the judgment of the tribunal,” he said.

    Also speaking, Mr Cole, who was at the tribunal, said he was trusting the tribunal and God that justice would be done in his petition.

    “First of all, I am extremely grateful to the team of lawyers that stood their ground, refused to be intimidated, put very accurate facts forward.

    “I am very satisfied with what has been presented today as our final address.

    “And I am trusting the tribunal and trusting my Lord, God Almighty, that justice will be done,” he said.

    He said he was in the tribunal to ensure that he took back the mandate that was stolen from him.

    “We know exactly what happened at the election day but that is very different from what we are doing in court.

    “What we are here to do in court is to ensure that we secure the mandate that was taken off us in March and I just want to assure everybody in Rivers that we will do everything within our power to ensure that justice is done.

    “We have presented the case, we are just waiting for the result. The judgment is just a few weeks away. So let’s be patient, stand firm, we are fighting this all the way to the end,” he said.

    The Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr Nyesom Wike, who also attended the proceeding, however refused to speak to newsmen.

    He simply said: “Go and speak to them (pointing to the lawyers).”

    Efforts to also speak to counsel to the respondents; Mr Kanu Agabi, SAN (INEC); Mr Emmanuel Ukala, SAN (Fubara), were unsuccessful as they declined to speak, while Mr Joseph Daudu (PDP) could not be reached.

    While Tonye Cole is the petitioner, INEC, Fubara, and PDP are 1st to 3rd respondents respectively in the case.

    The tribunal had, on Sept. 7, also reserved judgment in the petition filed by the governorship candidate of Labour Party against Fubara’s victory.

  • VIDEO: APC Guber candidate, Tonye Cole says “na lie I no withdraw my petition”

    VIDEO: APC Guber candidate, Tonye Cole says “na lie I no withdraw my petition”

    In a video clip personally recorded by the APC Guber candidate Tonye Cole in the last Rivers governorship election shows him vowing to fight to the touch line.

    TheNewsGuru.com, (TNG) reports Cole in a video clip speaking pidgin English declaring that he has not withdrawn from the Election Petition Tribunal as he would fight till he has exhausted all legal avenues.

    A report in an online medium had published that Cole and others had withdrawn their petitions from the Tribunal but he debunked it as depicted in the video clip.

    In the said report it was claimed that “those who have filed a petition at the tribunal are: Beatrice Itubo (Labour Party), Tekena Iyagba (Boot Party), Innocent Ekwu (APM), Etete Sobere (PRP), Gabriel Gborogbosi (Action Alliance), Magnus Abe (SDP), Pastor Tonye Cole (APC) and Dumo Lulu Briggs (Accord Party).

    However, at the tribunal on Monday, the Rivers state election petition tribunal struck out the petition filed by the All Progressive Congress, APC, following the withdrawal by its counsel.

    Solomon Umoh, Counsel to the APC told the tribunal that he would be taking over as counsel for the party following a motion for change of counsel before the tribunal.
    He also informed the court that his clients would like their names to be struck out from the petition as applicants.

    Jibrin Okutepa who was the former counsel for Tonye Cole and the APC, told the tribunal that he was not briefed on the new development by the party.

    The three-man panel, led by Justice Cletus Emifoniye, however granted the application for change of counsel and also granted the motion as prayed by striking out the name of APC as a petitioner.

    According to TVC, the APC’s withdrawal was brought pursuant to order 9 rule 15 of the federal high court civil procedure rules 2019.

    One of the grounds for the application amongst others is that “There is the need to seek the leave of this Honourable Tribunal to strike out the name of the 2nd Petitioner/Applicant, as the Applicant has no intention to participate in this petition.”

    No date has been fixed for the commencement of the pre-hearing of applications before the tribunal.

    Watch Pastor Tonye Cole’s video below:

     

    View this post on Instagram

     

    A post shared by Media/News Company (@thenewsgurung)

  • Court issues bench warrant against Amaechi, others

    Court issues bench warrant against Amaechi, others

    A high court judge, Justice Chinwendu Nwogu, in Port Harcourt, Rivers state, has issued a bench warrant against the former Minister of transportation Rotimi Amaechi and the All Progressive Congress (APC) governorship candidate in the state, Tonye Cole.

    The Judge also issued a bench warrant against Sahara Energy Resources Limited, Chamberlain Peterside, NG powers HPS Limited, and Cenpropsaroten Management Limited following a lawsuit filed by the Rivers state government for alleged misappropriation of public funds against Amaechi during his tenure as governor of the state from 2007 to 2015.

    The bench warrant was issued against the defendants as a result of the absent before the court over the criminal charges against them.

    Criminal charges were filed after Governor Nyesom Wike constituted a seven-man panel in 2022 to probe Amaechi over an alleged withdrawal of N96 billion from the treasury during his tenure as governor. They investigated sale of valuable assets such as Omoku Gas Turbine, Afam Gas Turbine, Trans Amadi Gas Turbine, Eleme Gas Turbine, Olympia Hotel, and the contract award for the execution of the monorail project.

    Though Amaechi has insisted that he is not guilty of fraud, the supreme court dismissed his application challenging the probe.

  • Tonye Cole knocks INEC, says level of impunity shouldn’t stand

    Tonye Cole knocks INEC, says level of impunity shouldn’t stand

    The gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress, (APC) in the March 18 gubernatorial election in Rivers, Tonye Cole has knocked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for conducting a shambolic election.

    Cole said that the level of impunity by INEC, cannot be allowed to stand.

    Cole’s statement followed the alleged refusal by the electoral commission to allow him access to collect the Certified True Copies, CTC, documents with which to file his petition at the election tribunal.

    Cole made this known on Thursday when fielding questions while featuring on Arise Television’s Morning Show program.

    Cole said INEC had ignored several court orders to release the documents to him.

    He said, “This is where the crux of the matter is, there’s an impunity level that we saw in Rivers State elections, especially when it comes to gubernatorial elections, that we can’t just stand by and keep quiet.

    ”Not only were we prevented from collecting documents that are rightfully ours, those documents up until today, we have been refused access to our documents. We are expected to collect our CTC documents so that we can file our petition at the election tribunal.

    “You can’t believe that PDP for the first time in Nigeria’s history, mounted a blockade of INEC’s office to prevent us from assessing those documents.

    ”The electoral law gives INEC 14 days to provide those documents. After 14 days, it’s liable to 20 months imprisonment for contravening that law. Right now he is standing on that.

    ”We went to the electoral tribunal and we got a court order compelling INEC to release the documents. Till today, that order has been ignored. The bailiff served INEC that order again last week Wednesday, compelling them that they must release the documents, but they still have not released those papers.

    ”And what I’m pointing out is that this level of impunity by INEC cannot be allowed to stand. Nigerians must understand it and we must have to continue to fight for what’s right and what is just.”

  • Rivers Guber: One killed, many injured as PDP, APC supporters clashed at INEC office

    Rivers Guber: One killed, many injured as PDP, APC supporters clashed at INEC office

    Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital was on Monday hit by violence as supporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) clashed over the outcome of the March 18 guber polls in the state.

    The supporters of the ruling PDP in their hundreds besieged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) office requesting that they should be allowed to a joint inspection of election materials by political parties ahead of the election petition tribunal sitting.

    The placard-carrying protesters took off  from GRA, while the demonstration paralysed vehicular activities from the Waterlines axis.

    The incident resulted in a clash between the PDP supporters and APC supporters in the state. Scores were injured while one person was hit by a stray bullet.

    It was gathered that Tonye-Cole was caught in the melee and only escaped from the scene with little injury.

    Reports say  that while the PDP protest was ongoing, Cole, in company with the state APC Chairman, Emeka Beke, and other party leaders, showed up at the GRA axis of Aba Road, heading for INEC office.

    On hearing that Cole was at the GRA Junction, the protesting youths raced in his direction and pelted stones and water sachets at him.

    Security operatives attached to Cole immediately shielded him and whisked him into the vehicle, but the protesters continued pelting stones and sachet water at him and his group.

    Soldiers of the 6 Division, Nigeria Army, Port Harcourt, and operatives of the Nigeria Police and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps were drafted to the scene to disperse the protesters.The security forces stationed patrol vehicles in front of  INEC office to prevent any damage to the facility.

    Speaking to newsmen at a different location shortly afterwards, Cole said, “There was an assault on myself, my party chairman, and the woman leader, who were going peacefully to go and collect documents from INEC.

    “We were not allowed to get anywhere near the INEC office. This was a deliberate act to prevent us from going to get fundamental materials critical to our petition. And they have told us that they are going to be there Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, by which time we will have no documents from INEC to present to the tribunal.

    “All we are interested in is going to the tribunal. You say you have won; allow us to go to the tribunal to prove that you did not win.”

    When contacted, the state Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Sydney Gbara, described the claims by Cole as false.

    Gbara said, “The truth of the matter is that Pastor Tonye Cole is being economical with the truth and is trying to deceive the gullible members of the public.

    “What happened was that the PDP was at INEC to register their protest and make demands that they also want to be included in inspecting the result sheets used for the election.

    “And we all know that since the election, several political parties have done the same. No other party has gone there to frustrate or stop them.

    “But what we saw today was that Tonye Cole came there with thugs dressed in police uniforms and tried to disrupt what the PDP was doing, and we said no.

    “In the process, the thugs tried to disperse the PDP supporters and started shooting into the crowd. And one of our supporters was shot and rushed to the hospital. The information we are getting now is that he has been confirmed dead as I speak to you.

    “Therefore, the PDP is calling on the Inspector-General of Police and the state Commissioner of Police to go after Tonye Cole and arrest him immediately for the death of that young man.”

  • Rivers APC guber candidate, Tonye-Cole attacked at INEC Office

    Rivers APC guber candidate, Tonye-Cole attacked at INEC Office

    Patrick Tonye-Cole, the Governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress in the March 18, guber elections in Rivers State has been allegedly attacked by persons suspected to be members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the state head office of the Independent National Electoral Commission.

    Reports say Tonye-Cole was attacked alongside the state Chairman of APC, Emeka Beke and some party members, who accompanied them to INEC head office on Aba road, GRA junction, Port Harcourt.

    It was gathered that protesters blocked the APC guber candidate and the APC state Chairman when they arrived at the INEC state office, stopping them from gaining access to the building.

    The reports said it took the intervention of some security agencies attached to the two APC leaders to save them, however, a vehicle in their convoy was vandalized by the protesters, followed by sporadic shooting.

    There is reported tension and fear in the area following the violent incident while economic activities have been grounded.

    Finding show that security operatives have been detailed to the area while surveillance around the INEC office has been beefed up.

  • Rivers Guber: Asari Dokunbo reveals why he’s supporting APC’s Tonye Cole

    Rivers Guber: Asari Dokunbo reveals why he’s supporting APC’s Tonye Cole

    Ahead of March 18 governorship election in the country, a former Niger Delta militant leader, Asari Dokubo has stated reasons he’s supporting the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, (APC) gubernatorial candidate, Tonye Cole  in Rivers State.

    Dokubo said he is supporting Cole because he knows what the APC gubernatorial candidate can do.

    The Rivers born militant leader made this known while featuring on a political programme on Ariste TV.

    “In 2019, when Tonye Cole came up to contest an election, I think my house was one of the first spots of call he came to. I have never met him and when he came, I told him in 2013 I was in Brazil, and I saw a Mall that you designed alongside other architects, and he just smiled and said my brother, this is what I will replicate in Rivers state.

    “A lot of our people, political campaigns, I am going to bring water, I am going to do that… we don’t want a government salt, we want to change, and that is why I am campaigning for Tonye Cole.”

    He added, “I was president of Ijaw youth. Whether I say I’m a Kalabari man or not, people will say Tonye is a Kalabari man. He is a Kalabari man that speaks Yoruba and Igbo. He cannot speak Kalabari. I know what he can do, and that is why I am supporting him.”

  • VIDEOS: WATCH moment alleged political thugs sponsored by Rivers PDP abduct Opobo LG Coordinator of Cole

    VIDEOS: WATCH moment alleged political thugs sponsored by Rivers PDP abduct Opobo LG Coordinator of Cole

    Videos showing moment alleged Rivers PDP political thugs abducted APC guber candidate’s Opobo LGA Coordinator Brown Boma on Tuesday has emerged online.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports the incident took place in Opobo while the coordinator and Tonye Cole’s supporters were preparing for a rally.

    According to an account recorded by one of the coordinators, the thugs suddenly emerged and started scattering all they had put in place for the rally shooting sporadically into the air “to scare us”.

    The supporters also did not give up as they pursued the thugs and rescued Brown Boma from the sponsored political thugs.

    Watch videos:

     

    View this post on Instagram

     

    A post shared by Media/News Company (@thenewsgurung)

  • State of Emergency: Rivers state reacts to calls by APC’s guber candidate, Tonye Cole

    State of Emergency: Rivers state reacts to calls by APC’s guber candidate, Tonye Cole

    The Rivers State government has taken a swipe at the gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Pastor Tonye Cole for backing the presidency for a state of emergency in Rivers State.

    This was made known through a press release obtained by TheNewsGuru.com and signed and released by the Hon. Commissioner for Information & Communications, Chris Finebone today in Port Harcourt.

    According to  Finebone, Rivers state is among the most peaceful and well governed states in the country and needs no interference of whatever form

    The Statement reads partly: ”The Rivers State Government has taken notice of the call by the governorship candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC), Pastor(?) Tonye Cole, for a declaration of state of emergency in Rivers State.

     

    ”While government is concerned by such a deviant and irresponsible call on President Muhammadu Buhari, it is, however, not totally shocked that a pretender to the governorship seat of the State would engage in such an uninformed call.

     

    ”Indeed, it is understandable why Tonye Cole would make such a call. All one needs is to recall the Biblical story when the mother whose child had died quickly accepted that King Solomon should cut the surviving child into two halves knowing full well that the baby would die. It takes someone who has nothing to lose to call for the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State at this time. Indeed, it can only come from someone who does not like the State and her people.

     

    ”Again, government is not surprised that the call for a state of emergency is coming from someone standing trial as the prime suspect in a grand state capture scheme planned and executed between him and his friend who was governor of Rivers State. The result of that plot was the underhand and highly dubious transfer of state assets (Omoku Gas Turbine, Afam Gas Turbine, Trans Amadi Gas Turbine, Eleme Gas Turbine, Olympia Hotel, etc.) to a company – Sahara Energy Ltd – partly owned by Tonye Cole for about $308 million out of which only $208,000 was paid into the state coffers while the rest of the proceeds vanished into thin air to this day.

     

    ”As the campaigns unfold, the Rivers State Government has continued to exercise the highest level of restrain concerning most of the individuals who claim to be contesting the governorship election in the State – from notorious gamblers to ‘bogey-bogey’ people whose motives revolve around carting away whatever is left of the people’s common patrimony. The present Rivers State Government believes in the rule of law and prefers Tonye

    ”Cole and other masterminds in the grand heist of over N96 billion to face the due diligence of trial in court or regurgitate the commonwealth of Rivers people they most ignominiously cornered and transferred to themselves.

     

    ”Government believes that those who have pillaged the people’s resources and cornered same for themselves in the past should be kept away from further having a second field day – a scenario that will spell doom for the people. But that is left for the people to decide with their voters’ card on March 11, 2023.

     

    ”It is not far fetched that despite the pretences and chartered delusion by the likes of Tonye Cole hoping against hope, finally, reality is beginning to dawn on them that failure is staring them in the face, hence, the panicky call to bring down the entire house through a state of emergency. Surely, it will not work!

     

    ”It must be clearly stated that the State Government has, so far, kept off the partisan political turf allowing the political parties and politicians to do their thing. That should not be taken to mean lack of political will to protect the sacred duties of government to protect lives, property and its own existence. A call for state of emergency by any politician is a wanton and impudent attack on the existence of the State Government and cannot be ignored.

     

    ”Constantly pointing at RVSG Executive Orders 21 and 22 is needless. Politicians should search themselves to ascertain whether they are ready for the coming election both in human and material contexts and not look for cheap exit or excuses. Looking around one can attest that our beautiful pieces of infrastructure have been saved defacement by all manner of banners and posters due to those Orders. No two political parties have contested use of one place for campaign at the same time as was the case in the past. The benefits of the Orders are numerous to the law-abiding members of our State except for trouble makers and deviants.

     

    ”Pastor(?) Tonye Cole should worry a lot on how to legally discard the garland of shame adorning his neck as a prime suspect in the grand heist of the commonwealth of Rivers people. Calling for a state of emergency is not a very intelligent escape route from facing trial and/or losing the 2023 governorship polls. Both outcomes for Tonye Cole appear very obvious. Perhaps the only ones not seeing it are Tonye Cole and his motley decrepit band of blind political neophytes”

    According to the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC, the presidential elections in the country will hold on February 25 while the gubernatorial elections will hold on the 11th of March, 2023.