A human rights group, the Defence For Human Rights and Democracy (DHRD) has alleged that the embattled chairman of Ahoada West Local Government Area of Rivers State, Hon. Eugene Cheta Epelle, was the victim of a cleverly manipulated political ambush, orchestrated by vested political interest in his area and executed by Minnie Ogadinma, one if his media aides.
The group during a press conference in Port Harcourt noted that Minnie Ogadinma deliberately ignored the numerous projects executed by her boss, Hon. Eugene Epelle, but instead choose to draw attention to a school that was beyond the constitutional responsibility of the chairman.
The chairman of the human rights group, Comrade Solomon Christopher Solomon, accused Minnie Ogadinma of being a mole and a fifth columnist who was planted to sabotage the administration of Hon. Eugene Epelle.
Comrade Solomon highlighted some of the notable achievements of the Ahoada West LGA Chairman, within 6 months in office, which includes the Remodelling and Construction of Ebiriba Town Hall – Completed and commissioned; Construction of Odhiugbokor Primary School, at roofing stage, protector, doors and windows ready; Installation of Solar Power Bore hole water- in 15 Communities.
The group wondered why Minnie Ogadinma , who was aware of these achievements , deliberate choose to gaslight her boss.
The test of the press briefing is reproduced below.
Defence For Human Rights And Democracy (DHRD)
Press Statement
Ahoada West LGA , Minnie Ogadinma and the Burden of Truth.
Ahoada West Local Government Area of Rivers State has been in the news lately. The focus of the attention is on the alleged assault on one Minnie Ogadinma , a media aide to the Chairman of the LGA, Hon. Eugene Epelle. Minnie Ogadinma had alleged that her boss the council chairman had assaulted her. As is usual with the Nigerian social media crowd , they went into a frenzy. They arraigned, judged and passed a verdict without hearing from the chairman or conducting an independent interrogation of what actually transpired and it’s undercurrents.
This intervention represents a holistic attempt to unravel what really transpired at Odiokwu Community, as well as unraveling both the immediate and remote causes.
1. There was an altercation between an aide to the Chairman, Monday Uchechi and Minnie Ogadinma. The police is currently investigating the matter.
2. Minnie Ogadinma was a media aide to the council chairman as at the time of the incident and is still serving as a media aide to the council chairman
3. Minnie Ogadinma had weeks prior, raised the issue of Community Secondary School, Odiokwu, with the council chairman, who politely informed her that, Secondary schools, were outside the legal responsibilities of the local government council.
By the Nigerian constitution, eduction is on the concurrent list. Tertiary and and Secondary education are the exclusive preserve of the Federal and State governments. This the Ahoada West LGA chairman was aware of made clear.
Local Council authorities are only saddled with the responsibility of taking care of primary education.
It is equally important to note that the Odiokwu Community Secondary School has been nominated for renovation by the member of House of Representatives, representing Ahoada West/Ogba-Egbena-Ndoni LGAs, as past of his Constituency Projects, when he visited the school in 2024. The renovation was delayed due to a shortfall in Capital Allocation, in the year 2025.
Also the Nigerian Delta Development Commission (NDDC), recently adopted Odiokwu Community Secondary School for remodeling and extensive renovations, including students hostels, laboratories etc, which project is to commence soon.
All these were facts known to the Council chairman and available to his media team, including Minnie Ogadinma.
4. Therefore, the motive of any aide of a council chairman, who goes to a school, that by the constitution is beyond the line responsibility of her boss and a school that has already attracted multi level intervention from Federal agencies, automatically becomes suspect. Whose interest was she serving in shooting and releasing the video that instantly went viral? Was she a mole, a fifth columnists, embedded to implode the 6 month tenure of Hon. Eugene Epelle?
5. On the intervention of civil society organisations and activists, notably Relief International and Rivers Civil Society Coalition, a peace meeting was brokered. After intense negotiations, a settlement was agreed, to which the chairman consented. An amount of money was fixed as compensation, with other stuff conditions to be met by the chairman of Ahoada West LGA. He accepted all. Surreptitiously, after writing down her account number for transfer of the agreed monetary compensation, Minnie Ogadinma, under the guise of answering a phone call, disappeared and abandoned the peace meeting. Sources at the venue disclosed that she was whisked away in a black sedan, under heavily armed escort!
The question remains, who was the person in the other end of the phone call? Who provided the sedan and the heavily armed escorts? Who is Minnie Ogadinma actually working for?
6. It is clear that Minnie Ogadinma was serving the interest of her political puppeteers. Her sole aim in shooting the controversial video, was to gaslight the local government chairman of Ahoada East LGA, and railroad him to destruction on the promptings of her political masters.
7. As a media aide to the chairman of Ahoada West LGA, Minnie Ogadinma was quick to call out her boss, for obeying the law that puts secondary education on the concurrent lists, but was blind and deaf to the towering infrastructural achievements of the Ahoada West LGA Chairman.
Some of the notable achievements of the Ahoada West LGA Chairman, within 6 months in office, include the following:
✓Remodelling and Construction of Ebiriba Town Hall – Completed and commissioned.
✓Construction of Odhiugbokor Primary School, at roofing stage, protector, doors and windows ready.
✓Installation of Solar Power Bore hole water- in 15 Communities;
A. UBIE CLUSTER
Odiokwu
Ihuakpa
Ubarama
Odiereke UBIE
Anwunugbokor
Ubeta
Olokuma
Ebariba 1
B. IGBUDUYA CLUSTER
Okogbe
Upatabi
Ogbologbolo
Odhiligboji
Ogbede
Ukpeliede
Uyakama
C. ENGENNI CLUSTER
Okarki
Oruoma (One man country)
Mbiama
Akinima
JK 3
Given the terriegn of Ahoada West LGA, with most of its communities prone to devastating seasonal flooding, the LGA chairman took the solar bore hole project as his star project. During the last set of floods that hit the area, community dug-out wells and other sources of water supply were wiped out. Entire communities were left without drinking water. So far, the LGA has drilled bore holes in 20 communities, our of which 9 has been completed, with 3 at the completion stages.
✓Purchase of 3 coaster buses.
✓Renovation of corpers and staff quarters at Akinima.
✓Rehabilitation and Maintenance of Ubeta – Odiereke roads.
Having failed in her mission of riding on public sympathy to railroad the elected chairman of Ahoada East LGA, Minnie Ogadinma, abandoned the civil society groups that were fighting for her, dumped the peace process which the civil society groups has put in process, and surfaced with a meddlesome interloper, who in his frenzy to gain social mefia clout, rushed to the Odiokwu community secondary school, with bulldozers and ended up demolishing a portion of the school fence, before the lawmaker representing the area in the National Assembly called them to order.
In their bid to ridicule and shame the Ahoada West LGA chairman , Minnie Ogadinma and her political paymasters ended up maliciously destroying government property.
It is hoped that the Rivers State government will launch a full investigation into the destruction of government property by these meddlesome interlopers and prosecute anyone found culpable, as a way of sending a clear warning, that no one has the right to tamper, alter or damage public property without the necessary authorization, no matter how well intentioned.
Despite the initial manipulation of public opinion and the social media space, emerging facts has proven beyond doubt that the hard working chairman of Ahoada East LGA, Hon. Eugene Epelle , was the victim of a cleverly concocted political ambush, masterminded by his political enemies and executed by a cold and heartless media aide, who to all intents and purposes, was a human landmine and a fifth columnist, embedded inside his administration to implode it from within.
We thank God the failed woefully.
Signed
Christopher Clifford Solomon
Chairman