Cole issues TV station ultimatum over Wike’s remarks

Rivers State Executive Council (SEC) has revoked the N134 billion contract awarded to the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) for the renovation, retrofitting and furnishing of the State Secretariat by the six-month emergency administration of Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd).

It directed the immediate refund of the N20 billion mobilisation fee already paid to the contractor.

Meanwhile, the 2023 governorship candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers, Tonye Cole, has demanded a public apology and N20 billion damages from Channels Television over alleged defamatory remarks made by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.

Rivers SEC also approved the revalidation of the bidding processes for four contracts, comprising the renovation of the State Secretariat Complex, the construction of reinforced concrete shoreline protection, and reclamation works in several riverine communities of Opobo/Nkoro and Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni local councils.

The decisions were reached during the SEC meeting yesterday at the Government House, Port Harcourt, presided over by Governor Siminalayi Fubara.

Briefing newsmen, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Works, Dr Austin Ezekiel-Hart, explained that the contracts were awarded in a hasty manner without following due process. He stated that the council, therefore, approved the revalidation of the bidding process for all four contracts that were previously advertised in national dailies on February 19, 2025.

With the revalidation process now underway, Ezekiel-Hart stated that a fresh bidding advertisement would be published in newspapers for competent and experienced contractors to prequalify and submit both technical and commercial bids.

He listed the projects to include, “The construction of 4.8km reinforced concrete shoreline protection and reclamation of Queenstown, Epellema, Oloma, and Minima communities in Opobo/Nkoro Local Council, the construction of 2.5km shoreline protection and reclamation in Ndoni-Onukwu, Isikwu, and Aziazagi communities in Ogba-Egbema-Ndoni Local Council; the construction of 2.5km shoreline protection and reclamation in Utuechi, Obiofu, Isala, Ani-Eze and Odugri communities in Ogba-Egbema-Ndoni Local Council; and the renovation, retrofitting and furnishing of the Rivers State Secretariat Complex.”

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Dr Azibaolanari Uzoma-Nwogu, announced that the council approved the constitution of a committee to develop a proposal for the creation of Computer-Based Test (CBT) Centres and ICT Laboratories across the three senatorial districts of the state.

Cole, through his lawyers, S.O. Okutepa (SAN) & Co., issued a seven-page demand letter dated October 8, 2025, to Channels Incorporated Ltd, owners of Channels TV, accusing the station of airing “malicious and unfounded statements” that severely damaged his reputation

The controversy stems from the September 18, 2025, edition of ‘Politics Today’, a live programme hosted by Seun Okinbaloye and titled ‘One-on-One with Nyesom Wike’.

During the interview, Wike, a former governor of Rivers, allegedly called Cole a “thief,” accused him of “stealing state resources,” and described him as a “conduit pipe with Sahara” responsible for “selling Rivers Gas for $308 million,” which he claimed “crippled the resources of Rivers.”

Cole’s lawyers said the remarks, broadcast to millions of viewers and subsequently circulated on social media, were made “recklessly and without any factual basis.”

They alleged that Channels TV gave Wike “unrestricted and unfettered airtime” to make the claims and has since rebroadcast and retained the interview on its YouTube channel, further compounding the damage.

To mitigate what they described as “colossal damage,” the legal team gave the station a 14-day deadline, expiring on October 22, 2025, to meet several conditions, including a full retraction of the statements aired with equal prominence on Channels TV, a written and broadcast apology, removal of the programme from YouTube and other platforms, and payment of N20 billion in compensation via bank draft.

The lawyers also demanded a written undertaking from Channels TV to desist from further defamatory publications against Cole.