News
‘C’River Got N1.7bn’ …Delisting As Oil Producing State
The Cross River State Government received the sum of N1.7bilion in June from the federation Account following its delisting as an oil producing state.
The Governor, Liyel Imoke disclosed this while receiving members of the children’s parliament during the international Day of the African Child celebration in Calabar
He said that of the amount N1.2billion was spent on salaries, N.3 billion to run the government while N.2billion was spent on infrastructure.
The governor observed that the only way out of the financial quagmire was for corporate bodies and citizens to pay their taxes to help in the provision of qualitative education for the children.
Imoke said that issues of street children should be handled collectively because a lot of children and parents do not know their rights, stressing that it is annoying to see children hawk as government would take punitive actions against parents or guardians who allow their children or wards to hawk on the street.
He disclosed that government intends to give mission schools some subventions to enable them provide infrastructure, but will not extend same to private schools and warned that private schools that do not meet Cross River Standard in Education will be closed down because they are expected to give good value for money collected.
The Governor said the State spends about N5 billion on the renovation of the first 60 secondary schools across the state excluding the provision of furniture, while the Special Education Centre in Calabar has been captured under 2006 renovation programme of UBE which Ministry of Social Welfare will also intervene, assuring that government will continue to keep promise made as it intends to undertake its programmes in phases
Imoke remarked that he was encouraged by the children’s performance and presentation which shows that there is hope for the country and congratulated those that participated in the interactive session because they have the right to ask questions.
Mrs Obioma Imoke wife of Governor Liyel Imoke in a welcome address, said the International Day of the African Child was inaugurated by the African Union (then Organization of African Unity) in 1991 to commemorate the killing of African children in Soweto, South Africa during a demonstration in 1976.
Mrs. Imoke, who was represented by Mrs Glory Efiok Cobham wife of Mr. Efiok Cobham, Deputy Governor called on stake holders to ensure the survival of children as well as engage in the fight against all forms of child abuse, adding that the state’s programme on A State Fit For A Child (asfac) has achieved tremendous success as the governor was one of the first persons to have responded to the plight of children because the challenge posed by the out come of an investigation carried out by asfac
revealed the need to invest in the child, adding that asfac in collaboration with the Ministry of Women Affairs had rehabilitated many children.
Mrs. Imoke disclosed that a lot of programmes were earmarked for children across the state on varied issues of interest, adding that no amount spent on a child should be regarded as a waste because such an investment prepares them to be what they will become in future while urging parents to pull resources for the good of the children.
Mr. Endurance Agbo, Speaker of the Cross River Children’s Parliament commended the governor on the passage of the Child Rights Act into Law and his wife for initiating A State Fit For A Child (asfac) while calling on Stake holders to key into it to get it right.
Agbo urged the State government to publish the Child Rights Law for everyone to understand it as well as translate it into the local dialect.
Highlights of the celebration included an address by Master George Urunwoke, winner San Marino Award 2008, mock session by the Children’s parliament, Poetry by Hope Leaders Children Foundation, Calabar and a dance sketch by Young African Stars, Enugu,
The Nigeria Immigration Service has officially ended passport production at multiple centres, transitioning to a single, centralised system for the first time in 62 years.
Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, disclosed this yesterday while inspecting Nigeria’s new Centralised Passport Personalisation Centre at the NIS Headquarters in Abuja.
He stated that since the establishment of NIS in 1963, Nigeria had never operated a central passport production centre, until now, marking a major reform milestone.
“The project is 100 per cent ready. Nigeria can now be more productive and efficient in delivering passport services,” Tunji-Ojo said.
He explained that old machines could only produce 250 to 300 passports daily, but the new system had a capacity of 4,500 to 5,000 passports every day.
“With this, NIS can now meet daily demands within just four to five hours of operation,” he added, describing it as a game-changer for passport processing in Nigeria.
“We promised two-week delivery, and we’re now pushing for one week.
“Automation and optimisation are crucial for keeping this promise to Nigerians,” the minister said.
He noted that centralisation, in line with global standards, would improve uniformity and enhance the overall integrity of Nigerian travel documents worldwide.
Tunji-Ojo described the development as a step toward bringing services closer to Nigerians while driving a culture of efficiency and total passport system reform.
He said the centralised production system aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda, boosting NIS capacity and changing the narrative for better service delivery.
The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) has disbursed N2.225 trillion as federation revenue for the month of August 2025, the highest ever allocation to the three tiers of government and other statutory recipients.
This marks the second consecutive month that FAAC disbursements have crossed the N2 trillion mark.
The revenue, shared at the August 2025 FAAC meeting in Abuja, was buoyed by increases in oil and gas royalty, value-added tax (VAT), and common external tariff (CET) levies, according to a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting.
Out of the N2.225 trillion total distributable revenue, FAAC said N1,478.593 trillion came from statutory revenue, N672.903 billion from VAT, N32.338 billion from the Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL), and N41.284 billion from Exchange Difference.
The communiqué revealed that gross federation revenue for the month stood at N3.635 trillion. From this amount, N124.839 billion was deducted as cost of collection, while N1,285.845 trillion was set aside for transfers, interventions, refunds, and savings.
From the statutory revenue of N1.478 trillion, the Federal Government received N684.462 billion, State Governments received N347.168 billion, and Local Government Councils received N267.652 billion. A further N179.311 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) went to oil-producing states as derivation revenue.
From the distributable VAT revenue of N672.903 billion, the Federal Government received N100.935 billion, the states received N336.452 billion, while the local governments got N235.516 billion.
Of the N32.338 billion shared from EMTL, the Federal Government received N4.851 billion, the States received N16.169 billion, and the Local Governments received N11.318 billion.
From the N41.284 billion exchange difference, the Federal Government received N19.799 billion, the states received N10.042 billion, and the local governments received N7.742 billion, while N3.701 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) was shared to the oil-producing states as derivation.
The Governing Council of Kenule Beeson Saro-Wiwa Polytechnic, Bori, has decried the inadequate power supply and poor state of infrastructural facilities and equipment at the institution.
The Council also appealed to the government, including Non-Governmental Organisations, agencies, as well as well-meaning Rivers people to intervene to restore and sustain the laudable gesture, dreams and aspirations of the founding fathers of the polytechnic.
The Chairman of the newly inaugurated Council, Professor Friday B. Sigalo, made this appeal during a tour of facilities at the Polytechnic, recently.
Accompanied by members of the team, Prof Sigalo emphasised the position of technology, technical and vocational education in sustainable development.
He noted that with the prospects on ground, and the programmes and activities undertaken in the polytechnic, there is no doubt that the institution would add values to the educational system in our society and foster the desired development, if the existing challenges are jointly tackled.
This was contained in a statement signed by Deputy Registrar, Public Relations, Kenpoly, Innocent Ogbonda-Nwanwu, and made available to The Tide in Port Harcourt.
The chairman who restated the intention of his team of technocrats to ensure that KenPoly enjoys desirable face-lift, said the Council would deliver on its core mandates, accordingly.
Earlier, the Rector, KenPoly Engr. Dr. Ledum S. Gwarah, commended the appointment of Professor Friday B. Sigalo as Chairman of the KenPoly Governing Council.
He described him and his team as seasoned technocrats and expressed confidence in their ability to succeed.
The Rector pledged the management’s support to the Council to ensure that KenPoly resumes its rightful place in the comity of polytechnics in the country.
Facilities visited by the Governing Council include KenPoly workshops, laboratories, skills acquisition centre, library, hostels and medical centre.
Chinedu Wosu
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