Nation
THE STATE
Adamawa
The Community-Based Agriculture and Rural Development Programme (CBARDP) has distributed N15.6 million agricultural inputs to farmers in Adamawa, the State Project Coordinator, Mr Musatafa Raji, has disclosed.
Raji, who disclosed this during the inauguration of the agriculture exhibition in Mubi last Thursday said that the project had also initiated a N200 million project for the procurement of 30 hand pumps.
According to him, 135 knapsack sprayers and 81 hand pumps were distributed to dry season farmers in the last three months.
He further said that 54 hybrid cattle, 100 rams, 32 goats, 28 pigs, 12 oil milling and four grinding machines were also distributed to farmers cooperative societies to encourage agricultural activity, reduce poverty and enhance wealth creation among the rural farmers.
“Under irrigation programme, 40 hectares of land have been put to use for cultivation of perishables such as onions, pepper, tomato, lettuce and cabbage.
Bauchi
The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) in Bauchi State has appealed to passengers to assist in the fight against overloading by commercial vehicle drivers.
Making the plea in Bauchi while speaking to newsmen, the Public Enlightenment Officer of the commission in the state, Malam Ibrahim Gaidam, noted that overloading was a problem not only to the passengers and vehicles, but also contributes to the deplorable road conditions.
According to him, overloading means excess weight on the roads, and damage of the highways.
He said passengers could assist by ensuring that only the stipulated number of passengers per vehicle was carried for safety and well-being of passengers.
“Vehicles are constructed to carry particular weight and overloading them can cause accidents, damage to the vehicles, as well as the road itself.
“One can see that a vehicle carrying stipulated number of passengers lasts longer than the one that carries heavy goods,” he said.
Borno
The Deputy-Governor of Borno State, Mr Zanna Mustapha, says the state will collaborate with the Federal Ministry of Environment to actualise and achieve renewable energy.
Mustapha said this in Abuja on Thursday in an interview with newsmen after a meeting with the National Coordinator, Renewable Energy, Federal Ministry of Environment, Mrs Bahijahtu Abubakar.
However, the National Coordinator, Renewable Energy noted that all the comments at the meeting were encouraging, adding that she was excited at the new phase of the development in Borno.
Abubakar listed the frontline states in renewable energy development in the country, including Kaduna and Cross River.
A stockebroker, Mr Emma Ndidi, explained that the unimpressive dividend announced by some companies contributed to the lull experienced in the market.
FCT
The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has signed a N363 million contract with two indigenous firms for the 2009 to 2011 Oil and Gas and the 2007 to 2010 Solid Minerals audit.
Sada, Idris & Co, was hired to audit Oil and Gas sector while Haruna Yahaya & Co would audit Solid Minerals sector.
At the signing ceremony of the contract, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, the Executive Secretary of NEITI, charged the firms to ensure integrity and professionalism on the project.
She explained that the signing of the contract was part of plans to make NEITI’s audit regular and comprehensive in order to fast track the transparency process in the sector.
Ahmed said the agency would soon begin to automate its audit process and data gathering methods in line with its development plan.
Kaduna
North West zonal office of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has begun the campaign against Lassa fever which has claimed at least 40 lives in 12 states.
A statement issued in Kaduna and signed by NEMA’s zonal coordinator, Musa Ilallah said the campaign was aimed at curtailing the spread of the disease.
“A survey by NEMA showed that 12 states have recorded cases of Lassa fever and this prompted our quest to sensitise the populace to the danger and likelihood of the disease spreading to other parts of the country.”
NEMA said that researches conducted by experts had revealed that people were infected by consuming food or drinks contaminated with rat excreta or urine.
Katsina
The Katsina State Senior Magistrates’ Court III has fixed March 26 for mentioning of a charge of rape levelled against a former police corporal.
Abutu Joseph is alleged to have raped a cripple and her daughter inside the Katsina Central Market Police Post on December 16, 2011 while on night duty.
The prosecution said the woman and her daughter, who came from a nearby village, were lured by Joseph to spend the night at the station to avoid being harassed, while searching for accommodation in the town.
The accused person allegedly raped the duo in the night and appealed to them not to reveal the matter.
Kwara
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) on Thursday inaugurated Disaster Risk Reduction clubs in some schools in Kwara.
The NEMA Zonal Coordinator, Mr Ishaya Chonoko, explained that the Federal Government inaugurated the clubs to prepare youths for Disaster Risk Reduction programme.
He told newsmen on the sidelines of the inauguration that the exercise would be carried out throughout the federation in both primary and secondary schools.
Members of the club, he said, would become agents in the manaement of basic emergency situations occasioned by fire, flood, epidemic and windstorm disasters.
Lagos
Chief Executive Officer of the Eko Electricity Distribution Company, Lagos, Mr Oladele Amoda, says the company has invested more than N1 billion in new projects.
Amoda, who spoke at an interactive session with newsmen in Lagos, said that the company had embarked on several projects to boost electricity supply to its customers.
He said that the company had constructed a new 15 KV injector sub-station in Yaba to reinforce supply to numerous customers in that area.
Ogun
A former Commonwealth champion in long jump, Yusuf Ali, has called for a four-year budget plan for sports in Nigeria, to enhance its development.
Ali told newsmen that inadequate funding had continued to slow down the development of sports generally, and athletics in particular.
“Until we have a special budget for sports in Nigeria, we will continue singing the old song,” said the former Olympian.
According to him, other countries have continued to be ahead of Nigeria because of the peculiar manner they fund sports.
Ondo
The Police in Akure has arraigned a 28-year-old woman, Folashade Babatunde before an Akure Senior Magistrates’ Court for allegedly pouring faeces on a female banker.
The accused, a trade and HND student at Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo in Ondo State was docked before Mrs Rabi Abdulahi on a two-count charge of act likely to cause breach of the peace and unlawful assault.
Babatunde was accused of pouring faeces on one Agnes Olasehinde, a 27-year-old banker with the First Bank Plc, Alagbaka branch, Akure.
The offence, according to the Police Prosecutor, ASP Ayodele Atandeyi, was allegedly committed on Feb. 24, at about 12.30 p.m. at the First Bank Plc, Alagbaka branch, Akure.
Osun
The Osun State Commissioner for Health, Dr Temitope Ilori, has expressed optimism that the Lassa fever epidemic would not spread to the state due to the premium placed on hygiene.
The commissioner spoke to newsmen in Osogbo while reacting to the prevalence of the epidemic in some parts of the country.
The state conducts an environmental sanitation exercise twice in a month.
Ilori, who explained that Lassa fever is a rat-borne disease due to dirty environment, lamented that the infection had already recorded casualties in some states.
Sokoto
Chairman Ansaruddeen Society of Nigeria, Sokoto State chapter, Sheik Bilyamu Ajani, has called on Christians to use the current lent period to pray for the political stability of the nation.
Ajani, who made the call in an interview with newsmen in Sokoto on Tuesday, said prayers would also help to guarantee God’s protection for the citizens.
He said that lent was a time for the Christians to be close to their creator just as the Muslims usually observed the Ramadan fast.
He explained that the country was in dire need of prayers for God’s guidance, peace, progress and political stability.
Ajani also called on Nigerians to physically demonstrate the teachings of the two major religions in their day-to-day activities.
The President General of Ogbakor Ikwerre Cultural Organisation Worldwide and the Mgboh XIII of the Mgboh Royal Family of Emohua Kingdom in Emohua Local Government Area of Rivers State, Eze (Barrister) Godspower Onuekwa, penultimate Friday celebrated his 80th birthday with pomp, pageantry and fanfare.
The celebration, which commenced with a symposium organised in his honour at Rivers State University on Thursday, August 21,2025, got to a resounding climax on Friday at Suntai Event Centre in Port Harcourt, where people from all walks of life, including business associates, friends, well-wishers, relatives, community folks, traditional rulers, and admirers, gathered to pay glowing tributes to the celebrant.
Before then, a well attended thanksgiving service was held that same Friday at Emmanuel Anglican Church, Okoro-Nu-Odo, to honour him and return gratitude to God Almighty for the fruitful and eventful life and accomplishments of the Emohua leader and icon.
The service which was officiated by Rt Rev Wisdom Budu Ihunwo, Bishop of Niger Delta North had other renowned and respected clerics like Most Rev(Dr) Blessing Enyindah, Dean, Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion); Rt Rev(Dr) Emmanuel Oko-Jaja, Bishop, Diocese of Niger Delta; Rt Rev Innocent Ordu, Bishop, Diocese of Evo; and Ven Solomon Eze Nelson, Archdeacon, Okoro-Nu-Odo; among others lined up as officiating ministers.
The service lived up to its billing, as it featured powerful and soul-lifting praise and worship; point-blank prayers; and beautiful renditions, which electrified the entire atmosphere, essentially packaged to thank God for the life of the celebrant.
However, the crowning moment actually came when the who is who, the crème de la crème of the society, thronged the terraces and fabulously decorated expansive hall of Suntai Event Centre, to celebrate Eze Onuekwa, amid accolades, aplomb and panache, wining and dining, and clinking of glasses with him and all.
The chairman of the colourful ceremony, Chief Evans Woherem, who was represented by Eze(Prof) Christian Akani of the prestigious Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, praised the celebrant for his youthfulness in spite of clocking 80 years, generosity, humility, humaneness and selfless services to the Ikwerre ethnic nationality, the Niger Delta and Nigeria, and called on all and sundry to emulate his good legacies and simple disposition towards life and existence.
Goodwill messages also poured in in torrents to underscore and salute the doggedness, resilience, astuteness and uniqueness of the endearing life of the celebrant, with Prof Emenike Wami, the Ochia Ohna Ikwerre(XIV), taking the lead.
Prof Priye Iyalla, the wife of late renowned writer, novelist and playwright, Dr Elechi Amadi, held the audience spellbound as she masterfully reeled out the profile of the celebrant, amid intermittent applause from the crowd.
The Tiv Community from Benue State, resident in Rivers State, were not left out, as they honoured and decorated Eze Onuekwa in their complete traditional regalia.
Cultural displays from Baptist Church, Rumuowhor; ADNA Wogbuji Dancing Group, Egbeda; Tiv Dancing Group; and Promoter Eze and Rumu-Mgboh Emohua Wrestling Group, equally added colour and grace to the occasion, with the celebrant and his wife, Dame Ann Onuekwa, joining them to wriggle their waists and bodies in ecstasy.
In his response, the highly elated celebrant, Eze Onuekwa thanked all those gathered to celebrate with him, saying, celebrations would never cease in their homes, and attributed everything he represents in life, including his modest accomplishments to God.
Eze Onuekwa, while addressing newsmen, harped on the need for hard work among the youths and members of Ogbakor Ikwerre Cultural Organisation Worldwide, as a way of sustaining and giving meaning to the motto of the organisation, which he noted is anchored on peace, unity and progress.
He specially thanked God for sustaining his life, and for making everything possible for him and his family, saying, he was joyous that he has today become an octogenarian and elder statesman in Rivers State.
His son and medical practitioner, Dr Samuel Chizia Onuekwa expressed delight that people from far and near had come together to celebrate the father, whom he described as a role model and great inspirator.
He said it was a good thing that the children were celebrating their father when he is alive, stressing that the last time Eze Onuekwa was celebrated in such magnitude was 20 years ago, during his 60th birthday celebration, and prayed God to grant him many more years in good health.
Among dignitaries who graced the event were Senator Andrew Uchendu; Chief Sampson Agbaru; Prof Emenike Wami; Dr Peter Didia; Eze(Prof) Samuel Ugo Onyeka; and a host of others. Justice Iche Ndu(rtd); and C O Kattey were among personalities that attended the thanksgiving service, while the Vice Chancellor of Rivers State University, Prof Isaac Zeb-Obipi led the academics who graced the symposium, alongside Eze G A O Omodu.
As the 100 Ogoni youths trained by the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) in Creative Arts close out their training on Tuesday at the Theatre Arts Department, University of Port Harcourt, the Project Coordinator of HYPREP, Prof Nenibarini Zabbey, has urged the beneficiaries to use the skills acquired to ensure that the Ogoni stories are told and heard in the right way.
The trainees, who had completed a four- month training in script writing, film production and make-up are beneficiaries of the HYPREP sustainable livelihood programme, aimed at providing high demand skills to Ogoni youths in the lucrative creative arts and entertainment industry.
Zabbey described the Creative Arts training as well as other programmes and interventions as HYPREP’s strategic sustained effort to create alternative sources of livelihood.
”Targeted capacity building for Ogoni youths and women remains a central strategy in HYPREP’s livelihood restoration and improvement efforts. Our goal is to reach every part of the Ogoni community and ensure that no group or talent pool is left behind. This training is a deliberate step to empower young people who aspire to make their mark in the creative and entertainment industry”, he said.
While commending the trainees for producing four short films within the training period, one of which was premiered at the ceremony-Dirty Festival, the Project Coordinator noted that the training would serve as a springboard into the industry, and enable them earn a living, become entrepreneurs, and open new doors of opportunities for themselves and their communities. The three other movies are Open Pain, Bomu and Green War.
He enjoined them to utilise their skills and platforms to promote civic responsibility, peace, and environmental sustainability, urging them to ensure that Ogoni is heard in the right way, speak for HYPREP and highlight the progress being made in implementing the recommendations of the UNEP Report.
Other speakers at the event, including the Director of Technical Services of HYPREP, Prof. Damian-Paul Aguiyi; Dr Ovunda Ihunwo, Head of the Theatre Arts Department of the University of Port Harcourt; Chief Douglas Experience, the Project Coordinator of Halibiz Consult Limited; and Mrs Josephine Nzidee, Head, Sustainable Livelihood of HYPREP, all applauded HYPREP for the training, and charged the trainees to maximise the opportunity.
The trainees were later presented certificates of participation.
Visibly elated Ms Lebee Tornwe, one of the beneficiaries, thanked HYPREP and the Project Coordinator for offering the trainees the rare opportunity to acquire skills in the creative arts and entertainment industry, and expressed delight that Dr Ihunwo and Halibiz Consult Limited gave their all in grooming them.
With the wrapping up of the Creative Arts training(100), HYPREP has trained 230 Ogoni youths in high demand skill sets ,viz; seafaring(100); and aviation (30). The Project will this year, commence training in other skill areas, including Mechatronic, Aviation, Full-Stack Development, Commercial Diving, Underwater Welding and Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
Still in the offing is the training for Ogoni Persons Living with Disabilities in five skill sets- fish farming; basic computer skills; photography; fashion and design; and shoemaking in line with their Needs Assessment and HYPREP’s policy of inclusivity.
The National Youth Council of Ogoni People (NYCOP) had called on stakeholders to work collaboratively towards the development and empowerment of Ogoni youths.
NYCOP made the call in a communique issue over the weekend after an emergency Congress in Port Harcourt and signed by its President, Comrade Raymond Nwibani Marcus.
In the communique, NYCOP endorsed President Bola Tinubu’s appointments of the Governing Council and Board of Trustees (BOT) members of the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP), particularly Rt. Hon. Emmanuel Nwika Deeyah as Chairman of HYPREP’s BOT.
It respectfully appealed to the President to consider appointing a representative from the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) under the leadership of Engr. Olu Andah Wai-Ogosu, being the pioneering social vehicle for Ogoni advocacy since the inception of the Ogoni struggle, adding that it would significantly contribute to the decision-making process.
The body commended the overall management of HYPREP and urges the President to continue funding the HYPREP project.
NYCOP furthermore recommended considering the conversion of HYPREP from a project to a full-fledged agency of the Federal Government of Nigeria.
The communique also stated that NYCOP thanked President Tinubu for establishing the Federal University of Environmental Technology, and for appointing key staff, forming a dialogue committee, and initiating infrastructural projects like the Eleme axis of the East-West Road and the Bonny-Bodo Road, significantly enhancing regional connectivity and economic prospects.
In solidarity with the Renewed Hope Agenda, the endorsed President Tinubu’s second-term bid, saying it believes his leadership embodies the aspirations of the Ogoni people and Nigerians at large.
“After thorough consideration of the Disciplinary Committee’s report, NYCOP resolves:
” To indefinitely suspend Comrade Nade Nade Burale from his position as Secretary General due to misconduct.
“To declare Comrade Saviour Imeabe persona non grata on Ogoni youth issues, given his actions’ potential to instigate crisis in Ogoni and beyond” the communique stated.
NYCOP in his resolution issued a 7-day ultimatum to former HYPREP BOT Chairman Mike Nwialeghi to explain the $100 million HYPREP fund investment, warning of potential litigation.
NYCOP reaffirmed its commitment to safeguarding Ogoni youth interests and preventing personal aggrandizement.
According to the communique the resolutions demonstrate NYCOP’s efforts to promote the collective welfare and advancement of Ogoni youth.
“We will no longer tolerate any individual or group using the name or issues of Ogoni youth for personal aggrandizement.
” Our mandate is clear: to promote the collective welfare and advancement of Ogoni youth” the communique said.
NYCOP passes a vote of confidence in Hon. Emmanuel Nwika Deeyah, acknowledging his impeccable credentials and credibility to lead the BOT of HYPREP effectively.
Kiadum Edookor