News
RSG To Train 100 Midwives, Annually …Streamlines Tax Payment
The Rivers State Commissioner for Health, Dr Sampson Parker, says his ministry will train at least 100 midwives yearly to meet the manpower need of the state.
The commissioner disclosed this yesterday during the formal handover of a new hostel block built by the Rivers State office of the Millennium Development Goals at the Rivers State School of Nursing, Rumueme, Port Harcourt.
The commissioner who was represented by the Director of Nursing Services in the ministry, Mrs Elizabeth Sika, commended the MDGs office for the project and said the quality of the project would enhance the granting of full accreditation by the Nurses and Midwifery Council of Nigeria.
In his remarks, the Special Adviser to the Rivers State Governor on MDGs, Desire Bob-Manuel said the hostel building was part of the 2009 interventionist programme of the MDGs.
Bob-Manuel further explained that the project which was initially estimated to cost N219million was reviewed upward to N270million through the Bureau of Public Procurement because of the difficult terrain and topography of the area.
He said the effort was to partner with the Ministry of Health to enhance the accreditation profile of the School of Basic Midwifery to carry out its mandate of producing qualified health personnel in the state.
Meanwhile, the Rivers State Government says it is working on a bill that would ensure the harmonisation of taxes payable by business outfits in the state.
Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Mr Chuma Chinye who dropped this hint during a visit to the Rivers State Newspaper Corporation, said the new law would check the problem of touting in tax payment and collection system in the state.
Chinye also restated government’s resolve to enforce the laws on the registration of business places in the state.
According to him, the registration process which would be done online would provide government with the database of companies doing business in the state.
The commissioner further explained that as part of the efforts to ensure the success of the process, his ministry had designed a demand notice in form of a scratch card in which numbers are generated online.
He listed some of the benefits that would be derived from the exercise to include providing platform for companies to advertise their services, while creating online database for the state to advertise its services globally.
Mr Chinye who was accompanied on the visit by the Permanent Secretary and some directors of the ministry described the media as very critical to the overall success of the programme.
He noted that it was against this background that he decided to visit the corporation to seek for partnership to enable the ministry succeed.
The General Manager of the corporation, Mr Celestine Ogolo said that the visit was an indication that the ministry would succeed in its assignments, adding that The Tide newspaper which remains the voice of the Niger Delta was prepared to collaborate with the ministry and give it the publicity it desired.
Taneh Beemene
News
I’m Committed To Community Dev – Ajinwo
News
RSG Tasks Rural Dwellers On RAAMP …As Sensitization Team Visits Akulga, Degema, Three Others

Rivers State Head of Service, Dr (Mrs) Inyingi Brown, has called on rural communities in the State to embrace the Rural Access and Agricultural marketing project (RAAMP) with a view to improving their living conditions.
This follows the ongoing sensitization campaign by the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) visits to Degema, Abonnema, Afam headquarters of Degema, Akuku Toru and Oyigbo Etche and Omuma local government areas respectively.
Dr Brown who was represented by the Deputy Director, Special Duties in her office, Mrs Dein Akpanah, said RAAMP was initiated by the Federal Government and World Bank to economically empower rural dwellers.s
She said the World Bank understands the plights of rural farmers and traders in the State, and therefore came up with the programme to address them.
According to her, RAAMP will improve the conditions of farmers, traders and fishermen, and therefore, behoves on every rural communities in the State to embrace the programme.
The Head of Service also said the programme would support the youths to be gainfully employed while bridges and roads will be built to link farms and fishing settlements.
Also speaking, the State project coordinator, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the programme has the potential of creating millionaires among farmers and fishermen in the State.
Kpakol who was represented by Engr. Sam Tombari, said RAAMP would help farmers and fishermen to preserve their produce.
According to him, the project will build cold rooms and Silos for preservation of crops and fishes while access roads will also be created to link farmers and fishermen to the market.
He, however, warned them against any act that will lead to the suspension of the projects by the World Bank.
Kpakol particularly warned against acts such as kidnapping, marching ground, gender based violence and child labour, adding that such acts if they occur may lead to the cancellation of the project by the World Bank.
During the visit to Oyigbo local government area, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the team was there to let them know how they will benefit from the Raamp.
The coordinator who was personally at Oyigbo said the World Bank introduced the project to check food insecurity in the State.
He said already 19 states in Nigeria are already benefitting from the project and called on them to embrace the project.
Meanwhile, stakeholders in the three local government areas have commended the World Bank for including their areas in the project.
They, however, complained over the incessant attacks by pirates on their waterways.
At Degema, King Agolia of Ke kingdom said land was a major problem in the kingdom.
King Agolia represented by High Chief Alpheus Damiebi said many indigenes of the kingdom are willing to go into farming but are handicapped by lack of land.
Also at Degema, the representative of the Omu Onyam Ekeim of Usokun Degema kingdom, Osoabo Isaac, said Degema has embraced the programme but needed more information on the implementation of the programme.
Similarly, while High Chief Precious Abadi advised that the project should not be narrowed to only crop farming, a community women leader, Mrs Orikinge Eremabo Otto, called for the construction of cold rooms in all fishing settlements in the area.
At Abonnema, Mr Diamond Kio linked the problem of the area to incessant piracy along waterways.
He also expressed fears over the possibility of the project being hijacked by politicians.
Also at Abonnema, a stakeholder, Ikiriko Kelvin, called on the World Bank to design an agricultural project that will suit the riverine environment, while at Oyigbo, HRH Eze Boniface Akawo expressed satisfaction with the project.
John Bibor
News
Senate Replaces Natasha As Committee Chairman

The political mudslinging between the Senate leadership and Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan continued yesterday as the Senate named Senator Aniekan Bassey as the new Chairman of the Committee on Diaspora and Non-Governmental Organisations.
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, announced the appointment during yesterday’s plenary, confirming Bassey’s replacement of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who is currently on suspension.
Akpoti-Uduaghan was reassigned to the Diaspora and NGOs Committee in February after she was removed as Chair of the Senate Committee on Local Content during a minor reshuffle.
Bassey is the senator representing Akwa Ibom North-East Senatorial District.
Although no reason was given for her removal yesterday, the change is believed to be connected to her unresolved suspension.
In May, Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court ordered her reinstatement and directed her to tender an apology to the Senate.
However, the Senate has insisted it has not received a certified true copy of the court judgment.
Akpoti-Uduaghan who represents Kogi Central, has yet to resume her legislative duties despite a recent court ruling that voided her suspension.
In a televised interview on Tuesday, Akpoti-Uduaghan said she was awaiting the Certified True Copy of the judgment before officially returning to plenary, citing legal advice and respect for institutional process.
Although the Federal High Court described her suspension as “excessive and unconstitutional”, a legal opinion dated July 5 and attributed to the Senate’s counsel, Paul Daudu (SAN), argued that the ruling lacked any binding directive to enforce her reinstatement.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, one of only three female senators in the current assembly, said the continued delay in allowing her return was not only a denial of her mandate but also a blow to democratic representation.
“By keeping me out of the chambers, the Senate is not just silencing Kogi Central, it’s denying Nigerian women and children representation. We are only three female senators now, down from eight,” she said.
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