Nation
THE STATES
Benue
Governor Gabriel Suswam of Benue State says his
administration has worked out modalities to reduce poverty in the state to the
barest minimum.
He said this in Makurdi while inaugurating 42 units of buses
acquired by Benue Links Transport Company Limited.
The governor said he intended to achieve poverty reduction
through collaborative efforts with relevant agencies such as National Poverty
Eradication Programme (NAPEP) among others, pointing out that the acquisition
of the buses was also a move toward poverty reduction as they would ply all the
routes in the state and beyond at very reduced cost.
He urged the management of the company to handle the buses
with care in order to continue to serve the people for years.
Gombe
Gombe State Government will introduce a new method to screen
out pregnant intending pilgrims to this year’s Hajj, Dr Ya’u Kashere, Head of
the state Hajj Medical Team, has said.
Kashere said this during a sensitisation tour to Balanga and
Deba Local Government areas of the state by the state Amirul Hajj, Alhaji Usman
Baba-Liman.
He said the method would help to detect pregnant pilgrims
through scanning to void any more problems for the state during Hajj operations.
According to him, the Saudi Arabian Government had reduced
10 Hajj seats for the state this year as penalty for allowing a pregnant
pilgrim, who delivered in the Holy land, to travel for the Hajj last year.
Jigawa
The Jigawa Agricultural and Rural Development Authority
(JARDA) has introduced new farming techniques to farmers in the state, Alhaji
Rabiu Taura, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, has said.
Taura told The Tide on Friday in Dutse that the development
would boost crop yields during the next farming season adding that the measure
was aimed at transforming farming from subsistence to commercial venture for
economic growth and sustainability.
The commissioner pledged that the government would continue
to support agriculture in line with the Federal Government’s Agricultural
Transformation Agenda.
‘’It is in view of this that the state government has
provided tractors, fertiliser and other farm inputs toward boosting agriculture
not only in the state, but also in the country in general, ‘’ he said.
Lagos
An Environmentalist, Mr Godwin Ategwasi, has commended the
Federal Government for setting up the Presidential Committee on Flooding to
ascertain the level of devastation and proffer solution.
Ategwasi, the Deputy Director, Land Resources and Watershed
Monitoring in the Federal Ministry of Environment, gave the commendation in an
interview with our correspondent in Lagos.
He said that the committee, chaired by the Minister of
Environment, Mrs Hadiza Mailafia, would carry out vulnerability study on flood
test and proffer solutions to the perennial disasters
“The Federal Government is doing everything possible to
address flooding but Nigerians too must put up a good attitude towards the
environment,’’ he said.
Kano
The National Assembly has received 10 requests for creation
of new states from various communities in the North-West geo-political zone, a
member of the assembly has said.
Rep. Kawu Sumaila (ANPP-Kano) said in Kano while answering
questions from newsmen that two of the requests were from Kano State.
“There are a number of parameters to be considered before
creating a state such as landmass, population and Federal Constituencies.
“And in addition to that, 24 state assemblies must back or
support the requests,’’ he said, and advised the communities agitating for new
states to come up with reasonable demands in order to realise their dream.
On the issue of state police, the legislator who represents
Sumaila/Takai Federal Constituency, said he did not support the move in view of
the complex nature of the country.
Katsina
The Kebbi State Government has invested N1.6 billion in the
IFAD-assisted Community-Based Agricultural and Rural Development Programme
(CBARDP) in the last three years, an official said.
The programme is being financed by the International Fund
for Agricultural Development (IFAD), with the federal, states and local
governments providing counterpart contribution.
The seven benefitting states in the northern part of the
country are Borno, Jigawa, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara.
Alhaji Garuba Hassan, the Kebbi State Project Officer told
The Tide in Katsina that the government had also disbursed N1 million to each
political ward to execute projects of their choices.
Kebbi
The Fityanul Islam of Nigeria group has pledged to sustain
the forum to foster peaceful co-existence between Muslims and non Muslims as
part of efforts to ensure national development.
Dr Muhammadu Abdulfathi, the group’s National President made
the pledge recently at the 2012 annual executive meeting of the group in Birnin
Kebbi.
He said that the forum was aimed at ensuring that youths
were united as bedrock of society and leaders of tomorrow.
“Our organisation is an advocate of peace and progress
through maximum support for the youth to imbibe global trends and contribute
towards rapid development and tolerance for one another devoid of tribal,
religious and ethnic sentiments.
Kogi
Governor Idris Wada of Kogi has reiterated the commitment of
the state government to render essential support to people displaced by flood
in the state.
Wada made the pledge on Saturday in Lokoja when he received
a 21-member presidential committee on flooding, who were in the state to assess
the level of damage caused by the disaster.
Represented by his Deputy, Arc. Yomi Awoniyi, the governor
said he had taken the issue of the disaster very personal, adding: “the government is on top the situation.’’
He said several measures aimed at granting relief to the
victims had been taken by the government while efforts were ongoing to relocate
and rehabilitate them.
Kwara
Governor Abdulfatai Ahmed of Kwara State, has described the
death of Ahaji Kehinde Abdulrahaman, who died in a flood disaster last Thursday
in Akerebiata, Ilorin as a great loss.
The governor stated this in a condolence message to the
family of the deceased on Saturday.
Represented by his Special Adviser, Relief and Emergency,
Alhaji Musa Abdullahi, the governor said he was deeply touched by the death of
the deceased, describing death as a necessary end that every human being would
taste and urged the family of the deceased to see it as the wish of God.
Ahmed donated the sum of N200, 000 to the family of the
deceased to provide immediate succour to them.
Nasarawa
The Nasarawa State government on Saturday in Rinze, near
Akwanga promised to release more funds for the development of the 13 local
governments in the state.
Mr Dameshi Luka, the state’s Deputy Governor, made the
promise at the ceremony accompanying the distribution of materials for development
projects in the Akwanga West Local Government Area.
“The state government is ready to release more funds to
local governments and development areas which show commitment to quality
service delivery,’’ Luka, represented by Mr Samuel Meshi, the Commissioner for
Science and Technology, said.
He said the distribution of materials was to make life more
meaningful as well as bring development to the people at the grass roots.
The Tide reports that materials distributed included
transformers, an ambulance, a car, zinc and beds among others.
Niger
The Niger State Government is discussing with United Nations
Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) and the Bank of Industry to
establish a Shea butter factory, an official has said.
Alhaji Ahmed Kontagora, Director General, Niger State Export
Promotion Council, said at a press briefing on Saturday in Minna that the
discussions had reached advanced stage.
“Niger State Government is talking with UNIDO and Bank of
Industry with a view to establishing a Shea butter refinery in the state; this
is because in the whole of Africa there is no Shea refinery.
The Director General did not say when and where the refinery
would be sited in the state but said that discussions with UNIDO and the bank
was on.
He said that the world market value of Shea nuts stands at
$3.8 billion, adding that one tone of Shea nut in the state now sells for
between 250, 000 and N300, 000.
Ondo
Ondo State Government spent N2.5 billion on rural
electrification projects in the last three and a half years, Mr. Sola
Akinsanmi, Chairman, Ondo State Electricity Board, said.
Akinsanmi told The Tide in Akure that the current state
administration completed 110 electrification projects in the 18 Local
Government areas during the period.
He said the administration inherited 43 uncompleted
electrification projects from its predecessor but had completed them, adding
that the board was currently executing 16 projects out of which eight would be
connected to the national grid in one week.
He, however, said that inadequate funding was a major
challenge to the activities of the board, in addition to acts of vandalism on
equipment by miscreants, which had slowed the pace of work by the agency.
Plateau
Fish farmers in Plateau State will access facilities offered
by the National Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme (NACS) only if they
organise themselves into groups.
Mr. Badmus Olanrewaju, the Deputy National Secretary of the
Fishery Society of Nigeria (FISON) and spokesman of the body in Jos, told The
Tide that all necessary steps had been taken to ease access to such facilities.
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