Niger Delta
Mrs Uduaghan Advises Journalists On Objectivity, Unity
Wife of Delta State
Governor, Mrs Roli Uduaghan, has advised Nigerian journalists to be objective and promote the country’s unity in their reportage.
Uduaghan gave the advice in Asaba during a prayer session organised at the proposed site for the permanent secretariat of the state council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).
The governor’s wife said that journalists had the responsibility of ensuring good governance and building the society to achieve the desired objective.
She said that strict adherence to the ethnics in journalism profession would ensure the desired rapid development in the state and the country.
She said that journalists should always verify their reports before publishing, noting that the society had sustained great losses including loss of lives because of unverified reports.
“As watch dogs of the society, you must verify your information before publishing. This is very important because a lot of lives have been ruined because of false reports
“Falsehood, to an extent has a way of tarnishing the image of the profession,’’ she added.
The governor’s wife, who took the first reading from Isaiah 54: 1-16, also admonished journalists to commit their lives to God, adding that this was the only way they could live fulfilled lives.
Also speaking, Pastor Nelson Olise of the Intercessors Prayers of Nigeria, said: “the first obligation of journalists is truth, therefore you should stand for the truth.”
Olise also urged journalists to use their profession to transform the nation by publishing the truth and engaging in constructive criticism.
The Chairman of the NUJ in the state, Mr Norbert Chiazor, said the prayers session was organised to ask for God’s direction in the affairs of the council and to dedicate the site to Him.
Chiazor commended the state government for providing the land for the secretariat and its contributions toward the growth of the profession in the state.
He assured that the council would continue to partner the state government in pursuing its three-point agenda of Peace and Security, Human Capital Development and Infrastructure Development.
“We journalists in Delta appreciate the good work of Gov. Emmanuel Uduaghan and we will continue to partner with him in achieving his three points agenda,’’ he said.
Mr. Peter N. Waate (2nd left), receiving a certificate of Ambassador for Peace from the spokeman of International Association of World Peace Advocates, Amb. Emma Nkweke (right) at Bayelsa State Government House, Banquet Hall, Yenagoa, recently. With them are Dr. (Mrs) Mandu Ekpal (left) and Vice President, NUPPPPROW, South-South, Comrade Williamson S. Godwin. Photo: Nwiuah Donatus Ken
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Akwa Ibom and Cross River States stakeholders have said that intensive preventive measures are in place to contain flooding, save lives and property, and also prevent further worsening of erosion areas in both states.
The stakeholders disclosed this while responding to The Tide’s sources’s survey on actions by erosion-prone states to mitigate floods.
They said plans were underway to evacuate people living in the worst flood-prone areas, while efforts were also being made to reclaim lands devastated by erosion.
However, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in Rivers State called for the establishment of State Emergency Management Agencies (SEMAs) backed by law to strengthen disaster preparedness and response.
In Akwa Ibom State, the Commissioner for Information, Mr. Aniekan Umanah, said the state government was taking several steps to check flooding and protect the ecological environment.
He said the government had already taken measures to mitigate erosion across the 31 local government areas by investing billions of naira in intervention projects.
Umanah said the government had reclaimed the erosion site on Atiku Abubakar Avenue and recently ordered the desilting of drains on the road to contain the predicted incoming flood.
He recalled that one of the first projects inaugurated by former President Goodluck Jonathan in the state was the 1.48km underground drainage line on Atiku Abubakar Avenue.
Umanah added that the government had also constructed erosion-control drainage lines off the Two Lanes that channelled water away from Oron Road.
He explained that the drainage line was connected to underground lines running towards the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium.
He said the Governor also directed the construction of the adjoining Afaha Ube Street and side drains to link Ikot Ekpene Road with immediate effect in order to control flooding in the area.
The Commissioner added that work was ongoing along Uyo Village Road to reclaim about 4.3km of gully erosion that had almost destroyed several parts of the city, including the Government House.
“If you go to the perimeters of the Government House, you will see the totality of that area being remediated”, Umanah said.
He said the government had almost solved the devastating gully erosion that occurred on a previously abandoned refuse dump site along Uyo Village Road, reclaiming the area for a middle-class housing estate and recreational centres.
He said as part of its ecological remediation efforts, the government reclaimed 73 hectares of gully erosion spread around Etim Usanga, Udo Umana, and Usanga streets, off Brook Street.
Umanah said the government had invested billions of naira in the Ibom Arise Park Project, deploying massive reclamation efforts to arrest severe land degradation and turning a threatening ecological disaster site into an eco-friendly tourist and resort destination.
“There has been so much investment made by this administration in erosion control in the state.
“As you know, Uyo is on flat land and is very prone to erosion and other water-related challenges.
”Since the coming of the administration of Governor Umo Eno, erosion control and ecological remediation have been among the main actions of the government to save Uyo from collapse”, he stated.
Umanah said the Governor had directed the Chairman of the Akwa Ibom State Environmental Protection and Waste Management Agency (AKSEPWMA), Mr. Akpan Ikim, to ensure adequate desilting of side drains across the metropolis.
The Commissioner said residents living in low-lying coastal areas had also been directed to relocate to upland areas to avoid impending danger.
He said the government had warned against indiscriminate waste dumping that blocks drainage channels and against building on waterways, adding that structures on waterways would be demolished.
He said a committee, comprising the commissioners for Environment and Water Resources, Health, Agriculture, Internal Security, Lands, and AKSEPWMA, had been set up to interface with federal agencies in proposing mitigation actions against flooding.
The AKSEPWMA Chairman, Ikim, said the main approach to flooding was heavy infrastructure for long-term control, routine desilting, and community cleanup for immediate risk reduction.
In Cross River, the government said plans were underway to tackle major erosion and flood-prone areas ahead of intensified rainfall forecast by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet).
Mr. Obeten Otu, Acting Project Coordinator of the Nigeria Climate Adaptation, Erosion and Watershed Project (NEWMAP-EIB), said the erosion project was previously funded by the World Bank.
He said the project is now being financed by the European Investment Bank (EIB), following the World Bank’s exit on 30 June 2022.
He explained that current intervention efforts in Cross River focused on severe and catastrophic gully erosion sites across the state to prevent further environmental degradation.
“NEWMAP-EIB has deployed Gully Rapid Action Slope Stabilisation (GRASS) measures to minimise erosion impacts pending permanent remediation works”, he said.
The State Governor, Bassey Otu, had approved the commencement of engineering designs for six gully erosion/flood control sites that required revalidation, and 10 new engineering designs for the state’s most severe erosion sites.
“Cross River has more than 75 gully erosion sites, making it impossible to address all affected locations simultaneously.
”The International Conference Centre axis in Summit Hills, Calabar, is one of the most critical erosion locations earmarked for intervention”, he said.
Otu added that NEWMAP-EIB always collaborated with NiMet and the Cross River Basin Authority to monitor flood and erosion risks and strengthen early response measures statewide.
The Executive Secretary of the Calabar Urban Development Agency (CUDA), Dr. Effiong Ayi, said the government had adopted science-based and community-focused measures to mitigate flooding and protect lives and property.
He listed ongoing interventions as dredging of waterways, widening canals, clearing drainages, and demolishing structures obstructing flood channels.
“We are not leaving anything to chance; our goal is to prevent avoidable loss of lives and property through early and coordinated action.
”Sensitisation campaigns are ongoing in flood-prone communities to educate residents on evacuation routes, flood risks, and environmental sanitation”, he said.
Ayi noted that the state would soon launch radio awareness campaigns and establish a task force against indiscriminate dumping of refuse in waterways.
He urged residents to obey environmental laws, avoid building on waterways, and report blocked drainage systems to relevant authorities.
Also speaking, the Director-General of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Mr. Antigha Gill, said 13 local government areas of the state had been identified as high flood-risk zones.
Gill said SEMA, in collaboration with NEMA, had commenced community sensitisation campaigns across vulnerable areas.
He said the agency had engaged traditional rulers, youth groups, emergency responders, and community stakeholders on flood preparedness and response measures.
“We are telling residents what to expect, protective measures to take, and where to seek refuge when flooding occurs”, Gill said.
He disclosed that the state fire service had also been mobilised to support rescue operations during possible flooding incidents.
He added that government efforts focused on disaster preparedness, early warning systems, and reducing the long-term effects of climate change and poor land use.
The DG said SEMA would expand sensitisation campaigns to other parts of the state, as it had begun stockpiling emergency materials and relief items ahead of the peak rainfall period.
In Rivers State, NEMA urged states to establish SEMAs backed by law to strengthen disaster preparedness and response.
The Acting Director, South-South Zonal Directorate of NEMA, Mr. Eric Ebhodaghe, also urged states to establish functional Local Government Emergency Management Committees for effective disaster response.
He said the appeal followed flood predictions indicating that 33 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) would experience moderate and high flood risks in 2026.
According to him, local emergency committees should serve as first responders, while SEMAs would complement local efforts before seeking national intervention when necessary.
“Disaster management is everybody’s business. We must work together to effectively manage this impending flood,”, he said.
On evacuation plans, Ebhodaghe said emergency frameworks had identified high-risk areas and mapped out safe zones across the country.
The second phase of the Optimised Maternal Newborn Child Health Week (oMNCHW) is billed to hold from today to Thursday, July 12, 2026.
In an interview with the Behavioural Change Consultant for the Rivers State Primary Healthcare Management Board, Sandra James, she disclosed that although the programme is tagged Maternal Newborn Child Health (MNCH) Week, it is not for only children.
“We are looking at everybody. That we tagged it MNCH does not make it strictly for mother and child. It’s a one-stop-shop, as we usually call it, for mother, children, adolescents, and fathers.
“Everybody can work into a Primary Healthcare facility, because it’s going to be a major facility-based activities: you just work in for your deworming exercise for your children under five; for your sexual gender-based violence services for girls and boys that are sexually assaulted; for Family Planning (FP) for both adolescent and everybody of reproductive age; for free delivery during the week; and for nutrition in which you check the children who are malnourished and you ensure that their nutritional status are improved through counselling, through dispensing of nutritional therapeutic ready-to-eat meal”, she said.
She continued that it also include malaria treatment, and HIV treatment counselling to prevent maternal child transmission. All of these will be available during the one week period of he programme.
She said, “any person that works into our health centres within the period in the 23 local government areas will access the services.
“The Executive Secretary, Dr. Chituru Adiele, has ensured that all the 23 LGAs have their health facilities up and running to ensure that there is, and will be, a successful maternal health week.”
She adviced parents to access the facilities within the period, saying the services “are not mainly there for mother’s to go and deliver their babies, they are not mainly for immunisation services, they’re not there for antinatal care, they’re not for post-natal services. It’s for everybody.
“That’s your first place of call to ensure that you’re healthy. Per adventure, you go to these health facilities, and anything is beyond them, they have been trained to know when to refer.
“So, please, minimise self-medication, herbal medication, and ensure that you utilise the services of these primary healthcare centres in our communities.”
Speaking on areas currently experiencing diphtheria in Rivers State, the State Immunization Officer, Dr. Joseph Urang, said the focus is on Oyigbo and Agbandele, both in Oyigbo and Obio/Akpor Local Government Areas, respectively.
According him, so far, one case in Oyigbo, and two cases (twins) in Agbandele of clinically diagnosed diphtheria have been identified, with one of them already dead, due to the fact that the twins, who are four years old, are both zero dose, while the single case in Oyigbo (15 years) has however been vaccinated in childhood.
Dr. Urang explained that when the team of health officers moved into both areas, the parents resisted their children being immunised, and only succumbed after much persistence and persuasion by the health team.
Explaining the diphtheria vaccine, he said it is part of he pental vaccines: “what happens is that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that at between 3 and 5, the effect actually weans out. That’s why they recommend that when you give your child the vaccine, you have a booster dose at 5, 10, and 15 years.
He said after the booster dose at 15 years, the person will have protection for life.
Diphtheria, he explained, “is a bacteria, and it has strong affinity to the respiratory system. It’s an infection in the respiratory system. It’s all around us, in the air we breadth.
“That’s why it requires continuous vaccination, because once you stop vaccination, it comes back to infect our system. The way we, as humans, are struggling to survive, that’s how these organisms are struggling to survive.”
He urged everybody to avail themselves the opportunity of accessing the available services in health centres close to them.
By: Sogbeba Dokubo
Akwa Ibom State Governor, Umo Eno, has reiterated his administration’s commitment towards actualising the Ibom Deep Seaport project
This is contained in a statement by the Information Commissioner, Dr. Aniekan Umanah, in Uyo on Saturday.
The statement disclosed that Eno made the expression at a high-level technical engagement and working session with Africa Global Logistics Group in Paris, France.
According to the statement, the session reviewed the recently submitted technical feasibility report prepared by Worley Parsons.
It also examined the critical pathways for investment, project implementation, and long-term sustainability.
During the engagement, Eno emphasised the need to accelerate project delivery, and called for clear timelines, milestones, and actionable steps for project implementation.
He said the state government was committed to working effectively with other partners to achieve the deep seaport initiative.
He described the project as a landmark blue economy initiative with the potential to position Akwa Ibom as a leading maritime, trade, and logistics hub in the Gulf of Guinea.
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