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#Bring Back Our Girls: Group Attacks Campaigners In Abuja
Rivers State Deputy Governor, Engr Tele Ikuru, representing Governor Amaechi cutting the tape to officially commission the Port Harcourt Local Government Council Legislative building. With him are Mayor of Port Harcourt, Chimbeko Akarolo and Eze Victor N Woluchem, Eze Epara Rebisi XII and other dignitaries, during the commissioning, last Tuesday
Hell was let loose today at the Unity Fountain in Abuja as a government-sponsored #ReleaseOurGirlsNow protesters used axes, machetes and cudgels to disrupt the rally of a group led by former Minister Oby Ezekwesili that is demanding more serious action by the Jonathan administration to rescue more than 200 schoolgirls abducted April 14 from their dormitories in Chibok, Bornu State.
SaharaReporters had reported recently that the government-funded group of protesters was organized to undermine efforts by the Ezekwesili-led group that feels the Jonathan administration has done too little, too late to find and save the abducted girls. The mandate of the government-sponsored group is to change the conversation by laying exclusive blame on the Islamist group, Boko Haram, that carried out the abductions.
Several eyewitnesses told SaharaReporters that the group organized by allies of Mr. Jonathan wielded dangerous weapons to intimidate those who were protesting government ineptitude alongside Ms. Ezekwesili, a former minister in the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo. In addition, the pro-government group destroyed chairs and smashed journalists’ cameras.
The #BringBackOurGirls campaigners led by Ms. Ezekwesili had gathered peacefully at the fountain early this morning to press their case for more focused action by the government. However, they got the shock of their lives when an armed gang from the rival group stormed the same venue came to interrupt them. The gangsters marched round the circle of the Ezekwesili group blowing whistles and chanting abusive songs.
Then, as a cameraman from AFP news agency recorded Ms. Ezekwesili’s speech to her group, the members of the government-created group attacked him, smashing his camera. They also broke chairs the protesters had brought, seized numerous mobile phones from their owners, and beat up some members of the Ezekwesili group. A source said anti-riot police who were at the scene turned a blind eye as the hoodlums carried out their attacks.
“The policemen were there and did nothing even when our attackers started smoking India hemp [marijuana] openly at the fountain right in front of them,” one of the protesters told our reporters. He added that many of the protesters sustained various injuries.
Ms. Ezekwesili told a reporter that her group had sent a letter to the Inspector General of Police as well as the Commissioner of Police for the Federal Capital Territory to apprise them of their plan to hold a series of peaceful rallies to draw attention to the plight of the Chibok schoolgirls and their families. She showed a copy of an acknowledgement from the police, indicating that the group had received approval for their protests at the Unity Fountain.
The former minister expressed her displeasure with the indifferent attitude of the Nigerian police which allowed thugs from another group to attack members of her group. She pleaded with members of her group not to be deterred by the attack, describing it as the handiwork of detractors who were hell bent on scuttling their efforts.
The Ezekwesili group has scheduled another event for Thursday, May 29 to mark Democracy Day. The venue will be ThisDay Dome, a few meters away from the Unity Fountain.
SaharaReporters disclosed a few days ago that the pro-Jonathan group had been recruited from various villages and slums around Abuja and given a mandate to pose as patriots who contend that the government has risen to the challenge of finding the missing girls. The Chief of Defense Staff, Alex Badeh, and other top military officers, held a high-profile meeting with the pro-government group at the Eagle Square.
Vice President Kashim Shettima has arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for an official State visit at the invitation of the Prime Minister, Dr. Abiy Ahmed.
Upon arrival yesterday, Shettima was received at the airport by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Dr. Gedion Timothewos, and other members of the Ethiopian and Nigerian diplomatic corps.
Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Communication, Stanley Nkwocha, revealed this in a statement he signed yesterday, titled: “VP Shettima arrives in Ethiopia for official state visit.”
During the visit, Vice President Shettima will participate in the official launch of Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Programme, a flagship environmental initiative.
The programme designed to combat deforestation, enhance biodiversity, and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change targets the planting of 20 billion tree seedlings over a four-year period.
In line with strengthening bilateral ties in agriculture and industrial development, the Vice President will also embark on a strategic tour of key industrial zones and integrated agricultural facilities across selected regions of Ethiopia.
News
RSG Tasks Farmers On N4bn Agric Loan ….As RAAMP Takes Sensitization Campaign To Four LGs In Rivers
The Rivers State Government has called on the people of the state especially farmers to access the ?4billion agricultural loans made available by the State and domiciled in the Bank of Industry.
This is as the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) of Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP), a World Bank project, took its sensitization campaign to Opobo/Nkoro, Andoni, Port Harcourt City and Obio/Akpor local government areas.
The campaign was aimed at enlightening community dwellers and other stakeholders in the various local government areas on the RAAMP project implementation and programme activities.
The Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Maurice Ogolo, said this at Opobo town, Ngo, Port Harcourt City and Rumuodumanya, headquarters of the four local government areas respectively, during the sensitization campaign.
Ogolo said apart from the ?4billion, the government has also made available fertilizers and other farm inputs to farmers in the various local government areas.
The Permanent Secretary who is the Chairman, State Steering Committee for the project, said RAAMP will construct roads that will connect farms to markets to enable farmers and fishermen sell their farms produce and fishes.
He also said rural roads would be constructed to farms and fishing settlements, and warned against any act that will lead to the cancellation of the projects in the four local government areas.
According to him, the World Bank and Federal Government which are the financiers of the programme will not condone such acts like kidnapping, marching ground and other acts inimical to the successful implementation of the projects in their respective areas.
At PHALGA, Ogolo asserted that the city will benefit in the areas of roads and bridge construction.
He noted that RAAMP was thriving in both the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; Lagos and other states in the country, stressing that the project should also be given the seriousness it deserves in Rivers State.
Speaking at Opobo town, the headquarters of Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area, the project coordinator, RAAMP, Mr.Joshua Kpakol, said the programme would reduce poverty in the state.
According to him, both fishermen and farmers will maximally benefit from the programme.
At Ngo which is the headquarters of Andoni Local Government Area, Kpakol said roads will be constructed to all remote fishing settlements.
He said Rivers State is lucky to be among the states implementing the project, and stressed the need for the people to embrace it.
Meanwhile, Kpakol said at PHALGA that RAAMP is a project that will transform the lives of farmers, traders and other stakeholders in the area.
He urged the stakeholders to spread the information to their various communities.
However, some of the stakeholders at Opobo town complained about the destruction of their farms by bulls allegedly owed by traditional rulers in the area, as well as incessant stealing of their canoes at waterfronts.
At Ngo, Archbishop Elkanah Hanson, founder of El-Shaddai Church, commended the World Bank and the Federal Government for bringing the projects to Andoni.
He stressed the need for the construction of roads to fishing settlements in the area.
Also, a former Commissioner for Agriculture in the state and Okan Ama of Ekede, HRH King Gad Harry, noted that storage facilities have become necessary for a successful agricultural programme.
Harry also stressed the need for the programme to be made sustainable.
In their separate speeches, the administrators of Andoni and Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Areas, pledged their readiness to support the programme.
At Port Harcourt City, the Administrator, Dr Arthur Kalagbor, represented by the Head of Local Government Administration, Port Harcourt City, Mr Clifford Paul, said the city would support the implementation of the programme in the area.
Also, the administrator of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Dr Clifford Ndu Walter, represented by Mr Michael Elenwo, pledged to support the programme in his local government area.
Among dignitaries at the Obio/Akpor stakeholders engagement is the chairman, Rivers State Traditional Rulers Council and paramount ruler of Apara Kingdom, HRM Eze Chike Wodo, amongst others.
John Bibor
President Bola Tinubu has ordered the commencement of personnel audit and skill gap analysis across all cadres of federal civil servants.
The president gave this directive in Abuja, yesterday, while speaking at the International Civil Service Conference, reaffirming his resolve to achieve efficiency and professional service delivery in the civil service.
“I have authorized the comprehensive personnel audit and skill gap analysis across the federal civil service to deepen capacity. I urge all responsible stakeholders to prioritize timely completion of this critical exercise, to begin implementing targeted reforms, to realize the full benefit of a more agile, competent and responsive civil service,” the president announced.
Tinubu further directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), to prioritise data integrity and sovereignty in national interest.
He called for the capture, protection and strategic publication of public sector data in line with the Nigeria Data Protection Act of 2023.
“We must let our data speak for us. We must publish verified data assets within Nigeria and share them internationally recognized as fruitful. This will allow global benchmarking organisation to track our progress in real time and help us strengthen our position on the world stage. This will preserve privacy and uphold data sovereignty,” Tinubu added.
President Tinubu hailed the federal civil service as the “engine” driving his Renewed Hope Agenda, and the vehicle for delivering sustainable national development.
He submitted that the roles of civil servants remain indispensable in modern governance, declaring that in the face of a fast-evolving digital and economic landscape, the civil service must remain agile, future-ready, and results-driven.
“This maiden conference is a bold step toward redefining governance in an era of rapid transformation. An innovative Civil Service ensures we meet today’s needs and overcome tomorrow’s challenges.
“It captures our collective ambition to reimagine and reposition the civil service. In today’s rapid, evolving world of technology, innovation remains critical in ensuring that the civil service is dynamic, digital” the President said.
Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack in her welcome address told the President that his presence and strong words of commendation at the conference has renewed the morale and mandate of public servants across the country.
Walson-Jack described Tinubu as the backbone of driving transformation in the Nigerian civil service, and noted that the takeaways from past study tours undertaken to understudy the civil service in Singapore, the UK and US under her leadership, is already yielding multiplier effects.
Walson-Jack assured Tinubu that her office, in collaboration with reform-minded stakeholders, will not relent in accelerating the implementation of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan, FCSSIP 25.
She affirmed that digitalisation, performance management, and continuous learning remain key pillars in strengthening accountability, transparency, and service delivery across MDAs.
Walson-Jack reaffirmed that the civil service is determined to exceed expectations by embedding a culture of innovation, ethical leadership, and citizen-centred governance in the heart of public administration.