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THE STATES
Adamawa
The Adamawa State Government, says it has begun payment of workers’ salary arrears, courtesy of the Paris Club refund as from last Wednesday.
The chairman of the committee set up by the State Government for payment of outstanding salaries and liabilities, Alhaji Abdulrahman Abba-Jimeta, made this disclosure in Yola while briefing newsmen.
Abba-Jimeta said that the state government had received N4.8 billion out of the expected N12.8 billion from the Federal Government.
He said that based on the available funds, the salary arrears of teachers, primary health care workers, local government staff and political office holders at the council areas would be paid.
He explained that the total bill stood at N4.7 billion, adding that pensioners would be considered when next the state received the expected balance of the Paris club refund.
Benue
Benue State Government says it has given out 10 hectares of land to the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing for the construction of housing estate in Makurdi.
Special Adviser to Governor Samuel Ortom, Bureau for Lands and Survey, Prof. Jonathan Uever, made this known in Makurdi, the state capital.
Uever, while conducting a Federal Governmental team led by Malam Musa Mohammed round the proposed site, said that the project, when completed, would mitigate housing challenges in the state.
Speaking, the Federal Controller of Housing in Benue, Mr Patrick Nziwu, said that the project was in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s agenda of meeting the housing needs of ordinary Nigerians.
Jigawa
Residents of Hadejia in Jigawa State have blamed petroleum products dealers for diversion of kerosene resulting to the current acute scarcity of the product in the town.
The situation has also resulted in price hike of the commodity in the market .
Investigations showed that most of the petroleum products service stations had run out of stock of the product in the past weeks.
It was discovered that kerosene was only obtainable at the black market outlets, where it sold for between N400 and N450 per litre, above the N83 approved pump price.
Black-market operators are making brisk businesses due to the high patronage of the trade occasioned by the scarcity.
Kaduna
A total of 110 prisoners were released from various prisons in Kaduna State in 2016, as part of efforts to decongest the prisons, officials have said.
Some 75 of the prisoners were released by State Committee on Prisons Decongestion while 35 were pardoned by the state Chief Judge, Justice Tanimu Zailani.
Chairperson of the Committee on Prisons Decongestion, Mrs Amina Sijuwade, said they had released 75 inmates, out of whom 71 were men and four were women.
Sijuwade, who is also the State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, said that the gesture would continue throughout 2017 and beyond.
Meanwhile, the Prison Comptroller in the state, Mr Yazid Alhassan, confirmed that 35 other inmates were released by the Chief Judge during his routine visits to prisons in the state.
Kano
A Magistrates’ Court in Rijiyar Zaki, Kano State, has remanded a 28-year-old man, Oluwaseun Lasisi, in prison for allegedly forging a diploma certificate of Bayero University, Kano.
Lasisi of New Road, Sabo Gari, Kano, is facing a two-count charge of criminal conspiracy and forgery.
Senior Magistrate Aminu Fagge ordered the remand of the accused in prison till January 30 when the case would come up for mention.
The Prosecutor, Mr Yusuf Sale, had earlier told the court that a security officer attached to Bayero University, Tasiu Muhammad, reported the case to the Rijiyar Zaki Police Division in Kano on January 4.
Kebbi
No fewer than 1,447 cattle rustlers and other bandits have renounced criminality and surrendered to the authorities in Yauri Emirate of Kebbi State.
The Press Secretary to the Emir of Yauri, Dr Muhammad Zayyanu, Alhaji Ibrahim Yauri, made this known in a statement issued in Birnin Kebbi.
Yauri said the repentant rustlers agreed to swear by the Holy Quran and Bible not to indulge, assist or harbour any criminal henceforth in the area.
He appealed to local communities to embrace those who surrendered, stressing the need for forgiveness to allow peace in the area.
Kogi
Kogi State House of Assembly has threatened to sue Leadership Newspaper over what it termed “libelous editorial comments”, condemning its stand on the report of the State Staff Audit Committee.
The resolution followed the adoption of a motion on Matters of Urgent Public Importance raised by Mr Sunday Shigaba (PDP-Bassa), over the branding of its members as “PDP syndicates and renegades of the APC “ by the newspaper.
Shigaba said that the newspaper editorial of January 20, 2017 edition, titled; “Our Stand As Kogi Buries Ghost Workers”, had smeared the integrity of the House and should not be condoned.
Seconding the motion, Mr Oluwatoyin Lawal (PDP-Yagba West), commended the mover of the motion as he described the editorial as the position of the editorial board of the paper, adding that the publication was libelous and in bad taste.
The Deputy Speaker, Mr Aliyu Akuh (PDP-Omala) and John Abah (PDP-Ibaji) ,also condemned the publication while the Majority Leader, Matthew Kolawole (PDP-Kabba-Bunu), described the editorial as indicting, inciting and incriminating.
Kwara
The Kwara State House of Assembly in Ilorin said it would collaborate with the executive to ban construction of petrol stations in residential premises.
The Speaker of the House, Dr Ali Ahmad, made the disclosure at the first plenary of the assembly after the Christmas and New Year recess.
Ahmad said that the assembly would liaise with the executive and come out with laws that would discourage indiscriminate erection of petrol stations and shops in densely populated areas across the state.
He stressed the need to overhaul and review the state Town Planning Law with a view to curbing the menace as well as preventing any disaster associated with filling stations in the state.
Nasarawa
Governor Umaru Al-Makura of Nasarawa State has ordered Interim Management Committee chairmen in the 13 local government areas in the state to declare their Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) the face sanctions.
Al-Makura gave the order in Lafia while inaugurating the Interim Management Committee Chairman of Keana Local Government Area.
He said that given the current economic crunch, it behoved on the chairmen to come up with alternative sources of revenue rather than rely solely on allocation from the Federation Account.
According to him, henceforth, any chairman of a local government area or overseer of development area in the state who fails to declare his IGR does so at the peril of his job.
Niger
Niger State Government has distributed relief materials worth N28 million to victims of tanker fire in Tegina, Rafi Local Government Areas of the state.
Director-General, State Emergency Management Agency, Alhaji Ibrahim Inga, disclosed this in an interview with newsmen in Minna.
The tanker fire incident, which occurred on December 2, claimed 18 lives, injured five and destroyed property worth millions of naira.
Inga, who described the incident as unfortunate, noted that the relief materials was not a compensation but government intervention to cushion effect of the disaster.
Osun
The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) in Osun State says it confiscated more than 1,000 underweighed bags of rice in Osogbo markets.
The SON State Coordinator, Mr Sunday Badewole, disclosed this in an interview with newsmen in Osogbo.
Badewole said the agency made the confiscation during the enforcement operation where more than 1,000 bags of 5kg, 10kg and 25kg of bags of rice were confiscated.
He said many of the rice sellers had reduced the quantity of rice from the kilogrammes that were indicated on the bags, to make more money.
Badewole said the observation carried out by the enforcement team of the agency in the markets during the raid revealed that rice sellers would remove some measures from the bags of rice and seal it back for sale.
Oyo
Some village heads in Oyo State have stopped the February 11 local government poll and the disbursement of the monthly federal allocation to the 33 local governments.
The state’s Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Seun Abimbola, said this at a news conference in Ibadan.
The 15 village heads had approached the Federal High Court in Abuja on issues bordering on the newly created Local Council Development Areas(LCDAs) in the state.
The village heads, he said, had obtained an injunction from the court last Friday and the state government was notified through its Abuja Liaison Office on Monday.
Those restrained, according to the injunction, were the Attorney General of the Federation, Accountant General of the Federation, Central Bank of Nigeria, Federal Ministry of Finance and Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Commission.
Plateau
A bill to establish the Plateau State Multi-Door Court House, has scaled through second reading at the state’s House of Assembly.
Presenting the bill for second reading, Majority Leader of the House, Mr Henry Yunkwap, said increasing social vices from increase in population necessitated the introduction of the bill.
According to him, the Multi-Door Court, if established, will serve as alternative way of resolving disputes in communities.
The Minority Leader of the House, Mr Daniel Dem, said that the bill, if passed into law, would promote peace and harmony among people and community disputes would be resolved amicably.
On his part, the Deputy Speaker of the House, Mr Yusuf Gagdi, said “the bill is apt because a lawless society is automatically a hopeless society.”
Sokoto
The Sokoto State Government has set up a taskforce that will monitor the distribution of petroleum products in the state.
A statement by Governor Aminu Tambuwal’s Spokesman, Malam Imam Imam in Sokoto noted that the task force was necessary, in the midst of fuel scarcity bedevilling the state.
Imam stated that the task force would monitor and ensure effective dispensing of petroleum products by selling outlets in all parts of Sokoto.
He added that the aim was to return to normal distribution since no part of the country was presently experiencing disruption in the supply chain of products.
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
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