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Wike Gets SCAHSA Global Award …Banigo, Obuah Hail Gov On Award
In recognition of his outstanding achievements in the area of urban renewal, sustainable cities and provision of basic amenities to the residential areas of low-income earners, Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike has been honoured with the “Global Human Settlements Outstanding Contribution Award”.
Nigeria’s moment of glory peaked in New York City, United States, last Monday night when the Sustainable Cities and Human Settlements Awards (SCAHSA) presented the international award to the governor in the presence of international diplomats, development professionals, high-level administrators and leaders of international non-governmental organisations.
Speaking at the award ceremony in New York, last Monday night, a representative of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Mara Murillo said that the organisation salutes Global Forum on Human Settlements & Sustainable Cities and Human Settlements for having developed the awards and the constituency for which it has been organized.
The UNEP representative congratulated the 23 awardees who were selected for their positive achievements and leadership.
Murillo stated: “The awards recognise their feats which inspire and encourage others to innovate and replicate similar feats”.
The Vice Chairman of Global Forum on Human Settlements & Sustainable Cities, Dr Taj Hamad said all the awardees have made great achievements that merit the awards.
Permanent Representative of The Gambia to the United Nations, Mamadou Tangara urged all awardees to continue to work for sustainable cities across the world.
Ms Mara Angelica of the United Nations Environment Programme lent her voice to the calls for collaboration in developing habitable cities.
In an acceptance speech after receiving the award, Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike pledged that he will continue his landmark projects to improve the living condition of the Rivers people.
He said: “Let me on behalf of the government and people of Rivers State sincerely thank the organisers of this award for the recognition.
“I would also like to commit ourselves to progressively provide infrastructure and social services that will enhance the living standards of all Rivers people on a sustainable basis”, Wike added.
The Tide gathered that there were 23 awards in six different categories.
The Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike received his “Global Human Settlements Outstanding Contribution Award” under the “Individual Initiatives to Advance Sustainable Development Category”.
The award was presented to the Rivers State governor by the Vice President of Global Forum on Human Settlements & Sustainable Cities, Dr Taj Hamad.
The governor was accompanied to the international award ceremony by his wife, Justice Eberechi Suzzette Nyesom-Wike, two of his children, Chief Judge of Rivers State, Justice Adama Iyaye-Lamikanra, member representing Port Harcourt Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon Ken Chikere, Edo State PDP Chairman, Chief Dan Orbih, the former Minister of Sports, Dr Tammy Danagogo, Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Barrister Emma Okah, elder statesman, Prince Emma Anyanwu, and member of the House of Representatives, Mrs Betty Apiafi, among others.
The 12th Global Forum on Human Settlements & Sustainable Cities and Human Settlements Awards Ceremony (GFHS XII) was jointly organised by the Permanent Mission of The Gambia to the UN, the Permanent Observer Mission of the African Union to the UN (AU), the Global Forum on Human Settlements (GFHS), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the University Peace Federation (UPF), the World Association of Non-Governmental Organizations (WANGO) and the Better Cities Institute (BCI).
A video footage explaining the premise upon which Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike received the award lauded him for reducing urban slums and bridging poverty gaps.
The footage further praised the Rivers State governor for his positive leadership, provision of infrastructure and basic amenities.
The 23 awardees were drawn from different countries of the world, including Nigeria, China, Bulgaria, Germany, USA, India and Indonesia.
The event was beamed live on different platforms by dedicated international broadcasters.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Governor of Rivers State, Dr. Ipalibo Harry Banigo and the state Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Bro Felix Obuah have hailed the “Global Human Settlements Outstanding Contribution Award” given the Governor Nyesom Wike by the Sustainable Cities and Human Settlements (SCAHSA) at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, describing the state chief executive as an enigma who has continued to surprise his detractors, with his ever rising profile.
In a statement in Government House, Port Harcourt, Banigo said “while the All Progressives Congress (APC) is dissipating its energy in the failed bid to hoodwink Rivers people into believing that the governor was not working.
Wike has continued to dwarf whatever achievements the APC may have claimed to have achieved in the past”.
Banigo said “Governance is about the people and the present administration has positively touched the Rivers people where it matters most, with our lean resources we have been able to deliver top notch infrastructures to our people which, has earned us accolades nationally and internationally, to God be the Glory”.
According to her, Wike’s winning of the “Global Human Settlements Outstanding Contribution Award” under the “Individual Initiatives to Advance Sustainable Development Category” is no mean feat, and congratulated the governor for making the Rivers people proud, while calling on the opposition to join the wining team.
Also speaking, Chairman of PDP, Felix Obuah said the conferment of Global Human Settlements Outstanding Contribution Award on Wike by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (CDGs) in far away United States of America was a proof of the governor’s leadership qualities.
Obuah, in a statement in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital said Wike does not deserve anything less because he has worked hard to ensure that the economy of the state was turned around from the mess it was plunged into by the previous administration.
According to the PDP boss, the good governance and sense of belonging being enjoyed by all strata of the Rivers people are not a happenstance, but a product of self-sacrifice and sound knowledge of management of human and material resources by the state chief executive.
Obuah, however, noted that the joy was not only the award per se, but the fact that the dispassionate world has been watching and has confirmed the landmark achievements of the PDP-led government in Rivers State in just two years in office in spite of the lean financial resources available to the state.
The state PDP chairman while congratulating the governor for the well-deserved award, also enjoined the good people of the state to remain focused and steadfast in their support for Wike and discountenance the snares and deception of the enemies of progress who were not happy that they have been dislodged from lording it over the people for their own self-enrichment.
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.
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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.