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Aguma, A Dependable Ally, Wike Eulogises …Discharged His Duties Creditably -Senior Lawyers

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The Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike has described the late Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Hon. Chinwe Emmanuel Aguma as a capable, loyal and dependable citizen of the state.
The governor, who said this at the night of song in honour of the late Attorney General by his Golfers’ Friends, also urged Port Harcourt residents and the entire people of the state to use the sad incident to bring back love in Port Harcourt and the entire state.
Wike, who was represented by the former Deputy Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Austin Opara, described the death as a great loss to the state, adding that the deceased, during his lifetime, meant well not only for the government but the entire state.
Also speaking, the former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr. O.C.J. Okocha described the deceased as a friend to many people in Port Harcourt, stressing that more testimonies concerning the activities of the late attorney general would continue to be unveiled to the state.
The former NBA national president also described the late Chinwe Aguma as a great lawyer who, by dint of hard work, got to the pinnacle of his career as Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and attorney general and commissioner for Justice in Rivers State.
On his part, the senator representing Rivers South East in the National Assembly, Senator Magnus Abe said that the deceased achieved everything that was important to him.
Also speaking, the Chairman of the Golf Section of the Port Harcourt Club, Dr. Diamond Tobin-West said that the death of the deceased was a big loss to the state and the legal profession, stressing that the late Chinwe, during his lifetime, touched the lives of many in the society.
Tobin-West stressed the need for people to prioritise and live everyday as if their last day on earth.
In his homily, the officiating Minister, Rev. Canon Gospel Onuchukwu urged all to receive Jesus Christ.
Meanwhile, the Body of Benchers/Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria have described the Late Attorney-General of Rivers State, Hon Emmanuel Aguma (SAN) as a dedicated legal practitioner who served the legal profession creditably.
The senior law bodies made their position known during their condolence visit to the Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike at the Government House, Port Harcourt, last Monday.
Leader of the delegation and former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Chief Onueze Okocha said that the untimely demise of the late Attorney-General of Rivers State was very painful.
He said: “We are here to condole with the government and people of Rivers State over the sudden death of the Attorney General. It was very shocking because we saw him discharging his responsibilities till the end of June.
“We have no doubt that the untimely death directly touched the governor and members of the State Executive Council. He was a dedicated lawyer who discharged his duties creditably “.
He urged the governor and members of the State Executive Council to bear the loss with courage.
The former NBA President extended the bodies condolences to the bereaved family.
“It is a painful loss. He supported all our activities, having been a secretary and chairman of the NBA, Port Harcourt branch. He was a statutory member of the Body of Benchers”, he said.
Responding, Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike reiterated that the death was painful and it would be difficult for the state to come out of it.
He said: “I have worked in government at different levels and I say without hesitation that the late Attorney-General worked very hard for the state with commitment”.
The governor said as a result of the competence and dedication of the late Attorney-General of Rivers State, the state has never witnessed a legal crisis since 2015.
Wike urged the senior lawyers to actively participate in the burial activities for the late Attorney-General of Rivers State between September 12 and 16, 2018.
The Senior Lawyers signed the condolence register at the front of the Executive Council Chamber of Government House, Port Harcourt.
They later visited the family of the late Attorney-General of Rivers State where they extended their condolences.

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FG Ends Passport Production At Multiple Centres After 62 Years

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The Nigeria Immigration Service has officially ended passport production at multiple centres, transitioning to a single, centralised system for the first time in 62 years.

Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, disclosed this yesterday while inspecting Nigeria’s new Centralised Passport Personalisation Centre at the NIS Headquarters in Abuja.

He stated that since the establishment of NIS in 1963, Nigeria had never operated a central passport production centre, until now, marking a major reform milestone.

“The project is 100 per cent ready. Nigeria can now be more productive and efficient in delivering passport services,” Tunji-Ojo said.

He explained that old machines could only produce 250 to 300 passports daily, but the new system had a capacity of 4,500 to 5,000 passports every day.

“With this, NIS can now meet daily demands within just four to five hours of operation,” he added, describing it as a game-changer for passport processing in Nigeria.

 “We promised two-week delivery, and we’re now pushing for one week.

“Automation and optimisation are crucial for keeping this promise to Nigerians,” the minister said.

He noted that centralisation, in line with global standards, would improve uniformity and enhance the overall integrity of Nigerian travel documents worldwide.

Tunji-Ojo described the development as a step toward bringing services closer to Nigerians while driving a culture of efficiency and total passport system reform.

He said the centralised production system aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda, boosting NIS capacity and changing the narrative for better service delivery.

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FAAC Disburses N2.225trn For August, Highest In Nigeria

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The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) has disbursed N2.225 trillion as federation revenue for the month of August 2025, the highest ever allocation to the three tiers of government and other statutory recipients.

This marks the second consecutive month that FAAC disbursements have crossed the N2 trillion mark.

The revenue, shared at the August 2025 FAAC meeting in Abuja, was buoyed by increases in oil and gas royalty, value-added tax (VAT), and common external tariff (CET) levies, according to a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting.

Out of the N2.225 trillion total distributable revenue, FAAC said N1,478.593 trillion came from statutory revenue, N672.903 billion from VAT, N32.338 billion from the Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL), and N41.284 billion from Exchange Difference.

The communiqué revealed that gross federation revenue for the month stood at N3.635 trillion. From this amount, N124.839 billion was deducted as cost of collection, while N1,285.845 trillion was set aside for transfers, interventions, refunds, and savings.

From the statutory revenue of N1.478 trillion, the Federal Government received N684.462 billion, State Governments received N347.168 billion, and Local Government Councils received N267.652 billion. A further N179.311 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) went to oil-producing states as derivation revenue.

From the distributable VAT revenue of N672.903 billion, the Federal Government received N100.935 billion, the states received N336.452 billion, while the local governments got N235.516 billion.

Of the N32.338 billion shared from EMTL, the Federal Government received N4.851 billion, the States received N16.169 billion, and the Local Governments received N11.318 billion.

From the N41.284 billion exchange difference, the Federal Government received N19.799 billion, the states received N10.042 billion, and the local governments received N7.742 billion, while N3.701 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) was shared to the oil-producing states as derivation.

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KenPoly Governing Council Decries Inadequate Power Supply, Poor Infrastructure On Campus

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The Governing Council of Kenule Beeson Saro-Wiwa Polytechnic, Bori, has decried the inadequate power supply and poor state of infrastructural facilities and equipment at the institution.

The Council also appealed to the government, including Non-Governmental Organisations, agencies, as well as well-meaning Rivers people to intervene to restore and sustain the laudable gesture, dreams and aspirations of the founding fathers of the polytechnic.

The Chairman of the newly inaugurated Council, Professor Friday B. Sigalo, made this appeal during a tour of facilities at the  Polytechnic, recently.

Accompanied by members of the team, Prof Sigalo emphasised the position of technology, technical and vocational education in sustainable development.

He noted that with the prospects on ground, and the programmes and activities undertaken in the polytechnic, there is no doubt that the institution would add values to the educational system in our society and foster the desired development, if the existing challenges are jointly tackled.

This was contained in a statement signed by Deputy Registrar, Public Relations, Kenpoly,  Innocent Ogbonda-Nwanwu, and made available to The Tide in Port Harcourt.

The chairman who restated the intention of his team of technocrats to ensure that KenPoly enjoys desirable face-lift, said the Council would deliver on its core mandates, accordingly.

Earlier, the Rector, KenPoly Engr. Dr. Ledum S. Gwarah, commended the appointment of Professor Friday B. Sigalo as Chairman of the KenPoly Governing Council.

He described him and his team as seasoned technocrats and expressed confidence in their ability to succeed.

The Rector pledged the management’s support to the Council to ensure that KenPoly resumes its rightful place in the comity of polytechnics in the country.

Facilities visited by the Governing Council include KenPoly workshops, laboratories, skills acquisition centre, library, hostels and medical centre.

 

Chinedu Wosu

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