News
Flooding ’ll Affect 67,000 Persons In Rivers -RSG …Gets Two Camps Ready For IDPs
It is understandable that as one of the high risk states listed to experience looming destructive flooding this year, Rivers State was quick to identify five local governments areas, including Ahoada West, Ahoada East, Ogba/Egbama/Ndoni and Abua, among the flash points.
These localities, except Obia Akpor, were worst hit in 2012 when crushing flooding was experienced in the state.
Special Adviser to Governor Nyesom Wike on Emergency and Relief Services, Chris Berewari, while identifying the areas, said, “Entire Rivers State is a danger area, but we expect it more around Orashi areas, Ahoada, Omoku.”
The state Commissioner for Special Duties, Emeka Onowu, said, “Obia Akpor came into the envisaged flash points because of Elekha and Rukpokwu axis where we experienced flooding also last year.”
However, even before the recent warnings by relevant bodies, residents in some parts of the state have been grappling with flooding even before the rains peaked.
Worst hit are residents of Nkpolu-Rumuigbo in Obia-Akpor as well as those in Oyigbo and some quarters in NTA area. For several weeks now, Nkpolu flood has sacked several residents as water overflowed the community into East West Road, covering over a kilometer of that major road which has become impassable, disrupting business and destroying properties.
Jane Okoro, who just moved out of Nkpolu, told Sunday Vanguard, “House rent here is now cheapest in Rivers because of the flooding. Imagine sleeping and it begins to rain and you wake up scared because your house is going to be flooded.
“Since the beginning of this week, I have not sold any item because the streets are covered with flood water; customers cannot come here because the water is knee-high.
“It is really embarrassing. This is the home community for several natives. Everybody can’t run away like us who are not indigenes. Government should really help us do something about the flooding.”
Head Chief of Nkpolu-Rumuigbo, Eze Amaehula Chindah, also speaking on the situation, said, “Since the construction of the new road from the boundary of Rumuigbo to Rumuahiolu, the whole water is channeled towards the junction and it does not flow very well. The other part of the road has been occupied by some inhabitants and this does not give room for the passage of natural water.”
Without clearing the drains in Nkpolu Junction, the traditional authority noted, the people’s plight could only get worse with further flooding.
John Amadi, one of worried residents at the bank of the neighborhood canal in Rumuahiolu, said, “Last year our homes were submerged and many of us forced out of their houses. More have run away this year. The canal is a major concern. We are always apprehensive as excess water from the canal always submerges our homes.”
The situation is not different in Oyigbo where many have been sacked by the increasingly rising floods.
Special Duties Commissioner, Onowu, speaking on pre-emptive measures taken ahead of the warning by relevant agencies, said, “Governor Nyesom Wike has approved one IDP camp for Aluu in Ikwerre local government area and another in Ahoada.
“We are looking at about 67,000 persons. We did a memo to the governor which he graciously approved so we can put the camps in order, get mattresses, de-roof and reroof places needed to be fixed and immediately we will begin to evacuate people.
“The governor has warned that he doesn’t want to lose a life to the flood. Properties he noted can be lost and replace, but not life.
“We have visited these high risks localities and the respective local government chairmen have been working with us”.
On his part, Berewari said, “We are trying to educate residents of flood prone areas on how to lessen the effect in case it comes”.
South-South Zonal Director of NEMA, Dr. Martins Ejike, said the agency had put in place action plans on how to tackle the looming disaster.
Ejike, who spoke during a stakeholders’ meeting in Port Harcourt, said, “We did an appraisal of our activities. We will identify areas we have done well and areas we have not. We will identify the resources needed in our activities. Disaster is all about saving lives and all of us have what we do to that regards”.
On self inflicted internal flooding due to careless blockade of major drains and construction on natural drain channels, Prof Rosaline Konya, Rivers State Commissioner for Environment, urged residents to desist from such habits.
Meanwhile, an environmental activist, Meshack Oyi, says Rivers State is not among the states to benefit from the Federal Government N3billion intervention fund on flooding.
The Nigerian Hydrological Service Agency had, in its May Annual Flood Outlook for 2018, allegedly excluded Rivers from the states to be affected by flooding, but the environmental activist maintained that communities in Orashi region of the state are experiencing river flooding and not coastal flooding predicted by the hydrological agency.
He said, “The fund released would not be used to help ameliorate the suffering of people affected in Rivers. I am calling on them to please look at their prediction again to understand that the river flooding they predicted is also affecting Rivers among other states they listed.
“Orashi is a major tributary to the River Niger and the river has overflowed its banks, Orashi has overflowed its banks, hence the flooding of some the communities along the Orashi River. If it continues like this, we could get to the 2012 impact.”
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.