News

RUGA Suspension: PFN Calls For National Summit …As NGF, CNG Brainstorm Over 30-Day Ultimatum To FG

Published

6 years ago

July 5, 2019

The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria has called for national summit following the suspension of the RUGA settlement scheme by the Federal Government.
The General Secretary of PFN, Nuhu Kure, made the call in Ibadan during a courtesy call on the National Vice President of the association, Bishop Wale Oke.
RUGA, a scheme designed to settle herdsmen and their cattle on acquired lands in states in the federation, is the recent of many solutions offered by the Federal Government to resolve the farmers/ herdsmen crisis in the country.
Kure said that the Federal Government ought to consult widely before unveiling such a scheme.
“The Federal Government should rather organise a national summit in the mold of a confab where stakeholders would converge and have the opportunity to iron out grey areas,” he said.
He also urged the Federal Government to tackle the farmers/herders crisis with tactical diplomacy in a way that would promote national unity.
“We appeal to President Buhari to urgently find means to resolve this situation with fairness and equity in order to prevent a Nigeria that degenerates into a state of anarchy where pervasive lawlessness is the order of the day, “ he said.
The clergyman also appealed to the Kaduna State government to suspend policies he described as controversial and intolerant.
“The governor should thread the path of reasoning in order not to cause disunity among Nigerians,” he said.
In his remarks, Oke said that the situation of the country was not beyond redemption.
He called for sincerity and commitment on the part of the people and the government.
Oke, the Presiding Bishop of the Sword of the Spirit Ministries, appealed to Christians to be law abiding and not to relent in their support for the nation both physically and spiritually.
Meanwhile, the last may not have been heard about Ruga despite Federal Government’s decision to suspend the policy, as Northern Governors’ Forum (NGF), has promised to engage the Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) over the 30-day ultimatum it issued to the government to rescind the decision.
The Chairman of the forum and Governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong, who made the disclosure in a statement he personally signed and issued to newsmen in Abuja, yesterday, argued that the leadership of the coalition was genuinely and responsibly concerned about the betterment of the whole nation and the well-being of the North.
The forum also assured everyone especially Northerners that what would come out of the suspension at the end of the day would turn out to be more beneficial and in the best interest of the whole nation.
It also promised to work on various benefits that would serve the interest of all both in the short and long terms, urging for understanding and cooperation from every quarter.
“With the ensuing development following the announcement of the suspension of the Ruga resettlement initiative by the Federal Government on Wednesday, it has become pertinent for me as chairman of the Northern Governors’ Forum to make clarifications on the true position (of things) in order to calm nerves.
“We have acknowledged the varied responses that have been coming in throughout the hours after the announcement of the suspension which we see as part of the beauty of democracy which allows citizens to participate in shaping and moderating the functions of government with regard to the matter of public interest.
“Meanwhile, we urge all stakeholders and all shades of interested parties, especially from the North, to remain calm and air their views democratically and decently while allowing the government a chance to handle the matter,” the statement read.

News

NELFUND Warns Students Against Fake Loan Portal

Published

1 day ago

November 19, 2025

The Tide

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund has alerted the public to a fraudulent message circulating online, claiming that the NELFUND Student Loan Registration Portal is open.

The message directs applicants to a third-party link (http://gvly.xyz/Nelfund-Student-Loan, which NELFUND confirms is unauthorised and fraudulent.

In a post obtained from its X handle, yesterday, NELFUND urged students and the general public not to click on the link or provide any personal information, emphasising that the official loan registration portal is only accessible through the Fund’s verified channels.

The agency reminded applicants to exercise caution online and to report any suspicious links or communications claiming to be from NELFUND.

“Applicants are encouraged to always verify official announcements via NELFUND’s official website and social media channels,” NELFUND said.

This advisory comes as part of NELFUND’s ongoing efforts to safeguard students and ensure the integrity of the student loan application process.

News

Eastern Port Police Boss Promises On Crime-Free Operations

Published

1 day ago

November 19, 2025

The Tide

The new Commissioner of Police Eastern, Ports Command, Mr Tijani Fatai has promised to ensure a crime- free ports operations in the zone.
He said effective policing will be mounted across the ports in the zone in tackling the high rate of community unrest, activities of port rats and other social vices.
Fatai while speaking to newsmen shortly after taking over as the 17th commissioner said he wants to be remembered as a peace maker during his tenure as Commissioner of Police in the Eastern Ports Command.
According to him,’’the community policing is the sure way of addressing most conflicts and other social vices bedeviling our society today and I will explore it to its fullest” .
The Commissioner also assured officers of the rank and file of improved welfare whoch he described as a cardinal objective of the present efforts of the Inspector General of Police (IGP).
He said,” the Inspector General of Police has sent me to assure you all of welfare, promotions as and when due,no officers particular rank and file will be left behind in the coming months.
Fatai before his recent posting was an operational officer,who spent most of his years with the Police Mobile Force (PMF) where he served as Unit Commander (UC) and Commander, PMF.
Before his redeployment as a Commissioner of Police,(CP), he was the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Operations, DCP, Operations, Lagos State Command.

News

Kalabaris Celebrate New Year Amid Fanfare

Published

1 day ago

November 19, 2025

The Tide

Thousands of Kalabari indigenes from Akuku- Toru, Asari-Toru, Degema and Port Harcourt City Local Government Areas last Sunday gathered at Elem Kalabari in Degema Local Government Area to celebrate what they said is the Kalabari new year amidst pomp and pageantry
According to stakeholders, the event which started over 200 years ago normally falls on the 16th of November every year.
The of this year’s celebration which was organised by Kalabari Renaissance Foundation was “Our Heritage, Honouring Our Waters and Renewing Our Spirit.”
Stakeholders said this year’s celebration was symbolic as it was holding at Elem Kalabari which is the home of the Kalabari people.
The event also featured various masquerade displays from cultural troupes within Kalabari and beyond.
Speaking on the significance of the event, the Amanyanabo of Elem Kalabari (The Source), HRH Mujahid Asari Dokubo, said the celebration signaled a return to the traditional values of the Kalabari people and the need for self-recreation.
“It’s not just about celebration, It’s about recreating ourselves, bringing us back from death.
“The organisation that has come to take over this celebration – Renaissance – really fits the description of what ought to happen to us as a people.
“It’s not just Kalabari; it’s about all of us and our values. We have to look at ourselves and our values,” he said.
Dokubo called on all Kalabari citizens to join hands together to revive their traditional values and heritage in order not to lose their cultural identity and spiritual trajectory.
Also speaking, Harry Awolayeofori MacMorrison, Chief Administrator and Chairman of Kalabari Renaissance Foundation, organizsers of the Kalabari new year festival, said the event marks the beginning of a new calendar year for the Kalabari people, after November 15 of every year when the tide cleanses the pollution from the Sombreiro River inflows, describing it as a renewal of the Kalabari people.
“It’s the renewal of the people. Kalabari area is saline environment and at a time, the Sombreiro River comes in and pollutes the river.
“On the 15th November, across Kalabari, the tide turns and takes all the fresh water that polluted the saline river back to the Sombreiro River
. “On the 15th is the end of the year. Normally when there is an end, there is a new beginning. On the 16th (November) is the beginning of the Kalabari calendar,” he said.
Awolayeofori Mac Morrison said the Kalabari communities had been holding the new year festival separately in the past until the Renaissance Foundation decided to champion a unified celebration to enable them forge a common front of trado-cultural and socio-economic development across the entire territory.
He said last year’s event held at Abalama while they decided to bring this year’s celebration to Elem Kalabari because of it significance to the Kalabari nation.
Also speaking, a member of the planning committee and media lead, Journalist Ibiba Don Pedro, said there was need to reawaken the consciousness of their people on the need to embrace their traditional values without reservations, noting that there was nothing fetish about the festival.
She said the celebration was to unite the Kalabaris as well as project the cultural heritage of the people.
Don Pedro said time has come for Africa to go back to their root , adding that development will continue to elude African countries until the people rediscover themselves.