News
We’re Not Tired Working For Rivers People, Wike Insists
The Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, says he would begin to commission roads and other projects executed in the 23 local government areas of the state from January, 2021, to shame critics who have accused him of concentrating development in Port Harcourt alone.
Wike gave that assurance during the commissioning of Emeyal, Elelenwo and General Diriyal streets, all located in the New GRA Phase 2 axis in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State by the Governor of Adamawa State, Rt. Hon. Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, last Monday.
The governor explained that the expansion and reconstruction of the three roads located in Eligbam and Rumuodalu communities was part of the urban renewal programme of his administration.
According to him, with the projects, properties in the areas have been improved and their value enhanced.
“Today, if you come here in the night, you’ll think it’s one of the areas in advanced countries. So, we are very grateful that the communities gave us the support and gave the contractors the support without any inhibition. This job was done and met the specifications with drainage all through.
“Let me warn some of you who have abandoned where there is market and those who say you’re Bureau-De-Change people, nobody must trade along these roads.”
The governor also stated that projects have been lined up for inauguration from the beginning of 2021 as a proof that his administration was not tired of working for the state and fulfilling every promise made.
Wike said the Ogoni-Opobo-Andoni Unity Road was now ready for commissioning in January, 2021, adding that this would enable the people to drive directly to the island 150 years after it was founded.
“I hear they are going to celebrate their 150 years as Opobo nation. They have never seen roads in their life. But today, by the grace of God, they are going by road. And by January, we are going there to commission the road leading to Opobo directly, no more going by water.”
Speaking further, Wike said the streetlight on the 16km Sakpenwaa-Bori Road was switched on Sunday night and everywhere went agog because the people were happy about what they saw.
According to him, the road has been stretched further by another 20km to Kono Town.
Wike also said that his administration has constructed a ring road for the people of Akuku-Toru Local Government Area, and enjoined critics of his administration to visit the local governments in the state to ascertain whether there were projects or not.
Inaugurating the three roads, the Governor of Adamawa State, Rt. Hon. Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri noted that Wike has committed himself to advancing the quality of life of his people with landmark projects and making unprecedented difference, hardly to be equalled.
He also acknowledged Wike as an irrepressible democrat who has continued to demonstrate uncommon vision and rare courage in working for Rivers people as well as advancing the unity of Nigeria.
“It is really a rare privilege to commission landmark projects in Port Harcourt, the heartbeat of the South-South. I am here because of Governor Nyesom Wike, the irrepressible democrat who has demonstrated an uncommon vision and rare courage in working for Rivers people and advancing the unity of our country.
“Nowhere has Governor Wike demonstrated this than in the constant and consistent liaison with his fellow colleague governors such as my humble self in the North. Let me assure the government and good people of Rivers State that the difference that Wike is making in Rivers State is unprecedented and can hardly be equalled”.
In his remarks, the Rivers State Commissioner for Works, Hon. Eloka Tasie-Amadi said the roads have been reconstructed under the Rivers State Government’s Urban Renewal Programme.
“All the roads have streetlights, marked for better traffic management. Elelenwo Street used to be 7.8 metres wide but now, it is 12 metres wide. Emeyal Street was 8metres wide, single lane; but it is now 14.6metres wide, dual carriage. General Diriyal Street was 5.8 metres wide but now 7.3metres wide. These improvements and expansion has been necessitated by increased vehicle count”, he added.
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.