Nation
THE STATES
Adamawa
The Mubi Emirate Council of Adamawa at the weekend honoured some of its illustrious sons for their contributions to the socio-economic development of the area.
The PDP National Vice-Chairman (North East), Sen. Paul Wampana bagged the traditional title of “Zannan Mubi’’, while the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Power, Alhaji Sali Bello, was honoured with the title of “Dan Masanin Mubi’’.
Similarly, Alhaji Gidado Sajoh, a member representing Mubi South Constituency in the State House of Assembly, bagged the title of “Katukan Mubi’’, while Alhaji Gambo Abba, a retired custom officer, was honoured with the title of “Jakadan Mubi’’.
In a speech at the occasion, the Emir of Mubi, Alhaji Abubakar Isa, tasked the title holders to be good ambassadors of the Emirate. Isa, who lauded the peaceful coexistence among “the diverse people’’ of the Emirate, condemned the recent sectarian violence in Jos and said that those found to be responsible should be dealt with accordingly.
Responding on behalf of his colleagues, Wampana lauded the leadership quality of the Emir, who, he said had been able to unite the diverse people of the Emirate.
Borno
Mr Asishana Okauru, Director-General, Nigeria Governors‘ Forum (NGF), has urged the federal government to urgently address the poor state of federal roads across the country.
Okauru made the call in an interview with The Tide’s source in Ngala, Borno State.
He said that the poor state of the roads was impacting negatively on the nation’s economy. He spoke to the source after the visit of the NGF peer review team to the International College and the mini stadium being built by the Borno State Government.
He noted that the deplorable state of federal roads made nonesense of the efforts of state governments across the country to achieve economic development.
According to him, the deplorable state of the highways is a major hinderance to the realisation of the vision of states in regards to the empowerment of the people and economic growth. “Unless the federal government resolves to deliberately invest in the immediate rehabilitation of these federal roads, the investments of state governments would not yield the desired results.
“And this will not be in the interest of the less privileged, most of whom look up to states to have their poverty alleviated,” Okauru said. He said that the poor condition of federal roads particularly in the north east zone, made it difficult for the states in the area to achieve their economic potentials.
FCT
A water expert, Mr Hope Ogbeide, has called on Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to advocate for increased access to water and sanitation in the country.
Ogbeide, the Coordinator of the Society for Water and Sanitation in the south-south, made the call while speaking with The Tide’s source in Abuja. He said the CSOs should remind the federal government of its commitment in the endorsement of various water and sanitation declarations at regional and global levels.
The coordinator recalled that Nigeria had in 2008 ratified various protocols on water and sanitation at meetings in Egypt, South Africa and Tunisia, to fast track its water and sanitation goals.
“Usually, when there is a law in place, it becomes easier for a group of people to take advantage of it to pursue their goals.
“In this case, CSOs have an opportunity in the fact that we have signed those conventions, to begin to mobilise to ensure that the National Assembly domesticates such conventions.
“Once that is done, the next step and next thing to be done is to advocate for its implementation because it is one thing to have those things in place and another for them to be implemented,’’ the expert said.
He advised the CSOs not to stop at advocacy, but to also monitor the impact of the particular activity they were advocating for.
Kaduna
The Kaduna command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), says it arrested 92 suspects in the past three months.
A statement sign by NDLEA State Commander, Epeso Ngale, in Kaduna, said the command also intercepted 591.1 kilograms of various drugs from the suspects. The statement said the arrests were made during raids at seven hideout of the suspect traffickers in Kaduna and Zaria.
It stated that seven persons had been convicted, while 11 addicted persons were admitted for counselling and rehabilitation. The commander appealed to the public for useful information that would lead to the arrest of traffickers in the state.
Kano
Sheikh Muhammad Tudunwada, a Kano-based Islamic scholar, on Saturday in Kano called on Muslims and Christians to live in peace with one another.
Tundunwada, who made the call in an interview with The Tide’s source, said that Easter, Christmas, Sallah and Maulud celebrations were the best periods to advocate for peace.
“During those periods, people are relaxed and they worship their God whole heartedly and are always attentive to what their leaders say,” he said.
Tundunwada noted that both Christians and Muslims worshipped one God, and said that they should avoid unnecessary sentiments that could lead to blood shed.
He condemned the recent crisis in Jos, adding that it was created by unnecessary sentiments that had no basis in either the Christian or Islamic religion.
Tudunwada advised the federal government to ensure that all those behind the crisis were brought to book.
Katsina
The Katsina State Government says it has donated N25.5 million to 17 registered community colleges of Arabic and Islamic studies to enhance their operations.
The state Commissioner for Education, Alhaji Abdullahi Garba, disclosed this in an interview with The Tide’s source in Katsina. Garba said that each community college received a donation of N1.5 million from the state government.
The gesture, he said, was to assist the colleges to address their pressing problems with a view to complementing the government’s efforts at improving education in the state.
“The state government is giving the desired attention to Arabic and Islamic education.
“That is why it established an additional college of Arabic and Islamic studies in Fago, apart from the exisiting ones in Katsina, Dutsin-ma and Kabomo towns of the state,” he said. The commissioner also disclosed that the state government had sponsored many students to study Arabic Language, Arabic Caligraphy and Computer studies at the University of Sudan. According to him, more than 60 of such students have graduated, while 175 of them are currently pursuing their various courses in Sudan.
On the dearth of Arabic and Islamic teachers in the state, Garba said the government was making efforts to address the problem.
Lagos
The Surulere Local Council in Lagos State says it has begun an enlightenment campaign at motor parks to check drug abuse and sale of alcohol. The Chairman, Dr Razak Folami, told The Tide’s source in Lagos that the campaign was aimed at re-orientating youths and commercial bus drivers. He expressed concern over the problem of drug abuse and alcoholism which, he said, had reached an alarming dimension. Folami said the council decided to take the campaigns to motor parks because they had become a haven for hard drugs and alcohol. “We have commenced a campaign to enlighten drivers and commercial motorcyclists on the harmful effects of such drugs.
“The local concoctions mixed with gin are part of the hard drugs which they consume; they are injurious to health and also affects safe driving,’’ he said.
Folami stressed the need to prevent accidents at parks by discouraging the consumption of drugs and alcohol by the drivers and commercial motorcyclists.
He threatened that after the campaigns, the council would clamp down on erring drivers and sellers of local gin and alcohol at parks. “Consumption of such drugs causes abnormal behaviour which leads to accidents.
“Council officials have been deployed to parks to enforce the law banning sale and consumption of alcohol at parks,’’ Folami said.
He said the council was also collaborating with Federal Road Safety Corps in enforcing traffic rules and regulations to reduce accidents in the area.
Niger
Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger has ordered the release of N160 million to the state eight emirate education foundations as part of government support for their activities.
Aliyu gave the order during the combined annual general meeting of the Minna Emirate Education Foundation (MEEFO) held at the emir’s palace, Minna.
According to the governor, the Minna Emirate Education Found will get N30 million, the Bida Emirate Education Foundation, N25 million; while the Kontagora, Borgu and Suleja emirate foundations will each receive N20 million.
Similarly, Aliyu also directed that N15 million each should be released to Lapai, Agaie and Kagara emirate foundations for their activities. He directed the emirate foundations to ensure that part of the money was used for the construction of toilets and locally dug wells, in order to make public schools more conducive for pupils and students.
Aliyu, however, ordered that the funds for Kagara Emirate Education Foundation be withheld, until it accounted for the funds already given to it.
“We heard that some people in the area have misused the foundation’s funds and as such their share should be withheld until the previous allocation is properly accounted for,’’ he said. The governor urged officials of MEEFO to re-vamp the foundations so that they could live up to the goals of their founding fathers, among which “are the construction or rehabilitation of schools structures and award of scholarship to indigent students.
In his speech, the Emir of Minna, Alhaji Umar Faruk, expressed his concern about the mass failure recorded in the November-December 2009 NECO examination and called on the officials of the foundations to work toward improving the standard of learning.
MEEFO spent N54 million on the renovation and construction of classrooms and award of scholarship to indigent students in the emirate in the last three years.
The President General of Ogbakor Ikwerre Cultural Organisation Worldwide and the Mgboh XIII of the Mgboh Royal Family of Emohua Kingdom in Emohua Local Government Area of Rivers State, Eze (Barrister) Godspower Onuekwa, penultimate Friday celebrated his 80th birthday with pomp, pageantry and fanfare.
The celebration, which commenced with a symposium organised in his honour at Rivers State University on Thursday, August 21,2025, got to a resounding climax on Friday at Suntai Event Centre in Port Harcourt, where people from all walks of life, including business associates, friends, well-wishers, relatives, community folks, traditional rulers, and admirers, gathered to pay glowing tributes to the celebrant.
Before then, a well attended thanksgiving service was held that same Friday at Emmanuel Anglican Church, Okoro-Nu-Odo, to honour him and return gratitude to God Almighty for the fruitful and eventful life and accomplishments of the Emohua leader and icon.
The service which was officiated by Rt Rev Wisdom Budu Ihunwo, Bishop of Niger Delta North had other renowned and respected clerics like Most Rev(Dr) Blessing Enyindah, Dean, Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion); Rt Rev(Dr) Emmanuel Oko-Jaja, Bishop, Diocese of Niger Delta; Rt Rev Innocent Ordu, Bishop, Diocese of Evo; and Ven Solomon Eze Nelson, Archdeacon, Okoro-Nu-Odo; among others lined up as officiating ministers.
The service lived up to its billing, as it featured powerful and soul-lifting praise and worship; point-blank prayers; and beautiful renditions, which electrified the entire atmosphere, essentially packaged to thank God for the life of the celebrant.
However, the crowning moment actually came when the who is who, the crème de la crème of the society, thronged the terraces and fabulously decorated expansive hall of Suntai Event Centre, to celebrate Eze Onuekwa, amid accolades, aplomb and panache, wining and dining, and clinking of glasses with him and all.
The chairman of the colourful ceremony, Chief Evans Woherem, who was represented by Eze(Prof) Christian Akani of the prestigious Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, praised the celebrant for his youthfulness in spite of clocking 80 years, generosity, humility, humaneness and selfless services to the Ikwerre ethnic nationality, the Niger Delta and Nigeria, and called on all and sundry to emulate his good legacies and simple disposition towards life and existence.
Goodwill messages also poured in in torrents to underscore and salute the doggedness, resilience, astuteness and uniqueness of the endearing life of the celebrant, with Prof Emenike Wami, the Ochia Ohna Ikwerre(XIV), taking the lead.
Prof Priye Iyalla, the wife of late renowned writer, novelist and playwright, Dr Elechi Amadi, held the audience spellbound as she masterfully reeled out the profile of the celebrant, amid intermittent applause from the crowd.
The Tiv Community from Benue State, resident in Rivers State, were not left out, as they honoured and decorated Eze Onuekwa in their complete traditional regalia.
Cultural displays from Baptist Church, Rumuowhor; ADNA Wogbuji Dancing Group, Egbeda; Tiv Dancing Group; and Promoter Eze and Rumu-Mgboh Emohua Wrestling Group, equally added colour and grace to the occasion, with the celebrant and his wife, Dame Ann Onuekwa, joining them to wriggle their waists and bodies in ecstasy.
In his response, the highly elated celebrant, Eze Onuekwa thanked all those gathered to celebrate with him, saying, celebrations would never cease in their homes, and attributed everything he represents in life, including his modest accomplishments to God.
Eze Onuekwa, while addressing newsmen, harped on the need for hard work among the youths and members of Ogbakor Ikwerre Cultural Organisation Worldwide, as a way of sustaining and giving meaning to the motto of the organisation, which he noted is anchored on peace, unity and progress.
He specially thanked God for sustaining his life, and for making everything possible for him and his family, saying, he was joyous that he has today become an octogenarian and elder statesman in Rivers State.
His son and medical practitioner, Dr Samuel Chizia Onuekwa expressed delight that people from far and near had come together to celebrate the father, whom he described as a role model and great inspirator.
He said it was a good thing that the children were celebrating their father when he is alive, stressing that the last time Eze Onuekwa was celebrated in such magnitude was 20 years ago, during his 60th birthday celebration, and prayed God to grant him many more years in good health.
Among dignitaries who graced the event were Senator Andrew Uchendu; Chief Sampson Agbaru; Prof Emenike Wami; Dr Peter Didia; Eze(Prof) Samuel Ugo Onyeka; and a host of others. Justice Iche Ndu(rtd); and C O Kattey were among personalities that attended the thanksgiving service, while the Vice Chancellor of Rivers State University, Prof Isaac Zeb-Obipi led the academics who graced the symposium, alongside Eze G A O Omodu.
As the 100 Ogoni youths trained by the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) in Creative Arts close out their training on Tuesday at the Theatre Arts Department, University of Port Harcourt, the Project Coordinator of HYPREP, Prof Nenibarini Zabbey, has urged the beneficiaries to use the skills acquired to ensure that the Ogoni stories are told and heard in the right way.
The trainees, who had completed a four- month training in script writing, film production and make-up are beneficiaries of the HYPREP sustainable livelihood programme, aimed at providing high demand skills to Ogoni youths in the lucrative creative arts and entertainment industry.
Zabbey described the Creative Arts training as well as other programmes and interventions as HYPREP’s strategic sustained effort to create alternative sources of livelihood.
”Targeted capacity building for Ogoni youths and women remains a central strategy in HYPREP’s livelihood restoration and improvement efforts. Our goal is to reach every part of the Ogoni community and ensure that no group or talent pool is left behind. This training is a deliberate step to empower young people who aspire to make their mark in the creative and entertainment industry”, he said.
While commending the trainees for producing four short films within the training period, one of which was premiered at the ceremony-Dirty Festival, the Project Coordinator noted that the training would serve as a springboard into the industry, and enable them earn a living, become entrepreneurs, and open new doors of opportunities for themselves and their communities. The three other movies are Open Pain, Bomu and Green War.
He enjoined them to utilise their skills and platforms to promote civic responsibility, peace, and environmental sustainability, urging them to ensure that Ogoni is heard in the right way, speak for HYPREP and highlight the progress being made in implementing the recommendations of the UNEP Report.
Other speakers at the event, including the Director of Technical Services of HYPREP, Prof. Damian-Paul Aguiyi; Dr Ovunda Ihunwo, Head of the Theatre Arts Department of the University of Port Harcourt; Chief Douglas Experience, the Project Coordinator of Halibiz Consult Limited; and Mrs Josephine Nzidee, Head, Sustainable Livelihood of HYPREP, all applauded HYPREP for the training, and charged the trainees to maximise the opportunity.
The trainees were later presented certificates of participation.
Visibly elated Ms Lebee Tornwe, one of the beneficiaries, thanked HYPREP and the Project Coordinator for offering the trainees the rare opportunity to acquire skills in the creative arts and entertainment industry, and expressed delight that Dr Ihunwo and Halibiz Consult Limited gave their all in grooming them.
With the wrapping up of the Creative Arts training(100), HYPREP has trained 230 Ogoni youths in high demand skill sets ,viz; seafaring(100); and aviation (30). The Project will this year, commence training in other skill areas, including Mechatronic, Aviation, Full-Stack Development, Commercial Diving, Underwater Welding and Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
Still in the offing is the training for Ogoni Persons Living with Disabilities in five skill sets- fish farming; basic computer skills; photography; fashion and design; and shoemaking in line with their Needs Assessment and HYPREP’s policy of inclusivity.
The National Youth Council of Ogoni People (NYCOP) had called on stakeholders to work collaboratively towards the development and empowerment of Ogoni youths.
NYCOP made the call in a communique issue over the weekend after an emergency Congress in Port Harcourt and signed by its President, Comrade Raymond Nwibani Marcus.
In the communique, NYCOP endorsed President Bola Tinubu’s appointments of the Governing Council and Board of Trustees (BOT) members of the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP), particularly Rt. Hon. Emmanuel Nwika Deeyah as Chairman of HYPREP’s BOT.
It respectfully appealed to the President to consider appointing a representative from the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) under the leadership of Engr. Olu Andah Wai-Ogosu, being the pioneering social vehicle for Ogoni advocacy since the inception of the Ogoni struggle, adding that it would significantly contribute to the decision-making process.
The body commended the overall management of HYPREP and urges the President to continue funding the HYPREP project.
NYCOP furthermore recommended considering the conversion of HYPREP from a project to a full-fledged agency of the Federal Government of Nigeria.
The communique also stated that NYCOP thanked President Tinubu for establishing the Federal University of Environmental Technology, and for appointing key staff, forming a dialogue committee, and initiating infrastructural projects like the Eleme axis of the East-West Road and the Bonny-Bodo Road, significantly enhancing regional connectivity and economic prospects.
In solidarity with the Renewed Hope Agenda, the endorsed President Tinubu’s second-term bid, saying it believes his leadership embodies the aspirations of the Ogoni people and Nigerians at large.
“After thorough consideration of the Disciplinary Committee’s report, NYCOP resolves:
” To indefinitely suspend Comrade Nade Nade Burale from his position as Secretary General due to misconduct.
“To declare Comrade Saviour Imeabe persona non grata on Ogoni youth issues, given his actions’ potential to instigate crisis in Ogoni and beyond” the communique stated.
NYCOP in his resolution issued a 7-day ultimatum to former HYPREP BOT Chairman Mike Nwialeghi to explain the $100 million HYPREP fund investment, warning of potential litigation.
NYCOP reaffirmed its commitment to safeguarding Ogoni youth interests and preventing personal aggrandizement.
According to the communique the resolutions demonstrate NYCOP’s efforts to promote the collective welfare and advancement of Ogoni youth.
“We will no longer tolerate any individual or group using the name or issues of Ogoni youth for personal aggrandizement.
” Our mandate is clear: to promote the collective welfare and advancement of Ogoni youth” the communique said.
NYCOP passes a vote of confidence in Hon. Emmanuel Nwika Deeyah, acknowledging his impeccable credentials and credibility to lead the BOT of HYPREP effectively.
Kiadum Edookor
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