Nation
THE STATES
Bauchi
No fewer than 38 persons lost their lives in various auto-accidents in Bauchi State in the first quarter of 2010.
The Director, Bauchi State Vehicle Inspection Directorate, Alhaji Ibrahim Ya’u, said this when the state’s Commissioner for Transport, Alhaji Abubakar Ashu, visited the directorate.
He said no fewer than 89 other persons sustained injuries in the 43 auto-accidents recorded across the state.
Ya’u also said the directorate generated more than N6 million within the period under review.
He said N2 million was realised from the sales of ‘road worthy certificate’ to motorists, while N4 million was raised from the ‘Operation Show Your Particulars.’
Ya’u said N600,000 was generated from the general inspection exercise.
Ekiti
The NYSC has redeployed Mr Olayiwola Afolabi from Bauchi to its Ekiti State Directorate, a statement said.
The statement, issued by the Ekiti NYSC Directorate Public Relations Officer, Mr Funso Olusoji, in Ado-Ekiti on Sunday, explained that Afolabi had taken over from Lady Clara Anekwe, who was moved to the NYSC headquarters, Abuja.
Afolabi, who hails from Osun, is the first male state co-ordinator to head NYSC Ekiti, the statement added.
FCT
Police Service Commission (PSC) has approved the promotion of two Commissioners of Police (CP) to the rank of Assistant Inspector General (AIG) and reprimanded 16 officers for different offences.
A statement signed by Mr Ferdinand Ekpe, the Information Officer of the commission, on Sunday in Abuja, stated that the commission, at its 15th plenary meeting, approved the promotion of Mr Mohammed Zarewa and Mr Ibrahim Paiko to the rank of AIG.
The PSC also dismissed five ASPs for acts that were considered to be inimical to police discipline, while two of them were recommended for prosecution, due to the nature of their offences.
“It has similarly approved the compulsory retirement of an ASP, while 16 other officers were reprimanded for disciplinary offences.
Gombe
President Goodluck Jonathan has decried the arbitrary award of honorary doctoral degrees by Nigerian universities.
He made the remark at the maiden convocation ceremony of Gombe State University in Gombe on Saturday and commended the young institution “for not emulating those universities that sell honorary doctorate degrees.”
“It is rare for a young university such as this not to give honorary doctorate degrees,” Jonathan said at the ceremony, which was part of activities for his one day official visit to the state.
The president, who was the Special Guest of Honour at the ceremony, also lauded the academic standard of the institution, which produced three first class graduates at the maiden convocation.
He commended Gov. Danjuma Goje “for spending reasonable sums of money on gigantic projects, such as the airport, stadium and the university.
The president commended the governor for the vision which materialised in the establishment of the university and expressed delight that Gombe State had remained peaceful.
Kaduna
Vice President Namadi Sambo has urged the people of Kaduna State to support his successor, Mr Patrick Yakowa, to succeed.
Speaking during the handing over ceremony on Saturday in Kaduna, Sambo commended members of his cabinet and the legislature for supporting his administration in the past three years.
He said it would have been difficult to achieve the milestones his administration made in the fields of healthcare, girl-child education, road construction and job creation, without their support.
Sambo, therefore, appealed to the people to extend the same support and cooperation to his successor.
He said he was confident that Yakowa would build on the foundations laid in the state in the last three years, and pledged his support in achieving the objective.
Kano
The Kano State Government has so far spent more than N4.8 billion on its rice development projects, the Commissioner for Projects Monitoring and Evaluation, Alhaji Ibrahim Garba, has said.
Garba, who gave the figure when he visited the Magaga Dam irrigation project in the Kabo Local Government Area (LGA), said the projects were aimed at boosting food security and alleviating poverty in the state.
He, however, said that farmers on whose lands the rice cultivation projects would be executed would not be able to plant crops on their farms this rainy season.
Garba promised that the state government would compensate the affected farmers adequately for the losses they would suffer as a result of the projects and therefore appealed to them to cooperate.
Lagos
An aviation expert, Mr Olumide Ohunayo, has called on airlines and airport authorities to work together to strengthen security at the airports to checkmate stowaways.
A stowaway is a person who hides in a ship or aircraft in the hope of being taken somewhere without paying.
Ohunayo spoke to newsmen against the backdrop of the death of a Nigerian stowaway on a Delta Airline B777 Flight to the U.S. on May 7.
The stowaway, identified as Emeka Okeke, was found dead in the nose wheel compartment of the aircraft on arrival in Atlanta, U.S.
Ohunayo, a former President of the Cabin Crew Association of Nigeria, argued that thorough security at the airports would prevent stowaways from sneaking into an aircraft.
“If it is possible for a man to undermine airport security by stowing away on an aircraft undetected, what stops him from planting a bomb on the plane,’’ he asked.
Nasarawa
The people of Keffi in Nasarawa State on Saturday welcomed home the former Minister of Works and Housing, Dr Hassan Lawal.
Lawal, who had variously served as an academic, bureaucrat and technocrat before the dissolution of the late President Umaru Yar’Adua cabinet by then Acting President Goodluck Jonathan, was received by his people with pomp and celebration.
The Emir of Keffi, Alhaji Mohammed Chindo Yamusa, offered special prayers for Lawal before a reception at the Emir’s Palace, which featured a display of cultural dances.
Friends, political associates and religious leaders extolled Lawal’s contribution and meritorious service to the state and the country.
Responding, the former minister thanked the people for the honour and promised to render more service to the people and the country whenever called upon.
Niger
The Niger branch of Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) has spent N60 million in the construction of a shopping plaza in Minna in its bid to generate funds for its activities, an official said.
The union Chairman, Alhaji Saidu Kalla, made the disclosure in an interview with the newsmen in Minna, saying that the plaza, which consisted of 30 shops and nine offices, was near completion.
“Work on the shopping plaza is about 90 per cent completed and it is expected to be ready before the end of June,” he said.
The chairman said the complex was expected to generate over N5 million annually for the union, and explained that “this additional revenue will reduce our dependence on the monthly contribution of members for our activities.”
Ondo
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo says the major task before the PDP in the 2011 general elections is to reclaim states lost to opposition parties in the 2007 elections.
Obasanjo said this in Akure on Saturday at the grand reception/rally organised by the party to welcome Mr Jimoh Ibrahim and others into the party.
He added that the party would be repositioned before 2011 to reclaim the lost states.
Obasanjo said the party was battle ready to confront any political party that was planning to unleash violence in the next elections.
The former president, who said he was shocked by the loss of Ondo State to the Labour Party, urged PDP members to be united and work as a team to dislodge other political parties in future elections.
“There is a big task ahead of the party in 2011; we must all work together to make sure that PDP remained a formidable party in Nigeria.
“Our doors are opened for those who have defected to other political parties to come back,’’ he said.
Osun
Child rights advocacy received a boost in Osun recently when the state government inaugurated the 2010 Maternal and Child Health Week.
Mr Lanre Afolabi, Commissioner for Health, who was represented by Mrs Moji Oladipo, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, inaugurated the programme in Osogbo.
Afolabi said the week had a lot of goodies including the immunisation and other health and material needs in stock for mothers and their children.
He, therefore, urged mothers and care givers to take full advantage of the programme in the interest of children’s health.
“Every child is entitled to the services such as Vitamin A, immunisation, de-worming, distribution of insecticide treated nets among others,’’ he said.
The commissioner also said that the state government was making efforts to ensure that health services were more accessible to people through construction of new health facilities.
He stressing the need to devote more attention to the health of children, and said that the government would equip and upgrade all existing health facilities
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
