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Catch Kidnappers, Get N10m …Amaechi Dares LGA Youths
Rivers State Governor, Rt Hon Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi has told the people of Omuma Local Government Area to collaborate with security agencies in the area to fish out criminals in their midst and get reward for it
Governor Amaechi, who gave the charge, Monday, during a town hall meeting with the people of the LGA at Eberi, said more security operatives would be deployed to the area to check the spate of criminal activities in that axis of the state.
The governor promised a reward of N10 million to the people if their collaboration would lead to the apprehension of 50 kidnappers, while the sum of N2 million awaits them if they aid the arrest of 30 kidnappers.
The State Chief Executive, who advised them to undertake a house-to-house identification of criminals, particularly kidnappers, and their informants and collaborators, stressed that no kidnap operation would be successful without an insider.
Amaechi emphasised that the only way to stamp out the” trend of hostage taking in the LGA is to get the people of the area involved in the search for criminal elements”.
Consequently, he appealed to the communities to resolve their differences and choose who occupies the vacant stool of Onye-Isi-Agwuru for government recognition to enable him take part in the
house-to-house search for kidnappers in the area.
He used the opportunity to inform those aspiring for the position of Onye-Isi-Agwuru that Government of Rivers State would not decide who became their ruler but would recognize anyone approved by them.
Amaechi advised that the process of getting one should be given urgent attention to enable them occupy their position in the state Council of Traditional Rulers.
The governor assured that government owed them the responsibility of protecting lives and property, and blamed the delay in completion of some government projects in the area on the incessant cases of kidnapping as well as harassment of workers on site.
According to him, with the new approach, all the contractors that abandoned their project sites in the area would return before the end of the month to complete the projects and enumerated some of the programmes of government which the people of the local government had benefitted.
Responding to a question on the 2011 elections, the governor explained that the state government had not and would not endorse any candidate for any elective position, but noted that the only way to appreciate any public officer that had performed well would be to give him a second opportunity to serve them.
Also speaking, the Secretary to the State Government, Mr Magnus Abe said the town hall meeting was initiated by Governor Amaechi as a deliberate attempt for him to interact with the people at the grassroots and urged the people to avail themselves of the opportunity to bare their minds on issues bothering them.
Earlier, the Chairman of Omuma Local Government Council, Mr John Anucha had commended Governor Amaechi for completing the Eberi-Owaza-Ofeh Road and the construction of model primary schools across the LGA.
He said the council had provided electricity to a lot of communities in the area, adding that the greatest challenge facing the area was insecurity as a result of activities of kidnappers from the neighbouring Abia State.
A statement signed by the Acting Chief Press Secretary to the Rivers State Governor, Mr Blessing Wikina said all Permanent Secretaries, Directors and Assistant Directors in all ministries as well as Rectors, Provost Vice Chancellors and heads of state -owned institutions and parastatals are invited to an urgent meeting in Government House, today at 8.30am.
The Nigeria Immigration Service has officially ended passport production at multiple centres, transitioning to a single, centralised system for the first time in 62 years.
Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, disclosed this yesterday while inspecting Nigeria’s new Centralised Passport Personalisation Centre at the NIS Headquarters in Abuja.
He stated that since the establishment of NIS in 1963, Nigeria had never operated a central passport production centre, until now, marking a major reform milestone.
“The project is 100 per cent ready. Nigeria can now be more productive and efficient in delivering passport services,” Tunji-Ojo said.
He explained that old machines could only produce 250 to 300 passports daily, but the new system had a capacity of 4,500 to 5,000 passports every day.
“With this, NIS can now meet daily demands within just four to five hours of operation,” he added, describing it as a game-changer for passport processing in Nigeria.
“We promised two-week delivery, and we’re now pushing for one week.
“Automation and optimisation are crucial for keeping this promise to Nigerians,” the minister said.
He noted that centralisation, in line with global standards, would improve uniformity and enhance the overall integrity of Nigerian travel documents worldwide.
Tunji-Ojo described the development as a step toward bringing services closer to Nigerians while driving a culture of efficiency and total passport system reform.
He said the centralised production system aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda, boosting NIS capacity and changing the narrative for better service delivery.
The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) has disbursed N2.225 trillion as federation revenue for the month of August 2025, the highest ever allocation to the three tiers of government and other statutory recipients.
This marks the second consecutive month that FAAC disbursements have crossed the N2 trillion mark.
The revenue, shared at the August 2025 FAAC meeting in Abuja, was buoyed by increases in oil and gas royalty, value-added tax (VAT), and common external tariff (CET) levies, according to a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting.
Out of the N2.225 trillion total distributable revenue, FAAC said N1,478.593 trillion came from statutory revenue, N672.903 billion from VAT, N32.338 billion from the Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL), and N41.284 billion from Exchange Difference.
The communiqué revealed that gross federation revenue for the month stood at N3.635 trillion. From this amount, N124.839 billion was deducted as cost of collection, while N1,285.845 trillion was set aside for transfers, interventions, refunds, and savings.
From the statutory revenue of N1.478 trillion, the Federal Government received N684.462 billion, State Governments received N347.168 billion, and Local Government Councils received N267.652 billion. A further N179.311 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) went to oil-producing states as derivation revenue.
From the distributable VAT revenue of N672.903 billion, the Federal Government received N100.935 billion, the states received N336.452 billion, while the local governments got N235.516 billion.
Of the N32.338 billion shared from EMTL, the Federal Government received N4.851 billion, the States received N16.169 billion, and the Local Governments received N11.318 billion.
From the N41.284 billion exchange difference, the Federal Government received N19.799 billion, the states received N10.042 billion, and the local governments received N7.742 billion, while N3.701 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) was shared to the oil-producing states as derivation.
The Governing Council of Kenule Beeson Saro-Wiwa Polytechnic, Bori, has decried the inadequate power supply and poor state of infrastructural facilities and equipment at the institution.
The Council also appealed to the government, including Non-Governmental Organisations, agencies, as well as well-meaning Rivers people to intervene to restore and sustain the laudable gesture, dreams and aspirations of the founding fathers of the polytechnic.
The Chairman of the newly inaugurated Council, Professor Friday B. Sigalo, made this appeal during a tour of facilities at the Polytechnic, recently.
Accompanied by members of the team, Prof Sigalo emphasised the position of technology, technical and vocational education in sustainable development.
He noted that with the prospects on ground, and the programmes and activities undertaken in the polytechnic, there is no doubt that the institution would add values to the educational system in our society and foster the desired development, if the existing challenges are jointly tackled.
This was contained in a statement signed by Deputy Registrar, Public Relations, Kenpoly, Innocent Ogbonda-Nwanwu, and made available to The Tide in Port Harcourt.
The chairman who restated the intention of his team of technocrats to ensure that KenPoly enjoys desirable face-lift, said the Council would deliver on its core mandates, accordingly.
Earlier, the Rector, KenPoly Engr. Dr. Ledum S. Gwarah, commended the appointment of Professor Friday B. Sigalo as Chairman of the KenPoly Governing Council.
He described him and his team as seasoned technocrats and expressed confidence in their ability to succeed.
The Rector pledged the management’s support to the Council to ensure that KenPoly resumes its rightful place in the comity of polytechnics in the country.
Facilities visited by the Governing Council include KenPoly workshops, laboratories, skills acquisition centre, library, hostels and medical centre.
Chinedu Wosu
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