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‘Rumuibekwe Community Has No Problem With Shell’
One of the host landlord communities at the Residential Area (RA) of Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) in Port Harcourt, Rumuibekwe, has come out to say that they have no problem with the multinational oil company and that if for any reason there is a conflict, it could be resolved amicably.
The community has also declared that it did not mandate any person or group of persons to take Shell to court over Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) obtained by the multinational oil company in respect of lands given to Shell by its three host landlord communities of Rumuibekwe, Mgbuesilaru and Rumuorianwo-Rumuokwurusi all in Obio-Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State.
It would be recalled that a Port Harcourt High Court and an Appeal Court had declared that Shell fraudulently obtained C of O in respect of lands given to the company to build its Residential Area in Port Harcourt.
Although two indigenes of Rumuibekwe were part of the people that took Shell to court, the community says it did not mandate them to do so at any particular point in time.
Speaking during a media chat in Port Harcourt, the Chairman of Rumuibekwe Community Trust, Prince Henry Adele, said though the community felt very bad and disappointed when they heard that Shell had obtained the C of O, the people were of the opinion that the matter could be resolved without heading to the courts.
“When we heard about it, we felt betrayed by Shell. But we never mandated anybody to go to court. We felt that the matter could be addressed through dialogue between us and Shell,” he stressed.
He further disclosed that while the contentious issue was still going on, Shell met with the community and paid the amount due as rent to Rumuibekwe through the then chairman of the Community Trust, late Comrade Badu Wokeh and various heads of families.
He stressed that after paying the initial sum of over N168 million, Shell further reviewed the amount payable upwards, making available another sum of over N54 million, which was paid through himself as chairman of the Community Trust and the four heads of families, who also indemnified the multinational oil company.
Adele disclosed that the money was accordingly shared among the indigenes of the community, pointing out that everybody was happy with the outcome of the rent fees paid Shell.
“As you can see, we have no problem with Shell. Rumuibekwe people are happy with what Shell has paid as rent,” he stressed, adding that “on the issue of C of O, the matter would be resolved. There is no need to go to court with our tenant. We never asked anybody to go to court.”
He called on anybody that claims to have a mandate to show it to the people, pointing out that any legitimate mandate must be signed by all the heads of families.
The Community Trust chairman called on Shell to carry Rumuibekwe along in whatever negotiation they are having with the two other host landlord communities, pointing out that they all operate under the umbrella of Joint RA Landlords Association.
He acknowledged that the community has benefitted immensely from Shell in the area of contracts, community development, and award of scholarship, among others.
“There is no point of uproar between Rumuibekwe and Shell. Any disagreement or difference can always be resolved in the interest of all,” he summed up.
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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