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Bayesla Gas Fire: FG Pledges Lasting Solution …As Community Leaders, Youths Laud Petroleum Minister’s Visit

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The Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, has   pledged the commitment of the Federal Government to provide lasting solution to the incidents of environmental pollution caused by the exploration and production of oil and gas especially in the Niger Delta region of the country.

Speaking during an assessment tour of some communities believed to have been impacted by the recent gas fire at the Chevron Nigeria operated KS Endeavour drilling rig, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke stated the readiness of the Petroleum Ministry to galvanise the International Oil Companies, IOCs, as well as the host communities to ensure that the operating environment is made safe for all concerned in line with international best practice.

Last month there was a fire outbreak after an explosion from a new gas well head at Funawa 5 gas platform along the Kolu-Ama River in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State on the Drilling Rig KS located in shallow water approximately 10 km off the coast of Nigeria.

The resultant gas fire which has since diminished to a marginal level brought to the fore the perennial challenge of environmental pollution and degradation in the oil bearing region.

At the end of the evaluation exercise which saw the Petroleum Minister undertake aerial survey of the eight host communities spread across Southern Ijaw and Brass Local Government Areas (Koluama 1, Koluma 11, Ekeni, Foropa, Fishtown, Ezetu 1, Ezetu 11 and Sanga, Mrs. Alison-Madueke assured the community that the President is determined to bring the suffering of oil producing areas to an end.

“We have done the aerial survey, we have seen, and also heard from the community leaders and youths, the next thing is to report back to the President and within the next one week to provide response to the community leaders,’’ Mrs. Alison-Madueke stated.

Responding on behalf of the community, His Royal Highness, Mienye Newton, the Ama nanaowei of Kolu-Ama 11, pledged the readiness of the entire clan to work with the Petroleum Ministry as well as the IOCs to ensure clean environment and the much needed development of the area.

Echoing the same sentiment, HRH Jeremiah Lechemo, the Amananaowei of Kolu-Ama 1 applauded Mrs. Alison-Madueke for being the first as well as the highest Federal Government official to visit what is known as the Keffes communities made up of the eight oil and gas bearing communities under the Chevron operating area in Bayelsa state.

“The visit by the Minister has made us to forget about the pain we are going through, though the pinch is still there but this is the first time we are feeling federal government’s presence in our midst,’’ the Monarch stated.

Christopher Tuodo, Chairman of the Keffes Rural Development Foundation also spoke thus: “Today is unique in the history of the people of Keffes, unique in the sense that this is the first time a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Managing Director of Chevron Nigeria, CNL, are personally visiting our community,’’ he stated.

Tuodo called on the Minister to fastrack the supply of relief materials to the people as well as provide urgent medical assessment team to undertake a comprehensive appraisal of the situation.

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FG Ends Passport Production At Multiple Centres After 62 Years

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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.

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FAAC Disburses N2.225trn For August, Highest In Nigeria

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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.

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KenPoly Governing Council Decries Inadequate Power Supply, Poor Infrastructure On Campus

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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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