Nation
THE STATES
Adamawa
Three persons have been reported dead and many still missing
in flood caused by the release of water from Lagdo Dam in Cameroon Republic.
“The incident occurred following the release of water from
Lagdo Dam by the Cameroon Republic on Saturday,’’ Mr Shadrack Barub, the
Secretary of Adamawa State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), said.
He added that “during assessment tour by the agency in some
of the affected areas, the agency received three death cases, so far, while
many are still missing and thousands of people have been rendered homeless.”
Barub said that the most-hit areas included Fufore,
Girei,Yola South, Yola North, Demsa, Numan, Lamurde, Sheleng, Michika, Guyuk
and Ganye local government areas.
FCT
The National Youth Desk Coordinator, Presbyterian Church of
Nigeria (PCN), Rev. Akin Mbeh on Sunday called on youths to start to build a
new Nigeria on the “ruins and rubbles ‘’ of what remained of the once
prosperous and glorious nation.
In a goodwill message presented to the youth in All
Presbyterian Church on the occasion of the Youths 2012 Sunday in Abuja and made
available to our correspondent, Mbeh said “If we are not truthful to ourselves
, we will never admit any lost glory of our life .’’
’’Youths and all Nigerians should be both builders of new
things and builders of damaged treasures,’’ he added.
“Therefore, we must think well before we build, know what we
want to build , how to build, for who we are building, why we must build and
our end reward or penalty .’’
Jigawa
The Jigawa Government said on Sunday in Dutse that it haS
spent N2. 5 billion on different scholarship programmes for its students from
2007 to date.
Prof. Haruna Wakili, the Commissioner for Education, said
this during the inauguration of the new site of Dutse Model International
School.
Wakili explained that between 2011 and 2012, no fewer than
307 students from the state were sponsored abroad to study Medicine,
Engineering, ICT and Islamic studies.
He said government’s spending on students studying in the
country had increased from N43 .5 million in 2007 to N734 .5 million in 2011.
The commissioner said tertiary institutions also received a
boost as government recently earmarked N1.1 billion for the establishment of
College of Remedial Studies in Kafin-Hausa.
Katsina
No fewer than 100 houses and 146 farms have been destroyed
by flood in Kofa and Tofani villages in Kusada Local Government area of Katsina
State.
The Tide also gathered that eight persons sustained injuries
during the flood which occurred on Friday in the two villages.
The injured persons were said to be receiving treatment at
various hospitals including Katsina General Hospital and Kankia Hospital, with
three treated and discharged.
The flood was said to have destroyed 85 houses and 95 farms
in Kofa village and 15 houses and 51 farms in Tofani village.
Kaduna
A Zaria-based agrochemical dealer, Alhaji Kasimu Iliyasu,
has won CPC’s primaries to be the party’s flag-bearer for Zaria by-election
into Kaduna State House of Assembly.
Declaring the result after the primaries held in Zaria on
Sunday, the Returning Officer, Senator Mohammed Garba, said Iliyasu polled 59
votes to defeat eight other contestants.
Garba said other contestants were Mohammed Ibrahim, who
scored 29 votes, Abass Hassan, 17 votes, Umar Sani, 13 votes, while Aliyu
Ja’afaru, Mohammed Tukur and Hussaini Usman got five, three and two votes
respectively.
The Tide reports that immediately after the declaration of
the result, all the contestants rallied round the winner indicating acceptance
of the outcome of the primaries.
Kogi
Some residents in Lokoja in Kogi State on Tuesday expressed
mixed feelings on the proposed currency restructuring by the Central Bank of
Nigeria (CBN).
The Tide reports that while some residents said it would
have positive effects, others said that it would not have desired effects on
the economy.
Mr Bayo Adeyemi, the Manager of Saklad Wine Shop, told our
correspondent that the currency restructuring policy was necessary now to
improve the economy.
He said it would be easier to move funds to banks after
daily sales if N5, 000 notes were part of the nation’s legal tender.
Kwara
Prof. Shehu Jimoh, Chaiman, Governing Council of Kwara
Polytechnic, Ilorin, has urged tertiary institutions in the country to
emphasise the teaching of science and technology courses in their institutions.
Jimoh told The Tide in Ilorin on Tuesday that the emphasis
was needed to meet the challenges of the 21st century.
According to him, concentrating on the disciplines will also
help move the country forward.
“There is need to place more emphasis on science and
technology, just as they do on cultism, examination malpractice and other
related issues.
“It is obvious now that the development of any nation
depends largely on science and technology and our tertiary institutions should
rise up to the challenge,” he said.
Lagos
Chairman, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA),
Ahmadu Giade has vowed to put an end to the abuse of narcotic drugs and
unconventional substances in some parts of the country.
This was contained in a statement signed by the agency’s
spokesman, Mr Mitchell Ofoyeju, which was made available to newsmen in Lagos.
Giade noted that substances like rubber solution, petrol,
lizard dung and pit toilet were regularly abused in some parts of Nigeria,
particularly in Kano State.
“We are determined to stop the abuse of narcotics and
unconventional substances such as rubber solution, petrol, lizard dung and pit
toilet, all in a bid to get high. All hands must be on deck to protect lives
from destruction.
Nasarawa
Academic activities have been paralysed in three tertiary
institutions of Nasarawa due to strike by lecturers.
The institutions are the College of Education Akwanga, the
College of Agriculture and the Nasarawa State Polytechnic, both in Lafia.
Chairman of the Joint Union of Tertiary Institutions in the
state, Comrade Ibrahim Bako, told newsmen in Lafia on Tuesday that it was a
warning strike to press the state government to meet their demands.
According to him, the government has failed to pay the 18
months outstanding salary arrears to staff of the three institutions.
Niger
The Niger Disaster Management Agency has called on the
Federal Government to hasten the repair of the Wuya Usman bridge across the
River Kaduna to avert its possible collapse due to erosion menace.
The Agency’s Director General, Alhaji Mohammed Shaba, made
the call on Tuesday in an interview with newsmen in Minna.
He said that the repair works must be carried out to prevent
the bridge from collapsing and cutting off the northern parts of the country
from the south on the Bida-Ilorin route.
Shaba, however, said the state government had begun some
repair works around the base of the bridge, adding: “but the Federal Government
must move fast and carry out the repairs so it will be permanent and avoid the
disaster’’.
Ogun
Ten passengers of a commercial bus died on Tuesday at
Obada-Oko in Ogun when their bus collided with an articulated vehicle.
Mr Fatai Bakare, the Itori Unit Commander of the Federal
Road Safety Commission, said the accident occurred along the Abeokuta-Lagos
expressway at about 12 midnight, adding that 11 people were involved.
Bakare gave the registration number of the bus as LAGOS CZ
269 MUS, while the articulated vehicle was marked LAGOS 208 XB.
“All the deceased had been deposited at Federal Medical
Centre (FMC), Abeokuta and Ifo General Hospital. The only survivor is
critically injured and receiving treatment at FMC.
Osun
The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the ruling party in
Osun, said on Sunday that it had put the state on the path of growth.
A statement by Mr Kunle Oyatomi, the party’s local Director
of Publicity, Research and Strategy in Osogbo, said that Governor Rauf
Aregbesola’s administration had made life meaningful for the people.
According to the party, as Osun marks its 21st anniversary
on August 27 it has been able to execute meaningful programmes two years after
it assumed power.
The party said that the rainy season that used to be a
period of grief due to poor drainage network was no longer so.
Sokoto
The Chairman of Shagari Local Government in Sokoto State,
Alhaji Abdullahi Maigwandu, said on Tuesday that the council spent about N100
million to construct 10 motorised boreholes in different parts of the area.
Maigwandu told newsmen in Sokoto that the council spent N10
million on the project in each of the 10 wards.
He said that the projects were undertaken to ensure the
supply of potable water for both human and animal consumption.
He explained that the council would continue to initiate
policies and programmes that would have direct bearing on the lives of the
people in the area.
Nation
Accolades, Fanfare As Ogbakor Ikwerre President General Celebrates 80th Birthday

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.
Nation
Ensure That Ogoni Is Heard In The Right Way, HYPREP Urges Creative Arts Trainees

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.
Nation
NYCOP Urges Stakeholders To Develop, Empower Ogoni Youths

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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