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RSG Orders N350m Rotary Machine For The Tide
The Rivers State Government has finally placed orders for the procurement of N350million state-of-the-art Goss Rotary Machine for the Rivers State Newspaper Corporation, the publishers of the Port Harcourt-based The Tide Group of Newspapers.
The contract for the supply of the machine was awarded to Image and Media Associates Ltd, a Port Harcourt-based firm which won the bid for the supply of the machine.
Disclosing this in Port Harcourt, the Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Information and Communications, Mrs Jokotade Adamu, said the move was in line with the Governor Chibuike Amaechi-led administration’s commitment to revitalise the state-owned media organisations.
She stated that the contractor handling the supply and installation of the machine has already been mobilised by government, saying that before the end of the year, the Rotary machine would be delivered.
The permanent secretary emphasised that with the new Rotary machine, the newspaper would not only begin to come out early, but would also increase its circulation, as the machine has the capacity to print over 30,000 copies per hour.
According to her, apart from improving its editorial content and quality, the newspaper would also begin to circulate in very hard-to-reach communities, while at the same time, reclaiming its lost glory as the authoritative voice of the Niger Delta and the strongest government-owned newspaper in the country.
She regretted that in the past, The Tide was read in all the nooks and crannies of the state and across the country, and promised that with the coming on stream of the new Rotary machine, The Tide would reclaim its lost glory as the leading newspaper in the Niger Delta and the most vibrant government-owned newspaper in Nigeria.
Speaking on the recent fire outbreak in the corporation, Adamu stated that the government has awarded contract for the complete renovation and rehabilitation of the corporation’s buildings to make the environment conducive for staff.
According to her, the contracting company, PIRAMIDX Global Structures Limited, has already mobilised to site, and would complete the renovation within two months.
While commending the state government for investing in efforts to revitalise The Tide, a former staff of the newspaper and publisher of News Africa, a United Kingdom-based newsmagazine, Mr Moffat Ekoriko, said the investment shows that Governor Chibuike Amaechi realises the fact that newspaper business is not just only capital intensive but also socially-driven.
According to him, “the media business is beyond profit. It is about professional excellence. It is about being able to give voice to our people. It is a social service, which cost is immeasurable. Therefore, no investment in the business is too much for any government.”
He said that in the past, governments, especially in the Niger Delta took the state media for granted, and refused to fund them after journalists working there had helped them launder their images, thereby aiding their victory at elections, and noted that the weak state media infrastructure in the region was as a result of that legacy.
Ekoriko, who is also the publisher of a Lagos-based national daily newspaper, The MOMENT, expressed delight that some of the state governments in the region were beginning to realise the futility in ignoring the government-owned media institutions they inherited, and were now investing huge chunk of money to revive them.
The publisher lauded Amaechi for approving and releasing funds for the procurement of a new Rotary Machine for and renovation of The Tide newspaper chain, saying that the investment would pay off with the paper reasserting its authority as the dominant force in the region and strong advocate for Rivers people.
He expressed optimism that the restoration of the newspaper’s dominant status in the region would enable the paper compete more favourably with others across the nation, stressing that his chain of media outfits was ready to partner The Tide in training and practical work experience exchange locally and in the UK, printing of The MOMENT for the Eastern edition by The Tide, editorial content exchange, among others.
Reacting, the General Manager, RSNC, Celestine Ogolo thanked the state government for responding quickly to restore the lost glory of the corporation, and assured that the newspaper chain would continued to do everything to live up to the expectations of both the government and people of Rivers people.
The Site Engineer, PIRAMIDX Global Structures Limited, Felix Jack said that the contract covers total renovation, reroofing, office partitioning, rewiring of the electrical connections, landscaping and greening services, among others, and assured that the renovation work would be completed in two months.
In his remarks, chairman, Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Rivers State Council, Mr Opaka Dokubo lauded the bold initiatives by the state government, and added that with the new printing machine and a facelift to the buildings, he was sure that the newspaper would justify the investment by meeting the aspirations of government and people of the state.
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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