News
…Slams FG Over Environmental Disaster Management …Swears-in New HOS
Chairman of Nigerian Governors’ Forum and Governor of Rivers
State, Rt Hon Chibuike Amaechi, has lashed out at the Federal Government,
saying the measures it put in place to combat environmental challenges in the
country are gassy.
The governor, who was speaking against the backdrop of
worrisome environmental degradation, and rampaging floods in the Niger Delta,
wants the Federal Government to quickly put in place ‘’workable measures’’ that
would adequately address the growing problems of environmental degradation and
flooding in the region and the country as a whole.
Amaechi passed this seeming ‘Save Our Souls’ message to the
authorities in Abuja, through the Senate Committee on Environment and Ecology.
Members of the committee, led by the Chairman, Dr. Bukola
Saraki, had paid the governor a courtesy visit at the
Government House, Port Harcourt, on Tuesday, where Governor
Amaechi argued that if adequate measures were not urgently put in place to
address the problems suffered by oil producing communities in the region,
‘’state resources will not be enough to contain the humanitarian crisis that
will arise from official inaction’’.
According to the chairman of the governors’ forum, ‘’we all
know that derivation funds are paid to the states, but all of us must work
together and ensure that the problems faced by these communities should be
addressed.
“We should do something fast to help our people, that is why
I said, you need to champion the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) that addresses
issues of oil producing communities, and that is our concern because it will
bring succor to our people”.
He said the issue of flooding had become worrisome in the
oil and gas region and called on the central government to take urgent steps to
remove silt from River Niger in a bid to address the menace of flooding.
‘’The reason why you have flooding is because the Federal
Government need to remove silt from River Niger, and if we don’t do that, we
can’t stop flooding”, he said, while thanking the Senate committee for their
concern and commitment to finding a lasting solution to the environmental
challenges suffered by the people of the region.
Earlier, Committee Chairman, Sen. Saraki had said they were
in the state as part of their oversight functions to verify complaints relating
to issues of environmental pollution and devastation in oil producing
communities in the state.
Saraki expressed disappointment over the level of oil
pollution in Obite, Ebubu, Bori and Joinkrama communities in Rivers State.
‘’We visited some oil producing communities where there were
complaints of oil degradation and devastation of their water, farmlands and
environment, and the people could do nothing for their livelihood, because no
remediation was paid to them by those oil companies’’, the Senate committee
chair said.
He stated that, it was wrong for host communities to suffer
such level of pollution from oil companies operating in their areas without
adequate compensation paid to those affected.
Saraki also stressed the need for the speedy passage of
NOSDRA Amendment Bill 2012 before the National Assembly to address problems of
compensation, polluter pays and spill affecting oil producing communities in
the Niger Delta.
He commended Governor Amaechi for restoring peace in the
state, and thanked the oil affected communities for their cooperation and for
making their inspection visit a success.
Meanwhile, barely two weeks after erstwhile Head of Service
bowed out of office, Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi has sworn-in Barrister
Samuel Long-John as the new Head of Service, as he urged him to drive his
administration’s bid for an efficient civil service.
Rt Hon Amaechi said the appointment of Long-John is in line
with service rules, since according to him he is the most senior permanent
secretary.
Long John has so far put in 17 years before his recent
appointment, as he joined the state civil service in 1995.
Amaechi while speaking during the swearing-in-ceremony of
Barrister Long-John at Government House, Wednesday in Port Harcourt,
congratulated the new head of service on his appointment, and assured him of
his administration’s commitment to make the civil service an effective and
efficient body to ensure stability in the current political dispensation.
“I have made the decision to stabilize the civil service.
Right from the time I took over power in 2007, I thought of putting in place an
efficient and effective civil service to ensure stability. We have chosen
Barrister Samuel Long-John as the most senior civil servant, this is not the
time to play politics, and we have taken the best decision so far”, Amaechi
said.
Governor Amaechi also charged the new head of service to
improve on the good works of his predecessor, Mrs Esther Anucha and set up
useful structures that would enhance standards in line with the vision of his
administration.
“As the new head of service, you need to continue the
overhaul of the civil service, by ensuring that it is pro-ICT. You have the
duty to make them understand that every civil servant should be ICT-compliant”,
Amaechi further said.
The state chief executive also expressed the commitment of
his administration to enforce the distribution of computers to every ministry,
department and agency to ensure full compliance by all civil servants for
effective service delivery.
On his part, the new Head of Service, Barrister Samuel
Long-John said, he would put in his best to ensure that the vision of Governor
Amaechi is achieved.
“We all know that the civil service is the engine room of
government, and we will do everything possible to sustain it to serve the
current administration better than expected”, he said.
Vice President Kashim Shettima has arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for an official State visit at the invitation of the Prime Minister, Dr. Abiy Ahmed.
Upon arrival yesterday, Shettima was received at the airport by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Dr. Gedion Timothewos, and other members of the Ethiopian and Nigerian diplomatic corps.
Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Communication, Stanley Nkwocha, revealed this in a statement he signed yesterday, titled: “VP Shettima arrives in Ethiopia for official state visit.”
During the visit, Vice President Shettima will participate in the official launch of Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Programme, a flagship environmental initiative.
The programme designed to combat deforestation, enhance biodiversity, and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change targets the planting of 20 billion tree seedlings over a four-year period.
In line with strengthening bilateral ties in agriculture and industrial development, the Vice President will also embark on a strategic tour of key industrial zones and integrated agricultural facilities across selected regions of Ethiopia.
News
RSG Tasks Farmers On N4bn Agric Loan ….As RAAMP Takes Sensitization Campaign To Four LGs In Rivers
The Rivers State Government has called on the people of the state especially farmers to access the ?4billion agricultural loans made available by the State and domiciled in the Bank of Industry.
This is as the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) of Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP), a World Bank project, took its sensitization campaign to Opobo/Nkoro, Andoni, Port Harcourt City and Obio/Akpor local government areas.
The campaign was aimed at enlightening community dwellers and other stakeholders in the various local government areas on the RAAMP project implementation and programme activities.
The Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Maurice Ogolo, said this at Opobo town, Ngo, Port Harcourt City and Rumuodumanya, headquarters of the four local government areas respectively, during the sensitization campaign.
Ogolo said apart from the ?4billion, the government has also made available fertilizers and other farm inputs to farmers in the various local government areas.
The Permanent Secretary who is the Chairman, State Steering Committee for the project, said RAAMP will construct roads that will connect farms to markets to enable farmers and fishermen sell their farms produce and fishes.
He also said rural roads would be constructed to farms and fishing settlements, and warned against any act that will lead to the cancellation of the projects in the four local government areas.
According to him, the World Bank and Federal Government which are the financiers of the programme will not condone such acts like kidnapping, marching ground and other acts inimical to the successful implementation of the projects in their respective areas.
At PHALGA, Ogolo asserted that the city will benefit in the areas of roads and bridge construction.
He noted that RAAMP was thriving in both the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; Lagos and other states in the country, stressing that the project should also be given the seriousness it deserves in Rivers State.
Speaking at Opobo town, the headquarters of Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area, the project coordinator, RAAMP, Mr.Joshua Kpakol, said the programme would reduce poverty in the state.
According to him, both fishermen and farmers will maximally benefit from the programme.
At Ngo which is the headquarters of Andoni Local Government Area, Kpakol said roads will be constructed to all remote fishing settlements.
He said Rivers State is lucky to be among the states implementing the project, and stressed the need for the people to embrace it.
Meanwhile, Kpakol said at PHALGA that RAAMP is a project that will transform the lives of farmers, traders and other stakeholders in the area.
He urged the stakeholders to spread the information to their various communities.
However, some of the stakeholders at Opobo town complained about the destruction of their farms by bulls allegedly owed by traditional rulers in the area, as well as incessant stealing of their canoes at waterfronts.
At Ngo, Archbishop Elkanah Hanson, founder of El-Shaddai Church, commended the World Bank and the Federal Government for bringing the projects to Andoni.
He stressed the need for the construction of roads to fishing settlements in the area.
Also, a former Commissioner for Agriculture in the state and Okan Ama of Ekede, HRH King Gad Harry, noted that storage facilities have become necessary for a successful agricultural programme.
Harry also stressed the need for the programme to be made sustainable.
In their separate speeches, the administrators of Andoni and Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Areas, pledged their readiness to support the programme.
At Port Harcourt City, the Administrator, Dr Arthur Kalagbor, represented by the Head of Local Government Administration, Port Harcourt City, Mr Clifford Paul, said the city would support the implementation of the programme in the area.
Also, the administrator of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Dr Clifford Ndu Walter, represented by Mr Michael Elenwo, pledged to support the programme in his local government area.
Among dignitaries at the Obio/Akpor stakeholders engagement is the chairman, Rivers State Traditional Rulers Council and paramount ruler of Apara Kingdom, HRM Eze Chike Wodo, amongst others.
John Bibor
President Bola Tinubu has ordered the commencement of personnel audit and skill gap analysis across all cadres of federal civil servants.
The president gave this directive in Abuja, yesterday, while speaking at the International Civil Service Conference, reaffirming his resolve to achieve efficiency and professional service delivery in the civil service.
“I have authorized the comprehensive personnel audit and skill gap analysis across the federal civil service to deepen capacity. I urge all responsible stakeholders to prioritize timely completion of this critical exercise, to begin implementing targeted reforms, to realize the full benefit of a more agile, competent and responsive civil service,” the president announced.
Tinubu further directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), to prioritise data integrity and sovereignty in national interest.
He called for the capture, protection and strategic publication of public sector data in line with the Nigeria Data Protection Act of 2023.
“We must let our data speak for us. We must publish verified data assets within Nigeria and share them internationally recognized as fruitful. This will allow global benchmarking organisation to track our progress in real time and help us strengthen our position on the world stage. This will preserve privacy and uphold data sovereignty,” Tinubu added.
President Tinubu hailed the federal civil service as the “engine” driving his Renewed Hope Agenda, and the vehicle for delivering sustainable national development.
He submitted that the roles of civil servants remain indispensable in modern governance, declaring that in the face of a fast-evolving digital and economic landscape, the civil service must remain agile, future-ready, and results-driven.
“This maiden conference is a bold step toward redefining governance in an era of rapid transformation. An innovative Civil Service ensures we meet today’s needs and overcome tomorrow’s challenges.
“It captures our collective ambition to reimagine and reposition the civil service. In today’s rapid, evolving world of technology, innovation remains critical in ensuring that the civil service is dynamic, digital” the President said.
Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack in her welcome address told the President that his presence and strong words of commendation at the conference has renewed the morale and mandate of public servants across the country.
Walson-Jack described Tinubu as the backbone of driving transformation in the Nigerian civil service, and noted that the takeaways from past study tours undertaken to understudy the civil service in Singapore, the UK and US under her leadership, is already yielding multiplier effects.
Walson-Jack assured Tinubu that her office, in collaboration with reform-minded stakeholders, will not relent in accelerating the implementation of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan, FCSSIP 25.
She affirmed that digitalisation, performance management, and continuous learning remain key pillars in strengthening accountability, transparency, and service delivery across MDAs.
Walson-Jack reaffirmed that the civil service is determined to exceed expectations by embedding a culture of innovation, ethical leadership, and citizen-centred governance in the heart of public administration.