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Attack On RSG Fishing Vessel: Navy Nab Pirates
The Navy has arrested suspected pirates that attacked a Rivers State Government fishing vessel popularly known as the Blue Whale, off the Bonny Coast.
Special Adviser to the Rivers State Governor on Aquaculture/Deep Sea Fishing, Hon. Kurotumuno Briggs who disclosed this in an exclusive interview with The Tide in Port Harcourt said the Navy also apprehended a crew member who allegedly told the pirates the location of the vessel.
Briggs said that although no casualty was recorded in the incident, the pirates broke the head of the Captain and also dispossessed the crew of their materials including fish.
The Special Adviser said that the Buguma Fish Farm was also facing some security challenges, where he said Thai nationals and Israelis recently kidnapped had all left the country, stressing that government was now searching for those that would operate the farm.
He recounted the success of the Amaechi administration in this sector in the last six years, stating that the administration was on the verge of commencing work on the fish farm in Andoni.
“We really thanked God for the past six years of the present administration. We have seen tremendous improvements in aquaculture and deep sea fishing. People now hear of aquaculture, so everyone can attest to that. As I speak to you, we are almost completing the mega fish farm we are setting up in Buguma”, the Special Adviser said.
He said that the fish farms at Buguma and Andoni would generate employment opportunities for graduates and non-graduates alike while some of the fishes produced would be exported.
Also, the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS ), Vice Adm. Dele Ezeoba, yesterday said that the war on crude oil theft was yielding results, with a general decline.
In a keynote address at the Naval Information Management Workshop in Lagos, yesterday, Ezeoba noted that the achievements recorded could not have been possible without the unalloyed commitment of officers and ratings.
The CNS, represented by the Flag Officer Commanding (FOC), Western Naval Command, Rear Adm. Ibok Ibas, said the theme of the workshop was apt, considering the unique role of the media in its support.
“Our recent efforts and the resultant gains in combating illegalities in our waters confer a duty on our friends in the media to generate the much-needed public awareness of what the service is doing in ensuring sanity in our maritime environment.
“This is also a shared responsibility on the part of the Nigerian Navy’s information personnel who must develop capacity for leveraging the media in all facets of the Naval operations,” he said.
Ezeoba, however, restated the commitment of the Navy to maintain a cordial relationship with members of the press, noting that the media serves as a reinforcing multiplier in modern warfare.
He said that the Navy was undergoing a massive transformation, in terms of infrastructure development, platform acquisition, barracks rehabilitation, training and welfare.
Dr Josef Bel-Molukwu, of the Pan-Atlantic University, urged Nigerians to take advantage of the social media and social networking, in building its image.
He said this in his paper entitled: “The Social Media As A Tool of Information Management in the Nigerian Navy.” He noted that though social tools generally lacked management capabilities that help protect identity, security, privacy and enhance compliance needs, it could be managed properly.
According to him, research has indicated that there were 5.1 billion searches on the Internet daily, stating that it was “a social trend in which people use technologies to get the things they needed from each other, rather than from traditional institutions”.
“It’s really about the relationships and the innate human desire to connect to each other, not just the technology,” he added.
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I’m Committed To Community Dev – Ajinwo
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RSG Tasks Rural Dwellers On RAAMP …As Sensitization Team Visits Akulga, Degema, Three Others

Rivers State Head of Service, Dr (Mrs) Inyingi Brown, has called on rural communities in the State to embrace the Rural Access and Agricultural marketing project (RAAMP) with a view to improving their living conditions.
This follows the ongoing sensitization campaign by the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) visits to Degema, Abonnema, Afam headquarters of Degema, Akuku Toru and Oyigbo Etche and Omuma local government areas respectively.
Dr Brown who was represented by the Deputy Director, Special Duties in her office, Mrs Dein Akpanah, said RAAMP was initiated by the Federal Government and World Bank to economically empower rural dwellers.s
She said the World Bank understands the plights of rural farmers and traders in the State, and therefore came up with the programme to address them.
According to her, RAAMP will improve the conditions of farmers, traders and fishermen, and therefore, behoves on every rural communities in the State to embrace the programme.
The Head of Service also said the programme would support the youths to be gainfully employed while bridges and roads will be built to link farms and fishing settlements.
Also speaking, the State project coordinator, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the programme has the potential of creating millionaires among farmers and fishermen in the State.
Kpakol who was represented by Engr. Sam Tombari, said RAAMP would help farmers and fishermen to preserve their produce.
According to him, the project will build cold rooms and Silos for preservation of crops and fishes while access roads will also be created to link farmers and fishermen to the market.
He, however, warned them against any act that will lead to the suspension of the projects by the World Bank.
Kpakol particularly warned against acts such as kidnapping, marching ground, gender based violence and child labour, adding that such acts if they occur may lead to the cancellation of the project by the World Bank.
During the visit to Oyigbo local government area, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the team was there to let them know how they will benefit from the Raamp.
The coordinator who was personally at Oyigbo said the World Bank introduced the project to check food insecurity in the State.
He said already 19 states in Nigeria are already benefitting from the project and called on them to embrace the project.
Meanwhile, stakeholders in the three local government areas have commended the World Bank for including their areas in the project.
They, however, complained over the incessant attacks by pirates on their waterways.
At Degema, King Agolia of Ke kingdom said land was a major problem in the kingdom.
King Agolia represented by High Chief Alpheus Damiebi said many indigenes of the kingdom are willing to go into farming but are handicapped by lack of land.
Also at Degema, the representative of the Omu Onyam Ekeim of Usokun Degema kingdom, Osoabo Isaac, said Degema has embraced the programme but needed more information on the implementation of the programme.
Similarly, while High Chief Precious Abadi advised that the project should not be narrowed to only crop farming, a community women leader, Mrs Orikinge Eremabo Otto, called for the construction of cold rooms in all fishing settlements in the area.
At Abonnema, Mr Diamond Kio linked the problem of the area to incessant piracy along waterways.
He also expressed fears over the possibility of the project being hijacked by politicians.
Also at Abonnema, a stakeholder, Ikiriko Kelvin, called on the World Bank to design an agricultural project that will suit the riverine environment, while at Oyigbo, HRH Eze Boniface Akawo expressed satisfaction with the project.
John Bibor
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Senate Replaces Natasha As Committee Chairman

The political mudslinging between the Senate leadership and Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan continued yesterday as the Senate named Senator Aniekan Bassey as the new Chairman of the Committee on Diaspora and Non-Governmental Organisations.
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, announced the appointment during yesterday’s plenary, confirming Bassey’s replacement of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who is currently on suspension.
Akpoti-Uduaghan was reassigned to the Diaspora and NGOs Committee in February after she was removed as Chair of the Senate Committee on Local Content during a minor reshuffle.
Bassey is the senator representing Akwa Ibom North-East Senatorial District.
Although no reason was given for her removal yesterday, the change is believed to be connected to her unresolved suspension.
In May, Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court ordered her reinstatement and directed her to tender an apology to the Senate.
However, the Senate has insisted it has not received a certified true copy of the court judgment.
Akpoti-Uduaghan who represents Kogi Central, has yet to resume her legislative duties despite a recent court ruling that voided her suspension.
In a televised interview on Tuesday, Akpoti-Uduaghan said she was awaiting the Certified True Copy of the judgment before officially returning to plenary, citing legal advice and respect for institutional process.
Although the Federal High Court described her suspension as “excessive and unconstitutional”, a legal opinion dated July 5 and attributed to the Senate’s counsel, Paul Daudu (SAN), argued that the ruling lacked any binding directive to enforce her reinstatement.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, one of only three female senators in the current assembly, said the continued delay in allowing her return was not only a denial of her mandate but also a blow to democratic representation.
“By keeping me out of the chambers, the Senate is not just silencing Kogi Central, it’s denying Nigerian women and children representation. We are only three female senators now, down from eight,” she said.
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