Nation
THE STATES
Bauchi
Bauchi State Governor, Isa Yuguda, last Tuesday said over
two million people displaced from their communities by members of the Boko Haram sect are currently taking refuge in his state.
Yuguda spoke with State House correspondents shortly after attending a meeting President Goodluck Jonathan had with parents of the girls abducted from their school in Chibok, Borno State on April 14.
He said the situation had become a challenge to his state which is surrounded by all the states having security challenges, adding that his state’s resources were being overstretched because they had to share the little they have with the refugees.
Minister of Education, Ibrahim Shekarau, faulted those who are of the view that the President’s meeting with the parents was too late in coming.
Borno
The Speaker of the Borno State House of Assembly,
Abdulkareem Lawan, last Tuesday, said the rumoured impeachment process against the governor was a farce and the machination of political interest working to destabilise the troubled state.
He noted that it was glaring that majority of the lawmakers were wholly committed to the return of peace to the state and would stand against any act that would cause a breach of the peace.
The Speaker, who warned that any impeachment process against the governor would further draw the state back, noted that the governor had done nothing to warrant being removed.
Lawan, who spoke on the telephone to journalists from Saudi Arabia, where he is on the Lesser Hajj, said the impeachment process alleged to be championed by the former governor of the state, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, would fall flat.
He said, “The leadership and more than two-third of members of the Assembly are fully behind Governor Kashim Shettima, and our major preoccupation at the moment is how to restore peace in the state and put an end to killings, rather than any political upheaval.”
Ekiti
Court of Appeal sitting in Ado Ekiti has dismissed an ap
peal challenging the appointment of Oba Adegoke Adeyemi as the Alara of Aramoko-Ekiti.
The court upheld the decision of the Ekiti State High Court which struck out the suit filed by one of the contestants to the throne, Prince Olusegun Aderemi.
Adeyemi was declared the Alara of Aramoko on August 10, 2009 after defeating Aderemi by seven votes to six in the ballot by kingmakers.
Aderemi had challenged the appointment and asked the trial court to set aside the purported election of the monarch among other reliefs.
But the court presided over by Justice Cornelius Akintayo, on April 16, 2013 ruled that the case was incompetent because the plaintiff did not exhaust the conditions precedent and local remedies before filing the case.
FCT
The Inspector-General of Police, Mr Mohammed Abubakar,
says the force will establish a 26-bed cottage hospital in each of the six geo-political zones in the country.
He gave the assurance last Tuesday in Abuja in an interview with newsmen shortly after he declared open a three-day seminar for police medical officers.
He said, “We have made it a point of duty now that very soon if there is recruitment; they (medical unit) are going to be given large chunk. “This is to enable them to recruit more doctors and other medical personnel.”
Abubakar said the establishment of the cottage hospitals in the zones was to enable officers and men of the force in the rural areas benefit from the police medical services.
Also, AIG, Medical, Mrs Grace Akudo, said the unit had received some fund from the National Health Insurance Scheme and promised that it would be used to upgrade the force’s medical facilities.
Akudo said the unit would soon develop a strategic medical plan for the force where training of professionals would be given priority.
She said in the planned recruitment, both middle and high level professionals would be recruited to provide effective medical services to officers and men.
Kano
Six persons have died of cholera in Kafin Dalawa Village in
Tudunwada Wada local council of Kano State. Besides, the state Ministry of Health has confirmed the out break of cholera in nine local councils and had since deployed medical personal to observe the situation and check possible epidemic.
The affected councils are Doguwa, Tudunwada Wada, Gaya, Wudi, Dawakin Kudu, Garko, Kabo, Rano and Sumaila, all outside the metropolis. The Commissioner for Health, Dr. Abubakar Labaram Yusuf, told newsmen that 116 people were infected, though the ministry was already working to curb further spread.
He hinged the outbreak to the method of consumption of food and water, especially during the Ramadan period, even as maintained that only seven persons were currently on admission for suspected cholera infection.
However, a non-governmental organisation, Isma Medicare Initiative, revealed that about 701 people have been infected in the past six days, with 20 severe cases in Kafin Dalawa alone.
Kwara
Two people were feared dead in Ilorin, Kwara State capital
last Tuesday when men of the Nigeria Custom Service and suspected smugglers clashed over the alleged refusal to check their consignment, at Binukonu motor park, Sawmill area, Ilorin.
It was revealed that, the Customs men were on trail of a vehicle carrying suspected smuggled cosmetics products, including air fresh conditioners car perfumes into the city, having refused arrest.
Sources said that the driver of the vehicle was thus chased by the men to Binukonu Motor park at Saw Mill area, where they exchanged gunshots.
The stray bullet allegedly fired by men of the Customs hit one of the members of the motorpark, leading to burning of used tyres at different areas of the town by colleagues of the dead person.
Lagos
Lagos lawyer, Mr Festus Keyamo has described the res
ignation of Adamawa State Deputy Governor, Mr Bala Ngglari as illegal and unconstitutional.
In an open letter to the President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, Keyamo said the impeachment of the state governor, Vice Admiral Murtala Nyako (rtd) and the resignation of Ngglari were characterised by illegalities.
He warned that the nation might be gradually sliding into “a state of anomie, if your Excellency turns a blind eye and deaf ears to the various illegalities that have characterised the process employed in the gale of impeachments, or threatened impeachments and/or removal of elected representatives of the people in various parts of this country.”
He argued that as at the time Ngglari purportedly resigned, Nyako was still the governor and therefore the letter of resignation should have been addressed to him (Nyako) and not the Speaker.
Ogun
The Forum of South-West Peoples Democratic Party state
lawmakers has called on President Goodluck Jonathan to rescue the abducted Chibok girls, using the best option that will not put the lives of the girls in danger.
They made this call last Tuesday in a communique after their meeting in Abeokuta, last Thursday, signed by 15 PDP state lawkers from Oyo, Ekiti, Ogun and Ondo, they commended Jonathan’s effort to curtail insecurity in the country, they urged him to expedite action on the rescue mission.
They said, “While we commend the President for his determination and zeal to ensure that insecurity become a thing of the past, we also appeal to him not to rest on his oars in attempt to rescue the abducted Chibok girls using the best option that will not put their lives in danger.”
The lawmakers also called on the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, and other security agencies, to provide adequate security for the Osun governorship election holding on August 9, as well as the 2015 general elections, to prevent unnecessary shedding of blood, before, during and after the polls.
Osun
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Osun State chapter,
has demanded a detailed account of how the state’s allocations and other funds collected by the administration of Governor Rauf Aregbesola, since the inception of his administration were utilised.
The party, in a statement last Tuesday, by the Director of Media and Publicity of Iyiola Omisore Campaign Organisation, Mr. Diran Odeyemi, said the PDP was making the request because it had established that all the projects the Osun State government had claimed as its projects were either funded by the Federal Government or with local governments allocations.
The party said it welcomed the admittance by the government spokesperson, Mr Sunday Akere, that the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan through UBEC, built all elementary and middle schools in the state, while those roads executed at local governments were paid for by all council areas in the state.
The PDP said, “With the facts at our disposal, Ogbeni Aregbesola has received over N300bn from federation account since he took over as the governor of the state. All elementary and middle schools in Osun state are built by UBEC, all high schools were constructed with SUKUK bond,
Plateau
Aggrieved workers of Jos North Local Government Coun
cil in Plateau State have staged a protest over non-payment of their two months outstanding salaries and other entitlements.
The workers in the early hours of last Tuesday blocked the council secretariat preventing people from going in to conduct their day-to-day activities.
The protesting workers had earlier blocked the entrance of the council secretariat to prevent the interim chairman and other senior staff of the council from gaining entry into the secretariat.
Chairman of the Jos North NULGE, Mr. Yakubu Dung, however said the workers were not on strike, stressing that they were just gathering to be addressed by the leaders of the workers’ union.
He said the council was seriously addressing the plight of the workers, adding that leadership of NULGE is in dialogue with the management. Chairman of the council, Mr. Danjuma Sanda, was not available for comments.
L-R: Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, All Progressives Congress (APC) National Chairman, Chief John Oyegun and Senator Chris Ngige, during the APC chieftains visit to the cardinal in Abuja, yesterday.
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.
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.
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