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Excitements As RSG Opens World Book Capital School
Barely 10 months after Port Harcourt in Rivers State, took over as World Book Capital, teachers and pupils of Banham Primary School, Aggrey Road, in the state capital last Friday celebrated their relocation to the UNESCO World Book Capital Model Primary School situated at Moscow Road in the city.
The formal commencement of academic activities in the school marks the fulfillment of yet another promise by the state Governor, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi.
Pupils of Banham Primary could not contain their joy upon seeing the facilities at the UNESCO World Book Capital School, which became their new place of study last week.
According to the teachers and pupils, the school is well equipped with the state-of-the-art facilities like the sick bay, library, music class, science laboratories, and ICT, among others.
Head Teacher of the school, Mrs. Ibiene Eremie, said that she was short of words to describe the kind of facilities in the school.
She said that the teachers and pupils can now settle down to teach and learn as the conducive environment provided by the state government will make teaching very easy and learning fun.
Eremie, who was full of commendation for the state government, promised that the teachers would do their best in bringing up properly educated children in the new environment.
On their part, pupils of the school also lavished praises on Governor Amaechi for providing a conducive learning environment for them.
They said that the new school cannot be compared to where they were coming from, observing that the new environment would make them to study harder and aim high in life.
Chairman of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Sir Ali Oruitemeka, said the pupils were moved to the new structure because the environment is more conducive for learning.
He stated that the upsurge in the enrolment of pupils into government-owned schools in Rivers State necessitated the construction of 20-classroom blocks across the state, adding that the schools are well equipped with books and e-books.
According to him, the schools are being used by the state government to promote reading culture among pupils and students, noting that “every pupil of the schools has a reading period as pupils are made to pick a book, read and summarise during the book review segment”.
The UNESCO World Book Capital School is one of the 20-classroom school blocks built across the state by the Amaechi administration as part of its efforts to expand access to education by pupils across the state.
The Rivers State Government had a month ago commenced the movement of pupils from old schools to the newly constructed one-storey classroom blocks which Amaechi promised to deliver before handing over power on May 29.
The Tide recalls that UNESCO had crowned Port Harcourt the 2014 World Book Capital City in April 2014, with the famed Garden City beating ten other great cities that include Oxford in England and Moscow in Russia.
Governor Amaechi thereafter promised to build a world-class primary school to commemorate the feat – a promise which he has now fulfilled with the formal opening of the UNESCO World Book Capital School, Port Harcourt.
Amaechi’s feats in the area of education that moved UNESCO to choose Port Harcourt as the World Book Capital City include building over 500 model primary schools and 24 model secondary schools.
The government has also employed about 13,000 teachers, offering free education with free books as part of a strong vision to promote and sustain activities that would make promotion of literary activities and make literacy a staple in the state’s agenda.
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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
News
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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