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Governor Muhammed Abubakar of Bauchi State (left), presenting a souvenir to DHLVisa-Sports Leader, Sharon Abott, during the courier team's inspection of sports facilities in Bauchi, yesterday.

Governor Muhammed Abubakar of Bauchi State (left), presenting a souvenir to DHLVisa-Sports Leader, Sharon Abott, during the courier team’s inspection of sports facilities in Bauchi, yesterday.

Adamawa
Following the outbreak of Lassa fever in Taraba State,
the Adamawa State Government has commenced mobilisation of rural communities in the five local government areas sharing boundaries with Taraba State.
The State Commissioner for Health, Dr Fatima Atiku, made this known in Yola while briefing journalists.
“ His Excellency has directed that we fully mobilise the public on precautionary measures and early detection.
“The disease is caused by virus from rats; our people should imbibe the culture of hygiene by covering their food and foodstuff,” Atiku said.
Atiku said all the disease control officers in the local government areas bordering Taraba had been placed on alert to check for any outbreak.

Bauchi
The Permanent Secretary, Bauchi State Ministry of
Health, Dr Saidu Gital, said that no case of Lassa fever had been confirmed in the state.
Gital stated this while briefing newsmen in Bauchi on the outbreak of the disease.
He said that although the state had four suspected cases, three were diagnosed to be negative while laboratory result on one was pending.
“The fourth person accidentally came from Kanam Local Government Area of Plateau, but the result is being awaited,” he said.
He said that the Federal Ministry of Health had supplied health personnel, protective equipment and Ribavirin tablets as well as injectable drugs for use when any case was confirmed.

FCT
The Federal Fire Service has said that it will sanction
any person who failes to comply to the National Fire Safety Code in putting up public structures in the country.
The Controller-General of the service, Mr Joseph Anebi, made the disclosure at an interactive session with newsmen in Abuja.
He urged Nigerians to always seek the advice of the service by sending their building plans for vetting and review before embarking on the project.
Anebi, who decried the incessant fire outbreaks in the country, attributed most of the incidents to carelessness of some Nigerians.
He said that the service had fined some filling stations in Kubwa in FCT and Mararaba in Nasarawa State for failing to adhere to the safety code.

EKiti
Mrs Feyisetan Fayose, the wife of Ekiti State Gover
nor, has reiterated her resolve to always celebrate her birthday with the less privileged.
Fayose made this known in Ado –Ekiti, during a short prayer session to commemorate her 52nd birthday anniversary.
The governor’s wife said rather than throwing party or spending on frivolity, she prefers to reach out to people who are incapacitated in taking care of themselves.
She gave succour to about 31 families by paying off their medical bills to celebrate her birthday.
The governor’s wife said the bills were paid in order to encourage the beneficiaries to always make use of government owned facilities whenever the need arose.

Kaduna
The Kaduna State Commissioner for Education, Dr
Shehu Adamu-Danfulani, has said that the free education programme of the Governor Nasiru El-Rufa’i’s administration has increased pupil’s enrolment by 64 per cent.
Adamu-Danfulani made the disclosure in an interview with newsmen in Zaria recently.
He said that some parents could not send their children to school because of the school fees of N200.
According to him, the policy decision of the El-Rufai administration to cancel the N200 school fees has increased enrolment in schools by about 64 per cent.
“Until I was appointed a commissioner and until the declaration by Governor El-Rufa’i, I never thought that some pupils could not go to school because some parents could not pay N200.”
Kano
The Kano State Government has confirmed fresh outbreak
of bird flu in the state.
The Director, Veterinary Services in the state Ministry of Agriculture, Dr Shehu Bawa, confirmed the incident in an interview with newsmen in Kano.
Bawa said that the outbreak, which resurfaced this week, had so far hit three poultry farms in the state.
“I can confirm to you that the disease has already affected three farms and we have taken samples from other farms.
“So far, we have three poultry farms that have been affected by the disease,” he said.
According to him, the department has already sent the samples to the National Veterinary Research Institute (NVRI), Vom in Plateau for confirmation.

Kebbi
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Kebbi State has
commended the state government for releasing one billion naira for payment of outstanding pension of retired civil servants.
NLC Chairman Murtala Usman made the commendation in an interview with newsmen in Birnin Kebbi.
Usman said the efforts of the state government deserved commrnedation for taking the bold step of settling part of the outstanding pension of the workers.
He said the backlog of pension was more than one billion naira though the pension liability was part of the debt inherited from the administration of Gov. Saidu Dakingari.
He said a committee that would conduct and monitor the payment had since been inaugurated, and they were expected to swing into action by next week.

Kogi
Stakeholders have called on the Federal Government to
absorb personnel of National Blood Transfusion Service Centres across the country laid off following donor agencies withdrawal of their sponsorship.
The stakeholders, who made the appeal in separate interviews with newsmen in Lokoja, said that the government should absorb the personnel laid off across the country.
They said that due to the withdrawal of the sponsorship of the centres by donor agencies, core medical and health personnel were relieved of their jobs across the country.
Mr Friday Ogungbemi, the 2015 Highest Blood Donor at the Lokoja Service Centre said the Federal Government should absorb the personnel into the Federal Civil Service.

Kwara
An Okuta Area Court in Kwara State has dissolved a 13-
year-old marriage between Bilikis Idris and Abdullahi Idris over claim of frequent fighting.
The court presided by Mr Ahmed Yahaya, ordered the couple to go their separate ways without disturbing the peace of the society.
The wife, Bilikis, had approached the court in 2015, seeking the dissolution of the marriage which had produced three children, over allegation that she had no rest of mind in the union.
She pleaded with the court to grant her wish so that she would marry another man that would care for her.
The man, Abdullahi, who was absent in court but sent a letter, consented to the relief sought by his wife.
Lagos
The Lagos State Government has reaffirmed its com
mitment to end violence against children and ensure safe and secure future for the Nigerian child.
Commissioner for Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation in the state, Mrs Lola Akande, announced this while inaugurating the sub-committee on the launch of “Year of Action to End Violence against Children (VAC)’’ in Lagos.
The Tide reports that the programme would be inaugurated in February.
Akande said that VAC was crucial to the state government in view of cases of violence being perpetuated against children in the state.
She said that children were the bedrock of any nation, hence the need to safeguard their future by putting an end to any form of violence against them.

Ogun
The Vice-Chancellor, Bells University, Sango-Ota, Ogun
State, Prof. Isaac Adebayo, has advised all new students to be focused and desist from spending much times on social media devices like chatting.
Adebayo gave the advice at the 11th Matriculation of the institution in Sango Ota, Ogun.
The don urged the new students to be serious in order to face the rigors of academic life, adding that life in the university was different from life outside the world.
“Students should desist from spending much times on social media devices like chatting, and concentrate more on their studies in order to meet competitive global market,” he warned.
He implored matriculating students and under-graduates to empower themselves by acquiring additional skills and professional certificates to boost their future careers.

Yobe
The Yobe State Government says it has taken addi
tional measures to coordinate donors’ assistance to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the state to guard against insurgents disguising as donors to infiltrate the camps.
The state Deputy Governor, Abubakar Aliyu disclosed this in Damaturu in an interview with newsmen.
Abubakar, who is also the Chairman, Committee on Rehabilitation and Relocation of IDPs, said it had become necessary to adopt additional security measures for the safety of the IDPs.
“We urge all donors ranging from government organisations to Non- Governmental Organisations (NGO) and philanthropists to liaise with the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) while providing assistance to the IDPs,’’ he said.
He said the state government had been providing food, shelter, water, health and sanitation needs of the IDPs in both government and self- established camps.

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Accolades, Fanfare As Ogbakor Ikwerre President General Celebrates 80th Birthday

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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.

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Ensure That Ogoni Is Heard In The Right Way, HYPREP Urges Creative Arts Trainees

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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.

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NYCOP Urges Stakeholders To Develop, Empower Ogoni Youths

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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

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