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Elechi Amadi, A Literary Giant -Wike
The Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike has described the late literary Icon, Captain Elechi Amadi, as an illustrious son who combined science and literature to promote the development of the society.
Speaking during the staging of selected plays in honour of the late Saga at Obi Wali International Conference Centre, Port Harcourt, to mark the beginning of series of events slated for his burial, Wike said although Captain Elechi Amadi was a graduate of Physics and Mathematics, he ventured into Literature and became a literary giant.
The governor, who was represented by his Deputy, Dr Ipalibo Harry Banigo, stated that the literary works of late Captain Elechi Amadi were purely indigenous to Africa in contrast to what is obtainable in the western world.
He noted that late Captain Elechi Amadi has written not less than twelve plays and novels, stressing that his books are very educative and have affected positively the life of many people in society.
According to him “in the academia, many have obtained their First degrees, Masters degrees and doctors of Philosophy degrees by studying the literary works of late Captain Elechi Amadi, therefore, as we gather here today at this historic moment to honour the late literary giant by staging two of his works, Isiburu and the Great Pond, we should reflect on the positive contributions of this great son of Rivers State.”
The governor urged the people of Rivers State not to see the events slated for the burial of Captain Elechi Amadi as another display of talent but that they should rather be touched by his demise and see how they can learn from his works and apply the principles contain therein to mitigate the numerous social problems bedeviling the society.
He recalled that the late Captain Elechi Amadi was not just only a scientist and literary giant, he also served the state as a permanent secretary, commissioner for education, commissioner for lands and housing, lecturer at the then Rivers State College of Education, and chairman, Rivers State Scholarship Board, among others.
The governor opined that the late Captain Elechi Amadi’s footprints on the sand of time are too numerous to exhaust, and further described him as a great man, a true son of Rivers State who brought several honour and accolades to the state, contending that the state government has no option than to accord him a state burial.
He called on all sons and daughters of Rivers State to participate fully in the burial activities of late Captain Elechi Amadi to give him the honour he deserves, and commended the chairman and members of the burial committee and members of the bereaved family for their co-operation.
In his remarks, the Chairman of the occasion and former governor of the state, Sir Celestine Omehia, said the staging of two selected plays by late Captain Elechi Amadi to herald the activities for his burial is to bring back to the memory lane of who the late literary Icon really was.
Omehia noted that the late Captain Elechi Amadi brought the Ikwerre Ethnic Nationality, Rivers State, Nigeria and Africa on the World Map of literary works, and lauded the state government for giving him a state burial as mark of honour for his contributions to the development of Nigeria and Rivers State in particular.
The Nigeria Immigration Service has officially ended passport production at multiple centres, transitioning to a single, centralised system for the first time in 62 years.
Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, disclosed this yesterday while inspecting Nigeria’s new Centralised Passport Personalisation Centre at the NIS Headquarters in Abuja.
He stated that since the establishment of NIS in 1963, Nigeria had never operated a central passport production centre, until now, marking a major reform milestone.
“The project is 100 per cent ready. Nigeria can now be more productive and efficient in delivering passport services,” Tunji-Ojo said.
He explained that old machines could only produce 250 to 300 passports daily, but the new system had a capacity of 4,500 to 5,000 passports every day.
“With this, NIS can now meet daily demands within just four to five hours of operation,” he added, describing it as a game-changer for passport processing in Nigeria.
“We promised two-week delivery, and we’re now pushing for one week.
“Automation and optimisation are crucial for keeping this promise to Nigerians,” the minister said.
He noted that centralisation, in line with global standards, would improve uniformity and enhance the overall integrity of Nigerian travel documents worldwide.
Tunji-Ojo described the development as a step toward bringing services closer to Nigerians while driving a culture of efficiency and total passport system reform.
He said the centralised production system aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda, boosting NIS capacity and changing the narrative for better service delivery.
The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) has disbursed N2.225 trillion as federation revenue for the month of August 2025, the highest ever allocation to the three tiers of government and other statutory recipients.
This marks the second consecutive month that FAAC disbursements have crossed the N2 trillion mark.
The revenue, shared at the August 2025 FAAC meeting in Abuja, was buoyed by increases in oil and gas royalty, value-added tax (VAT), and common external tariff (CET) levies, according to a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting.
Out of the N2.225 trillion total distributable revenue, FAAC said N1,478.593 trillion came from statutory revenue, N672.903 billion from VAT, N32.338 billion from the Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL), and N41.284 billion from Exchange Difference.
The communiqué revealed that gross federation revenue for the month stood at N3.635 trillion. From this amount, N124.839 billion was deducted as cost of collection, while N1,285.845 trillion was set aside for transfers, interventions, refunds, and savings.
From the statutory revenue of N1.478 trillion, the Federal Government received N684.462 billion, State Governments received N347.168 billion, and Local Government Councils received N267.652 billion. A further N179.311 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) went to oil-producing states as derivation revenue.
From the distributable VAT revenue of N672.903 billion, the Federal Government received N100.935 billion, the states received N336.452 billion, while the local governments got N235.516 billion.
Of the N32.338 billion shared from EMTL, the Federal Government received N4.851 billion, the States received N16.169 billion, and the Local Governments received N11.318 billion.
From the N41.284 billion exchange difference, the Federal Government received N19.799 billion, the states received N10.042 billion, and the local governments received N7.742 billion, while N3.701 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) was shared to the oil-producing states as derivation.
The Governing Council of Kenule Beeson Saro-Wiwa Polytechnic, Bori, has decried the inadequate power supply and poor state of infrastructural facilities and equipment at the institution.
The Council also appealed to the government, including Non-Governmental Organisations, agencies, as well as well-meaning Rivers people to intervene to restore and sustain the laudable gesture, dreams and aspirations of the founding fathers of the polytechnic.
The Chairman of the newly inaugurated Council, Professor Friday B. Sigalo, made this appeal during a tour of facilities at the Polytechnic, recently.
Accompanied by members of the team, Prof Sigalo emphasised the position of technology, technical and vocational education in sustainable development.
He noted that with the prospects on ground, and the programmes and activities undertaken in the polytechnic, there is no doubt that the institution would add values to the educational system in our society and foster the desired development, if the existing challenges are jointly tackled.
This was contained in a statement signed by Deputy Registrar, Public Relations, Kenpoly, Innocent Ogbonda-Nwanwu, and made available to The Tide in Port Harcourt.
The chairman who restated the intention of his team of technocrats to ensure that KenPoly enjoys desirable face-lift, said the Council would deliver on its core mandates, accordingly.
Earlier, the Rector, KenPoly Engr. Dr. Ledum S. Gwarah, commended the appointment of Professor Friday B. Sigalo as Chairman of the KenPoly Governing Council.
He described him and his team as seasoned technocrats and expressed confidence in their ability to succeed.
The Rector pledged the management’s support to the Council to ensure that KenPoly resumes its rightful place in the comity of polytechnics in the country.
Facilities visited by the Governing Council include KenPoly workshops, laboratories, skills acquisition centre, library, hostels and medical centre.
Chinedu Wosu
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