Nation
THE STATES

Benue
The Benue State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), says it has arrested a woman, who allegedly stole a Pastor’s car.
Its Commandant, Mr Shuaib Jubril, said in Makurdi that the clergy man was travelling from Taraba State to Makurdi when he lost the car to the woman.
Jubril, who was briefing newsmen on the activities of the command during the Yuletide, however, refused to give the name of the suspect and the circumstances of the crime.
He commended personnel of the corps for striving toward a crime-free Christmas and New Year celebrations, and revealed that many arrests were made and handed over to the police as it was not within the jurisdiction of the corps to prosecute suspects.
Borno
The Borno State Government has announced the ban on operations of illegal motor parks in the state to ensure safety of lives and property.
The state‘s Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Alhaji Kakashehu Lawan, made the announcement while speaking with newsmen in Maiduguri.
Lawan, who said that the operations of the parks had been a source of concern to the government, said the decision was part of efforts to consolidate the emerging peace in the state.
He averred that the government had a duty to ensure maintenance of peace and harmony in the society, hence the drastic action.
He said that the government would prosecute commercial vehicle owners found contravening the order.
Gombe
Gombe State Transport Service has concluded plans to procure 100 new vehicles in 2017 to enhance its services, the Secretary of the company, Abdullahi Muhammad, has said.
Muhammad told newsmen in Gombe that Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo had given approval for the procurement.
According to him, each of the vehicles to be procured through Remarkable Trust Company, will gulf N17.7 million.
The secretary explained that the money for the vehicles would be repaid by the company within three to four years.
The secretary said two fatal accidents were recorded by the company in 2016, adding that the low accident rate was due to the training and retraining of its drivers by the Federal Road Safety Corps and Vehicle Inspection Officers.
Kaduna
The Zonal Commander of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Zone 1, Mr. Bulus Darwang has advised senior officers and marshals of the commission to be professional in carrying out their assignments.
Darwang gave the advice in Kaduna after decorating some of the newly promoted senior officers of the commission in the zone comprising of Kaduna, Kano, Katsina and Jigawa states.
He also stressed the need for the officers and marshals to operate within the confines of the law while on duty on the highways to gain the confidence of the motoring public.
The commander also asked the newly promoted officers to consider their elevation as an impetus toward enhanced productivity.
Kano
The Kano State Government has earmarked over N167 billion for the construction of an international market in the state to be called ‘Kanawa Market.‘
The state’s Commissioner for Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives, Alhaji Rabiu Bako disclosed this in Kano, while briefing newsmen.
According to Bako, the construction of the modern market with over 9,000 shops for traders,will boost global commercial activities in the state.
He said that the market would attract the attention of foreign investors to invest in diverse business opportunities in the state.
Bako added that the construction of the market would be a joint venture between the state government and an indigenous construction company.
Katsina
A girl, Habiba Ishaku, 18, last Wednesday disassociated herslef from a suit purpotedly instituted on her behalf by a foundation and the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) over her conversion to Islam.
The girl had eloped, embraced Islam and married one Jamilu Lawal in Kankara Local Government Area of Katsina State.
Her father, Mr Ishaku Tanko, had gone to a Katsina High Court in collaboration with Trustees of Stefanos Foundation and ECWA to challenge the action, claiming that Habiba was a minor.
During the court sitting last Wednesday, the judge, Justice Baraka Iliyasu-Wali, drew the attention of the plaintiff and defence counsels to a letter addressed to the court by Habiba, disassociating herself from the suit.
Kwara
The Chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Ilorin Chapter, Prof. Timothy Popoola has applauded the sack of the Executive Secretary of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), Jim Obazee by the Federal Government.
Popoola, in a statement, said the dissolution of the board and the sack of its scribe was commendable as “the church is not a company where the leader could just be replaced.”
“The church is not where you can just put somebody because he is capable. It is a ministry where God appoints people.
“So, I applaud President Buhari for recognising this and his action will bring peace into the mind of many agitated leaders of the church,” he said.
President Muhammadu Buhari last Monday announced the dismissal of Obazee who had earlier effected the Corporate Governance Code.
Nasarawa
The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has appointed Mrs Zainab Isah as its new coordinator in Nasarawa State.
A statement by the NYSC said that Isah took over from Mrs Habiba Bappah, who has been transferred to its headquarters in Abuja.
Until her new appointment, Isah was a deputy director, Planning, Research and Statistics at the NYSC headquarters in Abuja.
The new state coordinator, who had resumed duty, solicited the cooperation of the people of Nasarawa State to enable her succeed in her new assignment, the statement said.
Niger
Many sympathizers across the country converged on Minna, the Niger State capital, to pay tribute to late former governor, Alhaji Abdulkadir Kure, who was buried last Wednesday.
Kure, a formaer governor of the state died penultimate Sunday in a German hospital.
The sympathizers, who spoke to newsmen in Minna, described the late governor as a great leader and peace maker.
Former Senate Deputy President, Senator Ibrahim Mantu, said that late Kure would be missed for his wise counsel and contributions to the growth and development of the country.
Ondo
The Cocoa Exporters Association of Nigeria has called on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Nexim Bank to urgently do something about the disbursement of the N500 billion Federal Government loan for non- oil export.
The National Secretary of the association, Mr Kayode Babade, made the call in an interview with the newsmen in Akure.
According to him, the disbursement is imperative considering the recent crash of crude oil price and the dwindling foreign exchange flow in the country.
Babade, however, said that barely a year after the release of the fund the exporters were yet to see the fund readily available for disbursement.
Also speaking, the National President of the association, Mr Pius Ayodele, called on the authorities to start disbursing the fund in the best interest of the nation’s economy.
Osun
An Osun Magistrates’ Court has remanded in prison a 29-year-old man, Emmanuel Oladayo, who scaled the fence of a house to steal a motorcycle.
Magistrate Risikat Olayemi, sitting in Ile-Ife, said the accused should remain behind bars pending when the bail conditions would be perfected.
She had granted the accused bail in the sum of N100, 000 with two sureties in like amount.
The accused, however, pleaded not guilty.
Earlier, the prosecutor, Sgt. Sunday Osanyintuyi, told the court that the accused committed the offence on January 8 at about 1.39 a.m. at No. 136, Fajuyi Road, Ile-Ife.
Osanyintuyi said the accused scaled the fence of the house of the complainant, Emmanuel Adebimpe, and stole the motorcycle parked there.
Oyo
The deposed Baale of Olode town in Oluyole Local government Area of Oyo State, Chief Lukman Alao, has challenged in court, his removal from office by the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Saliu Adetunji.
A motion challenging his removal from office by the Olubadan was filed at the Oyo State High Court in Ibadan.
Alao also claimed N2 million in general damages for the “ pain, embarrassment and degradation he suffered’’ over what he called his unlawful deposition by the Olubadan
The petitioner was removed from office last Monday and a new Baale appointed and sworn-in immediately.
Alao, in a motion on notice filed by his counsel, Mr Saani Oyedele, joined the Olubadan-in-Council, Oluyole Local Government Council and the new Baale, Dauda Odeyemi, as co-respondents.
Besides, he also claimed that the new Baale was not qualified to occupy the position as he was not a member of the Olode chieftaincy family.
Nation
Accolades, Fanfare As Ogbakor Ikwerre President General Celebrates 80th Birthday

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

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.
Nation
NYCOP Urges Stakeholders To Develop, Empower Ogoni Youths

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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