Nation
THE STATES
Borno
An NGO, Smile Mission Healthcare, has conducted a hand-washing exercise at the Muna Garage Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp, in Borno State, to control the spread of cholera in the state.
Project Coordinator of the NGO, Dr Sale Abba told newsmen last Wednesday in Maiduguri that over 10, 000 displaced children in the camp benefited from the exercise.
According to him, the programme also involved a waste clearance exercise in the camp, as part of environmental sanitation and preventive measures to control the disease.
“Cholera is an orally transmitted disease through the consumption of contaminated water or food resulting from poor hygiene and sanitation.
FCT
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) says it is determined to put a stop to illegal mining in the country in spite of the myriad of challenges.
The Commander General of the Corps, Abdullahi Gana, said this in an interview with newsmen in Abuja last Thursday.
Gana said the activities of illegal miners was jeopardising the country’s economic growth in view of the fact that the perpetrators of the act were making billions of naira at the expense of the country.
“It is on record that about five weeks ago we arrested 14 big time illegal miners in Plateau State”, Gand said.
Kaduna
A Non- Governmental Organisation, Connected Development (CODE) is training 60 stakeholders to monitor utilisation of funds released for UBEC projects in 70 primary schools in Kaduna State.
The NGO’s Senior Programme Manager, Mr Chambers Umezulike told newsmen last Wednesday in Kaduna that the goal was to build the capacity of non government stakeholders at the grassroots to effectively monitor the spending.
He said that the training began last Tuesday with 30 representatives from School-Based Management Committees, Community Based Organisations, Parent Teachers Association and Nigerian Union of Teachers.
According to him, the project, supported by MacArthur Foundation, would track the implementation of Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) projects in Jema’a, Kajuru, Kudan and Zangon Kataf Local Government Areas.
Kwara
A septuagenarian farmer, James Olatoye, a prophet and two others, who allegedly raped a 12-year-old girl were last Wednesday remanded in Omu-Aran Medium Prison, Kwara State by an Omu-Aran Area Court.
Olatoye of Moba Compound in Aiyedun and his accomplice, Adeyeye Suleiman, 35, Toyin Adesina, 35, who claimed to be a prophet and Ojo Olayemi,20, are facing trial over gross indecency.
They were alleged to have subjected their victim to an act of indecency by raping her at different times between 2016 and 2017 at Aiyedun. Olatoye and Suleiman pleaded guilty to the charge, while Adesina (prophet) and Olayemi pleaded not guilty.
Lagos
President/Founder of an NGO, Guardians of The Nation International (GOTNI), Dr Linus Okorie says the problem confronting the African continent is integrity and leadership.
Okorie, who spoke at the unveiling of GoldClub 3.0 and BMCoin organised by BeepMagnet International Group last Wednesday in Lagos State said that lack of knowledge had prevented the continent from investing in the future.
The GOTNI’s founder, who was the Special Guest Speaker at the occasion urged Nigerians to increase their investments in the future and growth.
He said, “We are in a knowledge-based economy until you know, you can’t invest. Knowledge drives progress. Africa is the most hit continent that lacks leadership”.
Nasarawa
A three- term Senator, Abubakar Sodangi last Wednesday backed the decision of the Nasarawa State Government to sell some of its assets.
Reports indicate that criticisms had trailed the approval by the state Assembly, on September 25, allowing Governor Tanko Almakura to dispose some of the government assets in Lagos, Jos and Kaduna.
Sodangi, who represented Nasarawa West in the Senate from 1999 to 2011, told newsmen that the decision to sell off the properties was in the best interest of the state.
He however said that the proceeds should be invested in areas that would have positive impact on the lives of the people.
Niger
Azza community in Lapai Local Government Area of Niger State has appealed to the state government to extend the dividends of democracy to it.
The Chairman of Azza Development Association, Malam Abdulmalik Muye made the call last Wednesday in Azza in an interview with newsmen.
“The infrastructure deficit in our area is massive. The road in our community is an apology, especially during the raining season when villages in the area are difficult to access.
“Also the Sabon Ureyi bridge linking Lapai and Gulu has been swept away by flood.
“And because of that, the journey from Lapai to Gulu is now 7 hours as against 2 hours before.
“So we want to appeal to government to reconstruct the bridge so as to open up that axis and improve the economic fortunes of our people,” he said
Ogun
Commander, Sango-Ota Unit of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC),Sango-Ota, Mr Adekunle Oguntoyinbo last Tuesday said one person died and three others sustained injuries in an early morning accident in Ogun State.
He told newsmen in Ota that the accident happened at about 4.55 a.m. at Toll-Gate, Sango-Ota.
Oguntoyinbo said that the auto crash occurred when the driver of a Toyota Hiace bus with registration number LND 723 XE, heading toward Toll-Gate from Iyana-Iyesi, Sango-Ota lost control due to brake failure and in the process hit the road divider.
”The corpse of the deceased has been deposited at the morgue of the General Hospital, Sango-Ota, while the injured are receiving intensive treatment at the same hospital, “ he said.
The unit commander advised drivers to always maintain speed limit and be cautious of their conduct on wheel to avert road accidents.
Ondo
The Ondo State Police Command has paraded a 20-year-old suspected member of the Boko Haram sect.
Reports indicate that the command had confirmed the arrest of a 42-year-old in Isua-Akoko, Akoko South-East Local Government Area on September 24.
Parading the suspect, Mr Gbenga Adeyanju, the state Commissioner of Police, said the suspect, who was arrested in the same area on Sunday, would be handed over to the army for necessary action.
He lauded the commitment and hard work of the personnel in his command, saying these led to the arrest of the suspect.
Osun
The Osun State Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) last Wednesday announced that 16.8 hectares of Indian hemp (Cannabis Sativa) farm located in Ikoyi community in the state had been destroyed.
The Commandant, Mr Samuel Egbeola made the disclosure while speaking with newsmen in Osogbo on the achievements of the agency in the state.
He said that the farm was destroyed on September 26.
The commandant said that the farm was discovered and destroyed by the NDLEA, following a tip-off by an intelligence source.
Oyo
The Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) has called on the Federal Government to boost local manufacturing of drugs to enhance healthcare delivery in Nigeria.
The Chairman, Oyo State Branch of PSA, Mr Abiodun Ajibade, made the appeal recently in Ibadan at a news conference. Abiodun said the press conference was to herald activities lined up to mark the 2017 Pharmacy Week.
According to him, pharmacists occupy a very crucial and important part of the healthcare system, adding that without drugs healthcare is without content.
Taraba
The Taraba State House of Assembly has constituted a three-man committee to coordinate and harmonise its members’ positions on the upcoming amendment of the 1999 Constitution by the National Assembly.
Its Speaker, Mr Abel Diah, who announced this during plenary last Wednesday, said that the committee, chaired by the Deputy Speaker, Alhaji Mohammadu Gwampo, has Mr Hosea Ibi and Alhaji Bashir Mohammed as members.
He said that the committee was expected to aggregate members’ views ahead of the vote on the provisions of the constitution being altered.
Diah said that the proposed amendment was very crucial to the deepening of the nation’s democracy, and urged the committee to be thorough and strive to capture the true positions of Taraba State people on the issues.
He urged his colleagues to help the committee by consulting with their respective constituencies on the items slated for amendment.
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