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Raise Your Voices In Defence Of Democracy -Wike
The Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike has called on labour leaders across Nigeria to raise their voices in defence of defence of democracy in the face of the atrocious system of governance being implemented by the APC-led Federal Government.
Addressing the 4th Quadrennial Delegates Conference of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) in Port Harcourt, last Friday, Wike said Nigerian labour leaders could no longer stand aloof while the APC-led Federal Government destroys the fabric of governance.
He said: “As patriots and concerned Nigerians, we must all break our silence and protest against the atrocious and brutal system of the Federal Government that daily undermines our rights to democracy, the rule of law and good governance.
“Nigerians want you and I to stand up and raise our voices for unity, for security, for justice, for the rule of law, for democracy and for free and fair elections in 2019”.
The governor said that the ship of state was now on a wrong direction, while the nation’s economy remains fragile, and democracy, wobbling.
Wike said: “As I have always said, our ship of state is on a wrong direction. And just as our economy remains fragile, so is the nation’s democracy wobbling. If things continue this way, then, we may never experience true democracy and good governance in our lifetime”.
On the theme of the conference, “Impact of Technology (Industry 4.0) on Industrial Relations in the Workplace,” Wike said technology was vital for faster development of the oil and gas industry, but noted that employers and labour leaders must find the right balance.
“The fact that the impact of technology may upset labour-employer relations makes the management of technological change in the workplace one of the most challenging problems in industrial relations.
“The challenge before this conference is to find suitable solutions that can be adopted to safeguard industrial harmony and prevent the undue disruptions and dislocations in industrial relations that often result from the impact of technology in the workplace”, he said.
Outgoing President of NUPENG, Comrade Igwe Achese said that technology remains critical to the development of the oil and gas industry.
He, however, noted that NUPENG will be in the forefront in the protection of the rights of the workers.
Achese decried the casualisation of workers in the oil and gas industry, noting that steps must be taken to address the issue.
He commended the Rivers State governor for his outstanding developmental strides, saying that his projects have changed the landscape of the state.
In a goodwill message, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Yakubu Dogara, represented by the member representing Obio/Akpor Federal Constituency, Hon Kingsley Chinda, assured that the House would consider the bill to end casualisation in the oil and gas industry.
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FG Ends Passport Production At Multiple Centres After 62 Years

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.
News
FAAC Disburses N2.225trn For August, Highest In Nigeria

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.
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KenPoly Governing Council Decries Inadequate Power Supply, Poor Infrastructure On Campus
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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