Executive Assistant to the Delta State Governor on Public Enlightenment (Projects and Policies), Olisa Ifeajika, has said the Governor has sued for peace and cautioned against crisis in Warri.

Ifeajika stated this recently while addressing newsmen in Asaba.

The governor’s aide was reacting to the misconceptions by a section of the Social media on Governor Sheriff Oborevwori’s remarks at a recent meeting in Warri to address brewing crisis.

He cautioned that people should not politicise everything that comes from the government.

Ifeajka explained that Governor Oborevwori’s remarks on the Warri crisis was clear and without prejudice, saying the Governor cautioned against crisis, underscoring the importance of peace for development, particularly to develop Warri.

Ifeajika quoted the governor as saying, “I have witnessed a crisis before, do we still want crisis in Warri? No! People are using social media to cause crisis. I want to develop this Warri.

“However, critics, especially on social media, quoted the governor out of context.”

The governor’s aide described the abuse of social media as political mischief by rabble-rousers.

He explained that the governor’s remarks were cautionary for the peace in Warri to prevail throughout his administration and beyond, adding that the governor spoke to communicate with the grassroots.

“The governor said, ‘I am a Warri man like you, I enjoy the peace in Warri and I am going to develop Warri. Let the peace endure.

“If people are beginning to distort what the governor said by giving it other meanings, it is unfortunate.

‘’We should not allow everything that comes from the government to be politicised.

“The Governor has sued for peace. He has pleaded that while he is in the saddle until 2031, by the grace of God, let there be peace.

“Therefore, it is expected that we should all imbibe the peace culture. This was exactly what the Governor was talking about, no more, no less”, Ifeajika said.

He said Oborevwori also prayed for ensuring peace from generation to generation while cautioning the youths not to lend themselves as ready instruments for chaos.

Cross River State Governor, Bassey Otu has reiterated his commitment to the restoration of the state’s Civil Service to its pride of place through enduring legacy.

Otu made the remark in Calabar during the inauguration of Mr. Orok Okon as the new Head of Civil Service (HOS) in the state.

He further assured his administration’s commitment to continue offsetting the outstanding gratuities of retirees of the state civil service.

He described the civil service as the structure for implementing government policies, and recalled the years between 2010 and 2013, when eight states visited Cross River to understudy its operational efficiency.

Otu, however, decried the decline that followed later, but assured that his administration was committed to restoring the lost glory of the service.

He charged the new HOS to entrench professionalism, fairness, and competence across the workforce, stressing the importance of proper record-keeping, digitisation, and continuous staff training.

“My administration will continue to prioritise workers’ welfare; monthly salary payment remains sacrosanct and promotions are being implemented as and when due.

“The yearly incremental step has been restored after eleven years, and, very importantly, we have put plans in place to continue defraying outstanding retirees’ gratuities”, Otu said.

In his response, Okon promised to brief the State Executive Council on details of his reform agenda for the civil service and pledged close collaboration with Permanent Secretaries and directors.

He noted that though there were few challenges, the service was still largely filled with diligent and hardworking officers who would be supported and rewarded.

In the same vein, the Governor approved the appointment of Mrs. Fidelia Ene as Chairman of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB).

He urged her to bring her expertise to bear in improving the state’s basic education.

Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Lawrence Ewrudjakpo, has urged a non-governmental organisation, Civil Society-Scaling Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN), to develop an effective work plan for proper nutrition awareness campaign across communities in the State.

He gave the task on Thursday when the State Chapter of the group paid him a courtesy visit in Government House, Yenagoa.

Senator Ewhrudjakpo lamented that the worrisome indices concerning nutrition in the State was largely based on data from the rural communities, calling on the NGO to set up branches in the eight Local Government Areas of the State.

According to him, there is a compelling need to carry out behaviour change communication to break the vicious cycle of poor nutrition, using the local dialects in the various radio stations.

He expressed concern over the growing preference for fast food, iced fish and beef by rural dwellers to the detriment of naturally rich sources of nutrition such as snails, periwinkle and other locally sourced food items, which are more beneficial to their overall health.

On non-utilization of funds allocated to nutrition in the Bayelsa State annual budget, he assured the CS-SUNN delegation that government would address it appropriately to promote good nutrition in the State.

“Most of these data are as a result of what is happening in the rural areas. If you interrogate women in the rural areas, who have been convinced or persuaded by emotions or sentiments, not to eat snail or periwinkle.

“They have been convinced that it is only when they eat beef or chicken or iced fish that they have become civilised. Because of such erroneous thinking, most of our people have launched themselves into the fast food and confectionery, and the trend has gone down to the rural areas.

“We need adequate behavior change communication to break the vicious cycle of poor nutrition; we have to break that vicious cycle. We need to do more in  communication. It is an issue we need to address; I agree we have not been doing too well in this area.

“We need to drill down the need for advocacy. We must reel out that message using all the local dialects of the Ijaw language in Kolokuma, Epie-Atissa, Ogbia, and others to convey the message to our communities.

“You have to develop a work plan for us, get to our rural communities. It is also necessary to set up local government branches of the CS-SUNN”, he said.

Earlier in their joint presentation, the State Coordinator of CS-SUNN, Mrs. Unity Ototo, the Project Lead, Mr. Ambrose Evhoesor, and the Senior Project Officer, Mr. Kunle Ishola, said the organization was concerned about the statistics of nutrition, especially among children in the State.

They explained that the organisation currently enjoys presence in 30 states in Nigeria,  including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

While applauding the State Government’s responsiveness to address poor nutrition through partnership with the CS-SUNN, the trio called on government to fully utilize the state’s budgetary allocation for nutrition.

They also appealed for the approval of six-month maternity leave for nursing mothers to encourage exclusive breastfeeding of newborns.s

By: Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa