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Support Governor Wike’s Efforts To Checkmate The Spread Of COVID-19 In Rivers, Obuah Urges Civil Servants

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The Sole Administrator, Rivers State Waste Management Agency, RIWAMA, Bro. Felix Obuah has urged Civil Servants in the State to support the State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike’s efforts to checkmate the spread of Coronavirus pandemic in Rivers State.
Bro. Obuah who stated on Saturday, shortly after monitoring the decontamination exercise at the Rivers State Government Secretariat, in Port Harcourt, the State capital urged Civil Servants to support efforts of the State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike in checkmating the spread of the ravaging Coronavirus pandemic, in Rivers State.
The Governor according to the Sole Administrator, RIWAMA is fully prepared to ensure that the Coronavirus pandemic is contained to avoid further spread in the State.
Bro. Obuah said civil servants from grade levels 1–10 were directed after the index case to remain at home from Friday, March 27, 2020 until further notice.
“This and many more including the compulsory wearing of face masks were necessary measures taken by the Governor to ensure that the Coronavirus pandemic is checkmated in the State following the first index case of a young lady who was later found to have arrived Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital sometime in February this year after a visit to France” Bro. Obuah disclosed.
According to the RIWAMA Sole Administrator, the flag-off of the decontamination of public places in Rivers State launched by the Governor on Monday, June 1, 2020 at Government House, Port Harcourt  entered 18 consistent and successful days of decontamination exercise of major public places in Port Harcourt and Obio/Akpor Local Government Areas of the State, Saturday, June 20, 2020 with the decontamination of the State Government Secretariat, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
The decontamination team has so far decontaminated some major markets, parks, schools, churches, State Secretariat of the Nigeria Union Of Journalists, NUJ, the Port Harcourt pleasure park, State Secretariat of Nigeria Bar Association, NBA, Port Harcourt City Local Government Council, the popular Slaughter Market, major bus stops, amongst several public places.
“The decontamination exercise continues in the State”, Bro Obuah further disclosed.
“The decontamination comprised of three steps which will be carried out simultaneously namely: fumigation of the environments, steam spraying which contains disinfectants that can combat the virus, and this will be followed by the disinfectant smoke spray” Bro Obuah explained.
The RIWAMA Sole Administrator commended the foresight of Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike for the decontamination as the best option for now since there is no vaccine yet for the permanent cure against the virus.
He urged all civil servants as well as all citizens to support Governor Wike in his bid to ensure that the spread of the ravaging Coronavirus pandemic is largely checkmated.
He also urged them to continue to practice hand hygiene, respiratory etiquette and social distancing.
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FG Ends Passport Production At Multiple Centres After 62 Years

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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.

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

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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

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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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