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Ogonis Laud Buhari Over Work On East-West Road … As IPMAN Backs FG’s Deregulation Policy

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There was excitement in the air as chiefs, elders and youths of Ogoniland trooped out enmasse at the Reynolds Construction Company (RCC) Yard, Eleme, Rivers State, to welcome the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, who was on scheduled projects’ inspection tour of the area at the weekend.
The minister, who was accompanied by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Dr Babayo Addo and the Acting Executive Director of Finance and Administration of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Mr Akwa Effiong, inspected Sections 3 and 4 of the East-West Road.
Speaking on behalf of the communities along the East-West Road, representative of the traditional rulers, Chief B.P. Festus, and the Leader of Ogoni Youths Federation, Comrade Legborsi Yamaabana, thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for his renewed commitment towards the completion of the East-West Road, and pledged the total support and cooperation of the people in ensuring the timely completion of the project.
Conducting the minister round the Okuru Bridge in Aleto, along the East-West Road, the Chairman of Eleme Local Government Area, Barrister Philip Okparaji, lamented the state of the bridge, which he said was constructed in 1956 but was in serious state of dilapidation.
Okparaji said the road and bridge, which lead to Akwa Ibom and Cross River State and eight local government areas of Rivers State, needed urgent attention, and appealed to the Federal Government to expedite action on the road and bridges which were the gateways to multinational oil and gas companies in the Niger Delta.
In his response, the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godwin Akpabio, said the President has shown the political will in completing the East-West Road, which was started by the President Olusegun Obasanjo administration.
He commended the President for the release of funds for the project, and hinted that the contractors have already been mobilized to the sites.
Akpabio said that because of the importance of the East-West Road to the economy of the country, the ministry would work with other agencies to source for funds to complete the project by the end of 2021, adding that he has directed NDDC to make provision in the budget for the completion of East-West Road.
In his remarks, the Chairman of Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), South-South Zone, Dr Joseph Obele, commended President Muhammadu Buhari for the reform in the oil and gas sector, especially the removal of oil subsidy and deregulation of the petroleum sector.
“The subsidy was a racket to a cabal, and the President has taken a bold step by removing the subsidy. We want to appeal to our brothers in the labour unions to shelve the proposed strike action and engage in dialogue and negotiations,” he said.
He gave kudos to Akpabio for his zeal in getting the East-West Road completed.
The IPMAN chairman said that Section III of the East-West Road, which construction started six years ago, would have been commissioned before now, but for lack of commitment the project suffered a lot of setbacks until the minister was appointed and the project transferred to the ministry.
Obele appealed to the minister to look into the payment of compensation for property owners affected by the expansion of the road.
Earlier, Senator Godwin Akpabio and his entourage were similarly received at Ikot Usekong, Eket Local Government Area section of the East-West Road where the community defied the rains to welcome the inspection team.

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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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