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The Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, yesterday, inaugurated a seven-man committee to revitalise some dormant health institutions in the state.
The Implementation Committee, chaired by the state Deputy Governor, Dr. Ipalibo Harry Banigo, has the state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Prof. Zacchaeus Adangor and the Commissioner for Health, Prof. Princewill Chike, as members.
Others are, the Chairman of Rivers State University Teaching Hospital (RSUTH), Dr. J. N. Hart; Chief Medical Director of RSUTH, Dr. Friday Aaron; Chief Medical Director of Rivers State Hospitals Management Board, Dr. Kenneth Okagwa; and the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Mrs. Ndidi Uchay; who is to serve as secretary.
Wike charged them to deploy every measure required to revamp the Prof. Kelsey Harrison Hospital that has been dormant for quite some time.
He urged them to engage competent personnel that would deliver the best results so that the hospital would begin to offer services to the people of the state.
“Prof. Kelsey Harrison Hospital has not been operational because of litigation over the agreement between International Trauma and Critical Care Centre Limited (ITCC) and the Rivers State Government.
“The committee set up by the State Executive Council made fundamental recommendations. We, therefore, decided to ensure they are implemented immediately without bureaucracy.
“You are saddled with the responsibility of how Kelsey Harrison Hospital should be revitalised and made more functional. It should serve people in the densely populated area of Diobu.
“There will also be the need to hand it over to the Rivers State Hospitals Management Board at the end of the day,” he said.
On the need to reposition the Dental and Maxilo-Facial Hospital to serve Rivers people efficiently, Wike urged the committee to integrate it into RSUTH.
He wondered why such facility would exist and the state teaching hospital would be offering dental services from a makeshift accommodation.
“I also learnt that RSUTH has lost accreditation for internship for dental residency training. So, we have decided that it should be handed over to the teaching hospital in order to retain accreditation,” he stated.
The governor also described as unacceptable the poor financial remittance by the Ashes to Ashes Funeral Limited to RSUTH.
He urged the committee to look at the existing agreement and structure it to benefit the state government.
“Why will the hospital rely totally on government when they charge for the services they render. As a government, we pay salaries of workers and we have fixed modern infrastructure and equipment for the hospital.
“We have to look at the 25:75 per cent revenue sharing ratio between government and the Ashes to Ashes Funeral Limited, and review it.
“It is not right that government that built and equipped the mortuary will be collecting 25 per cent profit and the service provider collects 75 per cent.
“The new arrangement will also create room for the hospital to train pathologists and morticians at no extra cost.
“I believe that members of this committee are quite experienced and you will be expected to submit your report within the next one month,” he added.
In her response, the Chairman of the committee and Deputy Governor of the state, Dr Ipalibo Harry Banigo, noted that the governor has never politicised issues of health and education.
She said that the state succeeded in the fight against Covid-19 pandemic because of the governor’s commitment.
“We are quite privileged to be saddled with this responsibility that will further enhance the quality of life of our people in line with your vision.
“We promise that we will attend to this task with utmost sense of urgency to restore the affected health facilities to optimum use,” she added.
Earlier, the Rivers State Executive Council had approved the revamping of the Kelsey Harrison Hospital located in Port Harcourt Local Government Area.
This was part of the resolutions reached at its meeting presided over by Governor Nyesom Wike at Government House, Port Harcourt, last Wednesday.
Briefing journalists at the end of the meeting, the Commissioner for Health, Prof Princewill Chike, said the council also approved the revitalisation of the Dental and Maxilo-Facial Hospital at Garrison Junction in Port Harcourt City Local Government Area.
Chike explained that with the approval, the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital (RSUTH) would get accreditation for internship for dental residency training by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria.
He also said council approved the review of the operational agreement between the state government and Ashes to Ashes Funeral Limited on the management of the mortuary at RSUTH.
The proposed agreement, he said, would provide an opportunity for RSUTH to train pathologists and morticians for the state.
Chike said an implementation committee has also been set up for the actualisation of the approvals.
Also speaking, the Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Mrs. Tonye Oniyide said the council approved the sum of N472, 920, 88million for the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt Zoological Garden.
Oniyide explained that the approved sum would be used to renovate the administrative block, museum, staff quarters, snack kiosk and the general conveniences.
Also to be rehabilitated is the retaining walls, gate house, outside perimeter wire mesh, and remodelling of the front gate of the premises.
Oniyide said the rehabilitation, when completed, would boost tourism development in the state.
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have foiled attempts by drug trafficking syndicates to smuggle illicit substances concealed in carton walls, winter jackets, and body cream containers through Murtala Muhammed International Airport and a Lagos-based courier firm.
The agency said two consignments bound for Italy were intercepted at the Lagos airport, leading to the arrest of suspects linked to the shipments.
In a statement released yesterday, the agency’s spokesman, Femi Babafemi, said one of the suspects, 37-year-old Friday Ehianuka, was intercepted on Friday, March 20, 2026, while attempting to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Rome, Italy.
The statement partly read, “Two of the consignments heading to Italy were to be moved through the Lagos airport where two suspects linked to the shipments were promptly arrested.
“One of them, 37-year-old Friday Ehianuka, was going to Rome, Italy on Friday, March 20, 2026, when he was intercepted while attempting to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight with 2,698 pills of tramadol 225mg concealed in containers of skin-lightening body cream, all packed in the suspect’s luggage.
“In his statement, Ehianuka, who is a resident of Milan, confirmed that he was to be paid a negotiated fee in Euros if he had succeeded in trafficking the consignment to Italy.”
In another operation on Wednesday, March 18, Babafemi said NDLEA officers at the departure hall intercepted another passenger, Christian Agbonhese, attempting to board a Lufthansa flight to Milan.
A search of his luggage uncovered 23,150 pills of tramadol 225mg, 4,000 tablets of tapentadol 250mg, and 1,320 pills of tramadol 100mg concealed in two large winter jackets.
“No fewer than 23,150 pills of tramadol 225mg; 4,000 tablets of tapentadol 250mg; and 1,320 pills of tramadol 100mg, all concealed in two large winter jackets, bringing the total number of opioids recovered from him to 28,470 pills. The 38-year-old Agbonhese is also a resident of Milan,” the statement added.
In a separate operation at a courier firm in Lagos, Babafemi said NDLEA officers on Monday, March 16, intercepted two parcels of Loud, a strong strain of cannabis weighing 1kg, hidden in a carton shipped from the United States.
“Also thwarted was an attempt to export 158 grams of methamphetamine concealed in the walls of a carton to New Zealand,” he said.
In Kano State, operatives arrested Abdulkadir Mamuda, 35, with 102.5kg of skunk at Dan-Tsalle, while another suspect, Uche Johnson Festus, 47, was nabbed at Naibawa Gabas with 95.5kg of the same substance.
Babafemi said the agency also recovered 21,737 bottles of codeine-based syrup during a raid at Otto, Ijora area of Lagos on Wednesday, March 18, adding that two suspects, Chidiebere Anigbogu and Paul Nwagbara, were arrested the same day on the Third Mainland Bridge while conveying 8,380 bottles of the syrup.
In Edo State, operatives recovered 97.5kg of skunk from the residence of Akeem Idde, 37, in Ojah, Akoko-Edo Local Government Area on March 16.
In the FCT, officers intercepted a commercial bus along the Gwagwalada Expressway on March 18, recovering 91,840 pills of tramadol hidden in body compartments of the vehicle. The driver, Aminu Ali, 27, was arrested.
In Oyo State, a suspect, Bankole Bari, was on Tuesday, March 17, arrested at Oke-Oyan, Ibarapa LGA, with 71.2kg of skunk, which he smuggled into Nigeria from Benin Republic through the Oyan River.
In a similar development, “Not less than 586,000 pills of tramadol and Exol-5 were recovered by NDLEA operatives from Lawal Anas, 28, along Kaduna-Zaria Highway, Kaduna, on Tuesday, March 17, while 7,290 tablets of tramadol 225mg were seized from Musa Shuaibu, 22, at the same location on Friday, March 20,” Babafemi said.
In Taraba State, officers intercepted Aliyu Adamu, 26, along the Takum-Jalingo Highway with 77,660 capsules of tramadol, while in Adamawa State, six suspects were arrested in connection with the seizure of 82.8kg of tramadol in a truck in Yola.
The suspects include Ramatu Aliyu, Jungudo Abdullahi, Najid Abdullahi, Musa Mohammed, Usman Abdulrahim, and Musa Mohammed.
The agency said its commands across the country also intensified War Against Drug Abuse sensitisation campaigns in schools, worship centres, and communities during the week.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers of the MMIA, DOGI, Lagos, Kano, Kaduna, Edo, Oyo, FCT, Taraba, and Adamawa commands for the arrests and seizures, urging them to sustain the balanced approach to drug control efforts.
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RSG Applauds FRSC, NDLEA For Enhancing Security In Rivers …As NDLEA Pushes For Drug Tests In Schools, NYSC Camps
The Rivers State Government has commended the dedication and collaboration of federal government agencies in sustaining security in the State.
Speaking during a courtesy visit by the State Commander of the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), CN Bature Dawa, in Port Harcourt, last week, the Secretary to the State Government, Dr. Dagogo Wokoma, said Governor Siminalayi Fubara appreciates the strong synergy between the agencies in promoting his administration’s vision of peace, prosperity and progress in the State.
Wokoma urged residents to remain law-abiding, noting that respect for the law is essential for good governance and sustainable development in all parts of the state.
He stated that the governor has remained committed to initiatives that promote peace and social order, stressing that the administration will continue to support programmes of federal agencies aimed at strengthening security and public safety.
“Our governor is committed to peace, progress and prosperity in Rivers State. I therefore encourage all residents, especially young people who are often targeted by those involved in drug abuse, to stay away from drugs, crime and reckless driving,” he said.
In his remarks, the State NDLEA boss, Dawa, disclosed that the agency has arrested 39 suspects in the state from December 2025 to date, including 16 new cases currently under investigation.
He explained that the NDLEA, through its Drug Demand Reduction and Drug Supply Control Units, has intensified efforts to curb the spread of illicit drugs and ensure offenders are brought to justice.
Dawa also called on parents and guardians to closely monitor their children, while urging hotel owners and managers to remain vigilant and prevent their facilities from being used for drug-related activities.
He further advocated the introduction of drug integrity tests in schools and within the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme as part of measures to discourage drug abuse among young people.
In a related development, Dr Wokoma received the Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), CC Inyang Umoh, during a courtesy visit, and urged residents to abide by road safety laws and drive in consideration of other road users.
In his remarks, the FRSC boss expressed appreciation to Governor Fubara for the continuous support to the Corps.
Muslims in Rivers State have commended Governor Siminialayi Fubara for his dedication and commitment to the development of the state.
They also lauded the governor for promoting peaceful co-existence among various religious groups in the state.
Vice President General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs ,Alhaji Nasil Awhelegbe Uhor, gave the commendation last Friday during the Eid-el Fitri prayer to mark the end of Ramadan fasting period, at the Port Harcourt Central Mosque, Niger Street, Port Harcourt.
Speaking to newsmen shortly after the prayer, Alhaji Uhor said Governor Fubara has shown exemplary leadership in the affairs of the state.
Uhor who is the leader of the South South Muslim Ummah of Nigeria, called on Muslims to remain committed to the ideal of peace and fear of the Almighty Allah.
According to the Rivers State Islamic leader, the message is for Muslims to imbibe and allow the lessons of Ramadan to sink into their lives and shape their ways of doing things.
He urged Muslims to imbibe the culture of love and respect for one another.
“My message is that all Muslims should imbibe and allow the lessons of Ramadan to sink with them,” he advised.
Uhor stressed the need for Muslims and all Nigerians to remain patriotic, while avoiding all forms of anti-social behaviours.
He also called on the political leaders to put the country first, stressing that there is no need for Nigerians to continue to wallow in abject poverty when the country is so rich with natural resources.
Also speaking, the Chief Imam of Rivers State, Alhaji Ibrahim S Yalo, urged Muslims to fear God, and speak the truth always.
According to him, time has come for Nigerians to cultivate the habit of peaceful coexistence, speak the truth and be each others keeper.
“Nigerians own a duty to ensure peace, live together in fear of God and speak the truth always,” he said.
By: John Bibor