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Fathers’ Day: Clerics Charge Fathers To Nurture Healthy Homes For Safer Society

An Anglican cleric, Most Reverend Alexander Ibezim, has charged fathers to take seriously the responsibility of building healthy homes to enhance a safer society.
Ibezim, the Archbishop, Ecclesiastical Province of the Niger and Bishop of Awka Anglican Diocese, made the call in a message he delivered to mark 2021 Fathers’ Day.
He said that fathers, being the heads of the families, needed to be celebrated for the important roles they play in enlarging the society, hence, a day was set aside to celebrate them.
He said that fathers had great responsibilities to nurture their homes to develop a great society.
At the Church of the Pentecost, Awka, Venerable Ekene Nwafor, Vicar in charge of the Church, read the only text during the service to mark Fathers’ Day.
That the title of the message was, “Joseph the Carpenter: A Role Model” with the text taken from the Gospel of Luke 2, verse 41- 42.
Nwafor, also the Archdeacon, Awka Central Archdeaconry, charged fathers to ensure that they were rooted in Christ to be able to raise healthy homes.
He encouraged fathers to hold onto prayers as only solution to a challenging time and at any time where life challenges steered at them, face to face.
Mr Osita Obi, Chairman 2021 Fathers’ Sunday Planning Committee of the church of the Pentecost, urged fathers to place home training and care of the family as their main duty.
Obi said that more attention should be given to family development to have a healthy home that would serve as a unit of socialisation and societal development.
“When we get the home front right, then we are sure of safe environment that will make life activities thrive, without fear of any attack.
“Fathers must take responsibilities of their homes,” he said.
Mr Okey Anyanyo, a member of the planning committee, advised that it was time for parents to sit down and monitor the activities or company their children kept.
Anyanyo said that parents had placed materialism above proper and sound home grooming and had abandoned the care of the home to domestic helps.
“It is time for a rethink and a change of attitude.
“Many parents cannot give full account of who their children outside home are. Some fathers think that to care for a home is to provide money.
“This is not so. Fathers need to monitor what goes on in their homes,” he said.
Mrs Victoria Nwosu, a parishioner, commended the church for setting out a day to celebrate fathers for their enormous work in home development as well as to remind them of their great importance in home care.
In the same vein, Venerable Chris-Nkem Okafor, Vicar Saint Judes’ Church Adazi-Ani, in Adazi-Ani Archdeaconry, Anaocha Local Government Area of Anambra, urged those fathers who shied away from their responsibilities to sit up.
Okafor said that some fathers had, through family negligence, been championing single parenting and warned that they should live up to their call of parenting.
“Parenting as was seen in the life of the biblical Joseph instills discipline, love, peace and togetherness in the families; the story should not change today,” he said.
He appealed to fathers to love their wives, look inwards into their families and discipline themselves, noting that when they got it right in their families the society would be a better place.
Our correspondent who monitored the celebration reports that the service sessions were peaceful.
That some fathers spoke on the significance of the day, including Chief Silas Ejide, Obum Ezeaku, Dr Chijioke Umezue and Beaneth Ugoagu.
They appealed to fathers to eschew social lifestyle that triggered division and collapsed marriages.
That services in the churches visited were conducted by fathers while, also, special prayers were offered for the enthronement of peaceful families and security of the nation.
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I’m Committed To Community Dev – Ajinwo
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RSG Tasks Rural Dwellers On RAAMP …As Sensitization Team Visits Akulga, Degema, Three Others

Rivers State Head of Service, Dr (Mrs) Inyingi Brown, has called on rural communities in the State to embrace the Rural Access and Agricultural marketing project (RAAMP) with a view to improving their living conditions.
This follows the ongoing sensitization campaign by the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) visits to Degema, Abonnema, Afam headquarters of Degema, Akuku Toru and Oyigbo Etche and Omuma local government areas respectively.
Dr Brown who was represented by the Deputy Director, Special Duties in her office, Mrs Dein Akpanah, said RAAMP was initiated by the Federal Government and World Bank to economically empower rural dwellers.s
She said the World Bank understands the plights of rural farmers and traders in the State, and therefore came up with the programme to address them.
According to her, RAAMP will improve the conditions of farmers, traders and fishermen, and therefore, behoves on every rural communities in the State to embrace the programme.
The Head of Service also said the programme would support the youths to be gainfully employed while bridges and roads will be built to link farms and fishing settlements.
Also speaking, the State project coordinator, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the programme has the potential of creating millionaires among farmers and fishermen in the State.
Kpakol who was represented by Engr. Sam Tombari, said RAAMP would help farmers and fishermen to preserve their produce.
According to him, the project will build cold rooms and Silos for preservation of crops and fishes while access roads will also be created to link farmers and fishermen to the market.
He, however, warned them against any act that will lead to the suspension of the projects by the World Bank.
Kpakol particularly warned against acts such as kidnapping, marching ground, gender based violence and child labour, adding that such acts if they occur may lead to the cancellation of the project by the World Bank.
During the visit to Oyigbo local government area, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the team was there to let them know how they will benefit from the Raamp.
The coordinator who was personally at Oyigbo said the World Bank introduced the project to check food insecurity in the State.
He said already 19 states in Nigeria are already benefitting from the project and called on them to embrace the project.
Meanwhile, stakeholders in the three local government areas have commended the World Bank for including their areas in the project.
They, however, complained over the incessant attacks by pirates on their waterways.
At Degema, King Agolia of Ke kingdom said land was a major problem in the kingdom.
King Agolia represented by High Chief Alpheus Damiebi said many indigenes of the kingdom are willing to go into farming but are handicapped by lack of land.
Also at Degema, the representative of the Omu Onyam Ekeim of Usokun Degema kingdom, Osoabo Isaac, said Degema has embraced the programme but needed more information on the implementation of the programme.
Similarly, while High Chief Precious Abadi advised that the project should not be narrowed to only crop farming, a community women leader, Mrs Orikinge Eremabo Otto, called for the construction of cold rooms in all fishing settlements in the area.
At Abonnema, Mr Diamond Kio linked the problem of the area to incessant piracy along waterways.
He also expressed fears over the possibility of the project being hijacked by politicians.
Also at Abonnema, a stakeholder, Ikiriko Kelvin, called on the World Bank to design an agricultural project that will suit the riverine environment, while at Oyigbo, HRH Eze Boniface Akawo expressed satisfaction with the project.
John Bibor
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Senate Replaces Natasha As Committee Chairman

The political mudslinging between the Senate leadership and Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan continued yesterday as the Senate named Senator Aniekan Bassey as the new Chairman of the Committee on Diaspora and Non-Governmental Organisations.
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, announced the appointment during yesterday’s plenary, confirming Bassey’s replacement of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who is currently on suspension.
Akpoti-Uduaghan was reassigned to the Diaspora and NGOs Committee in February after she was removed as Chair of the Senate Committee on Local Content during a minor reshuffle.
Bassey is the senator representing Akwa Ibom North-East Senatorial District.
Although no reason was given for her removal yesterday, the change is believed to be connected to her unresolved suspension.
In May, Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court ordered her reinstatement and directed her to tender an apology to the Senate.
However, the Senate has insisted it has not received a certified true copy of the court judgment.
Akpoti-Uduaghan who represents Kogi Central, has yet to resume her legislative duties despite a recent court ruling that voided her suspension.
In a televised interview on Tuesday, Akpoti-Uduaghan said she was awaiting the Certified True Copy of the judgment before officially returning to plenary, citing legal advice and respect for institutional process.
Although the Federal High Court described her suspension as “excessive and unconstitutional”, a legal opinion dated July 5 and attributed to the Senate’s counsel, Paul Daudu (SAN), argued that the ruling lacked any binding directive to enforce her reinstatement.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, one of only three female senators in the current assembly, said the continued delay in allowing her return was not only a denial of her mandate but also a blow to democratic representation.
“By keeping me out of the chambers, the Senate is not just silencing Kogi Central, it’s denying Nigerian women and children representation. We are only three female senators now, down from eight,” she said.
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