News
RSG Seals Seven Water Factories In PH …Hails Supreme Court Over Injunction On Oil Wells

The Rivers State Government has commenced a clampdown on illegal and substandard water factories across the state.
The operation, which is led by the Commissioner for Water Resources, Dr Tamunosisi Gogo-Jaja, commenced with the sealing off of seven substandard water factories around Diobu area of Port Harcourt.
The team carried out inspections on a number of water factories in Port Harcourt where the defaulting factories were sealed.
The commissioner, who spoke to journalists after the inspection, assured Rivers people of government’s commitment to ensuring that quality water is delivered to the public.
Gogo-Jaja said, “the intention of government is to protect the people of Rivers State, protect those who live and do business here, the health of our people is very important.
“The interest of government is to ensure that weather private or public, we deliver quality water to our people and in so doing it is our responsibility as a ministry to ensure that those who are into this industry, shouldn’t be there to make profit, they should be there to render services which should be commensurate with the charges they are imposing on people and residents of Rivers State.
“What we saw in the field I must say are quite disappointing. You will discover that our people are served with low standard either in the name of table water, sachet water or bottled water. We observed that some of them do this business in the worst of environment. Some of them don’t bother about hygiene.”
The commissioner also disclosed that some water factories were given two weeks to improve on their facilities.
In another development, the Rivers State Government has commended the Supreme Court for issuing an injunction to stop the Federal Government from ceding 12 oil wells from the state to Imo State.
The Commissioner for Finance and Planning, Barrister Isaac Kamalu, said Rivers State Government filed the suit at the Supreme Court against the Federal Government of Nigeria and its agencies from carrying out the ceding of the oil well at Akri and Mbede after a high court in a judgment on Wednesday awarded the oil wells in the border territories to Imo State.
Kamalu said the state had to rush to the Supreme Court after the judgment of the High Court, which purportedly acted on a supposed boundary demarcation done by some Federal Government agencies to cede the disputed territories to Imo State.
“The court has directed that the Attorney General of the Federation and agencies of the Federal Government should abstain from doing anything in respect of the matter that is before the court pending the determination of motion on notice,” Kamalu said.
The Supreme Court ordered that nothing be done with respect to the ceding of the oil wells until the suit filed by Rivers State Government was determined.
By: Susan Serekara-Nwikhana
News
I’m Committed To Community Dev – Ajinwo
News
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
News
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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