News
High Cost Of Food, Cooking Gas Angers S’South Residents
Residents in the South-South have sought Federal Government’s intervention in the ever-increasing cost of food items and cooking gas in the region.
The analysts, who made the call in separate interviews, said government should stem the rising cost of the items through proper economic recovery plan and implementation.
They added that Nigerians should assist government in minimising the excesses of middlemen and market associations in hiking the prices of commodities.
The residents also identified the major factors contributing to cooking gas price hike in the nation to include lack of functional refineries and off-takers for gas distribution.
On prices of food, they identified market forces, insecurity, farmer/headers clashes, insurgency, banditry, poor storage facilities and Covid-19 outbreak as causes of food price hike in the country.
Although the analysts appreciated current government’s efforts in solving the problem, they advised that the intervention should be urgent as food was one of the basic necessities of life.
A civil servant in Asaba, Mr Vincent Adeoye, said: ‘’Our challenge has become double in the sense that the cost of food items is high likewise that of cooking gas.
“How do we survive in this present situation when we buy a cup of beans for N150 and one kilogramme of cooking gas for N700?
“Our salaries cannot even feed our families, not to talk of paying school fees and rent. It is only God who helps us to survive.
“The present economy is making things too difficult for us and I will appeal to the government to come to our rescue.”
Also, a civil servant, Mrs Deborah Diai, said she had resorted to using charcoal for cooking since ‘’the price of domestic gas is now within the reach of the rich.
“Three kilogrammes of gas do not last up to five days for me, because we are family of six,” she said.
The Chairman, Ika Liquefied Petroleum Gas Dealers Association, Mr Onyeka Eze, said the increase in the price of domestic gas had affected the consumption of the product in the area.
According to him, before now, a kilogramme of gas sold for between N300 and N320, but in the last six months, the price had gone up to N650 a kilogramme.
“Before this increment, we dispense as much as 100kilogrammes daily, but as at today, it takes us almost three days to sell 50kilogrammes of it”.
Eze urged the Federal Government to intervene in the continual increase of the price of domestic gas.
In Rivers State, a civil rights crusader, Mr Livingston Wechie, urged the government to tackle the situation, saying, ‘’basically, there’s a tremendous hike in cost of living.
“While commodity prices are on the increase, wages and remunerations have remained static even when only a few percentage of the country’s population earn salaries.”
Wechie urged government to reconsider a proper economic recovery plan to ensure that basic commodities for daily survival took precedence over any other infrastructure.
He lamented that the price of domestic cooking gas had gone up from N3,500 to almost N10,000 for 12.5kilogrammes.
He also attributed the high cost of foodstuffs in the country to the challenge of insecurity, farmer/headers clashes, insurgence and banditry.
Similarly, the President, Etche Farmers’ Cooperative Union, Mr Godwin Akandu, urged government to reinvigorate the economy by ensuring direct funding of farmers and strengthening security.
A Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) mini-tank farm operator, Mr Sunil Umar, attributed the current hike in prices of cooking gas to lack of functional refineries.
Umar said the situation was compounded because of lack of off-takers, to effectively distribute the huge quantity of gas produced by the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG).
According to him, the NLNG has always allocated to the Nigerian market as much as 450,000MPTA quantity of gas from 2015 till date.
Also speaking on the high cost of cooking gas, Operations Controller, Department Petroleum Resources (DPR), Uyo, Mr Victor Ohwodiasa, attributed the increase to deregulation of the sector and market forces.
“The gas market is deregulated and is driven by market forces; so the issue of demand and supply comes into play.
‘’Another reason is that there are some tariffs that were imputed by government recently; so that is why the price has jumped up.
‘’If we talk of gas penetration, gas availability and gas reliability, then, something should be done about the price,” he said.
Ohwodiasa, however, said that government was working hard to intervene and stabilise the price of cooking gas.
A housewife in Uyo, Mrs Glory Inyang, said that the high cost of cooking gas had affected the feeding allowance given to her by her husband.
“I used to buy 12.5kg of cooking gas for N3,750, but today I have just bought the same quantity for N10, 000; this is on the high side,” she said.
Another housewife, Mrs Margaret Joseph, lamented that both the cooking gas and food items had become exorbitant at the same time, causing lot a lot of hardship to Nigerians.
Similarly, the Edo Chairman of the Grassroots Farmers Association of Niger Delta, Chief Emmanuel Odigie, identified insecurity, activities of market associations and bad roads as reasons for high cost of foodstuffs.
Odigie claimed that the farmers/herders clashes had made it almost impossible for most farmers to access their farms for fear of being killed or kidnapped.
He also attributed the high cost of food and other commodities to the lack of interest in agriculture on the part the youths.
‘’The youths in our state are not interested in agriculture. All they do is travel abroad for greener pasture wh8those left behind hunt for white-collar jobs.
“The Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic is also a major factor and as long as market associations exist, prices of foodstuffs and other agricultural commodities will continue to rise,” he said .
Contributing, Agricultural Extension Officer, Nigerian Stored Products Research Institute (NSPRI), Sapele, Dr Samuel Agoda, attributed the hike in prices of food to post harvest losses experienced by farmers.
“For the few farmers that are producing this period of insecurity, storage facilities are a major problem.
“Most of these crops go bad easily after harvest because of lack of storage facilities,” he said.
Agoda, however, noted that the federal government, through NSPRI, had developed series of post-harvest technologies for farmers to store produce in the post-harvest value chain.
News
Rivers DPOs Receive Awards For Outstanding Performance In Crime Prevention …As Students, Media Group Honour CSP Worgu, CSP Yusuf
The beneficiaries are the DPO of Afam Police Division, CSP Endurance Worgu and his counterpart at Oyigbo Police Division, CSP Bello Yusuf.
CSP Worgu was honoured by a group of students under the aegis of Rivers State Graduate Students Associations for what they described as his commitment and outstanding performance in the discharge of his duties.
The students, led by Chidi John Enyie, Esq. said CSP Worgu was selected based on his track record and status as one of the longest-serving young DPOs of Rivers State origin.
According to the group, CSP Worgu has made significant contributions to the protection of lives and property in the area since assuming office following the #EndSARS period.
The students said they were particularly impressed by the improvement in community-police relations under his leadership, noting that professionalism had remained a key feature of his service.
Enyie represented by Comrade Briggs Soku, said the students community was pleased to identify with a Rivers indigene who had distinguished himself in the police force.
He said the students considered it necessary to encourage and celebrate CSP Worgu because of his achievements as a young Rivers man excelling in a profession that many people from the state were often reluctant to join.
Receiving the award at his office in Afam, CSP Worgu expressed gratitude to God and the students for finding him worthy of the honour.
The DPO said the recognition had boosted his morale and encouraged him to sustain his efforts towards maintaining peace and security in the area.
He said he least expected the honour, particularly because it came from the students, adding that the recognition would further motivate him to serve the people better.
CSP Worgu assured residents of Afam that the police would sustain the existing peace in the area.
He appealed to members of the public to support the police by providing credible and timely information, stressing that useful information from residents would make the job of security personnel easier.
Meanwhile, the Ikwerre/Etche Media Association has also honoured the DPO of Oyigbo Police Division, CSP Bello Yusuf, for his efforts in tackling criminal activities in the area.
The media group presented the award following the swift tracking and arrest of five suspected kidnappers who had allegedly terrorised residents of the Kom-Kom axis and other parts of Oyigbo.
The group commended CSP Bello for what it described as his determined efforts to restore confidence and security in the affected communities, particularly Kom-Kom and Obeama.
According to the group, the arrest of the suspects demonstrated the DPO’s commitment to tackling criminality and safeguarding residents.
The media association said residents had received the development with relief, noting that the police action had sent a strong message to criminal elements operating in the area.
Responding, CSP Yusuf appreciated the group for the recognition and reaffirmed that there would be no room for criminality in Oyigbo.
He also commended the media for its role in disseminating credible information to the public, saying the media had remained supportive of the police in the fight against crime.
CSP Yusuf warned criminal elements operating in Oyigbo to leave the area or be prepared to face the full weight of the law.
He assured residents that the police would continue to pursue criminals and work to dismantle their hideouts, regardless of where they might be operating.
International President of the forum, Archbishop Lucky Aroh, disclosed this during the ordination and consecration of three new Bishops, as well as an award ceremony held in Port Harcourt.
Aroh said the performance of the APC-led Federal Government had endeared the party to the organisation, prompting the forum to declare its support for President Tinubu and other APC candidates in Rivers State.
He said the forum would support all APC candidates in the state during the 2027 elections and urged Nigerians to vote for the party.
Aroh, who is also the General Overseer of Caring Peoples Church, Port Harcourt, charged the newly consecrated Bishops to see their new positions as a great responsibility and dedicate themselves to the advancement of the kingdom of God.
He cautioned them against conduct capable of bringing their offices into disrepute, stressing that their activities would be closely watched by members of the public.
“As Bishops, the eyes of the public are on your activities. You must therefore conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of your calling,” he said.
Also speaking, the International Coordinator of the forum, Bishop Saint Robinson, urged the newly consecrated Bishops to work diligently towards winning souls for the kingdom of God.
Robinson, who was the guest speaker at the event, stressed that the activities of Bishops must at all times be guided by godly principles.
He also called on members of the church to support and cooperate with the newly consecrated Bishops in the discharge of their responsibilities.
The Secretary of the College, Apostle Elizabeth Ayadi Abaye, said the organisation was established to advance the kingdom of God and promote spiritual development.
According to her, the forum has organised several crusades, conferences, prayer meetings, ordinations, consecrations, enthronements, empowerment programmes and other spiritual development activities across the country as part of efforts to win souls for Christ.
Abaye said the organisation has members across the world and disclosed that more programmes had been scheduled to promote the spiritual development and wellbeing of humanity.
The three Bishops consecrated at the ceremony were Prince Alban Chike, Testimony Omenihu Shedrach and Prince Ifemena.
Among those honoured at the event were the Chairman of the Community Development Committee (CDC), Abali Community, Port Harcourt City Local Government Area, Manuchimso Prince Lemmy Wopara, and Clifford Oko Jaja, Coordinator of the 5,000 House-to-House for President Tinubu.
By: John Bibor
The State Commissioner of Police, CP Olugbenga Adepoju, disclosed this in Port Harcourt, recently during a press briefing at the Command Headquarters, where he said the arrests formed part of the operational achievements recorded by the Command between June and August 2026.
Adepoju said Atausi was arrested on August 10 by police operatives along Ada George, Port Harcourt, while dressed in military uniform and driving a Toyota Hilux painted in Army colours.
The Commissioner said investigation revealed that Atausi was not a member of the Armed Forces, adding that he was suspected to be a serial car snatcher, with three suspected stolen vehicles recovered from him.
He said the recovered vehicles included three Toyota Hilux vehicles without registration numbers and a Toyota Corona Premio with registration number BNY 380 ES, noting that the chassis and engine numbers of the vehicles had allegedly been tampered with.
Adepoju added that an axe and military accoutrements were also recovered from Atausi, as investigation continued into the circumstances surrounding the vehicles and other items recovered from him.
On the June 29 attack on police officers at Aluu Division, the Commissioner said three members of the gang allegedly responsible for the incident had been arrested by operatives of the Violent Crime Response Unit, VCRU-AKU.
The suspects, identified as Maduabuchi Emeka, 34, alleged gang leader; Doctor Chinedu Owhor, 42, and Kamachi Joe, 28, alleged armourer, reportedly led operatives to their hideout at Omagwa where two AK-47 rifles stolen during the attack were recovered.
Adepoju recalled that two police officers were killed during the Aluu attack, while others were wounded and one officer had his leg amputated, stressing that efforts were ongoing to apprehend the fourth suspect.
On kidnapping, the Commissioner said five members of a suspected kidnapping syndicate were arrested in Oyigbo Local Government Area, adding that they allegedly confessed to operations in Kom-Kom, Railway, Obeama and Afam communities.
He said two other suspects from the same network, Anele Ogbogu, 35, alleged to be the gang’s armourer, and Kenneth Eke, 38, were arrested on July 27, with one AK-47 rifle and one SMG rifle recovered.
The Commissioner further disclosed the arrest of suspects in connection with alleged firearm offences, armed robbery, cultism and one-chance robbery, with firearms, ammunition and other exhibits recovered during the operations.
Adepoju assured residents that the Command would sustain intelligence-led, proactive and community-oriented policing in collaboration with other security agencies, while urging members of the public to continue providing credible information that would assist the police in combating crime across Rivers State.
By; King Onunwor
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