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Group Tasks Akpabio On Inauguration Of NDDC Board
A civil society organisation, Niger Delta Peoples Forum (NDPF) has accused the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, of embarking on another round of diversionary tactics that is not in tandem with the wishes of Niger Deltans regarding the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
The group said Akpabio recently made a comment that violates the law setting up the NDDC, in an attempt to change the narrative, saying that the greatest thing the minister should do in 2022 is to ensure the inauguration of the commission’s governing board.
In a statement signed by the National Chairman, Chief Boma Ebiakpo, the group said Akpabio’s position that 2022 would be a “year of positive beginning for Niger Delta region,” was provocative and diversionary.
According to the group, it was rather unfortunate and disheartening that Akpabio, who has been minister of Niger Delta Affairs and supervising minister of NDDC since July, 2019, was now praying that the “year 2022 will usher in a positive beginning for the Niger Delta region” when there were legion of abandoned projects in the region under his watch as supervising minister.
NDPF queried what Akpabio has been doing for “two and a half years in the saddle, with National Assembly approved budgets of N799billion for 2019 and 2020, for NDDC.”
It reminded the minister that “the point has been made by Niger Delta stakeholders, and needs to be restated, that President Muhammadu Buhari needs to redeem himself now that the forensic audit report has been submitted to him since September 2, 2021.
“The president should do well to heed the call of Niger Delta leaders, governors, youths, women, traditional rulers, civil society organisations, and other stakeholders, comply with the law setting up NDDC, and also fulfill his own promise of June 24, 2021, and inaugurate the board to manage the commission for the benefit of the people of the nine Niger Delta states.”
NDPF urged Niger Deltans to condemn Akpabio’s attempt to introduce “a new narrative that is against the law setting up NDDC.”
The group said that the legitimate demands of stakeholders across the Niger Delta were for Buhari “to keep his promise and inaugurate a substantive board for NDDC following the submission of the forensic report, and in line with the law establishing the agency.”
It noted that the Niger Delta was in dire need of development which the absence of the board has so far stalled.
It drew attention to the position of Delta State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, who is also chairman of the South-South Governors’ Forum that “South-South Governors have spoken about how we feel and it is very unfortunate that where we are at the moment, it ought not to be so. We have not had a proper board for over two years now, and that is not right. Whatever situation the NDDC is operating with now is unknown to the law of this country.”
NDPF accused Akpabio of recommending all the negative actions by the Buhari administration in the management of the NDDC in the last two years, including the administration of the NDDC by interim management committee/sole administrator which is illegal.
It said the NDDC Act has no provision for the ongoing illegality in the commission’s administration as “NDDC Act only provides that the board and management of the NDDC at any point in time should follow the provisions of the law which states that the board and management are to be appointed by the President, subject to confirmation by the Senate.”
On the threshold of 2022, the group said “Akpabio should turn a new leaf, desist from unnecessary red-herring, undo the damage he has caused to the region since 2019, hearken to the urgent call and legitimate demands of Niger Delta stakeholders, and get President Muhammadu Buhari to comply with the NDDC Act and inaugurate the NDDC Board without further delay to ensure accountability, checks and balances, probity and equitable representation of the nine constituent states of the Niger Delta region in line with the NDDC Act.”
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.
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.
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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