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RSG Encourages Women Emancipation, Banigo Affirms
Rivers State Deputy Governor, Dr. Ipalibo Harry Banigo has said that the Rivers State Government under the watch of the State Chief Executive, Chief Nyesom Wike has taken practical steps to encourage women’s emancipation in the state.
Banigo made this assertion in her keynote address during the maiden edition of the Women in Energy, Oil, and Gas (WEOG) Summit at Hotel Presidential in Port Harcourt, last Saturday.
The deputy governor said Wike initiated a political revolution that makes it mandatory for all vice chairmanship positions in local government council elections to be reserved for women, in addition to her being elected as the first female two-term deputy governor in the South-South region in Nigeria.
“To this end, I urge all women to get involved in the forthcoming General Election in 2023. Joyfully, now that the Electoral Act has been amended and signed into law, women must get their PVCs ready for the elections because every vote must count under the new electoral order”.
Banigo said the summit should not only serve as an umbrella for the inter-party and cross-cultural centripetal force, for all women of substance but should also articulate and take appropriate steps that would address the lingering artificial and social-cultural barriers against women aspiring to fulfill destinies in their chosen professions in the society.
The deputy governor, who noted that women have made remarkable strides by dint of hard work and commitment in the oil and gas industry in Nigeria, disclosed that the Women in Energy, Oil, and Gas (WEOG) Summit was a bold statement by women in the South-South to change the narrative that women’s roles were not limited to the “other room”, but a potent force for social, economic and political change towards rapid and sustainable growth and development.
Banigo, who advocated for the fixing of the nation’s refineries, appealed to participants to join the Rivers State Government in the fight against illegal refineries, popularly known as ‘Kpo fire’, noting that the activities of these criminally-minded individuals, groups or cartels have far-reaching socio-economic, environmental and health consequences.
In her remarks, wife of the Bayelsa State Governor, Mrs. Gloria Douye Diri, said this summit was coming at the appropriate time to sensitise the women and tell the world that women were supposed to be heard and seen.
She added that they were the ones to salvage the women in the communities, stressing that the meeting buttresses the point that women were ready to take their place, the He4She should endeavour to speak for women that the National Assembly made a mistake, and the men should help us tell them to call it back.
In her welcome remarks, the National President of the Women in Energy, Oil, and Gas, Dr. Dunni Owo said they were not here to compete with men, adding that it was not about feminism, but about maximising the beautiful energy, the nature God has given to women.
She said the women desire to break the energy poverty bias, adding that they would continue to collaborate and support the men in breaking the energy poverty bias.
“We are not doing it alone; it is a global thing. Women in Energy, Oil and Gas is an organisation that was incubated in 2017, and it commenced operation in 2018. We came across some American women in the industry, and saw what they were helping Americans to achieve.
“We saw the gap and need in Nigeria, as well and decided to form the group at Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) 2018. Since then, a lot of great things have happened.
“Our focus is to bring all the women in the industry, our aim and objective, is Energy Women close the Energy Gap, Energy Women, move the nation forward”, she said.
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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