Niger Delta

Diri Lauds Judiciary On Bias-Free Justice Delivery

Published

2 years ago

April 25, 2022

Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri has lauded the Judicial arm of government on commitment to administration of justice and protection of the oppressed and vulnerable in the society.
Diri gave the commendation in Yenagoa at the reception ceremony and launch of a book titled, ‘Astute Judgements and Essays’ written as part of activities commemorating the retirement ceremony of Justice Nayai Aganaba of the Bayelsa State High Court.
He described Justice Aganaba as an erudite, incorruptible and courageous jurist who triumphed even in the face of daunting challenges, noting that he has known the retiring jurist as a sound legal practitioner many years ago before he was appointed as a Judge.
The Tide learnt that the retiring Justice Aganaba was called to the Bar in 1982 and appointed as a Judge of the Bayelsa State Judiciary in the year 2001 by the first Executive Governor of the state, the Late Chief DSP Alamieyeseigha of blessed memory, and that prior to his retirement after 20 years of meritorious service as a Judge, he had also at different instances served in both election and inquiry tribunals, respectively.
The state number one citizen who also condemned the April, 13, 2022 invasion of the state High Court and attack on the retiring Judge by hoodlums, described the dastardly act as having come from the opposition parties in the state, just as he called on the police and sister security agencies to partner the state and Judiciary by providing adequate security in and around the state Judiciary and for Judges to enable them discharge their Constitutional functions without fear of intimidation.
Diri, who also applauded the State Chief Judge, Justice Kate Abiri for her steadfastness and commitment to duty as well as efforts to ensure that Judicial officers and Judges were given their rightful places in successive administrations of the state noted that his administration and all arms of government of the state were partners in progress.
“I’ve known Justice Aganaba many years ago as a legal practitioner even in the old Rivers State before the creation of Bayelsa state. He is an astute, incorruptible, erudite and courageous Judge. That was why even when on the 13th of April, just last week when he was handling a case brought to his court by the other parties, amongst themselves even upon the intimidation and treats to his life, he remained courageous.
“I call on the police and other sister security agencies to partner the government in providing adequate security in our court premises and for all Judges to avoid the reoccurrence of what happened on the 13th day of April where hoodlums were reported to have attacked the now retiring Justice Aganaba in his court. I want to again commend the state Chief Judge, the Hon. Justice Kate Abiri for her commitment towards ensuring that Judicial officers and indeed all the Judges in the state Judiciary were properly catered for”, he said.
Speaking earlier at a valedictory court session held in honour of the retiring Judge, the state Chief Justice, Kate Abiri applauded Justice Aganaba,saying he was a respected Jurist who put in 20 meritorious years in service as a Judge, just as she described the Judiciary as the final arbiter of the law.
She also commended the state government for granting the state Judiciary financial autonomy,this was just as she reiterated that those who attacked the retiring Justice Aganaba in while on duty at his court recently would face the wrath of the law.
“As an arm of government,the Bayelsa state Judiciary have enjoyed autonomy. And I make bold to say that the state government has not held back any due us as a Judiciary since the financial autonomy status was granted us. For all those who invaded the sanctity of the court and attacked the retiring Justice Aganaba in his court, here in the state Judiciary,all of them would face the wrath of the law”, she said.
Meanwhile in a special thanksgiving service held as part of activities for the retiring Jurist at the St. Peter’s Deanery, Yenagoa, the Bishop of the Niger Delta West Diocese, Anglican Communion, Emmanuel Oko-Jaja has described retirement as synonymous with Biblical injunction.
In his sermon taken from the book of Numbers 5:10, the clergy with scriptural reference noted that retirement from ones vocation after years of meritorious service is in line with God’s plan for humans,this was even as he commended the state Judiciary for striving for excellence and for its delivery of unbias Justice, irrespective of whom the Judgement was to served.
In same vein,while speaking with Journalists shortly after the event, the retiring Justice Aganaba has reassured his readiness to continue serving the state and nation in any capacity befitting of a retired Jurist, describing himself as one who was naturally called to be legal practitioner and later a Judge.
“Two incidences happened in my life which made me knew that I was destined to be a lawyer: One was in Lagos in 1969 when after giving money to a blind beggar he prayed for me, telling me that I’ld be lawyer. While the second was when I read a book titled the incurruptible Judge and later acted as a Judge in a play during my secondary school years and acted very well as a Judge”, he said.

By: Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa

Niger Delta

Mile One Market: Committee Commences Verification Exercise …Denies Allocations Of Shops

Published

16 hours ago

April 26, 2024

The Tide

The Rivers State Government Reconciliation Committee on Lockup Shops at Mile 1, Rumuwoji Market in Port Harcourt City Local Government Area has denied allocating stalls to any one.
Chairman of the commitee, Mrs Ibiwari Clapton-Ogolo, said this in an interview with The Tide during the commencement of the first phase verification of the market allottees in Port Harcourt.
Mrs Clapton-Ogolo also insisted that original owners of shops will be given automatic allocations as long as they can prove themselves.
“No allocations for now. We are here to verify the allottees. Original owners of shops will have automatic allocations as long as they can prove themselves”, she said.
Mrs Clapton-Ogolo, who is the Permanent Secretary/Solicitor General of Rivers State, said the traders are happy that they are getting back to business.
She insisted that all prospective allottees must come with all required documents, including their National Identification number (NIN) before verification.
She also commended Governor Siminalayi Fubara for his efforts in getting the traders back to business.
Other members of the committee who also participated in the verification exercise are the Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Housing, Mr Boma Wakama, who is the Secretary of the committee; Mr Lawson Ikuru, Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Commerce and Industry, amongst others.
Some of the allottees, who spoke to The Tide shortly after the verification exercise, described the process as fair and transperant.
They told their colleagues not to embark on further protest, but follow the template put in place by the Committee to get verified.
Over six hundred allottees participated in the verification exercise.

John Bibor

Niger Delta

RSG Seals Two Hospitals In Bonny …Set To Inaugurate Anti-Quackery Committee

Published

16 hours ago

April 26, 2024

The Tide

The Rivers State Government, in collaboration with the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Rivers State, has sealed off two hospitals in Bonny Island.
The two hospitals sealed are Saint Child Surgery, Bonny, and former Ndukwe Clinic, currently operating at Macauley Plaza, Bonny.
At a joint media briefing, Wednesday, in her office, the State Commissioner for Health, Dr Adaeze Chidinma Oreh, said the two health facilities were sealed off for negligence and unprofessional conduct as well as non-registration of facilities.
The sealing of the two hospitals brings to three the number of hospitals so far sealed off by the government in the State.
Recall that last week, one Divine Love Hospital in Port Harcourt was also sealed off for unprofessional conduct.
The Commissioner said some of those engaged in unethical practices have also been arrested and being tried.
She explained that the situation goes against the philosophy and the determination of the Governor Siminalayi Fubara-led administration to ensure quality health care delivery in the State.
According to her, the present administration of Governor Fubara is determined to fight all incidences of quackry in the State, adding that when inaugurated, the committee will also go after those who use fake certificates to practise as medical doctors.
“It is important that we are not looking at it sorely from the perspective of the qualifications, the requisite qualifications of health care providers, the services that they provide, and the facilities, but those services delivered is also of paramount importance”, she said.
She continued that the State Ministry of Health is collaborating with the Nigerian NMA to ensure that the health sector is sanitized of quackery.
The Commissioner urged the public to give useful information to the Ministry on the existence of quack doctors and locations of substandard hospitals in the State.
Also speaking, the Chairman of the NMA, Rivers State, Dr Ebi Robinson, said the organisation has zero tolerance for quackery as far as the profession was concerned.
He said the fight against quackery was not motivated, but was borne out of necessity to sanitise the health care delivery system in the State.
According to him, the fight is not against only those who fake certificates, but also against unethical and unprofessional practices.
“In recent times, some hospitals have been sealed with the help of the Ministry of Health and some individuals who faked certificate to practise as medical centres have also been prosecuted by the NMA.
“On the 23rd of April, two hospitals in Bonny Island were also sealed by the Ministry of Health for non-registration of their facilities and for some unethical practices.
“The NMA was part of the team to ensure no one was victimised”, he stated.
Robinson thanked Governor Fubara and the State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Oreh, for their support towards the fight against quackery and efforts to sanitise the health care delivery sector in the State.
He said the association is not leaving any stone unturned until the sector is sanitised for better medical practices.
Also speaking, the Director of Medical Services, Rivers State Ministry of Health, Dr. Vincent Wachukwu, said the government is putting all necessary things in place to ensure that Rivers people get access to quality health care services.
He, however, expressed regrets that some persons are making a mockery of government effort in this direction by not registering their facilities.
Wachukwu said government cannot allow these individuals to continue, and called on those wishing to offer medical outreaches to communities to get approval from the Ministry.

John Bibor

Niger Delta

C’River Declares NBS Child Labour Ranking Unrealistic

Published

16 hours ago

April 26, 2024

The Tide

Cross River on Saturday dismissed as untrue a survey report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) that it had the highest incidence of child labour in the country.
The NBS had stated in the report that of the 24.6 million children in child labour in Nigeria, Cross River recorded the highest incidence of 67.4 per cent, followed by Yobe with 62.6 per cent.
In the survey entitled: “Nigeria Child Labour Survey 2022’’, the NBS rated Lagos State has having the lowest incidence of 8.9 per cent.
The NBS described child labour as any work that robbed children less than 18 years of age of their childhood, potential, and dignity or had deleterious impact on their physical and mental development.
It stated that its survey showed that children between the ages of five years and 17 years were engaged in economic activities that amounted to child labour in Nigeria.
Dismissing the report, Cross River’s Commissioner for Information, Mr Erasmus Ekpang told The Tide’s source in Calabar that the figures released did not represent the true position in Cross River.
He said the figure for Cross River was not tenable since government had put measures in place since assumption of office in May 2023 to discourage child labour and to uplift vulnerable segments of the population.
He explained that the measures put in place centred on health, education, agriculture and other empowerment initiatives.
Ekpang stressed that government had also put in place programmes that empowered women economically and discouraged them from sending their children and wards out as child labourers.
“Women are empowered to take care of themselves and their families. Youths are also not left out of these policies and programmes.
“The initiatives are mostly in the areas of agriculture and small-scale enterprises.
“We also initiated programmes like school feeding to retain every child in school”, he stated.
Ekpang advised the NBS to revisit its 2022 figures and make amends.
The NBS report also stated that more than 14 million of affected children were engaged in hazardous work.
The survey also showed that child labour was considerably higher in the rural areas, with 17.5 million or 44.8 per cent of children involved.
In the urban areas, however, only 7.1 million children, or 30 per cent were involved in child labour.
Hazardous work is also more frequent in the rural areas according to the NBS.
“More than 10.5 million children or 26.8 per cent of those of them in the rural areas are in hazardous work.
“In urban areas, only about four million children or 16.3 per cent are in hazardous work”, it stated.
The report also indicated that the Northwest geopolitical zone had the highest of 6,407,102 children engaged in labour, followed by the Northeast with 4,466,808; North Central (3,884,576); South-South (3,682,773); Southwest (3,227,559) and Southeast (3,004,669).