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RivCARES: RSG Set To Disburse Funds To 991 Rivers Indigenes

The Rivers State Government will soon commence the disbursement of funds to 991 Rivers indigenes under the Rivers COVID-19 Action Recovery Economic Stimulus Scheme (RivCARES) programme.
Head, State Cash Transfer Unit (SCTU), Result Area 1, RivCARES programme, Dr Christiana Sibor, disclosed this at a training workshop for facilitators of the programme in Port Harcourt, last Wednesday.
Sibor said 636 Rivers indigenes from the 23 local government areas of the state would get N10,000 each for six months under the social transfer while 355 others, mostly youths and women, would be paid N120,000 monthly under the livelihood grants.
She said the transfer scheme would be done in accordance with the state social transfer register.
According to her, the facilitators, 66 in numbers, will be sent to rural communities with a view to validating the social transfer register.
Sibor warned the facilitators against sorting in any form, and also enjoined them to find out those whose names are in the social register.
She said that the programme would help to alleviate the sufferings of the people as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, adding that those who fall under the livelihood grants will be encouraged to re-acquire the skills lost during the pandemic.
Also speaking, the State Technical Head, RivCARES, Mrs Imaonyani Ephraim-George, said the programme has different implementation platforms.
According to her, the cash transfer unit which is under Result Area 1 has the responsibility of implementing Disbursement Link Indicator 1.1(DLI 1.1) that deals with social transfer and Disbursement Link Indicators 1.3 (DLI 1.3) that deals with livelihood enhancement.
She explained that those trained would carry out the implementation of the cash transfer aspect of the RivCARES programme.
“The disbursement will follow processes. As soon as validation of the beneficiaries are done because we are using the state social register to pick the beneficiaries from the two DLIs and because the state social register has been done before now.
“They need to go back to the communities to validate if all the beneficiaries names in the register are still valid, if they are they still domicile here to know the actual beneficiaries, then disbursement will start”, she said.
George advised the facilitators to take their assignment seriously.
In his contributions, Head of Operation, State Cash Transfer Unit, Result Area 1, Emmanuel L. Phimia, said each of the 23 LGAs has three facilitators each.
He said the facilitators would help the government to identify potential beneficiaries of the programme.
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I’m Committed To Community Dev – Ajinwo
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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
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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.