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2023: ‘Fubara, Ordu’ll Chase Hardship, Create Jobs In Rivers’

Published

3 years ago

August 12, 2022

A seasoned traditional ruler in Rivers-State, Alabo Reuben Jaja, has said that the critical area of Sir Siminialayi Joseph Fubara’s government, and that of other PDP candidates in the state, if elected next year, would be to chase out and put to an end to hardship on the faces of Rivers people while creating massive employment opportunities for the people to stabilise the polity and boost the economy.
Speaking with The Tide in Port Harcourt, recently, on the people’s fate in next year polls, Jaja said that with the presence of Fubara and Prof Ngozi Ordu as governor and deputy governor, respectively, in 2023 after Governor Nyesom Wike’s administration, things would change for the better, noting that currently the Wike-led government has created purposeful leadership legacy for the in-coming administration to follow.
He maintained that the state, which has never had it so good, would enjoy the dividends of democracy from next year under the watch of Sir Siminialayi Fubara, adding that he would not disappoint Rivers people.
“I appeal to all and sundry no matter political affiliations, to cast their votes for Sir Sim Fubara and other welfare-minded candidates, in order to take the state to a progressive level”.
He used the opportunity the commend Governor Nyesom Wike and the entire PDP family for finding the duo of Fubara and Ordu worthy to be nominated to serve Rivers people, describing the choice as “God’s ordained”.
Jaja further called on the PDP gubernatorial standard-bearer and his running-mate not to relent in their oars but rather put in their best in the governance of the state in a bid to chase-out sufferings from among the people.
On the need for peaceful campaigns, Jaja urged political parties and their supporters to conduct their themselves peacefully or face humiliation by the people at the 2023 general election, stressing that the electorate would resist attempts to thwart the social, economic and religious harmony existing in the state as well as fight all anti-social forces.
He noted that the state had gone beyond the stage of violent politics.
“Any attempt to thwart the social, economic and religious harmony in the state will be resisted by our people who will fight the anti-social forces with every drop of their blood, including mobilising electorally against the offenders,” he cautioned.
Jaja averred: “Any person or group that attempts to bring back violence into the electioneering campaign or the body politic will be rejected by God and the people of Rivers State.
“I admonish all players in the polity of the state and country to express good relationship between one another and shun acts of violence, destruction of lives and property in 2023 or be ready to face the wrath of God and humanity,” he said.
The cleric said that one of the biggest challenges facing the state was conducting free, fair and credible elections.
“Although, I am not contesting any elections, I am obliged, morally to ensure that Rivers remains peaceful and stable.
“Our reputation as Nigeria’s treasure base and safest and most peaceful state with the highest level of social, economic and religious cohesion, has rekindled investors’ confidence in Rivers State. The result is the unprecedented investments in the state running into billions of dollars in the last seven years,” Jaja submitted.

By: Bethel Toby

News

Dangote Stops Petrol Sale In Naira, Gives Condition For Resumption

Published

19 hours ago

March 21, 2025

The Tide

Nigerians may experience an increase in the prices of premium energy products diesel and petrol as the Dangote Petroleum Refinery temporarily halts the sale of petroleum products in Naira.
“This decision is necessary to avoid a mismatch between our sales proceeds and our crude oil purchase obligations, which are currently denominated in US dollars,” the company said in a statement yesterday.
The $20billion refinery based in Lagos said the sales of its products in Naira have exceeded the value of Naira-denominated crude it has received from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
“As a result, we must temporarily adjust our sales currency to align with our crude procurement currency,” the company explained.
The refinery said it remained committed to serving the Nigerian market and would resume the sale of its product to the local market in Naira as soon as it received crude cargoes from the NNPCL in Naira.
“As soon as we receive an allocation of Naira-denominated crude cargoes from NNPC, we will promptly resume petroleum product sales in Naira,” it said.
The announcement by the refinery comes amid its price war with the NNPCL.
As part of moves to reduce the strain on the US dollars, and guarantee price stability of petroleum products, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) in July 2024, directed the NNPCL to sell crude oil to Dangote Refinery and other local refineries in naira and not in United States’ greenback.
In the beginning of March 2025, the NNPCL said its Naira-denominated crude sales agreement with the Dangote Refinery was structured for six months with March 2025 as the expiration date.
The state company, however, said that talks were on to replace the contract, and that over 48 million barrels of crude oil have been made available to Dangote Refinery since October 2024 under the Naira-denominated arrangement.
The NNPCL also said it had made over 84 million barrels of crude oil available to the private refinery since it commenced operations in 2023.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, faces energy challenges, with all its state-owned refineries non-operational for decades until 2024. The country was heavily reliant on imported refined petroleum products, with the state-run NNPCL being the major importer of the essential commodities.
Fuel queues are commonplace in the country. Prices of petrol more than quadrupled since the removal of subsidy in May 2023 by President Bola Tinubu, from around ¦ 200/litre to about ¦ 1,000/litre, compounding the woes of the citizens who power their vehicles, and generating sets with petrol, no thanks to decades-long epileptic electricity supply.
Last December, the billionaire industrialist commenced operations at the facility situated in Lagos with 350,000 barrels a day. The refinery, which was initially bogged by regulatory battles, hopes to achieve its full capacity of 650,000 barrels per day by the end of the year. The refinery has begun the supply of diesel and aviation fuel to marketers in the country and now petrol.

News

Aruna Displaces Assar As Africa’s Top-Ranked Star

Published

21 hours ago

March 21, 2025

The Tide

Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna has overtaken Egypt’s Omar Assar to become Africa’s highest-ranked player in the world, now sitting at 18th in the week 12 ranking released on Tuesday.
Aruna moved up from 19th place in week 11 to 18th in the latest ranking, while Assar dropped from 17th to 19th.
Denmark’s Jonathan Groth took over Assar’s 17th place, moving up from 18th.
Despite finishing as runner-up at the 2025 ITTF Africa Cup, Aruna’s impressive performances at the WTT tournaments this year have boosted his ranking.
Aruna remains the only African male player to have reached the semi-finals of the WTT Contender Doha, repeating his 2023 feat earlier this year in January.
This achievement has propelled him ahead of Assar, who beat him to become the champion of the 2025 ITTF Africa Cup.
Aruna’s next tournament is the WTT Contender Chennai which serves off in India from March 23 to 20.
In the women’s singles, Egypt’s Hana Goda maintained her top spot in Africa, moving up one place to 26th in the week 12 ITTF ranking. Her compatriot, Dina Meshref, remained static at 33rd, holding her position as the second-best-ranked female player in Africa.
China’s Wang Chuqin retained his position as the second-best player globally, behind his compatriot Lin Shidong, who continues to hold the top spot. Japanese superstar Tomokazu Harimoto dethroned China’s Liang Jingkun as the third-best player in the world after his semifinal finish in Chongqing.
In the women’s ranking, the top five remained unchanged, with China’s Sun Yingsha holding onto her top spot after retaining her WTT Champions Chongqing title.

News

NSPRI Empowers Agri-preneurs For Independence, Postharvest Loss Reduction

Published

21 hours ago

March 21, 2025

The Tide

The Nigerian Stored Products Research Institute (NSPRI) has empowered agri-preneurs with skills to be self-independent and reduce post-harvest losses.

The two-day training was held recently at its Lagos Zonal office on Barikisu Iyede Street, Yaba, Lagos, and centered around post-harvest management, particularly focusing on how to add value to agricultural products such as grains, roots, and tubers.

With a hands-on approach making up a whopping 90 percent of the training, participants got their hands dirty, learning to create value-added products such as bean flour, ground rice, odourless fufu, poundo yam, and flavoured pap.

The training also delved into essential post-harvest management practices and highlighted the importance of packaging in enhancing the value of agricultural goods.

Rounding off the programme, participants were conducted round the NSPRI facility, where participants had the chance to discover even more post-harvest solutions beyond what was covered in the training.

The diverse group of attendees, representing various ages and genders, participated both in person and online.

In his closing remarks, the Executive Director of NSPRI, represented by the Zonal Coordinator, Dr. Shuaeeb Oyewole, expressed heartfelt thanks to the trainees.

He stressed that the skills and knowledge gained during the training could significantly help in reducing agricultural losses, creating job opportunities, and fighting poverty.

He also encouraged everyone to become advocates for post-harvest loss reduction in their communities.

Participants, including Mrs. Olayinka Immanuel, and Mrs. Olubunmi Afolabi, who joined virtually from the United States and Osogbo, Osun State, respectively, expressed gratitude for the training.

Mr. Christopher, a returning participant, commended the training for its focus on practical skills and expressed his eagerness for future sessions.

Everyone left with a commitment to use what they learned to tackle post-harvest losses head-on and to foster entrepreneurship, ultimately contributing to job creation and wealth generation in their communities.