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Nemieboka Recommits To Change Negative Narrative In Ogu …Flags Off Skills Acquisition Scheme
The Chairman of Ogu/Bolo Local Government Council, Barrister Vincent Nemieboka, has restated his commitment to change the negative narrative about Ogu/Bolo in the affairs of Rivers State, and the entire country.
Nemieboka gave the assurance while flagging off the local government’s special skills acquisition programme for 283 youths in various vocations at the Ogu/Bolo Council Secretariat, Ogu.
The scheme is an initiative of the Nemieboka-led Ogu/Bolo Local Government Council as part of his promise to empower the people during his electioneering campaigns in 2021.
The first batch of beneficiaries consisting of 22 persons as scaffold trainees; 58 as heavy duty; 58 forklift trainees; nine driving trainees; 70 make-up artists; and 66 photography/videography trainees.
Speaking during the programme, Nemieboka said he had made a promise to embark on massive human capital development after achieving successful infrastructure development in his first year in office.
He said before he became chairman of the council, he had made promise that after his tenure, that negative narrative of saying Ogu/Bolo has no money and no meaningful projects can be done with the allocations would be changed, and successive chairmen would be made to give account of what they have done.
Nemieboka said the programme was redefined from what the people were familiar with, where trainees were only interested in the starter packs given to them and not the knowledge they acquired from the training.
To concentrate and perform optimally, Nemieboka said he has provided Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) as well as accommodation, feeding and transportation for the trainees.
He said the training would be in three batches and would last for seven months, adding that those with genuine passion would be assisted to set up their businesses.
For the other skills, with the state-of-art equipment in Government Technical College (GTC), Ogu-Ele, Nemieboka said the council would partner the school in collaboration with the Rivers State Ministry of Education to give a six-month intensive training equivalent to the post-primary education.
Nemieboka assured the trainees that they would go through the training uninterrupted, and urged the trainees to make good use the skills they would acquire to help themselves and better the society.
He said that those participating in the empowerment programme would be paid monthly stipends aimed at supporting the people.
He also said that some chiefs and women doing business in the area have included in the programme, and would receive loans to boost their incomes.
The guest speaker of the occasion, Barrister Bright Otobo, admonished participants to take whatever skills they have learnt seriously, giving illustrations of graduates from the university that were making names in business just from the skills they learnt with the likes of Dr Wilson Orunaboka, a renowned baker who owns Wilson Bakery.
He said the acquisition of skills was what the society needs today, and praised Nemieboka for embarking on the largest human capital development project in the area.
In his remarks, the Amayanabo of Bolo, King Acheseinimie Micha Frank, said he was happy with what he had seen, and admonished the trainees to appreciate what they have so that people would value them.
He commended Nemieboka for understanding the plight of the people and making Ogu/Bolo stand out, and prayed that God would strengthen him and give him the wisdom and resources to complete the good work.
Also speaking, Barrister Mela Oforibika, said human capital development was what drives an economy, admonishing the trainees to be good ambassadors of the area after they have completed their training.
Some of the trainees who spoke to newsmen said they were grateful to be part of the programme, and would concentrate on what they were studying so they can make their family and the area proud.
They thanked Nemieboka for coming up with such initiative, and prayed for more resources to complete the programme.
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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