News
Flood Engulfs Communities In ONELGA …As Ubie Monarch Cries For Help
No fewer than six communities, including some government primary and secondary schools have been engulfed by a surging flood in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers State.
This is even as the Eze Igbu Ubie of Ubie Kingdom of Ahoada West Local Government Area, Eze Okpokiri Augustine Maxwell, has cried out for help to salvage his people from being completely submerged, and blamed the Federal Government for failing to do the necessary things to check the perennial flooding in his kingdom.
According to the reports, the affected communities are Obiofu, Utu-Umuoriji, Ase-Azaga, Ogbeogene Utuechi and Agwe, among others.
All the communities are said to be within the Ndoni axis of the local government.
Though details of the incident are still sketchy as at press time, sources within the affected communities said that residents were having hard timessalvaging their properties and farm produce as the surging flood water is speedily overrunning most parts of the area.
However, in an interview, an Environmentalist, Ikechukwu Ojoba, said some other communities were also being threatened, and may be submerged soon.
He mentioned the communities being threatened toinclude: Kriegani, Aligwu, Idu-Obosiukwu, Idu-Osobile, Agbogwe, Usomini-Omoku, Obieti 1 and Ebeocha, respectively.
According to him, a fact-finding mission,which was carried out last Monday, revealed that farmlands and crops worth millions of Naira had been badly affected by the flood.
The affected residents were said to have been confused as a lot of them donot have any alternative place to relocate to.
Attempts to reach officials of Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area were not successful as at press time, yesterday.
Meanwhile, the Eze Igbu Ubie of Ubie Kingdom of Ahoada West Local Government Area,Eze Okpokiri Augustine Maxwell, has blamed the Federal Government for failing to do the necessary things to check the perennial flooding in his kingdom.
Okpokiri, who said this in an exclusive interview with The Tide in Port Harcourt, said his people were helpless in the face of the surging flood water.
He said, “The flooding issue is a very sympathetic situation as far as Ubie Kingdom is concerned
“They said we should move to higher grounds.How do we move?Who will help us? As far as I am concerned, our people are helpless”, he said.
The royal father regretted that Ubie Kingdom had not received any assistance from any quarters as far as flooding was concerned, adding that the kingdom had lost properties, including human lives to flooding.
“Ubie has lost buildings, farmlands, including lives in the last three years to flooding, and there is no assistance from anybody”, he said.
He said farmers in his kingdom were now in panic, adding that some of them have started harvesting crops to avoid being destroyed by the coming flood waters.
“Our farmers have started harvesting crops that have just been planted”.
He also said the last flooding rendered many of his people homeless, stressing that those affected were yet to recover.
Okpokiri faulted claims by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) that relief materials were donated to victims in previous years, stressing that none of his people received relief materials from any Federal Government agency.
According to him, as the king of the Ubie Kingdom, his palace ought to be aware of any agency or company bringing relief materials to his people, alleging that the relief materials, if any,may not have been given to the right people.
The king blamed the Federal Government for not doing enough, stressing that proper attention were not being given to the issue in the Orashi region.
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) had recently directed communities in the Orashi part of the state to begin to move to higher grounds as the region may be affected by massive flooding this year.
Some residents of Ubie and Engenni kingdoms, who also spoke on the issue, said government did not help them during previous flood incidents.
They called on the government to dredge the Orashi River to facilitate the free flow of water into the Atlantic Ocean.
By: John Bibor & Oreoluwa Adigun
Vice President Kashim Shettima has arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for an official State visit at the invitation of the Prime Minister, Dr. Abiy Ahmed.
Upon arrival yesterday, Shettima was received at the airport by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Dr. Gedion Timothewos, and other members of the Ethiopian and Nigerian diplomatic corps.
Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Communication, Stanley Nkwocha, revealed this in a statement he signed yesterday, titled: “VP Shettima arrives in Ethiopia for official state visit.”
During the visit, Vice President Shettima will participate in the official launch of Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Programme, a flagship environmental initiative.
The programme designed to combat deforestation, enhance biodiversity, and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change targets the planting of 20 billion tree seedlings over a four-year period.
In line with strengthening bilateral ties in agriculture and industrial development, the Vice President will also embark on a strategic tour of key industrial zones and integrated agricultural facilities across selected regions of Ethiopia.
News
RSG Tasks Farmers On N4bn Agric Loan ….As RAAMP Takes Sensitization Campaign To Four LGs In Rivers
The Rivers State Government has called on the people of the state especially farmers to access the ?4billion agricultural loans made available by the State and domiciled in the Bank of Industry.
This is as the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) of Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP), a World Bank project, took its sensitization campaign to Opobo/Nkoro, Andoni, Port Harcourt City and Obio/Akpor local government areas.
The campaign was aimed at enlightening community dwellers and other stakeholders in the various local government areas on the RAAMP project implementation and programme activities.
The Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Maurice Ogolo, said this at Opobo town, Ngo, Port Harcourt City and Rumuodumanya, headquarters of the four local government areas respectively, during the sensitization campaign.
Ogolo said apart from the ?4billion, the government has also made available fertilizers and other farm inputs to farmers in the various local government areas.
The Permanent Secretary who is the Chairman, State Steering Committee for the project, said RAAMP will construct roads that will connect farms to markets to enable farmers and fishermen sell their farms produce and fishes.
He also said rural roads would be constructed to farms and fishing settlements, and warned against any act that will lead to the cancellation of the projects in the four local government areas.
According to him, the World Bank and Federal Government which are the financiers of the programme will not condone such acts like kidnapping, marching ground and other acts inimical to the successful implementation of the projects in their respective areas.
At PHALGA, Ogolo asserted that the city will benefit in the areas of roads and bridge construction.
He noted that RAAMP was thriving in both the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; Lagos and other states in the country, stressing that the project should also be given the seriousness it deserves in Rivers State.
Speaking at Opobo town, the headquarters of Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area, the project coordinator, RAAMP, Mr.Joshua Kpakol, said the programme would reduce poverty in the state.
According to him, both fishermen and farmers will maximally benefit from the programme.
At Ngo which is the headquarters of Andoni Local Government Area, Kpakol said roads will be constructed to all remote fishing settlements.
He said Rivers State is lucky to be among the states implementing the project, and stressed the need for the people to embrace it.
Meanwhile, Kpakol said at PHALGA that RAAMP is a project that will transform the lives of farmers, traders and other stakeholders in the area.
He urged the stakeholders to spread the information to their various communities.
However, some of the stakeholders at Opobo town complained about the destruction of their farms by bulls allegedly owed by traditional rulers in the area, as well as incessant stealing of their canoes at waterfronts.
At Ngo, Archbishop Elkanah Hanson, founder of El-Shaddai Church, commended the World Bank and the Federal Government for bringing the projects to Andoni.
He stressed the need for the construction of roads to fishing settlements in the area.
Also, a former Commissioner for Agriculture in the state and Okan Ama of Ekede, HRH King Gad Harry, noted that storage facilities have become necessary for a successful agricultural programme.
Harry also stressed the need for the programme to be made sustainable.
In their separate speeches, the administrators of Andoni and Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Areas, pledged their readiness to support the programme.
At Port Harcourt City, the Administrator, Dr Arthur Kalagbor, represented by the Head of Local Government Administration, Port Harcourt City, Mr Clifford Paul, said the city would support the implementation of the programme in the area.
Also, the administrator of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Dr Clifford Ndu Walter, represented by Mr Michael Elenwo, pledged to support the programme in his local government area.
Among dignitaries at the Obio/Akpor stakeholders engagement is the chairman, Rivers State Traditional Rulers Council and paramount ruler of Apara Kingdom, HRM Eze Chike Wodo, amongst others.
John Bibor
President Bola Tinubu has ordered the commencement of personnel audit and skill gap analysis across all cadres of federal civil servants.
The president gave this directive in Abuja, yesterday, while speaking at the International Civil Service Conference, reaffirming his resolve to achieve efficiency and professional service delivery in the civil service.
“I have authorized the comprehensive personnel audit and skill gap analysis across the federal civil service to deepen capacity. I urge all responsible stakeholders to prioritize timely completion of this critical exercise, to begin implementing targeted reforms, to realize the full benefit of a more agile, competent and responsive civil service,” the president announced.
Tinubu further directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), to prioritise data integrity and sovereignty in national interest.
He called for the capture, protection and strategic publication of public sector data in line with the Nigeria Data Protection Act of 2023.
“We must let our data speak for us. We must publish verified data assets within Nigeria and share them internationally recognized as fruitful. This will allow global benchmarking organisation to track our progress in real time and help us strengthen our position on the world stage. This will preserve privacy and uphold data sovereignty,” Tinubu added.
President Tinubu hailed the federal civil service as the “engine” driving his Renewed Hope Agenda, and the vehicle for delivering sustainable national development.
He submitted that the roles of civil servants remain indispensable in modern governance, declaring that in the face of a fast-evolving digital and economic landscape, the civil service must remain agile, future-ready, and results-driven.
“This maiden conference is a bold step toward redefining governance in an era of rapid transformation. An innovative Civil Service ensures we meet today’s needs and overcome tomorrow’s challenges.
“It captures our collective ambition to reimagine and reposition the civil service. In today’s rapid, evolving world of technology, innovation remains critical in ensuring that the civil service is dynamic, digital” the President said.
Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack in her welcome address told the President that his presence and strong words of commendation at the conference has renewed the morale and mandate of public servants across the country.
Walson-Jack described Tinubu as the backbone of driving transformation in the Nigerian civil service, and noted that the takeaways from past study tours undertaken to understudy the civil service in Singapore, the UK and US under her leadership, is already yielding multiplier effects.
Walson-Jack assured Tinubu that her office, in collaboration with reform-minded stakeholders, will not relent in accelerating the implementation of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan, FCSSIP 25.
She affirmed that digitalisation, performance management, and continuous learning remain key pillars in strengthening accountability, transparency, and service delivery across MDAs.
Walson-Jack reaffirmed that the civil service is determined to exceed expectations by embedding a culture of innovation, ethical leadership, and citizen-centred governance in the heart of public administration.