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Niger Delta

Food Security: Delta, AUDA-NEPAD Earmark N3bn For Smallholder Farmers

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3 years ago

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The African Union Development Agency and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (AUDA-NEPAD), in partnership with the Delta State Government, have proposed to raise N3 billion to support smallholder farmers in Delta State.
The State Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Dr Godfrey Enita, made the disclosure recently at Amukpe, Sapele, in the state.
Enita said the first phase of the training programme on “Innovative Strengthening of Smallholder Farmers’ Capabilities Towards Productive Land Restoration Amid COVID-19 in Nigeria” has commenced at Amukpe.
The Commissioner, represented by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Mr Ben Agamah, said the Delta/AUDA-NEPAD programme is a 10-year planned project aimed at tackling food insecurity in the state and the nation at large.
He noted that the African Union has decided to focus on the smallholder farmers through capacity building and material support to ensure best practices in agricultural production to ensure availability of food in Nigeria.
On the planed budget of N3 billion, Enita said the State Government is expected to pay N1 billion as counterpart funds while AU will provide N2 billion to drive the programme over a 10-year period, targeting 3,380 smallholder farmers across the state.
“Because food security is actually a challenge, the various governments are making deliberate effort to ensure that poverty and hunger are alleviated and reduced to a manageable point.
“One of those efforts is this AUDA-NEPAD intervention to strengthen smallholder farmers because physically, they are the people that feed the nation. So, for food security, it has to be smallholder farmers.
“The four cardinal indicators that a state or country is food secured are food availability, affordability, cultural acceptability, and the liberty to chose what to eat at any time.
“The state contribution to the programme is 1:2 ratio.
“We have articulated 3,380 smallholder farmers from six commodities; cassava, Rice, aquaculture, Piggeries, poultry, and green house vegetables cultivation and the total proposed budget is N3 billion for the 10-year period which will be implemented in phases”, he said.
According to the Commissioner, the programme has adopted a group and cluster approach as the farmers will be given requisite training and materials to grow their businesses as no cash component will be given to any farmer.
Earlier in her opening remarks, the National Coordinator, AUDA-NEPAD, Princess Gloria Akobundu, who was represented by Mrs Timi Young-Itiye, Chief Administrative Officer, AUDA-NEPAD, Abuja, said the training is aimed at empowering the farmers to increase their contributions to the nation’s food production.
According to Akobundu, building the farmers’ capacity would enable increased food production, and nutrition to cushion the effect of COVID-19, “in line with African Union – United Nation agenda which seeks to end hunger and malnutrition by 2030.
“This programme also served as a vehicle for the actualisation of President Muhammadu Buhari’s vision of uplifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty”, she stated.
She lauded Governor Ifeanyi Okowa for his support, while tasking the participants to remain committed to ensure the essence of the programme is achieved.
Resource person, Dr Oghenesuvwe Okpara, Head of Department, Animal Science Department, Delta State University, Abraka, said given the vision of NEPAD, the programme’s target was to make the farmers subsistent in food production.
“They are to produce their own food and have enough to sell to other people to make enough money to continue on their businesses.
“The AUDA-NEPAD mission is to end poverty and hunger, and in spite of the many interventions, Africa is still walloping in poverty and starvation. This is the essence of this capacity building and empowerment, particularly in the chosen commodities in which we have comparative advantage,” he said.
The beneficiaries, Mr Patrick Onolunoje and Mr Simon Uzuhai, lauded the programme and said that it would strengthen them to tackle most of the challenges they face running their farm business.

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Niger Delta

Otu Orders Sanitation Operations Review In Calabar

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6 days ago

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March 16, 2026

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Cross River State Governor, Bassey Otu,  has ordered an immediate review of environmental sanitation operations in Calabar metropolis.
In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Linus Obogo, on Friday, the Governor said the sanitary situation of the city had become a cause for concern.
He said the review became necessary because Calabar should continue to maintain its status as the cleanest city in the country.
“The city is now littered with wastes, the cleanliness status of Calabar is almost gone, we cannot just fold our arms and watch,” he said.
The Governor continued that every resident of the city had roles to play towards restoring the sanitary status of the city.
“Every resident should live up to their responsibilities. Our reputation in sanitation was not earned overnight, we worked for it.
“It is the product of discipline, policy consistency, and civic responsibility. We cannot allow negligence to take away this reputation,” he said.
He further directed that henceforth, sanitation exercise should be supervised by the office of his Special Adviser on General Duties.
“This intervention is intended to ensure stricter coordination among contractors and government agencies that are responsible for waste management,
“Environmental sanitation is not a peripheral concern of government. It is central to public health, urban dignity, and the overall quality of life of the citizens”, he said.
Otu expressed displeasure at lapses arising from the attitude of some refuse contractors in the state.
He said breakdown of mechanical tools could not be a reasonable excuse for non-evacuation of refuse.
“Operational setbacks should never translate into visible environmental neglect. Preparedness, contingency planning and prompt response are the hallmarks of responsible service providers.” he said.
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Niger Delta

Lawyer X-rays  Consequences Of Court Injuction Suspending INC Polls … As Diri Intervenes

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6 days ago

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March 16, 2026

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A Bayelsa-based lawyer, and candidate for the position of National Assistant Secretary in the suspended National Executive Council (NEC) elections of the apex Ijaw socio-cultural organization, the Ijaw National Congress (INC), Barr. Abraham Marshall, has said the court order, which restrained the conduct of the March 7th, 2026 polls, was a setback to stakeholders of the INC.
He expressed his worries about the plights of delegates who travelled from various parts of Ijaw land to come for the elections in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, only to be disappointed by the court order.
While thanking other candidates for maintaining orderliness and brotherliness all through the campaign processes, Marshall said the court injunction has devasted candidates vying for various positions.
He described the cost of what has already been spent on campaigns and sundry arrangements for the elections as huge.
Marshall noted that already he was a leading candidate for the position of National Assistant Secretary as he was optimistic of victory.
“First of all I’ve great confidence in the ability of the Electoral Committee headed by a retired Justice of the Supreme Court, HRM, Justice F.F Tabai, which was eager to conduct a seamless election.
“Some of us have campaigned through the three zones and clans of the INC. Some of us went to the Western Zone, Eastern and Central Zones to meet delegates.
“That is how it happenes atimes when there are contest, some persons who are aggrieved, rather than take laws into their hands, go to court to seek judicial redress. So, I want to commend all candidates for maintaining decorum throughout the entire process.
“I like to also call on stakeholders to quickly seek for ways through internal mechanisms of the INC to end this problem so that the elections can be conducted because as candidates we’ve incured lots of expenses leading to the process”, he stated.
Meanwhile, in a bid to proffer solutions to the issues bedeviling the smooth conduct of polls, Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, on Friday met with stakeholders of the INC and its six Presidential candidates, as well as other major stakeholders of the Niger Delta region in Government House, Yenagoa.
In his remarks, the Governor  commended individuals and institutions, including the presidential candidates and the Conference of Ijaw Traditional Rulers and Elders (CITRE), for their efforts towards actualising a peaceful and seamless transition of leadership in the Ijaw National Congress (INC).
The Tide gathered that at the meeting, the presidential candidates agreed to withdraw all subsisting litigations concerning the election.
Represented by his Deputy, Dr. Peter Akpe, Diri also expressed gratitude to the Chairman of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), Ambassador Godknows Bolade Igali, the Chairman and members of the INC National Electoral Committee, and other stakeholders who contributed to the resolution reached at the meeting.
Drawing an analogy from the scriptures, particularly 1 Kings Chapter 3, he likened the unanimous agreement of the candidates to withdraw all pending court cases to the decision of the true mother of the disputed baby who pleaded with King Solomon not to cut the child into two.
According to the Bayelsa helmsman, the resolution reflects the enthusiasm, love and patriotic fervour in all the presidential candidates to move Ijaw nation forward.
Speaking to newsmen shortly after the meeting, the candidates, including High Chief MacDonald Igbadiwe, who secured the injunction from a Port Harcourt High Court stopping the INC Elections billed for last weekend, confirmed the agreement and pledged commitment towards the peaceful emergence of the next President of the apex Ijaw socio-cultural organization.
By: Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa
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Niger Delta

Police Rescue 7 Trafficked Victims In A’Ibom

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6 days ago

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March 16, 2026

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The Police Command in Akwa Ibom State has rescued seven victims and detained four suspects linked to human trafficking along Ikot Ekpene–Aba Road.
The state’s Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Timfon John, disclosed this in a statement issued to journalists in Uyo on Saturday.
John said police operatives dismantled a human trafficking syndicate operating within the state, rescuing seven victims and arresting four suspects involved in the network.
She said acting on credible intelligence, operatives swiftly mobilised a patrol team for a coordinated stop-and-search operation along Ikot Ekpene–Aba Road on Friday.
The operation, conducted at about 8 a.m. on Friday, targeted vehicles suspected of transporting victims of human trafficking.
“During the operation, the suspected vehicle was intercepted and four victims were immediately rescued, while the suspect conveying them was arrested and taken into custody.
“Following reports that a vehicle was conveying young persons suspected to be victims of human trafficking, our operatives quickly moved to intercept it,” John said.
She said interrogation of the suspect led to the expansion of the operation to Itam and Ibaka in Oron Local Government Area.
John said three additional victims were rescued and three more suspects apprehended during the follow-up operation.
This brought the total number of rescued victims to seven and suspects arrested to four.
According to her, preliminary investigations revealed that the trafficking syndicate specialised in recruiting and transporting young persons across borders for exploitation.
“Intelligence gathered further disclosed that one of the ringleaders earlier escaped through waterways from Ibaka in Oron to Cameroon and Gabon with some victims”, she said.
John said investigations were ongoing and the suspects would be charged in court upon completion of the probe.
The police spokesperson reiterated the Command’s commitment to combating human trafficking and other organised crimes in the state.
She assured the public that efforts were ongoing to apprehend other fleeing members of the syndicate.
John urged residents to remain vigilant and provide timely information to the police to help protect vulnerable persons and strengthen community safety.
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