Rivers
Stakeholders Urge RSG To Invest In Entertainment Industry
Some stakeholders in Rivers State are calling on the state government to invest in the entertainment industry with a view to creating a conducive environment for youths to develop their talents.
They said this at the unveiling/media launch of “The Bonny Has Talent Show, 2023” in Port Harcourt.
Convener/Executive Producer of the programme, Mrs Tammy Clarizer Abusi, said the show will create an enabling environment for young people to harness their talents.
“The Bonny Has Talent Show project is that opportunity and platform that will create enabling and support system to the young people of our community, giving them the tools they needed to succeed.
“It is not just investing in our future, it is about investing in our hope. It is about investing in the potential of every young person in our community”, she said.
Abusi continued that the show will also provide personality value training, mentorship and access to career opportunities for young people, adding that this will enable them gain skills and experience they need to secure employment and build a brighter future for themselves and their families.
“The young people of our community are our future leaders, innovators and entrepreneurs. They are key to our success”, she stated.
She called for the support of all and sundry to ensure the success of the programme.
“I implore you to join us in this effort, so that we can build a better world for generations to come”, she said.
Also speaking, Lady Ibitoru Green, popularly known as “lady IB”, urged government to encourage the entertainment industry in Rivers State.
She said the industry, which is huge, is capable of creating millions of jobs for youths in the state.
IB, a former State Chairman of the Performing Musicians Association of Nigeria and currently a national officer of the Association, said though the event is starting from Bonny, efforts will be made to take it round the state.
She also urged for unity among Bonny people.
On his part, the Legal Adviser of the programme, Barrister T. D. Jamaica, said the programme is to keep the youth away from all forms of anti-social behaviours.
Jamaica said the show will be expanded beyond Bonny to other parts of Rivers State and Nigeria.
He said what is needed now is for both government and individuals to support it to enable it succeed.
Also speaking, a communication Expert, Dr Emmanuel Nwabrije, said the event will create opportunity for youths in Bonny to develop their natural talent.
Dr Nwabrije said many young people are idle because of a lack of opportunity to develop themselves and urged the organizers to ensure that the event does not end up in Bonny, but taken round the state.
By: John Bibor
Rivers
Macobarb CEO Cries Out, Says No Indigenous Contractor Can Win Case Against NLNG Or Oil Majors in Nigerian Courts …As Justice Nwogu Throws Out Macobarb’s N5.74bn Claim
Justice Chinwendu Nwogu of the Port Harcourt High Court has thrown out the N5.74bn claim filed by Macobarb, an indigenous contractor, against the NLNG for breach of contract and accumulated losses.
Shedrack Ogboru, the CEO of Macobarb International Limited, who filed the claims since 2022 as one of the claimants, in suit number HC/2013/CS/2022, has however cried out, saying the fate of indigenous contractors in Nigerian courts is doomed.
Ogboru told newsmen outside the court after the shock ruling that the judge abandoned the crux of the matter and the terms of the contract to deny Macobarb the claims.
Showing anger and frustration, Ogboru said he felt he presented tight case to the court to show that the NLNG breached terms of payments and that the breaches caused slowdown of the execution of the contract, but regretted that the judge did not agree with any of his arguments.
Saying many indigenous contractors have died as a result of injustices in the hands of the oil majors, he said only abroad do communities and local contractors get some form of justice, never in Nigeria.
Justice Nwogu had ruled that the NLNG did not breach its contract with the contractor and that the gas company did not unlawfully deny Macobarb payments.
The judge said work executed by Macobarb did not amount to ‘work done’ as stated in the contract terms except the NLNG approved it as so, and that the provision mandating the person recognized as ‘contract holder’ nominated by the NLNG as the one to authorize any dealings with the contractor did not mean that he alone could act for the NLNG as relied upon by the contractor. The judge ruled that the ‘contract holder’ was a mere day to day overseer of the project, and that any official mandated by the NLNG can terminate the contract.
The judge also ruled that the contract did not provide for ‘standdown payment’ and that the NLNG did not cause delays in the execution of the contract as claimed by the contractor.
The judge also ruled that the payment failures by the NLNG that the contractor claimed affected the contract did not amount to an offence or breach of the contract but that the contractor misused the loan he obtained from banks.
In the end, the judge ruled in favour of almost all the grounds submitted by the NLNG and none of the grounds by the contractor, and even tongue-lashed the contractor in most of his rulings.
Reacting, Ogboru said: “My case is presented 100 per cent, the NLNG’s case is zero; but surprisingly, the NLNG has rather been upheld, and Macobarb denied. I pity indigenous contractors in Nigerian courts. We are doomed.”