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RHI: Lady Fubara Donates 50,000 Books To Public Schools In Rivers

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Wife of the Rivers State Governor, Lady Valerie Siminalayi Fubara, has presented 50,000 copies of exercise books to the Ministry of Education and the Rivers State Universal Basic Education Board for distribution to public schools in the state.
The State Commissioner for Education, Prof Chinedu Mmon and the Executive Chairman of the Rivers State Universal Basic Education Board, Venerable Fyneface Akah, received the books on behalf of the beneficiaries.
Speaking at the occasion held at the Banquet Hall Annex, Government House, Port Harcourt, last Monday, Lady Fubara stated that the programme is part of the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI) of the wife of the President, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, geared towards advancing and sustaining quality education that uplift and give hope to Nigerians.
She said, “My joy is fundamentally hinged on the fact that our State is fortunate to be a beneficiary of the programmes of the Renewed Hope Initiative of the Wife of the President, Senator Oluremi Tinubu.”
According to her, “While we have earlier flagged off an empowerment scheme for the elderly in this same place, today, we are here to set off a valuable programme in support of education through the provision of free exercise books to children in our dear State.
“The presentation of these 50,000 copies of exercise books is, therefore, synergic in promoting quality education for a better Nigeria. So, it is gratifying that children are the prime beneficiaries of this particular scheme.
“These exercise books should be distributed only to pupils and students in public schools in the 23 Local Government Areas of the State,” she emphasized.
The Wife of the Governor described the event as significant, in recognition of the fact that education is one of the key priority areas of the Governor Siminalayi Fubara-led Administration.
She also commended the wife of the President for extending love to the State, emphasizing that the initiative will no doubt make Rivers State and Nigeria better.
“This event is quite significant and dear to our State as education is one of the cardinal pillars of the Administration of our Governor, my husband, Sir Siminalayi Fubara.
“I must, therefore, express my profound gratitude to the wife of the President for extending this love to our State. The initiative is in line with our determined efforts of advancing and sustaining quality education that uplift and give hope to our people. It is an initiative that will make Rivers State and Nigeria better,” she added.
In his remarks, the State Commissioner for Education, Prof Chinedu Mmom, who noted the challenges faced by parents in training their children in schools, thanked the wife of the Governor for the initiative, saying that the gesture will go a long way in reducing the burden on parents.
Also speaking, a representative of the schools, Mr Tobin Micah, noted that the books will help in reducing monies spent by parents in the purchase of books, and assured that the books will be judiciously distributed to all the public primary and secondary schools in the state.
Highlights of the event were the handing over of the books to the Commissioner by the State’s First Lady, as well as the presentation of copies of the books to some students of various schools in the State.

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FG Ends Passport Production At Multiple Centres After 62 Years

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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.

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FAAC Disburses N2.225trn For August, Highest In Nigeria

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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.

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KenPoly Governing Council Decries Inadequate Power Supply, Poor Infrastructure On Campus

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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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