Rivers
Rivers Crisis: Group Urges Media To Advocate Peace
The Manager, Peace Building Foundation for Partnership Initiative in Niger Delta, (PIND), Dr David Udofia, has advised media practitioners to be advocates of peace in the face of Rivers political crisis.
Udofia gave the advice during a meeting between PIND and the Step-Up Media for Women Initiative (SWIJ), a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), in Port Harcourt.
PIND is also an NGO that promotes peace and equitable economic growth in the Niger Delta region through strategic partnership and collaboration.
The PIND boss said the organisation is open to ideas, partnerships and collaboration in order to work towards creating positive impact within the region.
He also said for peace to reign and economic activities to strive in the region, the two pillars must move together.
According to him, when there is peace, there is transformation for economic development and the economic development can also foster peace.
Udofia urged media practitioners to continue to play a significant role to ensure that the political crisis in the state did not escalate through their reportage.
He said under the peace building programme pillars, the organisation had two mega projects, which were Partners for Peace and Integrated Peace and Peace Development Unit.
According to him, PIND works within the peace building programme to create enabling environment for socio-economic and political activities to thrive in the region and also for media practitioners to move and work freely in the state, noting that PIND had at least 11,000 peace actors across the region within the peace building programme.
“Recently, we carried out intervention activities in four states against specific headers-farmers crisis in Delta, Ondo, Cross River and Edo States.
“We also had trainings in an early warning and early response platform unique to PIND”, Udofia said.
He gave assurance that PIND would partner with SWIJ, having seen that its work fell in line with the PIND’s core values, which centred on sustainability, mentorship, integrity, transparency and accountability.
“We will collaborate with your organisation to change the narratives in the region, especially as it affects women and girls in the region”, he said.
Earlier, the Executive Director of SWIJ, Mrs Ann Godwin, said the aim of the visit was to collaborate with PIND to further the groups’ objectives towards peace building, women empowerment and equitable economic development in the region.
Godwin said SWIJ had observed with interest, the programmes and policies of PIND in promoting, training and empowering women and deemed it necessary to collaborate with the organisation to amplify the voices of women, build their capacity and change the narratives on gender-based issues.
She further said that SWIJ, as an organisation that promotes excellence among women and girls, also focuses on issues of gender mainstreaming as one of its core values.
She argued that the era of gender disparity, when women were relegated to the back stage, was over.
According to her, there is a phenomenal rise of African Women, who are making great impact in different sectors of the economy.
She expressed optimism that the collaboration with PIND would engender richer impacts among women and girls in the region.
The Rivers State Primary Healthcare Management Board (RSPHCMB) says it will commence Supplemental Immunization activities on Saturday, May 3, 2025, to vaccinate children from 0-5 years across the State.
The State Health Educator, Dr. Diana Babbo, who stated this during a sensitisation meeting with Media Advocate for Health, Rivers State, on the update of immunization exercise in Rivers State, said the National Immunization Plus Days (NIPDs) is a re-enforcement of the routine immunization at the health facilities.
According to her, it is aimed at boosting polio immunisation against the circulating variance of polio virus currently threatening the total eradication of polio in the country.
She further stated that there are four pillars of polio eradication, namely routine immunization (administered on babies in the health centre), supplemental immunization activity (supplements to boost the babies), surveillance (searching for children that have weakness in their legs or some oart of their bodies), and outbreak response.
The Health Educator noted that the Novel Oral Polio Vaccination Type 2 (NOPV 2) will be administered to children under the age of 0-5 years, which targets a specific polio still in existence in communities and capable of causing paralysis among the stated categories of children, despite the country being certified a polio-free nation.
Dr. Babbo further stated that this year’s NIPDs will address the high number of unresolved non-compliance cases in the State.
She debunked what she tagged a false rumour by mischief makers which claimed that the vaccines are responsible for the development of autism in children.
She said, “vaccines are not known to be responsible for the development of autism. We’re just hearing that. The truth is that one cannot know everything.
“That aspect that has been found, have we looked into other aspects, such as genetically modified foods, drinks, and milks that our children are taking?
“Have we also looked at genetic compatibility between couples before we now say vaccines are causing x, y, z things?
“Are we looking at the environment where these things are happening, what they are peculiar to?
“It must not be peculiar to all the families, there could be something also that’s happening around that we have not known. Research is evolving, let us not accuse our precious vaccines that have succeeded so far in my knowledge, to keep as many sicknesses at bay.
“The reason we do not have small pox in our world today, apart from the lab (a bio-lab) is because we vaccinated to the point where we were able to move small pox totally out of existence from human beings. We can succeed with that same pattern with all kinds of viruses”.
She stated that the connection between autism and vaccination could merely be coincidence.
Babbo, therefore, urged all parents, churches, and school owners to avail their children/wards the opportunity to be vaccinated against polio the stated exercise.
Sogbeba Dokubo
Engr Obi Fortune, a renowned philanthropist, has donated 80 desks to four secondary schools in Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State. The donation is part of his commitment to advancing education in the area.
The schools that benefited from the gesture includes- Community Secondary School Umuoye.
Community Secondary School Akwa- Government Secondary School Ozuzu and Community Primary School Okehi 2 and all the schools got 20 units each of the desks.
Speaking during the brief handing-over ceremony held recently in okehi recently, Engr Obi stated that the donation fulfills his promise to use proceeds from his book sales to procure desks for schools in the LGA.
He disclosed that more desks will arrive soon and expressed his continued commitment to supporting education in the area.
Obi urged the schools to make good use of the desks and called on other individuals to contribute to the educational needs in the area.
This gesture demonstrates Engr Obi’s dedication to improving education in Etche LGA.
A professor of social and political philosophy at Rivers State University (RSU ) Nkpolu Oroworukwu port Harcourt, Prof Agha Eresia _Eke has emphasized that citizenship participation is crucial for achieving true democratic government. He stressed that citizens’ involvement in exercising their basic rights, such as freedom of speech, assembly, and religion, is essential for a democratic institution to thrive.
Eresia _Eke stated this while presenting his inaugural lecture at the 111 university’s inaugural lecture series with the topic “Nigeria Democratic practices:a contextual paradox”held at the university senate auditorium in Port Harcourt, last Wednesday.
According to him, core democratic values which include:,- Respect for individual rights and freedoms, Protection of human rights and fundamental freedom, Equality before the law, Freedom of speech, assembly, and association, Protection of privacy and personal autonomy.
“Through out history, the problem that has agitated social and political philosophers has been to work _out a model for the realization of the common good of man.
Man has always sought and developed methods and systems of organising himself according to his true nature as a rational being.”he stated.
Eresia-Eke notes that Nigeria is not practicing a true federalism and highlights the importance of a pragmatic approach to democracy, where ideas and solutions are tested and refined in real-world environments.
He emphasized that citizens must hold their leaders accountable and demand respect for human rights, stressing that by doing so, citizens can undertake their civic obligations and responsibilities, strengthening society as a whole.
Earlier in his address, the Vice chancellor of the university, Prof Zeb _Obipi commended the lecturer for his brilliant performance, adding that he has justified and proven that he is a professor in his area of specialization.
The VC averred that the university has been consistent in the inaugural lecture monthly and assured that his administration will continue to continue to keep the trend.