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Rivers Tourism Agency, Mayor of Housing Seal Deal After Economic Summit

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…..Set to Restore Rivers Leadership Status In Tourism, Entertainment

The Rivers State Tourism Development Agency (RSTDA) has sealed partnership deal with the Mayor of Housing to boost tourism and entertainment.

This is aimed at rebooting the economy of the state  as the state government seeks to boost ease of doing business (EoDB).

The partnership was sealed after the Rivers State Economic and Investment Summit which ended on May 23, 2024.

The partnership was unveiled at an event at the GRA where the Director-General (DG) of the RSTDA, Mr Yibo Koko, gave details of what he called the low hanging fruits initiative to tap into obvious advantages.

He presented the Mayor of Housing, My-Ace China, the CEO of the Housing and Construction Limited, who has demonstrated capacity and willingness to join in the task.

It was gathered that some banks have also indicated interest in partnering with the Agency to achieve the objective of Sir Sim Fubara’s administration in the Tourism sub-sector.

It was gathered that tourism alone can restart the economy, based on what worked for the state in years past when the city led other states and cities in entertainment and tourism.

The new role of the RSTDA seemed to have been rediscovered at the economic summit and fresh mandates with marching orders may have been issued.

The DG of the Rivers State Tourism Development Agency (RSTDA) spoke glowingly about the gains of the Rivers State Economic Summit and the Creative Art, saying the Mayor of Housing was part of the panel on creative economy and his participation led to the decision to go back and start from the ‘Low Hanging Fruits Initiative’.

He said Gov Fubara’s body language suggests positivity and this has led to trickling effects on creative economy and the young people.

He gave insight into how reputations are ruined online, saying Algorithm or Artificial Intelligence (AI) picks what comes online most frequently and uses it to characterize a person or place for profiling.

“So, when people click on your name, what comes up is the thing AI says you are. For Rivers State, it’s the steady bad news in the media that AI picks to brand the state.

“The RSTDA wants to reverse that and we want the many good things happening in the state to be brought up deliberately.

“The state government wants entrepreneurs and investors to be the ones driving wealth creation and the growth of the economy. We want to bring back the vibrancy of the Garden City and we know the role tourism and entertainment can play.”

He took time to articulate what constitutes the low hanging fruits and how the RSTDA planned to harvest them with support from partners, especially the Mayor of Housing.

Speaking, the Mayor of Housing (My-ACE China) expressed delight working with the RSTDA.

He said: “I started estate business in Abuja. In 2021, we wanted to extend to Port Harcourt, but the first thing the CEO of our company then told me was all about insecurity in the Garden City and all the associated hypes.

“He asked me how I would need over five Mopol (Military Police Operatives) to move about in Port Harcourt. The narrative then was that Port Harcourt was unstable and unsafe. We argued and agreed I would be the one to go, and if I was killed, he would stay away.

“Coming into Port Harcourt at last, I was shocked at the peace and stability, at the hospitality, at the liveliness, cuisine, housing potentials, etc.

“In housing, we were more than 100 brands in Abuja hustling for space, but I came into Port Harcourt and saw only two active brands. It was like I could beat them ad be the topmost.

“I called my people and said, this is a deep market. I staged the biggest event in Port Harcourt. It was shocking. People came out because of the shouting I did.

“This was the same Port Harcourt they said would swallow me.

|When I went into the nitty-gritty of doing business in Port Harcourt, I found why the narrative was looking gloomy.”

He said there was a political dilution of people’s goodwill  and  most persons in the state were victims, including top people doing so well.

“I discovered that there are very many unsung people here that felt they would not make it unless they went to Lagos.

“So, I chose the comedy industry to start the push to sell Port Harcourt with positive narrative and restart of the story of the city.I began to sponsor them with whatever little I had.

“I am the first corporate body to scale Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) because others start CSR when they make it, but I started from the start or even before the start of my project.

According to him, as at this year, we have won ‘brand of the year’ for three years running just by doing little by little.”

“So, part of the fundamental things why we are here today is to tell everybody that the awareness and deliberate narrative change can start now and here; and we can begin to talk about the positives of Rivers State, we can skew the algorithm back in our favour.

“If Lagos State has 15 million people and they have less people talking about their potential, that would reduce visibility to the work of about three million people. Rivers with six million people need to work harder. If 50 per cent or more of our people talk about the positives of this state, it will beat that pattern or algorithm.

So, the idea is, who else will tell them. The good book said how will they hear, if somebody doesn’t preach to them. We thus put this meeting together so you can all preach the message of the positives of Rivers State.

“When this competition as outlined by the DG (of the RSTDA) begins, it would launch Rivers State back as the tourism capital of the world. By the story told by the DG, if the tourism promoters of Dubai could come to Port Harcourt to promote a show and only seven persons showed up, the small number was not because there was scarcity of talent or lack of interest from the youths of Rivers State, it was because of lack of narrative-pushing to tell the youths that there was opportunity somewhere.

“When I started my project in Alesa Eleme, I was told don’t go, they do worry. But today, I have not even started the project proper and I have got an award from the same Alesa Elele youths as ‘Hero of Development’ all because of little corporate social responsibility (CSR) things I did for them.

“It broke my heart when they came to me and said they could secure our facility. They said all we needed to give them were equipment and gears not costing up to N5m. We did that donation in December 2023 but I was weak when they said for 20 years, no company had donated those things.

“It is about the narrative being peddled around the state and around the communities. The story is not being told. If you don’t load the search engine with good stories, you won’t move up on the scale of attractive cities and investments.

“Let’s get to the level of knowing what to tell and what not to”, he said .

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Rivers DPOs Receive Awards For Outstanding Performance In Crime Prevention …As Students, Media Group Honour CSP Worgu, CSP Yusuf

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Two Divisional Police Officers (DPOs) in Rivers State have been honoured by separate groups for their contributions to security, crime prevention and improved community-police relations in their respective areas of responsibility.

The beneficiaries are the DPO of Afam Police Division, CSP  Endurance Worgu and his counterpart at Oyigbo Police Division, CSP Bello Yusuf.

CSP Worgu was honoured by a group of students under the aegis of Rivers State Graduate Students Associations for what they described as his commitment and outstanding performance in the discharge of his duties.

The students, led by  Chidi John Enyie, Esq. said CSP Worgu was selected based on his track record and status as one of the longest-serving young DPOs of Rivers State origin.

According to the group, CSP Worgu has made significant contributions to the protection of lives and property in the area since assuming office following the #EndSARS period.

The students said they were particularly impressed by the improvement in community-police relations under his leadership, noting that professionalism had remained a key feature of his service.

Enyie represented by Comrade Briggs Soku, said the students community was pleased to identify with a Rivers indigene who had distinguished himself in the police force.

He said the students considered it necessary to encourage and celebrate CSP Worgu because of his achievements as a young Rivers man excelling in a profession that many people from the state were often reluctant to join.

Receiving the award at his office in Afam, CSP Worgu expressed gratitude to God and the students for finding him worthy of the honour.

The DPO said the recognition had boosted his morale and encouraged him to sustain his efforts towards maintaining peace and security in the area.

He said he least expected the honour, particularly because it came from the students, adding that the recognition would further motivate him to serve the people better.

CSP Worgu assured residents of Afam that the police would sustain the existing peace in the area.

He appealed to members of the public to support the police by providing credible and timely information, stressing that useful information from residents would make the job of security personnel easier.

Meanwhile, the Ikwerre/Etche Media Association has also honoured the DPO of Oyigbo Police Division, CSP Bello Yusuf, for his efforts in tackling criminal activities in the area.

The media group presented the award following the swift tracking and arrest of five suspected kidnappers who had allegedly terrorised residents of the Kom-Kom axis and other parts of Oyigbo.

The group commended CSP Bello for what it described as his determined efforts to restore confidence and security in the affected communities, particularly Kom-Kom and Obeama.

According to the group, the arrest of the suspects demonstrated the DPO’s commitment to tackling criminality and safeguarding residents.

The media association said residents had received the development with relief, noting that the police action had sent a strong message to criminal elements operating in the area.

Responding, CSP Yusuf appreciated the group for the recognition and reaffirmed that there would be no room for criminality in Oyigbo.

He also commended the media for its role in disseminating credible information to the public, saying the media had remained supportive of the police in the fight against crime.

CSP Yusuf warned criminal elements operating in Oyigbo to leave the area or be prepared to face the full weight of the law.

He assured residents that the police would continue to pursue criminals and work to dismantle their hideouts, regardless of where they might be operating.

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College Of Bishops Endorses Tinubu, APC Candidates  For 2027 Polls

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The 5000 Achievers Christian Forum and Colleges of Bishops, Archbishops and Apostles, a Christian interdenominational organisation, has endorsed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and all candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State for the 2027 general elections.

International President of the forum, Archbishop Lucky Aroh, disclosed this during the ordination and consecration of three new Bishops, as well as an award ceremony held in Port Harcourt.

Aroh said the performance of the APC-led Federal Government had endeared the party to the organisation, prompting the forum to declare its support for President Tinubu and other APC candidates in Rivers State.

He said the forum would support all APC candidates in the state during the 2027 elections and urged Nigerians to vote for the party.

Aroh, who is also the General Overseer of Caring Peoples Church, Port Harcourt, charged the newly consecrated Bishops to see their new positions as a great responsibility and dedicate themselves to the advancement of the kingdom of God.

He cautioned them against conduct capable of bringing their offices into disrepute, stressing that their activities would be closely watched by members of the public.

“As Bishops, the eyes of the public are on your activities. You must therefore conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of your calling,” he said.

Also speaking, the International Coordinator of the forum, Bishop Saint Robinson, urged the newly consecrated Bishops to work diligently towards winning souls for the kingdom of God.

Robinson, who was the guest speaker at the event, stressed that the activities of Bishops must at all times be guided by godly principles.

He also called on members of the church to support and cooperate with the newly consecrated Bishops in the discharge of their responsibilities.

The Secretary of the College, Apostle Elizabeth Ayadi Abaye, said the organisation was established to advance the kingdom of God and promote spiritual development.

According to her, the forum has organised several crusades, conferences, prayer meetings, ordinations, consecrations, enthronements, empowerment programmes and other spiritual development activities across the country as part of efforts to win souls for Christ.

Abaye said the organisation has members across the world and disclosed that more programmes had been scheduled to promote the spiritual development and wellbeing of humanity.

The three Bishops consecrated at the ceremony were Prince Alban Chike, Testimony Omenihu Shedrach and Prince Ifemena.

Among those honoured at the event were the Chairman of the Community Development Committee (CDC), Abali Community, Port Harcourt City Local Government Area, Manuchimso Prince Lemmy Wopara, and Clifford Oko Jaja, Coordinator of the 5,000 House-to-House for President Tinubu.

By: John Bibor

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Police Arrest Fake Soldier, Others For Armed Robbery, Kidnapping

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The Rivers State Police Command has arrested a 49-year-old suspected fake soldier, Andrew Atausi, and several other suspects in connection with various criminal activities, including kidnapping, armed robbery, cultism, one-chance robbery and the alleged murder of police officers.

The State Commissioner of Police, CP Olugbenga Adepoju, disclosed this in Port Harcourt, recently during a press briefing at the Command Headquarters, where he said the arrests formed part of the operational achievements recorded by the Command between June and August 2026.

Adepoju said Atausi was arrested on August 10 by police operatives along Ada George, Port Harcourt, while dressed in military uniform and driving a Toyota Hilux painted in Army colours.

The Commissioner said investigation revealed that Atausi was not a member of the Armed Forces, adding that he was suspected to be a serial car snatcher, with three suspected stolen vehicles recovered from him.

He said the recovered vehicles included three Toyota Hilux vehicles without registration numbers and a Toyota Corona Premio with registration number BNY 380 ES, noting that the chassis and engine numbers of the vehicles had allegedly been tampered with.

Adepoju added that an axe and military accoutrements were also recovered from Atausi, as investigation continued into the circumstances surrounding the vehicles and other items recovered from him.

On the June 29 attack on police officers at Aluu Division, the Commissioner said three members of the gang allegedly responsible for the incident had been arrested by operatives of the Violent Crime Response Unit, VCRU-AKU.

The suspects, identified as Maduabuchi Emeka, 34, alleged gang leader; Doctor Chinedu Owhor, 42, and Kamachi Joe, 28, alleged armourer, reportedly led operatives to their hideout at Omagwa where two AK-47 rifles stolen during the attack were recovered.

Adepoju recalled that two police officers were killed during the Aluu attack, while others were wounded and one officer had his leg amputated, stressing that efforts were ongoing to apprehend the fourth suspect.

On kidnapping, the Commissioner said five members of a suspected kidnapping syndicate were arrested in Oyigbo Local Government Area, adding that they allegedly confessed to operations in Kom-Kom, Railway, Obeama and Afam communities.

He said two other suspects from the same network, Anele Ogbogu, 35, alleged to be the gang’s armourer, and Kenneth Eke, 38, were arrested on July 27, with one AK-47 rifle and one SMG rifle recovered.

The Commissioner further disclosed the arrest of suspects in connection with alleged firearm offences, armed robbery, cultism and one-chance robbery, with firearms, ammunition and other exhibits recovered during the operations.

Adepoju assured residents that the Command would sustain intelligence-led, proactive and community-oriented policing in collaboration with other security agencies, while urging members of the public to continue providing credible information that would assist the police in combating crime across Rivers State.

By; King Onunwor

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