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Serve With Integrity, Innovation, Ibas Charges Inaugurated Boards
The Administrator of Rivers State, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (Rtd), has called on newly inaugurated board members of key state agencies to approach their duties with urgency, integrity, and innovation, while also prioritizing professionalism and public accountability.
Speaking during the inauguration ceremony held at the Executive Chamber of Government House, Port Harcourt, last Friday, the Administrator urged the appointees to be proactive and deeply committed to delivering on their critical mandates for the people of the State.
The newly inaugurated boards include the Rivers State Universal Basic Education Board (RSUBEB), Rivers State Senior Secondary Schools Board, Rivers State Internal Revenue Service Board, and Rivers State Microfinance Agency.
Others are Rivers State Contributory Health Protection Programme Board, Rivers State University Teaching Hospital Board, and Rivers State Waste Management Agency (RIWAMA).
Addressing the education sector, the Administrator stressed the urgent need to enforce discipline, reduce overcrowded classrooms, improve infrastructure, and reverse poor performance indices.
He specifically called on the RSUBEB and the Senior Secondary Schools Board to move beyond their boardrooms and personally assess conditions in schools, especially those in remote areas.
“Accountability must guide every kobo spent,” he warned, while urging the establishment of robust data systems to accurately track enrollment, teacher deployment, infrastructure, and student performance.
The Administrator also challenged the Internal Revenue Service Board to automate systems, reduce the state’s dependency on federal allocations, and plug revenue leakages.
According to him, building public trust and transparency is the cornerstone of effective tax collection.
“The work you are about to embark on is not just about collecting taxes. It is about financial sustainability, trust, and accountability,” he stated.
He further tasked the Microfinance Agency with stimulating the local economy by improving access to credit for micro and small businesses, thereby empowering grassroots entrepreneurship and fostering economic growth.
On healthcare, which he described as both a moral responsibility and a strategic priority, Ibas pledged that the government would achieve its goal of providing affordable and free healthcare for vulnerable populations, including pregnant women, children, the elderly, and those with chronic conditions.
“This programme is not only about healthcare; it is about dignity, security and the promise of a better quality of life,” he said.
He described the teaching hospital as a critical treatment center and a vital training ground for future health professionals, noting that “the progress we make here will directly influence the quality of healthcare delivery across the state and beyond.”
Addressing the Board of the Rivers State Waste Management Agency (RIWAMA), the Administrator was unequivocal, stating that sanitation is an issue of public safety, not mere aesthetics.
He called on the board to lead a comprehensive and disciplined approach to waste management.
“The task before this board is urgent and enormous. You must lead the charge to rid our cities and communities of filth,” he said, adding that, “This is not just about clearing waste, it is about instituting a system of efficiency, sustainability, and discipline.”
He disclosed that the government has already procured modern equipment for waste collection and landfill management and is constructing access roads to dump sites to improve operational efficiency.
He challenged the board to explore innovative ways to convert waste into valuable assets such as energy and industrial raw materials.
“Around the world, waste is being transformed into power and products. Our state cannot be left behind,” he said.
He also called for strict enforcement of sanitation laws and greater public awareness.
In his concluding remarks, the Administrator reminded all newly appointed board members that their appointments are a call to service, not a privilege.
Niger Delta ex-agitator Endurance Amagbein has cautioned the leadership of the Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, against politicising the plight of the Niger Delta people over issues surrounding renewal of pipeline surveillance contracts with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL.
In a statement on Saturday, Amagbein condemned IYC leaders who took a protest to Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, demanding the sack of Bayo Ojulari, the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Limited.
The IYC had claimed that the protest was due to non-performance, financial mismanagement and other allegations, but Amagbein refuted the claims.
Amagbein accused the IYC of derailing from its core mandate and delving into partisan oil surveillance politics.
“Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, the Minister of State for Petroleum (Oil); Dr Samuel Ogbuku, MD/CEO of NDDC; and Chief Dennis Otuaru, the Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, are all Ijaw people, but sadly, nobody remembers this to thank Mr President.”
“It is so said that oil politics in the Niger Delta has infiltrated into the affairs of the IYC, and its leaders have allowed surveillance contractors to direct policy statements of the youth body.”
The Tide source reports that Ojulari had said NNPCL is under attack over his leadership stance.
The National Orientation Agency, NOA, has begged Nigerians to be patient with President Bola Tinubu’s administration, saying that his reforms and initiatives would in no distant time transform the nation’s economy, security and social landscape.
The Akwa Ibom State Director of NOA, Mkpoutom Mkpoutom, made the appeal in Uyo at the weekend during a sensitization programme organized by the Federal Information Center with focus on the milestones of Tinubu’s administration.
Mkpoutom, who was represented by Mrs Atim Otoyo, Deputy Director Planning, Research and Strategy, recalled that Tinubu on assumption of office on May 29, 2023, had embarked on ambitious reforms and initiatives that would better the lives of Nigerians.
He said the President’s focus is on revitalizing Nigeria’s economy by swiftly addressing the fuel subsidy crisis that had long plagued the nation’s finances.
According to him, by removing fuel subsidies, resources are now reallocated towards critical areas such as infrastructure and social welfare programs.
“This bold decision, although met with public discontent due to rising fuel prices, was a necessary step towards fiscal responsibility,” he said.
Mkpoutom also stated that security remains a paramount concern in Nigeria, stressing that Tinubu’s administration has prioritized the issue since the onset of his administration.
“His administration has focused on strengthening the military and security agencies to combat terrorism, banditry and separatist movements. This includes boosting funding for the Armed Forces and implementing community policing strategies to foster better relationships between law enforcement agencies and local communities.
“President Tinubu’s administration has championed various projects aimed at improving transportation networks, electricity supply, and public amenities as well as initiating programs to create technological hubs to promote digital literacy among young Nigerians,” the NOA official said.
The Managing Director of the Nigeria Railway Corporation, Kayode Opeifa, has apologised to the Nigerian Union of Journalists, Federal Capital Territory Chapter, over his assault on its member and a staff of the Nigerian Television Authority, NTA, Ladi Bala.
Opeifa apologized at a press conference at the NUJ FCT secretariat in Abuja on Sunday.
The apology comes after NUJ FCT condemned the unwholesome treatment meted out to its members who were covering the recent Abuja-Kaduna train derailment incident.
The NUJ demanded a public apology from Opeifa over the incident.
In his apology on Sunday, Opeifa said he was carried away in the heat of the moment.
“I wish to offer my apology for the regrettable remarks I made, which were not only directed at a seasoned journalist but also reflected unfavourably on the NUJ FCT and the Nigeria Association of Women Journalists, NAWOJ.
“Acting in the heat of the moment under pressure, and in my attempt to ensure safety, I made certain unkind statements. For this, I take full responsibility, and I am sorry.”
Chairman of NUJ FCT, Grace Ike, had called for calm among journalists over the incident.
Recall that six passengers were injured after the Abuja-Kaduna rail derailed in Jere on Tuesday.
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