Nation
THE STATES
Governors at the inauguration of National Economic Council at the Presidential Villa in Abuja recently.
Adamawa
An Islamic group, the Jama’atu Izalatil Bid’ah Wa’iquamatis
Sunnah (JIBWIS), has said it rendered support to about 200,000 orphans nationwide within the past four years.
The National Chairman of the group, Shiekh Bala Lau, made this known in Yola in an interview with newsmen.
Lau said the gesture was part of the organisation’s contribution to empower the needy in the society.
He said the assistance was in areas of foodstuff, clothing and education.
He warned that depriving the underprivileged, particularly orphans, access to education and the needed moral upbringing would make them end up constituting problems to the society.
Bauchi
The Psychiatric Ward of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Uni
versity Teaching Hospital (ATBU-TH), Bauchi, is to be renovated and upgraded to meet the challenges of the time.
The Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the hospital, Dr Yusuf Jibrin, gave this indication in an interview with newsmen in Bauchi.
He said that this measure would provide a comfortable atmosphere for both staff and patients in the ward.
According to him, some wards in the hospital had earlier been renovated to meet global standards.
Speaking on the hospital charges, Jibrin said that ATBU TH was one of the few tertiary health institutions in the country with moderate fees.
He said that the aim of charging moderate fees, was to make quality service affordable to the less priviledged members of the public.
Ekiti
Ekiti State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) has
said the agency had embarked on sensitisation to avert disasters in the state.
The General Manager of the Agency, Mr Femi Osasona, disclosed this in an interview with newsmen in Ado-Ekiti.
He said that the agency had lived up to its responsibilities in saving the lives and properties of the residents.
“We have ensured that disasters, such as flood, fire outbreak and others did not affect the resident in their various environments.
“The agency had organised workshops, seminars and carried out house-to-house campaign with the assistance of major stakeholders to educate the people on disaster management.
FCT
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), on Fri
day, urged the Federal Government to enact a compressive Nuclear Law to authorise nuclear activities in the country. The Head of IAEA Integrated nuclear Infrastructure Review Team to Nigeria, Mrs Anne Starb, gave the advice at the closing ceremony of a nine-day meeting of the team’s mission in Abuja with the theme “Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review mission in Nigeria.’’Starb said IAEA was ready to assist Nigeria to develop necessary infrastructure for the successful implementation of nuclear power programme.
She said the purpose of the meeting was to identify the areas of progress and to provide recommendations to existing project in Nigeria.
According to her, IAEA planned to work with relevant institutions like the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) and other supporting institutions to fully implement the project.
Gombe
A Guest Speaker at a Ramadan Lecture, held in Gombe,
Malam Muhammad Lawan, has admonished Muslims on the importance of eating ‘balanced diet’ during the Ramadan period.
Speaking at the 5th Ramadan Tafsir, organized by the Islamic Medical Association of Nigeria (IMAN), Gombe state, Lawan said eating ‘one type of food’ should be avoided, as much as possible.
According to him,eating balanced diet will give people the good health to enable them worship God with vigour in the holy month.
He suggested that such diet should contain protein, vegetable, minerals, among others, to help protect people from infections and other diseases.
He also urged those fasting, to always go for natural fruits instead of bottled or packaged drinks that contained chemicals and other preservatives.
He further cautioned people against sleeping immediately after meal, adding that the habit could cause weakness, indigestion and other stomach problems.
Jigawa
The Jigawa State Command of the Nigeria Security and
Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) says it had arrested a 32-year-old man for allegedly impregnating a minor.
The State Commandant of the corps, Mr Muhammad Gidado, told newsmen that the suspect, a resident of Kanti Quarters in Katoge village, was arrested in Kazaure Local Government Area.
He said that the matter was reported by the mother of the victim to the men of the corps operating in the area.
The commandant said when the suspect was invited and interrogated, he confessed to having canal knowledge of the girl many times.
According to him, a clinical test conducted showed that the victim was carrying a four-month-old pregnancy.
Gidado said the suspect would soon be charged to court.
Kogi
The Federal Government has been urged to raise aware
ness campaign level on the dangers of drug abuse and trafficking.
Some physicians made the call in separate interviews with newsmen in Lokoja on Saturday on the sideline of International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.
Dr Abdulrahman Jafar, Medical Consultant, Kogi State Specialist Hospital, Lokoja, said government at all levels should intensify efforts in the fight against the menace of drug abuse.
Jafar stressed the need for government to secure legislation that would discourage drug abuse and illicit trafficking, adding that its agencies should ensure its enforcement with all seriousness.
Lagos
Some experts last Friday blamed youths involvement in
drug abuse to failure of moral values and lack of parental training.
The experts who spoke to newsmen in separate interviews blamed parents over their inability to raise their children in decent and religious way.
A research analyst and an expert on International Relations, Mr Tony Ufoh, said youths were engaged in illicit drugs due to bad upbringing. Mr Deji Alejo, said the peer group pressure, lack of drug education, awareness on its danger contributed to its abuse by some youths.
He alleged that the youth were not well educated on the dangers of drug abuse, saying that was why the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) needed to do something urgently.
Ondo
The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS)
has mourned the death of 11 students of Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye, Ondo State, who lost their lives last Friday in a road mishap. The Vice President (National Affairs) of NANS, Ayenuro Gbenga, expressed the mood of the association in a statement made available to newsmen on Sunday in Akure. He said “it is with caring thoughts that the national secretariat of NANS regrets and commiserates with the teeming Nigerian students and the Olabisi Olabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, over the death of 11 students of the institution.
“Words seem inadequate to express our sadness over the incident. “The loss of a loved one is always an unfathomable tragedy which is compounded when such death occurs at an unripe age. “May their hearts and souls find peace and comfort,’’ he said.
Plateau
Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State has reaffirmed his
administration’s commitment toward tackling the security challenges facing the state.
Lalong, who spoke to newsmen at Yakubu Gowon Airport, Jos, on his return from a two-week trip to Brazil, also promised to clear the arrears of state government workers’ salaries.
The state government on Tuesday declared a dusk-to-dawn curfew in Riyom and Barkin Ladi LGAs as part of its efforts to end midnight killings in the state.
The governor assured state government workers that their salaries would be paid regularly.
Last week the workers, who were owed eight months salary arrears, were paid two months salaries.
Sokoto
A Sokoto-based legal practitioner, Mr Ferdinand Okotete,
has advised the National Assembly to promulgate legislation that would set up special courts to prosecute public officials and contractors who handled failed projects.
Okotete told newsmen in Sokoto that such courts would ensure quick dispensation of justice.
He, however, said that the courts would need the political backing of President Muhammadu Buhari to succeed in their assignment.
Okotete said that competent and honest Nigerians should be given the opportunity to take charge of the special courts.
He said that all cases before the EFCC and ICPC should be taken to the special courts to ensure quick dispensation of justice.
Taraba
The TY Danjuma Foundation, through Chagro Care Trust,
an NGO, last Saturday commenced medical intervention in the camps for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Taraba.
The Programme Assistant of the Foundation, Mr Emmanuel Ishaku, said in Jalingo that the research conducted by the foundation had revealed the IDP required immediate medical care and food.
Ishaku said the foundation had gone into partnership with many credible NGOs with skilled personnel to handle various health challenges facing the IDPs in the state.
The Executive Director of Chagro Care Trust, Mr Danjuma Adda, said the organization was moved by the plight of IDPs and decided to approach TY Danjuma for sponsorship and it accepted.
Zamfara
The Gusau Emirate Council in Zamfara State has distributed
food items and clothes to 3,300 orphans and the less privileged as Ramadan welfare package.
The Emir of Gusau, Alhaji Ibrahim Bello, announced this in Gusau at his palace while distributing the items to the beneficiaries.
The emir said that out of the 3,300 beneficiaries, 1,040 were orphans who were assisted with food items and clothes, while the remaining 2,260 were less privileged persons who would benefit from food items only.
He added that the beneficiaries were drown from the 13 districts of the emirate by the emirate and in collaboration with the state’s Zakkat and Endowment Board.
He said the assistance came from the state government, the emirate council and well-to-do individuals who assisted through the emirate’s Zakkat and Endowment Committee.
The President General of Ogbakor Ikwerre Cultural Organisation Worldwide and the Mgboh XIII of the Mgboh Royal Family of Emohua Kingdom in Emohua Local Government Area of Rivers State, Eze (Barrister) Godspower Onuekwa, penultimate Friday celebrated his 80th birthday with pomp, pageantry and fanfare.
The celebration, which commenced with a symposium organised in his honour at Rivers State University on Thursday, August 21,2025, got to a resounding climax on Friday at Suntai Event Centre in Port Harcourt, where people from all walks of life, including business associates, friends, well-wishers, relatives, community folks, traditional rulers, and admirers, gathered to pay glowing tributes to the celebrant.
Before then, a well attended thanksgiving service was held that same Friday at Emmanuel Anglican Church, Okoro-Nu-Odo, to honour him and return gratitude to God Almighty for the fruitful and eventful life and accomplishments of the Emohua leader and icon.
The service which was officiated by Rt Rev Wisdom Budu Ihunwo, Bishop of Niger Delta North had other renowned and respected clerics like Most Rev(Dr) Blessing Enyindah, Dean, Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion); Rt Rev(Dr) Emmanuel Oko-Jaja, Bishop, Diocese of Niger Delta; Rt Rev Innocent Ordu, Bishop, Diocese of Evo; and Ven Solomon Eze Nelson, Archdeacon, Okoro-Nu-Odo; among others lined up as officiating ministers.
The service lived up to its billing, as it featured powerful and soul-lifting praise and worship; point-blank prayers; and beautiful renditions, which electrified the entire atmosphere, essentially packaged to thank God for the life of the celebrant.
However, the crowning moment actually came when the who is who, the crème de la crème of the society, thronged the terraces and fabulously decorated expansive hall of Suntai Event Centre, to celebrate Eze Onuekwa, amid accolades, aplomb and panache, wining and dining, and clinking of glasses with him and all.
The chairman of the colourful ceremony, Chief Evans Woherem, who was represented by Eze(Prof) Christian Akani of the prestigious Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, praised the celebrant for his youthfulness in spite of clocking 80 years, generosity, humility, humaneness and selfless services to the Ikwerre ethnic nationality, the Niger Delta and Nigeria, and called on all and sundry to emulate his good legacies and simple disposition towards life and existence.
Goodwill messages also poured in in torrents to underscore and salute the doggedness, resilience, astuteness and uniqueness of the endearing life of the celebrant, with Prof Emenike Wami, the Ochia Ohna Ikwerre(XIV), taking the lead.
Prof Priye Iyalla, the wife of late renowned writer, novelist and playwright, Dr Elechi Amadi, held the audience spellbound as she masterfully reeled out the profile of the celebrant, amid intermittent applause from the crowd.
The Tiv Community from Benue State, resident in Rivers State, were not left out, as they honoured and decorated Eze Onuekwa in their complete traditional regalia.
Cultural displays from Baptist Church, Rumuowhor; ADNA Wogbuji Dancing Group, Egbeda; Tiv Dancing Group; and Promoter Eze and Rumu-Mgboh Emohua Wrestling Group, equally added colour and grace to the occasion, with the celebrant and his wife, Dame Ann Onuekwa, joining them to wriggle their waists and bodies in ecstasy.
In his response, the highly elated celebrant, Eze Onuekwa thanked all those gathered to celebrate with him, saying, celebrations would never cease in their homes, and attributed everything he represents in life, including his modest accomplishments to God.
Eze Onuekwa, while addressing newsmen, harped on the need for hard work among the youths and members of Ogbakor Ikwerre Cultural Organisation Worldwide, as a way of sustaining and giving meaning to the motto of the organisation, which he noted is anchored on peace, unity and progress.
He specially thanked God for sustaining his life, and for making everything possible for him and his family, saying, he was joyous that he has today become an octogenarian and elder statesman in Rivers State.
His son and medical practitioner, Dr Samuel Chizia Onuekwa expressed delight that people from far and near had come together to celebrate the father, whom he described as a role model and great inspirator.
He said it was a good thing that the children were celebrating their father when he is alive, stressing that the last time Eze Onuekwa was celebrated in such magnitude was 20 years ago, during his 60th birthday celebration, and prayed God to grant him many more years in good health.
Among dignitaries who graced the event were Senator Andrew Uchendu; Chief Sampson Agbaru; Prof Emenike Wami; Dr Peter Didia; Eze(Prof) Samuel Ugo Onyeka; and a host of others. Justice Iche Ndu(rtd); and C O Kattey were among personalities that attended the thanksgiving service, while the Vice Chancellor of Rivers State University, Prof Isaac Zeb-Obipi led the academics who graced the symposium, alongside Eze G A O Omodu.
As the 100 Ogoni youths trained by the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) in Creative Arts close out their training on Tuesday at the Theatre Arts Department, University of Port Harcourt, the Project Coordinator of HYPREP, Prof Nenibarini Zabbey, has urged the beneficiaries to use the skills acquired to ensure that the Ogoni stories are told and heard in the right way.
The trainees, who had completed a four- month training in script writing, film production and make-up are beneficiaries of the HYPREP sustainable livelihood programme, aimed at providing high demand skills to Ogoni youths in the lucrative creative arts and entertainment industry.
Zabbey described the Creative Arts training as well as other programmes and interventions as HYPREP’s strategic sustained effort to create alternative sources of livelihood.
”Targeted capacity building for Ogoni youths and women remains a central strategy in HYPREP’s livelihood restoration and improvement efforts. Our goal is to reach every part of the Ogoni community and ensure that no group or talent pool is left behind. This training is a deliberate step to empower young people who aspire to make their mark in the creative and entertainment industry”, he said.
While commending the trainees for producing four short films within the training period, one of which was premiered at the ceremony-Dirty Festival, the Project Coordinator noted that the training would serve as a springboard into the industry, and enable them earn a living, become entrepreneurs, and open new doors of opportunities for themselves and their communities. The three other movies are Open Pain, Bomu and Green War.
He enjoined them to utilise their skills and platforms to promote civic responsibility, peace, and environmental sustainability, urging them to ensure that Ogoni is heard in the right way, speak for HYPREP and highlight the progress being made in implementing the recommendations of the UNEP Report.
Other speakers at the event, including the Director of Technical Services of HYPREP, Prof. Damian-Paul Aguiyi; Dr Ovunda Ihunwo, Head of the Theatre Arts Department of the University of Port Harcourt; Chief Douglas Experience, the Project Coordinator of Halibiz Consult Limited; and Mrs Josephine Nzidee, Head, Sustainable Livelihood of HYPREP, all applauded HYPREP for the training, and charged the trainees to maximise the opportunity.
The trainees were later presented certificates of participation.
Visibly elated Ms Lebee Tornwe, one of the beneficiaries, thanked HYPREP and the Project Coordinator for offering the trainees the rare opportunity to acquire skills in the creative arts and entertainment industry, and expressed delight that Dr Ihunwo and Halibiz Consult Limited gave their all in grooming them.
With the wrapping up of the Creative Arts training(100), HYPREP has trained 230 Ogoni youths in high demand skill sets ,viz; seafaring(100); and aviation (30). The Project will this year, commence training in other skill areas, including Mechatronic, Aviation, Full-Stack Development, Commercial Diving, Underwater Welding and Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
Still in the offing is the training for Ogoni Persons Living with Disabilities in five skill sets- fish farming; basic computer skills; photography; fashion and design; and shoemaking in line with their Needs Assessment and HYPREP’s policy of inclusivity.
The National Youth Council of Ogoni People (NYCOP) had called on stakeholders to work collaboratively towards the development and empowerment of Ogoni youths.
NYCOP made the call in a communique issue over the weekend after an emergency Congress in Port Harcourt and signed by its President, Comrade Raymond Nwibani Marcus.
In the communique, NYCOP endorsed President Bola Tinubu’s appointments of the Governing Council and Board of Trustees (BOT) members of the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP), particularly Rt. Hon. Emmanuel Nwika Deeyah as Chairman of HYPREP’s BOT.
It respectfully appealed to the President to consider appointing a representative from the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) under the leadership of Engr. Olu Andah Wai-Ogosu, being the pioneering social vehicle for Ogoni advocacy since the inception of the Ogoni struggle, adding that it would significantly contribute to the decision-making process.
The body commended the overall management of HYPREP and urges the President to continue funding the HYPREP project.
NYCOP furthermore recommended considering the conversion of HYPREP from a project to a full-fledged agency of the Federal Government of Nigeria.
The communique also stated that NYCOP thanked President Tinubu for establishing the Federal University of Environmental Technology, and for appointing key staff, forming a dialogue committee, and initiating infrastructural projects like the Eleme axis of the East-West Road and the Bonny-Bodo Road, significantly enhancing regional connectivity and economic prospects.
In solidarity with the Renewed Hope Agenda, the endorsed President Tinubu’s second-term bid, saying it believes his leadership embodies the aspirations of the Ogoni people and Nigerians at large.
“After thorough consideration of the Disciplinary Committee’s report, NYCOP resolves:
” To indefinitely suspend Comrade Nade Nade Burale from his position as Secretary General due to misconduct.
“To declare Comrade Saviour Imeabe persona non grata on Ogoni youth issues, given his actions’ potential to instigate crisis in Ogoni and beyond” the communique stated.
NYCOP in his resolution issued a 7-day ultimatum to former HYPREP BOT Chairman Mike Nwialeghi to explain the $100 million HYPREP fund investment, warning of potential litigation.
NYCOP reaffirmed its commitment to safeguarding Ogoni youth interests and preventing personal aggrandizement.
According to the communique the resolutions demonstrate NYCOP’s efforts to promote the collective welfare and advancement of Ogoni youth.
“We will no longer tolerate any individual or group using the name or issues of Ogoni youth for personal aggrandizement.
” Our mandate is clear: to promote the collective welfare and advancement of Ogoni youth” the communique said.
NYCOP passes a vote of confidence in Hon. Emmanuel Nwika Deeyah, acknowledging his impeccable credentials and credibility to lead the BOT of HYPREP effectively.
Kiadum Edookor
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