News
10 Beheaded In Cults’ Clash …As Gunmen Attack ATM, Kill Bank’s Customer
Rivers State Deputy Governor, Dr. (Mrs) Ipalibo Harry Banigo welcoming Chief Prince Longjohn, an APC Decampee to PDP during a victory celebration organised by Kengema Unity Forum of Kalabari in honour of the State Governor, Barr. Nyesom Ezenwo Wike in Buguma, Asari-Toru LGA, recently
The Presiding Bishop of God’s Victorious Church, Omoku, headquarters of Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers State, Bishop Eleanya Ugorgi, has narrated how over 25 people were killed, including his younger brother, with 10 others having their heads chopped off by unidentified gunmen who invaded Omoku community last Friday.
The bishop told journalists, who were on a guided tour of the Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area headquarters, said his younger brother, Ekwela, was killed along with his wife, Victoria, on that fateful night.
The cleric disagreed with the blanket insinuation that the death of his brother and others was caused by rival cult clash.
Ugorgi said his late brother was a staunch member of one of the two major political parties in the state.
He pointed out that before his brother’s death, Ekwela, who is in his mid-40s, was a member of one of the major political parties in the state.
He said, “It was on Friday, and we started hearing gunshots between 9:00pm and 10:00pm or thereabouts. After a while, it ceased and shortly after, I heard a smash on my window, and if you go round, you will see that all the windows were smashed.
“By the time the day broke, we saw my younger brother, Ekwela Ugorji, and the wife, Victoria, lying dead outside. My younger brother was beheaded. My younger brother was a politician and that is all that I know about him. My younger brother’s wife was a trader. He is in his mid-40s.
“I don’t think the killers are armed robbers. In Rivers State, actually you know this politics of a thing is what has been on the ground, and you talk of cultists. Cultism has been there, but it has been lying low. When you come to ONELGA, these two parties are really struggling to see who takes over.
“But, things were also moving on well until after the announcement of the Supreme Court. We felt that everything had ended but before we knew it, things started coming up again. Gunshots of that day were something else; everywhere. I think, at least, 25 people were killed that night, and 10 were beheaded in Omoku here.”
Also speaking to journalists who were on a guided tour of the deserted Omoku town amidst very tight security, the father of another victim, Mr Martin Ugo, said his 31-year old son, Elemchukwu, and two others, were killed when the gunmen invaded his house that night.
Ugu said, “Unfortunately, they killed three people, including my son, Elemchukwu, aged 31. He was a butcher. They killed him in his room, and marched the other two people outside, and killed them. They were all shot. Then, my daughter in-law received gunshots too, but she did not die.
“If it is possible, government should step in, and I know if government really means it, they can stop this kind of things.”
Omoku, the headquarters of Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni LGA and host to TotalENP, Agip and other oil companies, has been in the news for more than a year for the wrong reasons.
Meanwhile, one person was shot dead and unconfirmed number of bank customers injured as gunmen, suspected to be armed robbers, stormed an Automated Teller Machine (ATM), along Ada George Road in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, at the close of work on Monday.
Eyewitnesses told newsmen that the gunmen, who might have carried out adequate surveillance on the bank staff and timed the loading of the ATMs struck at the nick of time.
According to the sketchy account, the gunmen arrived at the ATM in an SUV, and opened fire sporadically killing one person at point blank range while other bank customers and the bank staff sustained bullet wounds.
“As soon as we saw them park their jeep, we thought that they had come to make some withdrawals. Immediately they emerged from the jeep clutching AK47, they started shooting at anything in sight but targeting the bank staff loading the ATMs.
“Customers scampered for safety. Some people may have been injured by stray bullets,” an eyewitness narrated.
As at press time, it was not clear if the robbers succeeded in carting away cash in the ensuing melee.
The Rivers State Police Command’s Police Public Relations Officer, Ahmad Muhammad, confirmed the incident but could not give any casualty figures.
Vice President Kashim Shettima has arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for an official State visit at the invitation of the Prime Minister, Dr. Abiy Ahmed.
Upon arrival yesterday, Shettima was received at the airport by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Dr. Gedion Timothewos, and other members of the Ethiopian and Nigerian diplomatic corps.
Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Communication, Stanley Nkwocha, revealed this in a statement he signed yesterday, titled: “VP Shettima arrives in Ethiopia for official state visit.”
During the visit, Vice President Shettima will participate in the official launch of Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Programme, a flagship environmental initiative.
The programme designed to combat deforestation, enhance biodiversity, and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change targets the planting of 20 billion tree seedlings over a four-year period.
In line with strengthening bilateral ties in agriculture and industrial development, the Vice President will also embark on a strategic tour of key industrial zones and integrated agricultural facilities across selected regions of Ethiopia.
News
RSG Tasks Farmers On N4bn Agric Loan ….As RAAMP Takes Sensitization Campaign To Four LGs In Rivers
The Rivers State Government has called on the people of the state especially farmers to access the ?4billion agricultural loans made available by the State and domiciled in the Bank of Industry.
This is as the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) of Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP), a World Bank project, took its sensitization campaign to Opobo/Nkoro, Andoni, Port Harcourt City and Obio/Akpor local government areas.
The campaign was aimed at enlightening community dwellers and other stakeholders in the various local government areas on the RAAMP project implementation and programme activities.
The Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Maurice Ogolo, said this at Opobo town, Ngo, Port Harcourt City and Rumuodumanya, headquarters of the four local government areas respectively, during the sensitization campaign.
Ogolo said apart from the ?4billion, the government has also made available fertilizers and other farm inputs to farmers in the various local government areas.
The Permanent Secretary who is the Chairman, State Steering Committee for the project, said RAAMP will construct roads that will connect farms to markets to enable farmers and fishermen sell their farms produce and fishes.
He also said rural roads would be constructed to farms and fishing settlements, and warned against any act that will lead to the cancellation of the projects in the four local government areas.
According to him, the World Bank and Federal Government which are the financiers of the programme will not condone such acts like kidnapping, marching ground and other acts inimical to the successful implementation of the projects in their respective areas.
At PHALGA, Ogolo asserted that the city will benefit in the areas of roads and bridge construction.
He noted that RAAMP was thriving in both the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; Lagos and other states in the country, stressing that the project should also be given the seriousness it deserves in Rivers State.
Speaking at Opobo town, the headquarters of Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area, the project coordinator, RAAMP, Mr.Joshua Kpakol, said the programme would reduce poverty in the state.
According to him, both fishermen and farmers will maximally benefit from the programme.
At Ngo which is the headquarters of Andoni Local Government Area, Kpakol said roads will be constructed to all remote fishing settlements.
He said Rivers State is lucky to be among the states implementing the project, and stressed the need for the people to embrace it.
Meanwhile, Kpakol said at PHALGA that RAAMP is a project that will transform the lives of farmers, traders and other stakeholders in the area.
He urged the stakeholders to spread the information to their various communities.
However, some of the stakeholders at Opobo town complained about the destruction of their farms by bulls allegedly owed by traditional rulers in the area, as well as incessant stealing of their canoes at waterfronts.
At Ngo, Archbishop Elkanah Hanson, founder of El-Shaddai Church, commended the World Bank and the Federal Government for bringing the projects to Andoni.
He stressed the need for the construction of roads to fishing settlements in the area.
Also, a former Commissioner for Agriculture in the state and Okan Ama of Ekede, HRH King Gad Harry, noted that storage facilities have become necessary for a successful agricultural programme.
Harry also stressed the need for the programme to be made sustainable.
In their separate speeches, the administrators of Andoni and Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Areas, pledged their readiness to support the programme.
At Port Harcourt City, the Administrator, Dr Arthur Kalagbor, represented by the Head of Local Government Administration, Port Harcourt City, Mr Clifford Paul, said the city would support the implementation of the programme in the area.
Also, the administrator of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Dr Clifford Ndu Walter, represented by Mr Michael Elenwo, pledged to support the programme in his local government area.
Among dignitaries at the Obio/Akpor stakeholders engagement is the chairman, Rivers State Traditional Rulers Council and paramount ruler of Apara Kingdom, HRM Eze Chike Wodo, amongst others.
John Bibor
President Bola Tinubu has ordered the commencement of personnel audit and skill gap analysis across all cadres of federal civil servants.
The president gave this directive in Abuja, yesterday, while speaking at the International Civil Service Conference, reaffirming his resolve to achieve efficiency and professional service delivery in the civil service.
“I have authorized the comprehensive personnel audit and skill gap analysis across the federal civil service to deepen capacity. I urge all responsible stakeholders to prioritize timely completion of this critical exercise, to begin implementing targeted reforms, to realize the full benefit of a more agile, competent and responsive civil service,” the president announced.
Tinubu further directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), to prioritise data integrity and sovereignty in national interest.
He called for the capture, protection and strategic publication of public sector data in line with the Nigeria Data Protection Act of 2023.
“We must let our data speak for us. We must publish verified data assets within Nigeria and share them internationally recognized as fruitful. This will allow global benchmarking organisation to track our progress in real time and help us strengthen our position on the world stage. This will preserve privacy and uphold data sovereignty,” Tinubu added.
President Tinubu hailed the federal civil service as the “engine” driving his Renewed Hope Agenda, and the vehicle for delivering sustainable national development.
He submitted that the roles of civil servants remain indispensable in modern governance, declaring that in the face of a fast-evolving digital and economic landscape, the civil service must remain agile, future-ready, and results-driven.
“This maiden conference is a bold step toward redefining governance in an era of rapid transformation. An innovative Civil Service ensures we meet today’s needs and overcome tomorrow’s challenges.
“It captures our collective ambition to reimagine and reposition the civil service. In today’s rapid, evolving world of technology, innovation remains critical in ensuring that the civil service is dynamic, digital” the President said.
Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack in her welcome address told the President that his presence and strong words of commendation at the conference has renewed the morale and mandate of public servants across the country.
Walson-Jack described Tinubu as the backbone of driving transformation in the Nigerian civil service, and noted that the takeaways from past study tours undertaken to understudy the civil service in Singapore, the UK and US under her leadership, is already yielding multiplier effects.
Walson-Jack assured Tinubu that her office, in collaboration with reform-minded stakeholders, will not relent in accelerating the implementation of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan, FCSSIP 25.
She affirmed that digitalisation, performance management, and continuous learning remain key pillars in strengthening accountability, transparency, and service delivery across MDAs.
Walson-Jack reaffirmed that the civil service is determined to exceed expectations by embedding a culture of innovation, ethical leadership, and citizen-centred governance in the heart of public administration.