Nation
THE STATES

Borno
The Bama Initiative for Human Development, an NGO, last Sunday in Maiduguri staged a peaceful demonstration demanding the return of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) to their respective communities in Bama.
The group’s Chairman, Alhaji Muhammad Hassan said that the IDPs would want to return and continue their normal activities in view of the prevailing peace in the state.
Hassan noted that about 70 per cent of the reconstruction and rehabilitation projects had been completed in the area, saying that they were tired of living as displaced persons.
“We are in Maiduguri for more than three years without meaningful means of livelihoods. The condition of our people is pathetic”, he said.
FCT
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed has said that as far as Federal Government appointments to public offices and key positions are concerned, the era of “godfatherism’’ is over.
The minister stated this in Abuja last Sunday at a thanksgiving reception by the newly appointed Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information and Culture, Ms Grace Gekpe.
Mohammed, who was represented by the Managing Director of News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Mr Bayo Onanuga stated that appointment to positions in the Federal Government “is strictly by merit’’.
“Gone are those days when people were appointed into positions by other factors apart from merit.
“Most of us must have heard that the new permanent secretaries were asked to write examination; Gekpe was one of the very few that scaled through the examination”, he said.
Kaduna
A philanthropist, Alhaji Suleiman Mohammed-Mijinyawa last Sunday says he plans to rehabilitate at least 1,000 drug addicts in Zaria, Kaduna State.
He said this in an interview with newsmen on the sideline of the weekly orientation and counselling programme for over 350 youth in Zaria.
Our correspondent reports that the programme which was organised by the philanthropist drew youths from 12 political wards of Zaria Federal Constituency.
Mohammed-Mijinyawa said the essence of the programme was to counsel the affected youth on the need to repent and become useful to the society.
Kano
Max Air Limited says it has so far returned no fewer than 23,000 pilgrims to Nigeria since the commencement of airlift of pilgrims after the 2017 Hajj in Saudi Arabia.
This is contained in a statement by the Airline’s Public Relations Manager, Alhaji Ibrahim Dahiru in Kano last Sunday.
According to him, the pilgrims were transported back to Nigeria from the Holy land through various airports in 45 flights.
He said the airline had made seven trips each for Sokoto and Katsina States in addition to eight flights for Zamfara.
He said that the airline also made four trips for Kaduna pilgrims, three trips for Kwara, one for Kogi, while Kano and Nasarawa States had two trips each.
Kogi
A cleric, Pastor Ben Oluyemi of the Living Faith Church, Winners Chapel, Lokoja has advised Nigerians to love God unconditionally to enjoy supernatural breakthrough.
Oluyemi made the call in Lokoja last Sunday in a sermon, titled: ‘Gateway to Supernatural Breakthrough; The Force of Love”.
The cleric, who is the state Pastor of the church also urged Christians let the love of God reflect in their relationships with people via caring, sharing and praying for one another.
According to him, doing so will promote God’s kingdom on earth.
Reading from the Bible, Oluyemi, who quoted the book of 1 John 4 : 8 and 16 to buttress his point, said, “He that loves not, knows not God; for God is love.”
Lagos
Stand To End Rape (STER), an NGO last Sunday sensitised over 50 teenage boys and girls at Bogije community in Ibeju Lekki Local Government Area of Lagos State on prevention of sexual violence and early pregnancy.
STER Executive Director, Ayodeji Osowobi, told participants at Bogije Primary Health Centre that the campaign woud also help parents and community leaders in protecting the girls against early pregnancy so as not to jeopardise their future.
“To enhance their knowledge on dangers of having unprotected sex which leads to unwanted pregnancy,stigma and unsafe abortion.
“We decided to come to this community because we have many records of teenage pregnancy between 12 and 15 years old in this community”, Osowobi said .
Nasarawa
Pastor David Tarva of Living Faith Church, Keffi has challenged wealthy Nigerians to spare some of their wealth for the needy.
Tarva, who gave the charge during a sermon last Sunday, said that it was a sin to throw away remnants while those in need were starving.
Using the analogy of Jesus asking his disciples to feed the people, he pointed out that humans needed physical bread, in addition to the spiritual food for the journey to eternity.
“People have to be nurtured spiritually and physically from hunger and poverty,” he sad.
Niger
Some university students in Minna have expressed joy over the suspension of the one-month-old strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
They expressed the joy in separate interviews with newsmen in Minna.
Ms Rita Moses of the Department of Educational Services, Federal University of Technology, Minna described the suspension of the strike as the best thing in the nation’s education sector in recent times.
Mr Abdulkarim Mohammed of the same institution also lauded the union’s decision, noting that students could now resume normal academic activities.
Oyo
A former Minister of Information, Prof Jerry Gana is to deliver the 9th convocation lecture of Ajayi Crowther University (ACU), Oyo,scheduled to hold on Thursday, October 12, 2017.
A Senior Assistant Registrar, Public Relations, ACU, Mr Alvan Ewuzie said this in a statement made available to newsmen in Ibadan last Saturday.
Ewuzie said that the politician and former minister of information would deliver a lecture entitled: ‘Building a Culture of Academic Excellence in Nigerian Universities’.
He stated that Gana was expected to bring his vast experience in politics and the academia to bear in the lecture which was among the events lined up for the convocation ceremony.
Plateau
Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State has sworn-in Justice Yakubu Dakwak as the Acting Chief Judge of the state following the retirement of the former Chief Judge, Justice Pius Damulak.
Speaking at the ceremony last Saturday in Jos, Lalong said that the swearing-in of Dakwak was in line with the provisions of the law.
“Today’s swearing-in of my Lord, Justice Yakubu Dakwak, as Acting Chief Judge of Plateau, is in keeping with judicial precedence and the time-tested tradition of succession on the bench by seniority.
“Nature abhors a vacuum and so does the Judiciary. I have therefore considered it imperative to exercise without delay the duty of swearing-in an Acting Chief Judge for the state.
“Through the administration of the oath of allegiance in keeping with the provision of section 271(2) (3) and particularly sub-section (4) of the 1999 constitution as amended, the process for the confirmation or appointment of the substantive Chief Judge shall follow constitutionally laid down procedure and this shall commence immediately,” he said.
Sokoto
The Sokoto State Government has built 50 new secondary schools based on demands by their respective host communities, according to the Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Dr. Jabbi Kilgori.
Kilgori told newsmen last Sunday in Gudu that government’s partnership with communities on education had continued to yield positive results on the sector.
He said that government had established consultative committees on educational development at state and local government levels, to streamline government activities toward maximum success of the state-of-emergency declared on education.
According to him, members of the committee included traditional and religious leaders, Parents Teachers Associations, community-based organisations, NGOs and selected individuals.
“The committees assist government on enrollment drive campaigns, mobilise parents on continuation of studies and carry out other forms of sensitisations including door-to-door contacts”, Kilgori stated.
Zamfara
Troops of 1 Division of the Nigerian Army and operatives of the Department of State Service (DSS) have arrested two suspected illegal arms dealers along Funtua-Gusau road in Zamfara State.
Army spokesman, Brig.-Gen. Sani Usman said in a statement last Monday that preliminary investigation showed that the suspects were on their way to deliver ammunition to armed bandits.
Usman said that they were caught driving a Golf Volkswagen car with registration “number AWE-534-AA (Nasarawa) containing 1,479 rounds of 7.62mm (Special) ammunition.”
According to him, the suspects are in custody of DSS.
Usman said that troops deployed at Dangulbi in Maru Local Government Area of Zamfara also arrested three armed bandits while on routine patrol.
Nation
Accolades, Fanfare As Ogbakor Ikwerre President General Celebrates 80th Birthday

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.
Nation
Ensure That Ogoni Is Heard In The Right Way, HYPREP Urges Creative Arts Trainees

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.
Nation
NYCOP Urges Stakeholders To Develop, Empower Ogoni Youths

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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