News
Wike’s Vision, Ingenuity Drive Rapid Dev Of Rivers -Nsirim
The Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Pastor Paulnus Nsirim, has said that the state has become a major player in national politics because of the vision and ingenuity of Governor Nyesom Wike towards rapid infrastructural development of the state.
Nsirim emphasised that the state has recorded giant strides under the leadership of the governor, and charged the media in the state to shift its focus from the urban to the numerous rural development projects executed by the Wike-led administration.
The commissioner, who disclosed this at a luncheon he organised for media executives and journalists in the state, last Friday, emphasised that in spite of the Covid-19 pandemic and the global economic recession, the governor has been on the driver’s seat pursuing his developmental agenda.
“That is the kind of governor we have in the state,” he explained.
He said contrary to the impression being created, Governor Nyesom Wike, has evenly spread developmental projects across all the local government areas of the state.
On how the governor has been able to achieve results, Nsirim said, “His Excellency has put God first, and he has a passion to develop Rivers State. He is selflessly committed to making Rivers State investors’ destination of choice, and of course, he is a prudent manager of resources.”
He noted that critics of the Wike-led administration had resort to accusing him of concentrating development in Port Harcourt and Obio/Akpor, but quickly dismissed their claims by saying that the government under Governor Nyesom Wike has spread developmental projects to all the local government areas of the state.
He encouraged the media to find time to go across the length and breathe of the state to ascertain the achievements of the governor.
“I don’t know how many journalists know about the Sakpenwa-Bori-Kono Road, the Abonnema Ring Road, Abalama reclamation project and the cassava processing company etc.
“I don’t know how many journalists have been to Ahoada-East, Ahoada-West, Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni local government areas, and the stretch of Andoni-Opobo Unity Road to see the amount of money that is being sunk there by this administration.
“Opobo people drove home in their vehicles for the first time in the history of the kingdom under Governor Nyesom Wike. And that is because there is a governor who is committed to ensure that development is spread throughout the length and breathe of the state”, Nsirim pointed out.
He urged the media to guard against the practice of armchair journalism, adding that the state government was open to welcome any constructive criticism that would contribute to the development efforts of the administration.
“I have said to journalists that it is only a bad leader that will not want constructive criticism, but what we shouldn’t promote is armchair criticism. The media must not allow itself to be a dumping site for armchair criticism, but you see, that is what we find most of the time. A lot of people are just there with pull-him-down syndrome. They don’t see anything good. It shouldn’t be so”, he added.
He challenged media practitioners to always uphold the tenets of objectivity and fairness in the discharge of their statutory responsibilities to society.
“It is important that now that we have so many people straying into the profession, the legacy we leave behind determines the sustenance of the tenets of the profession. You cannot afford to leave behind a situation where professionalism is thrown to the dogs,” he said.
Nsirim commended the media in the state for the cooperation given to the Wike-led administration in the execution of its NEW Rivers Vision agenda.
He appealed to journalists in the state to continue to partner with the governor, who is determined to bequeath a worthy legacy for posterity.
“When the history will be written, you will be proud to be part of the success story,” he told the media practitioners.
He conveyed the felicitation of the state Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, to the media practitioners, and solicited for more cooperation with his ministry and the government in its determination to develop the state in the remaining years.
In his remarks, the acting Chairman of the Federated Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Rivers State Council, Mr. Amaechi Okonkwo, lauded Nsirim for boosting a cordial relationship between the Wike-led administration and the media.
He described Nsirim as an astute administrator and seasoned media professional whose goodwill has secured a friendly relationship with the media, urging that the relationship should improve even better.
Others such as the state Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Stanley Job Stanley; Mr Ngo Martin-Yellowe of RIVPA; the General Manager, Rivers State Television, Pastor Dafini Gogo-Abbe; all lauded Nsirim for building a bridge of friendship between the state government and the media in the state.
The media executives who spoke on behalf of the various segments of the media pledged 100 per cent support of the media to the administration.
The luncheon was attended by general managers, publishers as well as top management and representatives of virtually all the leading electronic, print and online media organisations in state, including the recently appointed General Manager of Rivers State Newspaper Corporation, Chief Ernest Chinwo, and the Publisher of National Network Newspapers, Pastor Jerry Needam, amongst others.
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.