Niger Delta

Delta Opens 10 Camps As Flood Submerges 19 LGAs

Published

3 years ago

October 17, 2022

The Delta State Government has opened 10 camps to accommodate Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) impacted by flood in 19 out of the 25 local government areas of the State.
The Director-General, State Orientation Bureau, Mr Eugene Uzum, said this at a news conference on the government’s efforts to save lives and property in the wake of the ravaging flood across the state on Friday in Asaba.
He said in addition to the 10 established IDP camps, Delta State Oil Producing Area Development Commission (DESOPADEC) built two camps in the Warri axis to augment.
According to Uzum, DESOPADEC is also opening blocked drains in the area to enable water flow in order to mitigate the impact on the communities.
He noted that the situation has become pathetic and worrisome that some of the impacted communities had been invaded by reptiles; snakes and crocodiles.
Uzum called on the Federal Government, corporate organisations and charitable individuals to come to the people’s aid and provide relief materials to alleviate their sufferings at this auspicious time.
He said while the immediate interventions is to save the impacted persons, their families and property, the Federal Government should build new dams along the coastal areas to ensure a more permanent solution to the yearly flooding.
According to Uzum, the State Government has opened up 10 IDP camps across the state to cater for the need of the 19 impacted LGAs in the state.
“The government has also opened up distribution centres at various locations to take the relief materials from the Federal Government, corporate organisations and individuals to support the displaced persons.
“The people have started enrolling at the various camps and I must say that the challenge have been critical and it’s going to be more than that of 2012.”
He added that his agency was working in collaborations with the traditional rulers, political aides, and president generals of the impacted communities to identity the vulnerable persons and to ensure hitch free and security.
“As we speak, all the eight LGAs in Delta South; six LGAs in Delta North and five LGAs in Delta Central Senatorial Districts have been taken over by flood.
“Presently, we have both short and longterm solutions to this problem of yearly flooding; the current intervention to save lives and property is one.
“The long-term solutions has to do with the dredging of the River Benue and the River Niger as well as build the needed dams to take away the large volume of the water that flows across the impacted states.
“So, we are appealing to the Federal Government, corporate organisations and individuals to give their support to the impacted communities in the state,” Uzum said.
Uzum, however, said that there had not been official recorded report of death due to the flooding in the state.
The Tide’s source reports that currently, only six out of the 25 LGAs in Delta have not been impacted by the flood.

Niger Delta

Stakeholders In Delta Seek Stronger GBV Action, Women’s Leadership

Published

2 days ago

March 2, 2026

The Tide

Stakeholders in Delta State convened in Asaba for a leadership workshop organised by Otdel Health Heritage and Environmental Initiative (OHHEI), focusing on Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and women’s participation in decision-making processes.

OHHEI Project Director, Mr. Peter Olayinka, represented by a consultant, Juliet Obiajulu, urged participants to contribute meaningfully toward advancing women’s leadership and combating GBV across communities in the state.

He said the workshop aimed to strengthen participants’ capacity to influence policies, challenge harmful cultural norms, and reinforce initiatives designed to prevent and respond to GBV.

Olayinka said women often faced bias even when they occupied leadership positions, and stressed that gender diversity improved the quality of decision-making and promoted innovation and accountability in governance structures.

Speaking, the Chairperson of the Association Against Child Sexual and Gender-Based Violence, Mr Eris Jewo-Ibi, identified cultural norms, domestic responsibilities, political resistance, and grassroots barriers as constraints to women’s participation.

Delta State GBV Desk Officer, Mrs. Rosemary Okpuno, emphasised that effective decision-making required women’s perspectives, adding that inclusion remained critical to addressing persistent gender-based challenges.

Voke Angbagh of the Delta State Ministry of Justice outlined penalties for rape and called for the establishment of special courts to handle sexual offences cases.

Angbagh said frequent adjournments delayed justice for survivors, stressing that dedicated sexual offences courts would ensure timely trials and stronger protection for victims in Delta State.

The Tide’s source reports that facilitators identified cultural acceptance of violence, unequal power relations, discrimination, poverty, limited education, and low self-esteem as major drivers of GBV.

They emphasised that violence and exclusion resulted in social, physical and emotional harm, imposed economic costs, reinforced harmful stereotypes, and widened existing gender inequalities.

The source also reports that OHHEI, a local non-profit organisation, focuses on education, health, environment, and social justice, promoting sustainable development initiatives with gender equality at the centre of its interventions.

Niger Delta

C’River Suspends Taskforce Activities Over Drivers’ Protest

Published

2 days ago

March 2, 2026

The Tide

The Cross River State Government has suspended all taskforce activities connected to commercial transportation and ticketing across the state.

The State Governor, Bassey Otu, announced the suspension at an emergency stakeholders meeting on Friday in Calabar.

It would be recalled that commercial drivers in Calabar metropolis took to streets on Thursday to protest alleged multiple taxation and extortion by government agencies.

During the protest, the drivers alleged that taskforce groups claiming to represent the state government openly harassed and extorted them.

Represented at the meeting by Ekpenyong Akiba, his Special Adviser on General Duties, Otu said the suspension would subsist pending further review of the situation.

The Governor stated that the state government did not commission anyone to extort drivers in the name of task force.

He urged commercial drivers and other road users to remain law-abiding while government worked out a lasting solution.

On his part, the Chairman, Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria, Calabar Metropolis, Mr. Sunday Dennis, expressed optimism that the dialogue would yield positive results.

He said the meeting had provided an opportunity for the aggrieved commercial drivers to present their concerns directly to the state government.

Also speaking, the Chairman, Unified Drivers Association, Mr. Nta Henshaw, described the harassment on drivers as worrisome, and urged the state government to be decisive in resolving the matter.

Niger Delta

A’Ibom Assembly Urges More Private Investments In Agriculture

Published

2 days ago

March 2, 2026

The Tide

The Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly Committee on Nutrition and Food Security has called for more private sector investments in agriculture.

The Chairman of the Committee, Mr. Moses Essien, made the call when the committee visited Aviclaire Farms, a private establishment in Usung Idem, Uruk Usoh in Abak Local Government Area.

Essien, who represents Ibiono Ibom in the Assembly, commended the Management of the farm for partnering an NGO, ECEWS, to promote private investment in agriculture.

He commended the partners for adopting climate-smart agriculture initiatives in their operations, adding that such move would promote food security.

“Your interest in using transformative intervention to promote food security is a veritable way of complementing the efforts of the state government,” he said.

The lawmaker continued that adopting practical climate-smart agriculture model would help to generate employment, improve nutrition outcomes, and strengthen food sufficiency.

He further said he was impressed with the strides recorded by the partners, saying, “your investment has created jobs for no fewer than 2,000 youths.

”You are an example of an environment-friendly investor. I urge Akwa Ibom residents to embrace environment-friendly and technology-driven agriculture models,” he said.

Earlier, the Chief Executive Officer, ECEWS, Dr. Andy Eyo, who conducted the committee round the farm, said the collaboration was conceived to demonstrate the viability of climate-smart farming in ensuring food sufficiency.

Eyo said the farm, which commenced operations with four greenhouses, had expanded to 14 within two years, and currently supplying high-quality produce to major markets in Uyo and neighbouring communities.

He said ECEWS was exploring cooperative frameworks to enable rural farmers and women’s groups to adopt greenhouse technology for sustainable livelihoods.

In her remarks, the Chief Executive Officer of Aviclaire Farms, Mrs. Victoria Eyo, said the controlled-environment ensured precision cultivation and consistent yields.

She further said the farm served as a capacity-building centre for students, interns, and agri-business trainees.