Niger Delta

Food Security: Delta, AUDA-NEPAD Earmark N3bn For Smallholder Farmers

Published

3 years ago

December 4, 2022

The African Union Development Agency and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (AUDA-NEPAD), in partnership with the Delta State Government, have proposed to raise N3 billion to support smallholder farmers in Delta State.
The State Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Dr Godfrey Enita, made the disclosure recently at Amukpe, Sapele, in the state.
Enita said the first phase of the training programme on “Innovative Strengthening of Smallholder Farmers’ Capabilities Towards Productive Land Restoration Amid COVID-19 in Nigeria” has commenced at Amukpe.
The Commissioner, represented by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Mr Ben Agamah, said the Delta/AUDA-NEPAD programme is a 10-year planned project aimed at tackling food insecurity in the state and the nation at large.
He noted that the African Union has decided to focus on the smallholder farmers through capacity building and material support to ensure best practices in agricultural production to ensure availability of food in Nigeria.
On the planed budget of N3 billion, Enita said the State Government is expected to pay N1 billion as counterpart funds while AU will provide N2 billion to drive the programme over a 10-year period, targeting 3,380 smallholder farmers across the state.
“Because food security is actually a challenge, the various governments are making deliberate effort to ensure that poverty and hunger are alleviated and reduced to a manageable point.
“One of those efforts is this AUDA-NEPAD intervention to strengthen smallholder farmers because physically, they are the people that feed the nation. So, for food security, it has to be smallholder farmers.
“The four cardinal indicators that a state or country is food secured are food availability, affordability, cultural acceptability, and the liberty to chose what to eat at any time.
“The state contribution to the programme is 1:2 ratio.
“We have articulated 3,380 smallholder farmers from six commodities; cassava, Rice, aquaculture, Piggeries, poultry, and green house vegetables cultivation and the total proposed budget is N3 billion for the 10-year period which will be implemented in phases”, he said.
According to the Commissioner, the programme has adopted a group and cluster approach as the farmers will be given requisite training and materials to grow their businesses as no cash component will be given to any farmer.
Earlier in her opening remarks, the National Coordinator, AUDA-NEPAD, Princess Gloria Akobundu, who was represented by Mrs Timi Young-Itiye, Chief Administrative Officer, AUDA-NEPAD, Abuja, said the training is aimed at empowering the farmers to increase their contributions to the nation’s food production.
According to Akobundu, building the farmers’ capacity would enable increased food production, and nutrition to cushion the effect of COVID-19, “in line with African Union – United Nation agenda which seeks to end hunger and malnutrition by 2030.
“This programme also served as a vehicle for the actualisation of President Muhammadu Buhari’s vision of uplifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty”, she stated.
She lauded Governor Ifeanyi Okowa for his support, while tasking the participants to remain committed to ensure the essence of the programme is achieved.
Resource person, Dr Oghenesuvwe Okpara, Head of Department, Animal Science Department, Delta State University, Abraka, said given the vision of NEPAD, the programme’s target was to make the farmers subsistent in food production.
“They are to produce their own food and have enough to sell to other people to make enough money to continue on their businesses.
“The AUDA-NEPAD mission is to end poverty and hunger, and in spite of the many interventions, Africa is still walloping in poverty and starvation. This is the essence of this capacity building and empowerment, particularly in the chosen commodities in which we have comparative advantage,” he said.
The beneficiaries, Mr Patrick Onolunoje and Mr Simon Uzuhai, lauded the programme and said that it would strengthen them to tackle most of the challenges they face running their farm business.

Niger Delta

PIND, Partners Holds a _3days Workshop On Data-Driven Resilience Planning For Crime Prevention In Port Harcourt

Published

2 days ago

November 3, 2025

The Tide

The Foundation for Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta (PIND), in collaboration with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, the Office for Strategic Preparedness and Resilience (OSPRE), and The Fund for Peace (FFP), has concluded a landmark three-day Niger Delta Scenario Planning Workshop on Resilience in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

L–R: Mr. Abiodun Akanbi, Peacebuilding Coordinator, PIND; Ms. Svenja Ossmann, GIZ ECOWAS Cluster Coordinator; Mr Edekobi Anthony Chukwemeka, Early Warning Analyst, OSPRE; Ms. Amy Gukas, Junior Technical Advisor, GIZ; Mr. Nate Haken, Senior Advisor, Research and Innovation, FFP; and Mr. Afeno Super Odomovo, Senior Peacebuilding Coordinator, PIND at the Niger Delta Scenario Planning Workshop on Resilience in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

The program Supported by the ECOWAS Peace, Security and Governance (EPSG) Project, co-financed by the European Union (EU) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

The workshop brought together over 100 participants from government, civil society, the private sector, academia, traditional authorities, and the media to co-create data-driven strategies for crisis preparedness and regional resilience.

The theme of the three days event “From Risk to Resilience: Building a Future-Ready Niger Delta,” marked a major step in shifting regional approaches from reactive crisis response to proactive resilience planning.

Participants explored how the region can anticipate, adapt to, and recover from climate shocks, insecurity, and governance challenges through collaborative and foresight-based approaches,Using advanced analytical tools such as the Fragile States Index (FSI), State Resilience Index (SRI), and Crisis Sensitivity Simulator (CSS), enhanced by AI-powered risk modeling developed by the Fund for Peace and SAS, participants analyzed systemic risks, developed plausible crisis scenarios, and designed practical response strategies tailored to the Niger Delta’s realities.

Speaking at the occasion,
Executive Director of PIND Foundation. Mr Sam Ogbemi Daibo represented by Mr David Udofia said the workshop demonstrates how data, foresight, and partnerships can transform uncertainty into opportunity, and ensure that resilience becomes a shared responsibility across communities, institutions, and sectors, adding that
the Niger Delta’s future depends on our ability to anticipate challenges rather than merely react to the opportunity.

The initiative convened representatives from NEMA, SEMA, NiMet, HYPREP, the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), ministries of environment and agriculture, and civil society networks such as the Partners for Peace (P4P). Delegates from the Regional Peace Council of Ghana’s Northern and Oti regions also participated, fostering cross-border exchange and strengthening regional crisis preparedness across West Africa.

Also speaking,
Senior Advisor for Research & Innovation at FFP, Nate Haken stressed that
this initiative exemplifies how collaboration across government, civil society, and academia can strengthen peace and security,” said Nate Haken, Senior Advisor for Research & Innovation at FFP. “By linking data to decision-making, we are laying the foundation for a resilient Niger Delta and a safer West Africa.”

“Over three days ,participants engaged in contextual analysis, scenario building, and AI-assisted “red teaming” to test response assumptions and develop integrated resilience plans. Key outputs include a Niger Delta Resilience Strategy outlining coordinated crisis preparedness actions, a comprehensive scenario planning report documenting lessons learned, and a replicable methodology adaptable for other regions in Nigeria and across West Africa.”

According to him,These outcomes will be embedded within existing coordination structures, including the Partners for Peace (P4P) network and state-level emergency management systems, ensuring that insights translate into practical action.

According to a representative of OSPRE,
Mr Edkobi Anthony Chukwuemeka
“This process strengthens our capacity to connect early warning with early action, ensuring that preparedness becomes part of how we govern and grow.” The scenario planning workshop stands as a regional model for anticipatory governance, integrating foresight, technology, and cross-sector collaboration into Nigeria’s broader resilience and peacebuilding framework.

As Nigeria and West Africa confront rising climate and security risks, the Niger Delta Scenario Planning Workshop sets a new benchmark for how data-driven foresight, innovation, and inclusive collaboration can transform risk into resilience.

Niger Delta

CRIRS Targets Professional Bodies In 2026 Tax Reforms

Published

2 days ago

November 3, 2025

The Tide

The Executive Chairman, Cross River State Internal Revenue Service (CRIRS), Mr. Edwin Okon, says professional bodies will be its prime target in 2026 for tax infractions.

Okon disclosed this in Calabar during a training session organised by IRS for selected key tax paying companies across the state.

The IRS boss said the purpose of the training is to enlighten companies on the newly introduced 2025 Tax Reform Act.

The Tide’s source reports that about 50 firms, operating in the state, attended the training.

The theme of the training: “Understanding the New PAYE Framework: Implications and Opportunities”, was used to discuss the practical aspects of the revised Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) system.

According to the Chairman, private firms must do the right thing at the right time by ensuring that they file their returns at the end of every year while for individuals, it’s January 31.

He called on the companies to use the online platform of the service in making their remittances.

He noted that the state’s IRS had been working towards enabling taxpayers to generate their tax clearance from the comfort of their homes.

“By 2026, even if your financial transactions is little as your letterhead, if you are sending instructions to a bank or any financial institution, you must state your Tax Identification Number (TIN).

“Some companies may need to redesign their official letterheads to include their tax identification numbers, as it would become a mandatory requirement”, he explained.

He encouraged organisations to use IRS’s online platform for remittances, sensitise their staff on the importance of compliance, and refuse to give cash to any IRS staff as tax payment.

Delivering a presentation on ‘’Overview of the Nigerian Tax Reform Act 2025″, Mr. Esien Ukorebi, former IRS Chairman in the state, outlined the objectives, key provisions, and compliance models of the new tax law.

He explained that the reform would commence in January, 2026, adding that 97 to 98 percent of Nigerian workers would either pay PAYE or experience reduced PAYE obligations by the time.

“Tax compliance goes beyond payment, it means fulfilling all obligations as required by law, individuals earning below ?30,000 per month are exempted from tax but must still register with the tax authorities”, he explained.

Also speaking, Mr. Daniel Anko, a resource person, emphasised the importance of possessing a valid Tax Clearance Certificate (TCC), whether as an employer or employee.

According to him, while employees’ incomes are taxed monthly, business owners are assessed at the end of the year, after which they have 90 days to file their returns.

Anko added that CRIRS had made tax payment more convenient through digital channels that allowed taxpayers to complete transactions without visiting the tax offices physically.

On her part, the Technical Adviser to the Chairman of CRIRS, Mrs. Lilian Ugbong, spoke on innovations introduced by the Joint Revenue Board (JRB) in implementing the 2025 Act.

She explained that the Joint Tax Board (JTB) had evolved into the JRB, with expanded powers and responsibilities aimed at improving tax compliance and harmonising revenue processes across Nigeria.

“The Act has strengthened the JRB’s authority and enhanced its collaboration with the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) to drive tax reforms and increase revenue generation,” she noted.

Niger Delta

Bayelsa Gives Ultimatum To Ogbia Kingdom Over Leadership Tussle

Published

2 days ago

November 3, 2025

The Tide

Bayelsa State Government has given the Oloibiri Clan of Ogbia Kingdom a 3-week ultimatum to produce the Chairman of the “Ogbia Brotherhood” and other nominees zoned to it to pave way for the inauguration of a new substantive leadership to pilot the affairs of the foremost socio-cultural organization in the state.

Deputy Governor of the State, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, gave the directive recently, while presiding over a high-profile meeting with leaders and critical stakeholders of Ogbia extraction, cutting across all the clans of the Kingdom at the Golden Tulip in Yenagoa.

Senator Ewhrudjakpo, in a press release by his Media Aide, Mr. Doubara Atasi, emphasized the significance of the Ogbia Brotherhood and urged the present crop of Ogbia leaders and stakeholders not to allow the organization become moribund in their time.

He stated that the Ogbia Brotherhood, founded in 1940, had played pivotal role in promoting the unity and development of Ogbia Kingdom in particular, and Bayelsa State in general, and therefore, must not be allowed to die as a result of personal and parochial interests of a few people in the area.

According to him, the state Governor, Senator Douye Diri, had directed that the lingering leadership conflict in the organization be resolved without any further delay in honour of former President Goodluck Jonathan and most importantly in the best collective interest of the Ogbia people and the state.

To this end, the State’s number two Man urged the people of Oloibiri, one of the clans in Ogbia Kingdom, to close ranks and work within the next three weeks they pleaded for during the meeting to produce the Chairman and other nominees as part of the executives of Ogbia Brotherhood without delay.

He, however, added that government would set machinery in place to ensure the inauguration of the organization’s new leadership with or without their nominees at the end of the ultimatum.

“Ogbia Brotherhood has been a social torchlight that beams the light of unity and development among our people over the years; a very prominent organization, which predates most of us who are here.

”The contributions of the Ogbia Brotherhood to the development of Bayelsa, Nigeria, and the world cannot be overstated. And that is why every reasonable person must make sure that, that light keeps shining. So, we must first of all look for the lubricant to keep that light burning.

“But, unfortunately, for quite sometime it has been going through some leadership problems, which I consider as mere brotherly misunderstanding. So, I want to appeal to our people, particularly the Oloibiri Clan, to imbibe the spirit of forgiveness and give-and-take to resolve the misunderstanding.

“It is in that regard that His Excellency, the Governor, has directed that we must resolve the issues without any further delay. I have always insisted that every problem has a solution. So, we must collectively resolve this misunderstanding”, he said.

Responding to the Oloibiri clan’s appeal, he said, “Government has granted your request for three weeks. But let me make it very clear that whether you succeed or fail to present your nominees at the end of the three weeks, Ogbia Brotherhood would go ahead to inaugurate the already cleared nominees from the other clans.”

Speaking on behalf of the Clan, former Secretary to State Government, Prof. Edmund Allison-Oguru, assured the state government that critical stakeholders of the clan, including Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, would meet to reconcile their differences and present credible individuals to fill its positions in the leadership of Ogbia Brotherhood.

Prof. Allison-Oguru used the opportunity to appreciate the effort of the State Government to resolve the leadership impasse in the Ogbia Brotherhood, which he admitted, has lingered for some time.

The meeting had in attendance members representing the three Ogbia constituencies in the State House of Assembly, Hon. Gabriel Ogbara, Hon. Godknows Obein, and Hon. Richard Ibegu, as well as the Secretary to State Government, Prof. Nimibofa Ayawei and other top government functionaries.

Also in attendance were the Obanobhan of Ogbia Kingdom, His Eminence, King Charles Dumaro Owaba, the Acting Chairman of Ogbia Brotherhood, Dr. Azibaloguo Seibofa, as well as paramount rulers of the various clans and communities in Ogbia Local Government Area.

By: Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa