Rivers

Don Sets Agenda For Rivers Governor-Elect

Published

2 years ago

April 12, 2023

The Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Law, Rivers State University, and Professor of Energy and Comparative Environmental Law, Prof Samuel Chisa Dike, has expressed delight over the successful election of Sir Siminialayi as the Governor-Elect of Rivers State.
He, however, outlined the fundamental areas which the incoming administration should give priority attention to when sworn in on May 29, 2023, to enable it succeed and even surpass the excellent achievements of the Governor Nyesom Wike administration.
Dike, who spoke in an interview in Port Harcourt, said it was good to set agenda for the incoming Governor so that he would have a full grasp of what the people expect from his administration, stressing that the outgoing administration has performed creditably, particularly in the area of infrastructural development, among others.
He noted that he was particularly elated over the emergence of Sir Fubara at the governorship poll, because, as he puts it, “the agitation and demand by Rivers people for power shift, from the upland to the riverine, have been met, to actually guarantee justice, equity and fairness in power sharing in the State”.
Dike said the next administration would be able to take development activities to the riverine areas of the State, and expressed joy that the Governor-Elect, who hails from Opobo Town, was a core civil servant and technocrat before “dabbling into the murky waters of politics”.
He also said this is a welcome development as he would be able to prudently manage the resources of the State, and address the welfare needs of both civil and public servants in the State.
The lecturer admonished the incoming administration to shift and improve on other areas the outgoing administration could not handle since, according to him, governance is a continuum, and identified the first area the incoming administration should focus on as human capital development.
He said, “this area is key and pivotal in the overall development of the State, since it could affect development in several other sectors like information, health, agriculture and commerce”, and advised the Governor-Elect to begin to galvanise his capacity towards this direction.
Dike noted that the administration could record monumental milestones in this area through aggressive scholarship policies and programmes, stressing that local and overseas undergraduate and graduate scholarships could go a long way to bolster the human capital needs of the State, describing himself as a product of scholarship.
To this end, he said giving a target response to human capital development is much expected of the new administration.
Dike noted the empowerment of Rivers people, adding that the new government’s aggressive policy on empowerment would also go a long way to remove loafers and miscreants on the streets, thereby reducing criminality in the State.
According to him, “there should be a conscious effort by the incoming administration to decongest Port Harcourt, as doing so would provide a whole lot of benefits to the people”.
He also stressed the need for the administration to improve the state government’s relationship with multinational and other companies operating in the State, and cited Siat Nigeria Limited, where the State Government has a stake as an example, saying, doing this would enable the State to create a thriving industrial hub for the State.
In environment, Dike suggested that the Garden City status of Port Harcourt can be restored by the new administration “by embracing a deliberate policy of planting of trees and flowers on major roads”.
He advocated a re-introduction of the school-to-land policy of the Fidelis Oyakilome administration to boost agriculture in the State, since, according to him, “all life is tied to the soil”, saying, “activating a robust policy on agriculture would assist the State”.
Dike, therefore, urged all political parties in the State to bury their hatchet and rally round the Governor-Elect, saying, “let the existing peace in the State continue. Acrimony does not pay”.
He advised the incoming administration to run an inclusive government by carrying all Rivers people along irrespective of party affiliation.
He described the Governor-Elect and his Deputy, Prof. Ngozi Odu, as an amazing and wonderful combination that would take the State to glorious heights in the next four years.

Rivers

Rivers High Court Judges Begins 2025 Vacation July 21

Published

3 days ago

June 20, 2025

The Tide

Judges of the High Court Port Harcourt Rivers state will on Monday July 21, 2025 commence this year’s annual vacation.

The State Chief Judge, Justice Simeon Chibuzor Amadi in a statement signed by the Chief Registrar High Court Port Harcourt, David Ihua_ Maduenyi (esq) made available to The Tide in Port Harcourt over the weekend, said that the 2025 annual vacation for judges of the State High Court will begin on Monday, July 21, 2025 and end on Wednesday ,September 17, 2025

The statement said the vacation is in pursuant to Order 49, Rule 4 (d) of High Court of Rivers State (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2023, as altered, adding that all the judicial divisions of the State High Court shall remain closed during the period of the vacation.

The statement further disclosed that normal court sessions will resume on Thursday 18, July 2025 across all the divisions.

The statement however, noted that during the period, a vacation judge shall be appointed by the chief judge to sit on urgent matters and applications and advice litigants and lawyers to take notice of the information.

Rivers

FIDA, PCRC Trains Police Officers On How To Handle Paralegal Cases In Rivers

Published

3 days ago

June 20, 2025

The Tide

The International Federation Of Women Lawyers,(FIDA )in collaboration with the Police Community Relations Committee,(PCRC ) have held a one day training on paralegal exposure aimed at equipping police officers across the Rivers state police command on ways of handling gender based violence cases in the state.

The one-day capacity training workshop organised by the two humanitarian organisations in the state, the FIDA and PCRC was designed to boost the knowledge and capacity of the police echelons in the state on how to deal with gender” based violence cases reported in there various Divisions and areas.

Speaking at the event held at the police officers mess in Port Harcourt, yesterday, the state Commissioner of Police ,CP Olugbenga Adepoju emphasized the importance of capacity building for Police Officers, stressing the need for continuous training and development for the officers to stay abreast of emerging trends and best practices in law enforcement.

Adepoju noted the police have being having lectures like this from time to time as directed by the Inspector General of Police and urge the police officers to turn out in their numbers to come and gain one thing or the other.

“There is nothing as good as building our capacity to ensure we deliver service to mankind and let Rivers be a different. to others.

“We have people who have the capacity that can deliver and they are here with us. And we will not hesitate to ensure we employ and use them. What ever we have learnt here, jot it down and ensure you use it judiciously”.

Also speaking, the Chairperson of FIDA Rivers, Life Jim George stressed that
the paralegal training offers the opportunity where retired Police officers, desk officers and different division in charge of gender based crime are assembled to educate them on how to handle with the gender violence and abused public ,how to deal with reporters of all kinds of Gender Based Violence.
“They need to be empathetic, they need not to judge them as they move into them. They need not to throw them away immediately or to make the atmosphere very toxic so that they will just go away and at the end of the day extort them and make known that Police is not your friend is only in the book””.

“We remind you all that you are not just a Police officer,there is a duty imposed on you to look at the laws. Not just to drive people away because We have reports where, once you approach a Police station and say my husband or wife beat me up,they drive you away, please madam this one is husband and wife matter, go and settle with your husband or wife. They began to judge you.”

“We are saying no,that is not what the law is.

Please show empathy, if you throw them away like that, most of them can take their life. Some go into third degree depression and is difficult to bring them out.They will now began to blame themselves for going to the Police station.

In his speech,the Chairman of PCRC in the state, Mr Voke Emore explained that One primary responsibilities of the PCRC is to bring the community closer to the Police, while FIDA as an international organization cares for the less privilege and handle cases involving women and children.

“The police only protect women and children in talking of gender abuse in the society rather taking the issue of gender violence as wholistic that includes men,women and children in every strata of the society.So that is the essence why the two humanitarian organisations ,FIDA and PCRC decided to partner to ensure that the things are done rightly in line with global practices.”

“And the only way to do that is to give training We always talk about training and re-training of Police officers.he stated.

The training focused on key areas such as
The Administration of Criminal Justice Law (ACJL) of Rivers State,
Dehumanizing and Harmful Traditional Practices Laws,
Prohibition of the Curtailment of Women’s Rights to Share in Family Property Law and
Violence Against Persons Prohibition Law amongst others.

Rivers

Rivers State University Introduces SponsorsLink To Address Communication Gap

Published

3 days ago

June 20, 2025

The Tide

The Rivers State University (RSU), Nkpolu-Oroworukwo, Port Harcourt, has unveiled a new feature – Student-Sponsor Account, called SponsorsLink as part of its ongoing re-engineering efforts. This innovation is to address the problems of students collecting funds but not paying fees, leaving school but still pretending to be in school and inability of parents, guardians and sponsors to ascertain progress and performance of their children, wards and beneficiaries.

The platform is also designed to strengthen transparency, accountability, and communication between students and their parents, guardians and sponsors.

SponsorsLink is available on the university’s portal (www.rsu.edu.ng) and offers a range of benefits. Sponsors can track academic performance, monitor outstanding fees, make payments, and access detailed student profiles from a single dashboard. This centralized system ensures that sponsors are no longer left in the dark regarding the academic and financial status of their wards.

To utilize SponsorsLink, sponsors need to create an account on the RSU eCampus platform. This involves selecting a sponsorship type, filling out a registration form, and verifying their email address using a confirmation code. Upon successful registration, sponsors pay a one-time onboarding fee based on the number of wards they intend to manage.

Once registered, sponsors can add a ward by searching with the student’s registration number, matriculation number, or full name. After the student approves the request, the sponsor gains access to various features. These include checking results, which requires a result-checking fee, viewing student profiles, and making tuition or related payments directly through the platform.

The introduction of SponsorsLink demonstrates RSU’s commitment to enhance the educational experience of students. This initiative is expected to foster better communication between students, sponsors, and the university, ultimately contributing to the success of RSU students.