Rivers
FG Trains Over 500’000 South-South Student Leaders In Rivers
Federal Government of Nigeria has trained over 500,000 student leaders from the South-South region under the auspices of “Renewed Hope Student Leaders Engagement and Capacity building programme held in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on students engagement, Hon. Asefon Sunday, said the programe is aimed at engaging the student leaders, government and key stakeholders in the education sector.
Comr. Sunday said this, weekend, during the programme at the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
He said the theme of the training, “Renewed Students Engagement: Rivers 2025”, is aimed at strengthening the bridge between government and students.
He explained that the Students engagement training is aimed at creating a platform for student leaders to interact directly with policymakers and stakeholders in the education and youth sector.
According to him, their mission is to engage student leaders meaningfully, inform them about the far-reaching reforms of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in education and youth development, and hear from them directly.
Hon Sunday continued that going by the training they will work towards building a more inclusive, impactful, and prosperous future for Nigerian students.
“The Renewed Hope Student Leaders Engagement was proudly organized by the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Students Engagement in partnership with the Rivers State Government.
“I must specially appreciate President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a leader who understands that education is the foundation of national development.
“The launch of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has made education accessible and affordable for Nigerian students.
“Also, the scheme has significantly reduced the number of students dropping out of tertiary institutions in the past two years.
“Just this Monday, the President approved the allocation of Funds to 15 schools, including college of Education, polytechnic and University, to create innovation hubs and entrepreneurship centers, to provide core labs/workstation to cover electronic Lab, 3D printing Lab Leser Technology Lab, production Design lab, Robotics and coding, Artificial intelligence, among others.
“The introduction of the Students Industrial Work Experience Grant provides for both financial support and practical exposure to students.
“Yet, we know there are still opportunities that students are not tapping into in various MDAs and Ministries not because they do not exist but, because the awareness is low”, Comr Sunday said.
He also appreciated the Sole Administrator of the State, Vice Admiral (Rtd.) Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas, for his unwavering support for the programme.
“Not only did he approve that Rivers State should host the programme, he also provided logistic support to ensure the programme is successful.
“His passion for youth empowerment and education is commendable”, he said.
Also speaking, the Managing Director of Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), Akintunde Sawyer, disclosed that over 80 billion naria has been disbursed to Nigerian institutions with over 745,000 students successfully applying for loan.
“Over 400,000 students have benefited from the loan scheme in the tertiary level, while some of them who applied for their upkeep have received #20, 000 permornth for the session.
“So far we have 760,000 Nigerian students who have registered for the loan, and we have over 745,000 of them who have applied successfully for the loan”, Sawyer said.
Meanwhile, a student of the Department of Health Promotion, Environmental Safety Education, University of Port Harcourt, Noble Bariduanee, has called on government and stakeholders to focus more on creating awareness on different schemes for students, because many are unaware of these opportunities.
By: Kiadum Edookor
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As part of activities marking 16 Days of Activism, A Non-Governmental Organizatio (NGO), OLEGH, has organised a one-day awareness creation workshop on digital violence against women and girls, for civil society and media groups in Rivers State.
OLEGH’s Executive Director, Henry Eferebo, said the programme was intended to draw attention to the theme for the 2025 16 Days of Activism tagged, “Unite To End Digital Violence against all Women and Girls.”
Eferebo said the event is an annual global campaign that focuses on violence against women, affords persons and groups all over the world the opportunity to embark on activities aimed at eliminating all forms of women and gender abuse.
“As individuals, we don’t pay attention to the things we see on the social media. We pay less attention to the abuse on the internet. Today, you can abuse a woman or a man physically, emotionally and otherwise, and go scot-free”, he noted.
According to him, women and girls have suffered the most from online violence and cyber-bullying, particularly on platforms such as TikTok, making them ready victims online and offline.
“So, in line with the United Nations principle on 16 Days of Activism and this year’s theme, there is a need for OLEGH Center to create awareness on issues resulting from the online abuse of women and girls.
“We decided to bring in a resource person who will tell us how to avoid being abused online”, he said.
He urged participants at the event to put hands together, rise up and speak against digital violence online.
The NGO’s arrow head, also explained that OLEGH was working towards creating an online help-desk for victims of online abuse and digital violence.
He urged participants to improve their security awareness while online, and adopt security protocols that would protect them in the digital space.
The Resource Person, Jacob Iniodu, in a paper titled, “Understanding Digital Abuse within the 16 Days of Activism”, listed forms of online violence to include, cyber-bullying, dozing, cyber-stalking, and invasion of privacy.
By: King Onunwor
Armslent Foundation, a Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO), in Rivers State, has distributed Christmas gifts worth over N5million to aged mothers, orphans and less privileged persons in Belema, Bundu Ama (Community) in Port Harcourt Local Government Area (PHALGA).
The Foundation also gave cash gifts of N150,000 to the Community.
Presenting the gift items, comprising 5 bags of rice,10 Cartons of indomie noodles,10 Gallons of groundnut oil, 3 bags of salt and cartons of maggie cubes, to Chairman of the Community, David Oba, and the community leaders, the founder of Armslent Foundation, Comrade Richard Boma Briggs, said the foundation decided to show love and togetherness to the community by providing the gifts.
He noted that the provision was part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to the community aimed at alleviating poverty and create a sense of belonging as Christian faithfuls celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.
Briggs described Bundu Ama as one of its pillars in partnership, stressing that the foundation was inspired by the spirit of love to impact and rejoice with the residents of the community.
“The foundation was moved by the spirit of Christmas to give these gifts and rejoice with the people of community”, Briggs said.
Accompanied by the Managing Director of the Foundation, Richard Osigbo, and other top Executive Members, Briggs called on the leaders of the community to always pray for the foundation, promising that in 2026, it would embark on a tangible project at UPE Modern Primary School Waterfront, Bundu Ama.
Receiving the items, Chairman of Bundu Ama, David Oba, thanked the foundation for empowering the less privileged persons, assisting physically challenged persons, and aged mothers in the past.
“The foundation had done a lot for this community and today we are witnessing these gift items for the Christmas celebration”,he emphasised.
He called on the leaders of the community, women group, youths and residents to emulate the humanitarian gestures of the foundation and pleaded that they also borrow a leaf from the gesture,in order to also give to society whenever they can.
Earlier the leaders of Belema Bundu Ama, led by Oba, former Chairman, Benneth Kalio, and Secretary, Promise Mangibo, presented an Award of Excellence to the Founder of the Foundation for his Humanitarian and selfless service to the community.
Highlight of the event was the offering of a special prayer to the management of the foundation by aged mothers, youths and leadership of the community.
By: Chinedu Wosu
The Obolo Youth Coalition, Rivers State Chapter, has condemned the recent spate of killings in Andoni Local Government Area, describing the renewed insecurity as alarming and constituting a threat to peace and stability in the area.
In a statement signed by its Chairman, Comr. Jonathan J. Eyina, the group expressed deep concern over what it described as brutal and senseless acts of violence, while extending condolences to the families of the victims.
The coalition said the resurgence of insecurity in Andoni has continued to undermine communal harmony and called for urgent steps to halt the trend before it escalates further.
It appealed to youths in the area to shun violence and embrace peace, stressing the need for tolerance, mutual respect and collective responsibility in safeguarding the community.
According to the group, restoring peace in Andoni requires a coordinated approach involving government, security agencies, community leaders and residents to identify and address the root causes of insecurity.
It noted that increased security presence, improved intelligence gathering, and sustained community engagement are critical to preventing further violence, adding that underlying social and economic challenges must also be addressed.
The coalition called on the Andoni Local Government Chairman, Hon. Lucky Promise-Otua, the Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Joseph Fubara, and the Commissioner of Police, CP Olugbenga Adepoju Adewole, to take decisive actions to restore security.
It further demanded that those responsible for the killings be apprehended and prosecuted to serve as a deterrent to others.
By: King Onunwor
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