Niger Delta
Diri Advocates For African Women In Leadership … Knocks S’Africa Over Xenophobia, As Yenagoa, Banjul Sign Pact
Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, has advocated for greater inclusion and opportunities for women in governance and leadership positions across Africa.
He contended that the continent’s progress will be accelerated when women with potential and vision are integrated into critical spheres of decision-making.
The Governor, who was speaking at the formal presentation of a book, magazine and documentary in honour of the first female Mayor of the Banjul, Mrs. Rohey Malick Lowe, at the Dawda Jawara International Conference Centre in Gambia, eulogised Lowe, the country’s popular advocate for women’s rights and empowerment, describing her as a woman whose accomplishments stood as evidence of purposeful leadership.
“May I use this platform to encourage leaders across our continent to deliberately create opportunities for women to contribute at the highest levels of governance and public service.
“The progress of our nations will be accelerated when leadership is inclusive and when merit, competence, and vision are allowed to flourish irrespective of gender.
“Indeed, one is compelled to ask whether some of the developmental challenges confronting our continent stem from our failure to sufficiently integrate women into governance and other critical spheres of decision-making.
“Africa cannot afford to leave half of its human capital on the sidelines while seeking solutions to complex social, economic, and political challenges.
“Across communities, institutions, and governments, women have consistently demonstrated resilience, innovation, compassion, and an uncommon commitment to service. Yet, leadership in Africa has not fully explored or harnessed this immense reservoir of talent and potential”, he said.
He continued that “As I reflect on this, I must confess that I have long been an advocate for greater participation of women in leadership. This conviction is not rooted in sentiment but in experience and observation.
“As Governor, I am committed to playing my part in this regard. In Bayelsa State, we have consciously expanded opportunities for women and young people to participate meaningfully at all levels of governance because sustainable development is best achieved when every segment of society has a seat at the table and a stake in the future.”
According to the Bayelsa helmsman, who was the Special Guest at the event, cultural practices that inhibit women in leadership should be discarded in order for them to unleash their full potential, describing the Mayor’s success story, as attested to by many of the speakers, as making a strong case for the empowerment of women everywhere.
“It is, therefore, fitting that today we celebrate a leader whose accomplishments stand as evidence of what purposeful and inclusive leadership can achieve.
“The book, documentary, and magazine do more than commemorate: they provide a benchmark of service, a record of what deliberate, citizen-centred leadership can produce. They will serve as both inspiration and instruction for those who follow”, Diri restated.
On the ongoing xenophobic incidents against fellow Africans in South Africa, the Bayelsa Chief Executive expressed concern that such developments destroy the fabric of the continent’s unity.
“Such acts wound the fabric of Pan-African brotherhood that our forebears like Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara, the independence leader of The Gambia, fought to build. When one nation suffers, our response must be guided by compassion, solidarity, and pragmatic support”, the Bayelsa number one citizen said.
At the event, a sister-city agreement between the Banjul City Council and Yenagoa Local Government Area was signed by the Mayors of both councils – Lowe for Banjul and Bulodisiye Ndiwari for Yenagoa.
Lowe also presented a key to the Banjul and other awards to the Governor in recognition of his support for women empowerment.
She appreciated Diri for his exceptional support for women empowerment, noting that it was uncommon among the political leadership in Africa.
Mrs. Lowe recounted her political journey and how becoming the 16th mayor of Banjul and the only female in the country had shaped her life and commitment to service and the dignity of the African woman, taking after her father who was the 8th mayor of the city.
Earlier, the keynote speaker and former Mayor of Leeds, United Kingdom, Mrs. Abigail Marshal-Katung, described Lowe as a “living legend, who has taken the name of her city and country across oceans and continents, and into the highest chambers of global power.
“I will begin with the local level, which I call transforming Banjul from within. When Her Worship was elected the Mayor of Banjul in 2018, she inherited a city rich in history but burdened by neglect. She did not complain. She acted, and as a woman of courage, it is surely in her deeds”, She said.
Present at the well-attended event were political and business leaders and partners of the council from the country, Senegal, Morocco, America and China, including the former Vice President of Gambia, Ousainou Darboe, the Mayor of Dakar, Adama Sarr, several women groups, the Rivers-Bayelsa Youth Community, and members of the Nigerian community in Gambia.
On the governor’s entourage were the Bayelsa State Commissioner for Women and Children’s Affairs, Social Development and Empowerment, Joanna Gigi, the Mayor of Yenagoa City Council, Bulodisiye Ndiwari, and his Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area counterpart, Tariye Lelei.
By Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa
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Akwa Ibom State Governor, Umo Eno, has reiterated his administration’s commitment towards actualising the Ibom Deep Seaport project
This is contained in a statement by the Information Commissioner, Dr. Aniekan Umanah, in Uyo on Saturday.
The statement disclosed that Eno made the expression at a high-level technical engagement and working session with Africa Global Logistics Group in Paris, France.
According to the statement, the session reviewed the recently submitted technical feasibility report prepared by Worley Parsons.
It also examined the critical pathways for investment, project implementation, and long-term sustainability.
During the engagement, Eno emphasised the need to accelerate project delivery, and called for clear timelines, milestones, and actionable steps for project implementation.
He said the state government was committed to working effectively with other partners to achieve the deep seaport initiative.
He described the project as a landmark blue economy initiative with the potential to position Akwa Ibom as a leading maritime, trade, and logistics hub in the Gulf of Guinea.
The International Working Group (IWG), a non-governmental organisation on Petroleum Pollution and Just Transition in the Niger Delta, has described as highly traumatizing the impact of oil pollution on the environment and health of the people of Bayelsa State.
The NGO, which is currently carrying out a sensitisation campaign on health hazards associated with oil pollution in the state, disclosed this during a courtesy visit to the State Governor, Douye Diri, in Government House, Yenagoa.
Speaking through its team lead, Professor Engobo Emeseh, the group expressed concern that average life expectancy in the state has reduced significantly, saying that the citizens and others living in the State are forced to live on contaminated land, air and water.
Professor Engobo, who is of the Law Faculty of Aberyswhyth University, UK, clarified that the IWG was focusing advocacy on the health of the people in line with the recommendations of the Bayelsa State Oil and Environmental Commission Report, which was submitted in 2023.
She disclosed that laboratory analysis of blood samples taken from indigenes from across the eight LGAs in the State indicated very high levels of hydrocarbon pollution and carcinogenic metals, causing a sharp increase in mortality and morbid rates in the state.
The academics, who commended the State Government for being the first subnational government in Nigeria to set up a high-powered Commission on oil and environment, said the Group would continue to partner the state and other relevant organizations to mitigate the negative impact of oil pollution on the health of the people.
“Most of us here were constituted as members of the Bayelsa State Oil and Environment Commission. We gave our report in 2023; first presented at the House of Lords, and also presented to the Bayelsa State Government here in Creek Haven in October 2024, and then presented to the wider public in Abuja.
“In all of this, the Bayelsa State Government had given us the space and the support to provide our expertise and advice on how to deal with the challenge of the scourge of oil pollution in our state.
“My colleagues and I, who were members of the expert working group, were quite traumatized at what we found in Bayelsa State, and we called our report an environmental genocide.
“Based on that, we committed that even though our commission was de-commissioned in November 2024, we were going to carry on with this work”, she added.
In his response, Diri, represented by his Deputy, Dr. Peter Akpe, described the report of the Bayelsa State Oil and Environment Commission as one of the most important documents to guide concerted actions in the mitigation of environmental hazards from oil pollution in the state.
He thanked members of the International Working Group for partnering the State Government by making their expertise available to ongoing efforts towards mitigating the impact of oil pollution on the health of Bayelsans.
While calling on the Federal Government and international organizations to treat the issue of oil pollution in Bayelsa as a special case, he assured the IWG of his administration’s support towards environmental remediation and improved healthcare delivery in the state.
“Your visit is very significant. It is to buttress and consolidate the partnership that began with the Bayelsa Oil and Environment Commission. We are happy that the relationship is matured to this kind of sustained international platform of advocacy.
“We recall the presentation His Excellency, the Governor made, in New York. We travelled from Bayelsa to New York because of the importance we attached to the Commission and all your activities.
“The Commission’s report remains one of our important documents, especially concerning environmental condition of our state and the wider Niger Delta. For us, it is not a closed chapter, it is a living document whose recommendations must continue to guide concrete actions.
“We can’t thank you enough for what you are doing already. We welcome your planned health research, interactions and engagements in the state. And we assure you that we are totally in support and we equally expect to see positive results from your work”, the Governor said.
Members of the six-man IWG delegation include Dr. Kathryn Nwajiaku-Dahou, representing ODI Global UK; Prof. Michael Watts of University of California; and Dr. Isaac Osuoka of York University, Canada.
Others are Prof. Anna Zalik, also from the York University, Canada, and Dr. Cautlin Strong of the ODI Global, United Kingdom.
By: Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa
The Nigeria Police Force in Akwa Ibom State says it has arrested a suspected fraudster and Cultists accused of impersonating the State Commissioner for Finance, Emem Bob, and four men connected to the theft of renovation materials from a federal government college.
The police said the arrests followed separate intelligence-led operations across parts of the state as the command intensified its crackdown on cultism, cybercrime, vandalism and armed robbery.
The police spokesperson in the state, Timfon John, a Deputy Superintendent of police, disclosed the arrest in a statement issued on Saturday.
According to the statement, operatives arrested four suspects over the alleged theft of burglary proof materials meant for the renovation of hostel blocks in a federal government college in the state.
The arrested suspects are David Ukpe, a security guard attached to the school; Emmanuel Johnny, Murtala Muhammad, and Sani Abubakar.
The police said the suspects were arrested after the school’s Chief Security Officer reported the theft on 21st May, 2026.
“The stolen items, mainly burglary proofs meant for the ongoing renovation of hostel blocks within the institution, were carefully removed from where they had been secured for the Federal Government-backed project”, the statement said.
The police preliminary investigations indicated that the suspects conspired to steal and sell the materials for personal gain.
According to the statement, the Commissioner of Police in the state, Baba Azare, described the act as “a direct sabotage of government developmental efforts and a gross betrayal of public trust.”
Also, in another operation, police arrested a suspect, Imeobong Akpan, for allegedly impersonating the Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Finance, Emem Bob, on social media platforms.
The suspect, who is native of Ikot Ekpene Udo Village in Nsit Ubium Local Government Area, was arrested after a complaint was lodged with the police on May 22 alleging that an individual had been using the commissioner’s identity and photographs on fake social media accounts to defraud unsuspecting members of the public.
The statement said police detectives later tracked and arrested the suspect in the Ewet Housing Estate area of Uyo.
According to the police, the suspect allegedly created fake WhatsApp and Facebook accounts using the commissioner’s identity and used them to lure job seekers, particularly young women, with false promises of securing government jobs.
The police said the suspect confessed to impersonating the commissioner and posing as his personal assistant.
“He also confessed to luring over 10 ladies to hotels under false promises of securing government jobs and obtaining money from victims through deceitful means”, the statement added.
Police recovered a mobile phone and other electronic devices from the suspect, which are undergoing forensic analysis.
Further more, the police also announced the arrest of two suspected cultists and armed robbers in Ikot Ekpene Local Government Area.
The suspects, identified as Iniobong Albert, a Higher National Diploma 1 Civil Engineering student of Akwa Ibom State Polytechnic, and Daniel Akpan, were arrested on May 22 , while riding a QLINK motorcycle.
According to the police, operatives recovered a locally made shotgun, two live cartridges, a suspected protective charm, an Android phone, a cross bag and the motorcycle.
The police said Mr. Albert allegedly confessed to being a member of the proscribed Ku Klux Klans (KKK) Confraternity and admitted that they were on an unlawful mission before their arrest.
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