The Rivers State Government has delivered food and relief materials to Abua/Odual Local Government Area to cushion the effect of flooding.

Speaking while handing over the materials to the council chairman on Tuesday, the Deputy Governor of Rivers State, Prof. Ngozi Odu, said Abua/Odual is one of the most flood-impacted LGAs in the Ahoada East and Ahoada West region.

Odu, who is the Chairman of the Rivers State Flood Prevention and Management Committee, was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Special Duties, Dr. Mrs. Fortune Akpila.

She appealed to the council chairman to ensure all flood victims benefit from the relief materials.

The deputy governor said the gesture was part of Governor Sir Siminalayi Fubara’s intervention to cushion the effect of the predicted flood on vulnerable communities.

The items delivered include non-food items: 200 mattresses, 200 pillows, 100 blankets, 50 bedsheets, 200 towels, 200 plastic buckets, 200 pairs of bedroom slippers, 200 creams, 200 soaps, 200 toothbrushes, 200 tubes of toothpaste, 50 packs of washing soap detergent, 200 serving plates, 200 sanitary pads, and 200 tablespoons.

“Food items:150 bags of 25kg rice, 500 bags of 10kg beans, 30 bags of 25kg salt, 40 gallons of 10-litre palm oil, 14 cartons (196 packets) of seasoning cubes, 5 cartons (300 packets) of groundnut oil, 107 bags of 25kg Garri, and 200 cartons of Indomie (40 pieces per carton).”

Also speaking, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Dr. Vincent Wachukwu, who is also  member of the flood committee, warned residents to prepare for the health consequences of the flood.

“The flood will come with a lot of things. You will begin to witness things like cholera and other diseases because of contaminated water that will be drinking,” Wachukwu said.

He announced that the State Government, through RIVCHPP, has commenced free enrollment of residents into the health insurance scheme to enable them to access free treatment during the flood period.

“We are calling on Abua people to go to the nearest health centre, to the nearest hospital to enroll free of charge so that when this flood begins to come with its attendant consequences, our people will be treated free,” he stated.

Wachukwu noted that the enrollment team is already in Abua and will cover other communities.

Receiving the relief materials, the Chairman of Abua/Odual LGA, Hon. (Engr.) Owolobe Michael Ofori, thanked the State Government for the intervention.

Ofori, who was represented by the Council Secretary, Hon. Wilson Alami Maxie, said the Council would ensure that the deputy governor’s message was communicated to all LGA stakeholders, CDCs and community leaders, particularly on the need for citizens to enroll in the Rivers State Contributory Health Protection Programme (RIVCHPP).

The council boss appealed to the Ministry of Health to pay urgent attention to the General Hospital in Abua, which he said is offering only skeletal services.

He lamented that there was no functional secondary health facility in the entire Abua/Odual, forcing residents to seek care in Bayelsa State, while the General Hospital at Amago community remains uncompleted and inaccessible by road.

He said the relief materials would bring succour to poor farmers whose crops and homes are usually submerged.

“You can imagine the condition of the poor farmers in the villages, toiling for months to farm and the flood just comes and destroys their crops, even their habitat.

“Some communities are completely submerged.

“So, for the State Government to come with relief materials, the Abua people are very grateful,” Ofori said.

By:  Kiadum Edookor

The Chief Judge of Rivers State, Justice Simeon Chibuzor-Amadi, has released 14 inmates from the Port Harcourt Maximum Security Custodial Centre, charging them to return to society as good ambassadors of peace, responsible living and good conduct.

Justice Chibuzor-Amadi gave the charge at the Port Harcourt Maximum Security Custodial Centre, Port Harcourt, within the week, as part of activities marking the 2026/2027 Legal Year Opening ceremonies in the state.

The Tide gathered that the beneficiaries included persons who had spent more time in custody than the period prescribed by law had they been convicted of the offences for which they were allegedly arrested, as well as those whose cases had suffered prolonged delays due to circumstances not attributable to them.

The Chief Judge said the exercise was carried out pursuant to the provisions of the Criminal Justice Law, aimed at decongesting correctional facilities and ensuring that persons who qualified for release were not unnecessarily kept in custody.

Addressing the released inmates, Justice Chibuzor-Amadi urged them to value the opportunity granted them and use their freedom to contribute positively to society, warning that anyone who returns to the custodial facility for another crime might not enjoy a similar opportunity again.

He cautioned them against engaging in activities capable of taking them back to the correctional facility, stressing the need for them to embrace responsible living and maintain peace in their communities.

The Chief Judge also reminded the beneficiaries that the political season had commenced, urging them not to allow themselves to be used by politicians to cause violence or other forms of trouble.

He noted that several youths had, in the past, become victims of political violence and death, advising the released inmates to shun acts capable of endangering their lives or disrupting the peace of the society.

Justice Chibuzor-Amadi also advised officials of the correctional facility to desist from disclosing confidential information, particularly the names or list of inmates scheduled for release, ahead of the exercise, noting that such disclosure could create unnecessary tension within the facility.

The Controller-General of the Nigerian Correctional Service in Rivers State, Richard Moses-Williams, commended the Rivers State Judiciary, led by the Chief Judge, for the exercise, saying that the importance of the goal delivery exercise could not be over-emphasised.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association, Port Harcourt Branch, Dr. Samuel Chinedu Maduba, has urged members of the Bar to take advantage of the various activities lined up for the 2026/2027 Legal Year and ensure full participation in the events.

Maduba, in a statement issued by the Branch Publicity Secretary, Ohaka Ihunwo, Esq., urged lawyers to avail themselves of opportunities provided through programmes tailored for the legal profession, stressing that participation would broaden their knowledge, promote professional interaction and keep them abreast of developments within and beyond the legal profession.

He also urged members of the branch to actively participate in the Legal Week activities designed to promote professional development, interaction and a deeper appreciation of the responsibilities of lawyers to society.

By: King Onunwor

The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, yesterday, said President Bola Tinubu’s administration made some very difficult decisions that were not politically convenient, upon assumption of office.

Idris said Tinubu’s administration chose to confront longstanding distortions rather than postpone them.

Speaking during a ministerial briefing on Nigeria’s 66th Independence celebration in Abuja, Idris said the country is moving forward due to Tinubu’s tough decisions.

According to Idris: “About three years ago, President Bola Tinubu assumed office amid some very significant and structural challenges, and physical challenges.

“His administration chose to confront the long-standing distortions rather than postpone them and those decisions where indeed very difficult and where not politically convenient. And because of those decisions, Nigerians have bored some real costs.

“Today, however, Nigeria is moving from the difficult work of reforms and stabilisation towards a new phase of growth and shared prosperity.

“Nigeria’s real Gross Domestic Product grew by 4.43 percent as against the preceding year which was 4.23 percent, our foreign reserve as risen, our domestic refining capacity has expanded, investment and productive activity are given momentum.

“Only yesterday, we heard from the governor of the Central Bank that for the first time in 18 years, the foreign reserve has crossed the $55 billion mark.”