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Amaechi Re-states Goals In the USA
Rivers State Governor, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi has again expressed his commitment to making a fresh start, anchored on development and enforcement of law and order in Rivers State. Amaechi spoke in far away Washington DC, United States of America during a marathon Town hall meeting with Rivers State indigenes residing in North America at the weekend. Amaechi met for over seven hours with the Rivers State community in North America on Saturday, and on Sunday held a breakfast meeting with leaders of the various Rivers State ethnic associations in America.
Amaechi told his audience that when he took over as governor that the rot in the State was enormous and the developmental foundation laid by the first Governor of the old Rivers State, Alfred Diete Spiff had been dangerously weakened because past governments paid little or no attention to building on the developmental base laid by Spiff.
“When we came in, the State was in chaos. If you can still recall, people were then walking the streets of Port Harcourt with their hands raised. There was a dusk to dawn curfew. Businesses were fleeing the State. Social and night life was completely dead. Hotels were battling to stay afloat because there was no business. Our health, education and infrastructures had nothing, they were all gone. We had to start from the scratch”, Amaechi said.
“We had to start by re-laying and building a new foundation for the State. For instance, I had to declare a state of emergency on the education sector after a thorough and comprehensive look at what we had then. We have to start all over again by building new schools, 750 new primary schools in all, 25 new secondary schools, moving the old university to a new site…Shouldn’t we be renovating or adding new ones? But because there was nothing to build on in the first place, we had to start all over.”
“It means we are laying a fresh foundation for our people and the State because the foundation laid by Diete Spiff is weak and gone, nobody built on it, and if you don’t build on it, to consolidate and protect it, what will happen? It will collapse.”
“So we are rebuilding a new foundation for our people… Same thing in the Health sector and other sectors, a new foundation… Spiff had a wonderful policy but others came and were doing whatever they like with our collective wealth, feeling funky being governor and emperor, and people were clapping…”
Governor Amaechi who went to the meetings with his senior adviser on Media and Publicity, David Iyofor, for several hours took questions and told his audience what he is doing to reverse the rot he met and set Rivers State on the path of growth and development. He told his Rivers people that his key areas of focus are education, health, infrastructures and the enforcement of law and order.
“we are building new schools from primary to tertiary level. We will equip these schools to make sure that they are of international competitive standard and will train and continue to retrain our teachers. You are free to come home any time to see the ones that are completed. We are building and fully equipping 150 new health centres all over the State, two new hospitals are ready and a third one inside the state university is nearing completion. We are building a Specialist Hospital in the new city… We are building new roads, expanding old roads and connecting communities separated by rivers. For instance, we are doing a unity road that will connect Opobo, Andoni and Ogoni communities. This is the first time Opobo will be connected by road to the rest of the word.”
Governor Amaechi urged Rivers people in North America to partner with his administration and come together for the collective good of Rivers people and the State. He admonished them as brothers in diaspora to always look out for each other and be their brothers’ keepers.
Speaking on behalf of Rivers people in North America, the chairman of the occasion, Dr, Rueben Jaja, hailed the tremendous efforts of Governor Amaechi geared towards rebuilding Rivers State. He agreed with Amaechi that the foundation that was laid by Diete Spiff was so weakened before Amaechi came in as governor. He thanked him for inviting some members of the Rivers community in America to join in the task of rebuilding the State and laying a fresh foundation. These persons who were present at the meetings and serve in various capacities in the Amaechi administration include Joe Poroma, Tex Wariboko, Ogu Emejuru, Goodlive Nmekini, Robert Ella, Nyema Weli and Chamberline Peterside. Dr. Jaja pledged the continued support of Rivers people in North America in the daunting task of rebuilding the State.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted 1.63 million pills of tramadol concealed in two long trailers heading for Kano as it intensified efforts to dismantle a transnational drug trafficking syndicate operating along the Togo-Benin Republic-Nigeria corridor.
The agency also arrested an 80-year-old suspected drug dealer in Rivers State, a businesswoman linked to cannabis shipments from Canada, a Chadian woman, a couple and other suspects in coordinated operations across Lagos, Edo, Kogi and Rivers states.
The NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement, yesterday.
According to the statement, the latest intelligence-led operation came barely one week after NDLEA operatives recovered 558,900 pills of tramadol concealed in the false-bottom compartment of a truck that entered Lagos through the Togo-Benin Republic route.
Babafemi said, “Ongoing efforts to dismantle a transnational drug trafficking syndicate smuggling tramadol from Togo, through Benin Republic into Nigeria have yielded another success with the interception of two long trailers used to move One Million Six Hundred and Thirty (1,630,000) pills of tramadol 250mg concealed in fabricated compartments of the trucks across multiple borders into Lagos.”
He added that one of the two trailers was intercepted on July 2 along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, where operatives recovered 853,000 pills of tramadol 250mg concealed in a fabricated compartment beneath the cargo floor.
Babafemi said, “One of the two trucks already heading to Kano was tracked and located on 2nd July 2026 along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway where NDLEA officers recovered 853,000 pills of tramadol 250mg concealed in a fabricated compartment beneath the cargo floor of the trailer and arrested the 22-year-old driver Jabir Kabiru.”
He further disclosed that another trailer was intercepted two days later on the same route.
“Two days later, 4th July, NDLEA operatives acting on processed intelligence successfully tracked and recovered the second trailer from the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway while heading to Kano. A total of 777,000 pills of tramadol 250mg concealed in a fabricated compartment beneath the cargo floor of the truck were evacuated and the 22-year-old driver Muhammed Nuhu arrested,” the statement read.
According to Babafemi, investigations established a link between the three intercepted consignments.
He said, “Investigations revealed that all three trucks and consignments intercepted on 21st June, 2nd July and 4th July belong to the same transnational drug trafficking syndicate operating along the Togo-Benin Republic-Nigeria axis.”
The agency also intercepted 4.70 kilograms of Canadian Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, at the import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.
Babafemi said, “Two consignments of Canadian Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, with a combined weight of 4.70 kilograms have been intercepted at the import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos. The cargoes, which arrived the Lagos airport from Canada in cartons with ‘Odugwu’ boldly written on them, came aboard British Airways and Ethiopian Airlines flights on 24th June and 3rd July respectively.”
He said two cargo agents, Ali Rotimi Samson and Orimolade Oluwagbenga, were initially arrested in connection with the shipments, while another suspect, Edeh Onyeamachi Stanislus, was apprehended after arriving at a logistics company to take delivery of the consignments.
The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction has denied claims that it has commenced registration for a purported ?50,000 National Support Allowance.
The ministry, in a public notice posted on its official X handle, yesterday, described messages, links and websites advertising the alleged programme as fraudulent.
It urged Nigerians to disregard such claims and verify information only through official government channels.
“The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction has NOT commenced registration for any ?50,000 National Support Allowance,” the ministry said.
It added, “Disregard fraudulent messages, links and websites claiming otherwise. Verify any info only through official govt channels.”
The alert is in response to a circulating scam flyer that falsely claims the program is ongoing under President Bola Tinubu’s directives.
The fake advertisement, which includes text in Hausa and English, directs victims to a suspicious website (kluspz.com) for applications.
The ministry’s warning comes amid heightened concerns over digital fraud targeting vulnerable populations seeking social support.
Similar scams have previously surfaced around programs like N-Power, prompting questions from citizens in replies to the official post.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has expressed its preparedness for a major national struggle for a comprehensive review of the national minimum wage.
NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, hinted at this while making his remarks at the commissioning of the Comrade Godwin Abumisi Pensioners Legacy House and Multipurpose Hall in Abuja.
Ajaero said it is no longer acceptable to discuss the welfare of workers without also discussing the welfare of those who have completed their active years of service.
He advised workers and pensioners to get prepared for the ideological and economic battles that lie ahead.
According to the NLC president, “The Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) is one of the proud affiliates of the Nigeria Labour Congress. Therefore, your struggle is our struggle, and your welfare remains a priority for the organised labour movement.
“We are currently in the preparatory stages for a major national struggle for a comprehensive review of the national minimum wage.
“However, let me state unequivocally that it is no longer acceptable to discuss the welfare of workers without also discussing the welfare of those who have completed their active years of service.
“Accordingly, the Nigeria Labour Congress will not only push for a new national minimum wage but will also demand the establishment of a national minimum pension. It is a historical injustice that men and women who devoted their youth, strength and productive years to the service of this nation should be condemned to live below the poverty line after retirement.”
Ajaero noted that the cost of living has risen astronomically as food, healthcare and transportation have become increasingly unaffordable.
“We cannot continue to allow our senior citizens to survive on pensions that have become poverty wages. Every retiree deserves to live with dignity after decades of faithful service to the nation,” he said.
He urged pensioners across the country to remain united and prepared as the process begins, adding: “This Legacy House should not merely be seen as a physical structure; it should become a centre for mobilisation, strategic engagement and solidarity as we prepare for the struggles ahead.”
The NLC president pointed out that the working class has always understood that “those who exploit workers are united in advancing their interests. We too must remain united in defending our collective interests and ensuring that government fulfils its obligations to both serving workers and retirees.”
He urged pensioners across the country to remain united and prepared as the process begins, adding: “This Legacy House should not merely be seen as a physical structure; it should become a centre for mobilisation, strategic engagement and solidarity as we prepare for the struggles ahead.”
The NLC president pointed out that the working class has always understood that “those who exploit workers are united in advancing their interests. We too must remain united in defending our collective interests and ensuring that government fulfils its obligations to both serving workers and retirees.”
He said the completion of the project should serve as a clarion call to all workers and lovers of the masses.
“We must not only build physical structures but also build a strong movement capable of compelling government to honour its commitments,” he said.
Ajaero further stated: “We will continue to demand the immediate payment of all outstanding pension arrears and the implementation of a pension regime that guarantees every retiree a life of dignity and security.
“Together, we shall continue to fight until every Nigerian worker and pensioner receives the justice, respect and welfare they deserve.”