News
RSG, SPDC Partner To Reverse Education Fortunes
The Rivers State Government, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) and Discovery Channel Global Education Partnership (DCGEP) have expressed commitment to reversing the falling standard of education with a new page in integrated multimedia education resource application in primary schools in the state.
The $2million (approximately N320million) four-year pilot programme is designed to revolutionise teaching and learning in 20 select primary schools across Rivers State with the introduction of educational video programming in the teaching of various subjects from mathematics, basic science subjects, including physics, chemistry, biology, geography, environmental science, as well as information and communication technology (ICT) application and general social sciences.
The partners project positive impact and new chapter in educational capacity and capability of more than 600 teachers, 12,000 students and 35,000 community members by 2014, while community ownership and sustainability of resource centres are the long-term drive of the programme.
Speaking at the official launch of the SPDC-DCGEP Learning Centre Initiative at Model Primary School, Elekahia, last Thursday, Commissioner for Education, Dame Alice Lawrence-Nemi, said the government’s policy of building 750 world-class primary schools across the 23 local government areas was aimed at bridging the yawning academic imbalance and opportunities between children of the rich and poor while providing a veritable launching pad to reverse the ugly trend in the education sector in the state.
Represented by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Mr Clifford Ofuru, the commissioner noted that the novel multimedia educational window “has a good fit with the strategy of the Rivers State Government in the education sector, which has involved an ambitious upgrade of primary and secondary school infrastructure”, and expressed happiness that “the programme would complement the efforts of the state government in improving teaching and learning in primary schools.”
While advising teachers and pupils to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the facilities to enhance their academic performances, the government tasked Shell to look beyond the 20 primary schools, and fashion out how to assist in upgrading the effectiveness and efficiency of teaching and learning in the adult and non-formal education centres, just as they consider up-scaling the reach of the project to more primary schools across the state.
Managing Director, SPDC, Mutiu Sunmonu, said “the launching marks the successful start-up of a four-year project to provide, in close collaboration with the Rivers State Ministry of Education, teacher training and support to integrate educational video programming in the classrooms.”
Sunmonu, who is also the Country Chair of Shell Companies in Nigeria, said, “we are pleased to be part of this initiative to boost education at the primary school level…, it takes our support for education, which began in the 1960s, to a new level”, adding that, “the primary school is a good place to begin if we are to help our children to identify and develop their talents.”
He said with the completion of installation of multimedia educational video programming facilities in the 20 schools dotted across some five local government areas of the state, 245 teachers have already been trained, while 7,050 students are applying the tools in learning, just as over 21,150 community members have improved their skills with the facility.
The Shell managing director projected that in the next three years, 49,315 stakeholders would have benefited, including 639 teachers, about 12,169 students and 36,500 community members, adding that the long-term goal of the project is a major reversal of the dwindling fortunes of education so as to enable the state compete favourably with others across the world.
In his remarks, President, Discovery Channel Global Education Partnership, Aric Noboa, said the aim is to use the power of media to transform education and improve lives in under-resourced schools and communities around the world, noting that with the launch of the project, Discovery Channel was now poised more than ever before to train and mentor teachers to improve their versatility, effectiveness, cognitive and language skills, as well as motivation to impart sound academic knowledge in their students as a catalyst for enhancing education in the state.
Represented by the Programme Director, Mashala Kwape, the president said, “we know from evaluations of our work elsewhere in Nigeria and beyond, that the learning centre initiative consistently leads to enhanced teacher effectiveness, student interest in learning and academic performance,” and added that, “we look forward to the same results in Rivers State.”
In their separate testimonies, both teachers and students expressed satisfaction with the level of improvements recorded so far since the deployment of the learning aids in their schools, and promised to make effective use of the facilities to turnaround the glory of education in 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.”
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