Niger Delta

Flooding: Price Of Food Items Goes Up

Published

14 years ago

October 12, 2012

The effect of flood currently rampaging the entire Niger
Delta region of Nigeria has started hurting residents of Yenagoa, the Bayelsa
State capital and its environs as prices of food items, meat, fish and other
edible fruits have gone up by 600 percent.

The reasons for this is attributed to the washing off of the
East/West Road which has reduced inflow of both food and cash crops into the
state.

At the pupular Swhali market, a rubber of garri now cost
about N1,500 as against N150.00 it cost previously, a bunch of plantain that
cost between N500 to N1000 before is now being sold at 2,000 to 3,000.

The prices of onions, rice, beans, mellon, and yams have also
increased. Part of the market has also meen submerged.

Meanwhile, Bayelsa State Governor, Hon. Seriake Dickson has
inaugurated the State Emergency Response Flood Management Committee for the
immediate evacuation of flood victims and provision of relief materials to all
the local government areas.

Governor Dickson, who inaugurated the committee in
Government House Yenagoa, has the Deputy Governor, Rear Admiral Gboribiogha
John Jonah (Rtd) as chairman while Secretary to the State Government, Prof.
Edmund Allison Oguru is to serve as secretary of the committee.

Membership of the committee comprising more than 20
government officials has commissioners, special advisers, all government
special representatives of local government areas as well as a representative
of the state Commissioner of Police, special adviser on security, House
committee chairman on environment in the state assembly as well as chief of
staff and deputy chief of staff Government House.

In addition to the Emergency Response Flood Management
Committee, local government chairmen are expected to serve as chairmen of their
respective Local Flood Relief Sub-Committees as well as commandants of their
various camps.

Governor Dickson, who listed 5 point terms of reference for
the committee, said it should establish Emergency Relief Camps in strategic
high land locations in every local government area of the state.

The committee is also saddled with the responsibility of
evacuating victims of all the flood ravaged communities to the relief camps.

Governor Dickson charged the committee to interface with all
relevant agencies of government and other international relief agencies to
provide succour for all victims in the camps and work out a post-flood relief
and possible mitigation measures to forestall adverse effects on the state’s
economy.

The Emergency Response Management Committee is also mandated
to undertake any other function in the course of its assignment which may
become necessary considering the peculiar nature of the flood.

Hon. Dickson said government has designated the Samson
Siasia Sports Complex, Yenagoa as camp for people displaced by the flood and
also urged the committee to identify high grounds in the local government areas
and set up camps.

According to the emergency situation created by the flood,
Governor Dickson said government has already taken steps to notify the
leadership of the state House of Assembly to reconvene and reminded it to
conclude work on the bill seeking to establish the State Emergency Management
Agency as well as approach the Assembly for an emergency appropriation to
tackle the problem of flooding.

Responding, Chairman of the committee, Rear Admiral
Gboribiogha John Jonah (rtd) stated that they would swing into action
immediately and gave an assurance that the committee would do its best to
deliver on its mandate.

Niger Delta

850-bed UCTH overstretched, services 5m patients – CMD

Published

2 days ago

May 18, 2026

The Tide

The Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH), Prof. Ikpeme Ikpeme, has said the 850-bed hospital is overstretched, as it currently serves over five million patients.

He disclosed this on Friday during a media tour of the facility to showcase ongoing renovations and facelift in the hospital.

The CMD noted that, aside being the only tertiary healthcare facility servicing the state, UCTH also serviced neighbouring states of Akwa Ibom and Ebonyi.

He said the hospital also received referrals from neighbouring countries, including Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea and Central African Republic.

According to him, the 850-bed hospital faced persistent space constraints because of increasing patients inflow and expanding healthcare demands.

“This hospital currently operates 62 clinical and non-clinical departments as well as between 30 and 38 wards covering medical, surgical, paediatric, orthopaedic and specialised services.

“Most wards have undergone facelift, remodelling, or complete renovation to improve patient care and working conditions for healthcare professionals”, he said.

He disclosed that the hospital was constructing a new 106-bed emergency medicine facility to address the rising demand for healthcare services.

According to him, the facility will include trauma bays, intensive care units, neonatal wards, and three fully equipped trauma theatres.

Speaking on the remodeled wards, Ikpeme explained that they followed modern nursing principles, allowing one nurse to attend to a maximum of 10 patients.

He said relatives would be restricted to designated waiting areas to reduce interference with medical procedures and improve emergency response efficiency.

The CMD noted that the hospital had strengthened specialist services in orthopaedics, neurosurgery, obstetrics, radiology, and minimally invasive surgery.

“UCTH now performs hip and knee replacements, arthroscopy, sports medicine, and complex brain tumour surgeries.

“Our surgeons also conduct keyhole procedures for appendectomy, hysterectomy and other conditions with faster patient recovery periods,” he said

In power, the CMD said the hospital relied on solar power from a seven-megawatt plant, constructed by the Federal Government at the University of Calabar, as well as public power supply, and generators to sustain its operations.

He appealed to governments, organisations, and philanthropists to support infrastructure expansion, equipment procurement, and specialised healthcare projects.

The CMD said the hospital required additional incubators, ward expansions, and a stand-alone amenity facility for private healthcare services.

He used the opportunity to dismiss allegations of ethnic discrimination, insisting that the hospital does not reject workers or patients based on tribe or origin.

According to him, the institution recently honoured an Igbo pioneer physician by naming a ward after him in recognition of decades of service.

The CMD said the hospital maintained strict disciplinary procedures to address negligence, poor attitude, and unethical conduct among staff.

The Tide’s source reports that some of the units visited include, intensive care unit, Department of Radiology, Urology Clinic, and Opthalmology Clinic.

Niger Delta

Police Burst Child Trafficking Syndicate In A’Ibom … Nab 3 Suspects

Published

2 days ago

May 18, 2026

The Tide

The Police Command in Akwa Ibom State says it has busted a child trafficking syndicate and arrested three suspects for conspiracy and unlawful sale of a newborn baby in the State.

The State’s Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Timfom John, who disclosed this in a statement in Uyo on Friday, said the three female suspects were arrested on Wednesday at about 1900hrs.

She said a complainant reported that his wife gave birth to a baby boy on May 7 and shockingly, shortly after delivery sold the newborn child to one of the suspects for N145, 000.

“Upon receipt of the report, operatives immediately swung into action, leading to the arrest of the suspects and the successful recovery of the baby boy.

“The suspects reportedly confessed to the crime during interrogation, while investigation has been expanded to identify and apprehend all individuals connected to the trafficking syndicate”, John said.

She said the State’s Commissioner of Police, Baba Azare, reiterated the Command’s commitment to sustaining aggressive intelligence-led policing in the state.

Niger Delta

A’Ibom Launches Operation Crack Down Scrap Dealers

Published

2 days ago

May 18, 2026

The Tide

The Akwa-Ibom State Government has launched a statewide crackdown on unregistered scrap dealers and scavengers, shutting down illegal operations and arresting operators accused of violating environmental and public safety regulations.

The enforcement operation, led by the Akwa Ibom State Environmental Protection and Waste Management Agency (AKSEPWMA), followed the implementation of the state’s Waste Metal Scrap Law 2026, officials said.

AKSEPWMA Chairman, Obong Prince Ikim, said the exercise was aimed at regulating the scrap sector, protect the environment, and prevent criminal groups from operating under the guise of waste collection and metal trading.

“If you want to do scrap business, you must register,” Mr. Ikim said during the operation in Uyo, the state capital.

“Many people now hide under scrap trading to perpetrate nefarious activities”, he said.

According to him, dump site operators and scrap dealers who failed to register with the government risked closure and prosecution.

Authorities accused some operators of involvement in vandalism of public infrastructure and indiscriminate waste disposal, adding that investigations had uncovered criminal activities linked to several dump sites across the state.

“Some people vandalise government facilities in the name of scrap business and encourage indiscriminate dumping of refuse,” Mr. Ikim said.

He added that the state government and security agencies would continue efforts to enforce compliance and maintain public order.

“The Commissioner of Police has zero tolerance for criminality, and the Governor wants Akwa Ibom people to sleep with their eyes closed. We will fish out every defaulter”, he said.

Police officials involved in the operation said investigations showed that some criminal suspects used scrap yards and refuse dump sites as cover for illegal activities.

CSP Okwuzulike Vincent of the Itam Police Station said some suspects pretended to be mentally unstable while hiding ammunition and other suspicious items in makeshift shelters around dump locations.

The police officer praised the environmental agency for what he described as proactive efforts to sanitise the sector and pledged continued cooperation between law enforcement and the agency.

Officials said some first-time offenders arrested during the operation were released after profiling and signing undertakings, while repeat offenders would face prosecution.