News
GM Tasks Staff On Competitiveness …Encomiums Trail Children’s Party
The General Manager of the Rivers State Newspaper Corporation (RSNC), Mr Celestine Ogolo, has charged staff of the corporation to work harder in order to withstand the challenges of commercialisation and competitiveness in the industry, in the years ahead.
Ogolo gave the charge at the weekend Saturday on the occasion of the corporation’s first ever end-of-year staff children’s party at Palomino Gardens in Port Harcourt.
According to him, this is the first time The Tide would commence operation as a profit-oriented entity, and so, all hands must be on deck to meet up with the challenge of competitiveness with other media houses while at the same time showing high level of discipline and professionalism.
The general manager therefore, charged staff to key into Government’s strategic plan for the revitalization of the newspaper and be creative, innovative and hardworking to ensure the newspaper recaptures its share of market, and sustain a steady growth of the corporation.
He said that if adequately funded and equipped, a commercially-driven The Tide newspaper chain would compete favourably with the privately-owned print media organisations in the country in both editorial and advertising contents, and advised staff to embrace government’s vision for the corporation.
The general manager told staff to appreciate the significance of the end-of-year children’s party, saying that the aim was to give staff and their children some sense of belonging and an opportunity to know each other and interact in an informal setting.
Besides, he noted that the event had availed staff and their families the platform to cement the cord of oneness and re-union, and expressed satisfaction with the turn-out of staff and their children.
He stated that though some corporate organisations had offered of sponsor the event, they did not do enough to make the children feel the impact of their sponsorship and contributions.
Also speaking, the Director, Production of RSNC, Mr Clinton Dagogo, said that it was a day that would ever remain memorable in the lives of the children, since this was the very first time that their parents have taken them to an occasion organised by the corporation for children of staff.
Dagogo expressed satisfaction with the way the management has piloted the affairs of the corporation despite huge financial challenges facing it, and advised staff to continue to exhibit a high sense of discipline and dedication to duty.
While commending those who put the event together, the director advised for improvement in the organisational strategy in order to make such events more successful in future.
In her remarks after receiving the best staff dancer prize, Mrs Victoria Chinda, said that she was overwhelmed with the fun associated with the event and wished that the management would continue to organize similar shows in subsequent years.
Young Prince Wisdom Horsefall, who picked the best dancer of the year prize, and second best dancer in the children’s category, little Faith Mbea Nwinee, told The Tide that although they were scared of the crowd and were not sure of winning, they were happy the judges selected them after their scintillating performances.
Also speaking, 13-year old Jefferson Ibim Amieyeofori, who made a private video recording of the programme with a sophisticated Camp Coder said, “I just take delight in doing the videoing.
Highlights of the occasion were special dances by junior and senior staff, male and female children of staff between three and eight years, cat walks by children, parades by spider man and clowns as well as presentation of gifts to children by Santa Claus. The best five children dancers got prizes while the best two junior staff dancers were also rewarded with prizes.
Susan Serekara-Nwikhana
The Nigeria Immigration Service has officially ended passport production at multiple centres, transitioning to a single, centralised system for the first time in 62 years.
Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, disclosed this yesterday while inspecting Nigeria’s new Centralised Passport Personalisation Centre at the NIS Headquarters in Abuja.
He stated that since the establishment of NIS in 1963, Nigeria had never operated a central passport production centre, until now, marking a major reform milestone.
“The project is 100 per cent ready. Nigeria can now be more productive and efficient in delivering passport services,” Tunji-Ojo said.
He explained that old machines could only produce 250 to 300 passports daily, but the new system had a capacity of 4,500 to 5,000 passports every day.
“With this, NIS can now meet daily demands within just four to five hours of operation,” he added, describing it as a game-changer for passport processing in Nigeria.
“We promised two-week delivery, and we’re now pushing for one week.
“Automation and optimisation are crucial for keeping this promise to Nigerians,” the minister said.
He noted that centralisation, in line with global standards, would improve uniformity and enhance the overall integrity of Nigerian travel documents worldwide.
Tunji-Ojo described the development as a step toward bringing services closer to Nigerians while driving a culture of efficiency and total passport system reform.
He said the centralised production system aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda, boosting NIS capacity and changing the narrative for better service delivery.
The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) has disbursed N2.225 trillion as federation revenue for the month of August 2025, the highest ever allocation to the three tiers of government and other statutory recipients.
This marks the second consecutive month that FAAC disbursements have crossed the N2 trillion mark.
The revenue, shared at the August 2025 FAAC meeting in Abuja, was buoyed by increases in oil and gas royalty, value-added tax (VAT), and common external tariff (CET) levies, according to a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting.
Out of the N2.225 trillion total distributable revenue, FAAC said N1,478.593 trillion came from statutory revenue, N672.903 billion from VAT, N32.338 billion from the Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL), and N41.284 billion from Exchange Difference.
The communiqué revealed that gross federation revenue for the month stood at N3.635 trillion. From this amount, N124.839 billion was deducted as cost of collection, while N1,285.845 trillion was set aside for transfers, interventions, refunds, and savings.
From the statutory revenue of N1.478 trillion, the Federal Government received N684.462 billion, State Governments received N347.168 billion, and Local Government Councils received N267.652 billion. A further N179.311 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) went to oil-producing states as derivation revenue.
From the distributable VAT revenue of N672.903 billion, the Federal Government received N100.935 billion, the states received N336.452 billion, while the local governments got N235.516 billion.
Of the N32.338 billion shared from EMTL, the Federal Government received N4.851 billion, the States received N16.169 billion, and the Local Governments received N11.318 billion.
From the N41.284 billion exchange difference, the Federal Government received N19.799 billion, the states received N10.042 billion, and the local governments received N7.742 billion, while N3.701 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) was shared to the oil-producing states as derivation.
The Governing Council of Kenule Beeson Saro-Wiwa Polytechnic, Bori, has decried the inadequate power supply and poor state of infrastructural facilities and equipment at the institution.
The Council also appealed to the government, including Non-Governmental Organisations, agencies, as well as well-meaning Rivers people to intervene to restore and sustain the laudable gesture, dreams and aspirations of the founding fathers of the polytechnic.
The Chairman of the newly inaugurated Council, Professor Friday B. Sigalo, made this appeal during a tour of facilities at the Polytechnic, recently.
Accompanied by members of the team, Prof Sigalo emphasised the position of technology, technical and vocational education in sustainable development.
He noted that with the prospects on ground, and the programmes and activities undertaken in the polytechnic, there is no doubt that the institution would add values to the educational system in our society and foster the desired development, if the existing challenges are jointly tackled.
This was contained in a statement signed by Deputy Registrar, Public Relations, Kenpoly, Innocent Ogbonda-Nwanwu, and made available to The Tide in Port Harcourt.
The chairman who restated the intention of his team of technocrats to ensure that KenPoly enjoys desirable face-lift, said the Council would deliver on its core mandates, accordingly.
Earlier, the Rector, KenPoly Engr. Dr. Ledum S. Gwarah, commended the appointment of Professor Friday B. Sigalo as Chairman of the KenPoly Governing Council.
He described him and his team as seasoned technocrats and expressed confidence in their ability to succeed.
The Rector pledged the management’s support to the Council to ensure that KenPoly resumes its rightful place in the comity of polytechnics in the country.
Facilities visited by the Governing Council include KenPoly workshops, laboratories, skills acquisition centre, library, hostels and medical centre.
Chinedu Wosu
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