Nation
THE STATES
Adamawa
The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development says it has registered 13,335 farmers for the 2013/2014 dry season farming in Adamawa State.
The Federal Director of Agriculture in the state, Dr Walia Hamman, disclosed this in an interview with newsmen in Yola.
Hamman said that the development followed the successful implementation of the Growth Enhancement Scheme (GES) in the state.
He added that the dry season farming scheme was the first of its kind, introduced by the Federal Government.
Borno
The Borno State Government has
presented certificates to 40 Vesico Vaginal Fistula (VVF) patients, who were trained on various skills.
The State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Inna Galadima, said at a ceremony to present the certificates in Maiduguri that the women had undergone successful corrective surgery.
Galadima said that the women were trained in tailoring and catering services to enable them sustain themselves.
“I am pleased to inform you that the trainees have learnt different income generating skills that will assist them to improve their health conditions and provide support to their families.
Ekiti
The National Directorate of Employment (NDE) has
advised unemployed graduates in Ekiti State to make themselves available for the various skill acquisition programmes of the directorate.
The State NDE Coordinator, Mrs Adeola Shafaru, gave the advice, while speaking with newsmen in Ado-Ekiti.
She stressed that jobless graduates would become gainfully employed if they embraced the programmes.
She said that the NDE had put in place a “Graduate Attachment Programme’’, where graduates were recruited and posted to government and private establishments for a six-month training to expose them to practical experiences in various vocations.
FCT
The Minister of Special Duties, Alhaji Kabiru Turaki,
has called on stakeholders in education to take urgent action and show commitment in tackling the problems of the education sector.
Turaki made the call in Abuja at the Pre-AGM Dinner of Unity Schools Old Students Association (USOSA).
“There is no substitute for good and qualitative education and we must all agree that education is the business of all.
“To ensure any transformation, there must be functional and social infrastructure, which education is a larger part,” he said.
Jigawa
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps
(NSCDC) in Jigawa last Saturday said that it had arrested two suspects (names withheld) for allegedly stealing diesel.
The NSCDC Commandant in the state, Mr Muhammad Gidado, told newsmen in Dutse that the suspects were arrested on the Dutse-Huguma road by NSCDC officers who were on patrol of the area.
He explained that the suspects were arrested in a Golf car that was fully loaded with 30 jerry cans, containing 25 litres of diesel each.
Gidado said that the diesel was suspected to be stolen from the yards of Dantata and Sawoe, as well as Setraco construction companies.
Kaduna
A Catholic priest, Rev. James Bako, has urged
Nigerians to ensure equity and justice for all persons, irrespective of their religious affiliations or status in society.
Bako made the call in his homily at the Our Lady of Fatima Chaplaincy, Sabo in Kaduna State.
The cleric called on the populace to be humble, advocate truth and pray for peace, unity and development of the nation.
He also urged the citizenry to be unbiased in their judgments and to imbibe positive attitudes.
Kano
Female members of All Farmers Association of
Nigeria (AFAN), in Kano State, have called on the state government to include them as beneficiaries when distributing fertilisers.
Leader of the women farmers, Hajiya Fatima Kiru, told newsmen in Kano that government should also give them implements for irrigation farming.
“We are calling on the state government to give special consideration to our members in the distribution of fertilisers for this year’s dry season farming’’, Kiru said.
She said the call was necessary because members of the association produced about 500,000 bags of rice during dry season farming in the state.
Kwara
Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State has
advised the new local government chairmen in the state, to practise politics of inclusion in their respective council areas.
He gave the advise while speaking with newsmen on the outcome of Saturday’s local government elections in 15 local government areas of the state.
Ahmed urged the winners to see their victory as part of nation building and therefore, be magnanimous in victory so as to collectively move the state forward.
“We are running a true democracy in the state and in an ideal democratic setting, people are free to do things the way they want it.
Lagos
A member of the Lagos State House of Assembly,
Suuru Avoseh has warned Lagos residents to desist from patronising roadside food vendors to prevent the spread of cholera disease in the state.
Avoseh, who is the Chairman of House Committee on Health Services, gave the advice while speaking with newsmen in Lagos State.
“The most important step to prevent the spread of cholera disease is to be conscious of whatever we eat.
“People should stay away from roadside foods; they should also be careful of the water they drink.
Niger
The Niger State Government has approved the sales
of uncompleted 250 housing units opposite Zuma Rock in Suleja in line with the tripartite arrangement for the project in 2003.
The Commissioner for Land and Housing, Dr. Peter Sarki, told newsmen in Minna that the State Executive Council approved the sales in agreement with the two other parties involved.
Sarki said the other two parties involved were Federal Mortgage Bank and Sintax Nigeria Limited.
He recalled that the Federal Mortgage Bank had earlier agreed to provide N639.7 million in three tranches of 40 per cent initial release and 30 per cent each in two subsequent releases.
Plateau
The wife of late Senator Gyang Dantong, Mrs Hanatu
Dantong, has inaugurated four health centres initiated by her husband and completed by his successor, Sen. Gyang Pwajok in Jos.
The widow inaugurated the Plateau North constituency projects at the behest of Pwajok in memory of his late predecessor, who died in a stampede on July 8, 2012, when gunmen attacked mourners in Bachit, Plateau State.
The four health centres, undertaken by the office of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) included a Management Care ward and Primary Health Care (PHC) centre facility at the Christian Hospital, Vom, as well as a PHC centre at Fan-Loh and Bisichi in Barkin-Ladi, Plateau.
Also inaugurated was a block of three classrooms, VIP toilets and boreholes at the Jos Township Primary School.
Taraba
The DSK Foundation, a non-governmental
organisation, has urged the people of Taraba State to eschew violence and embrace peace so as to enhance the socio-economic development of the state.
The foundation’s President, Chief David Kente, gave the advice in Wakari at the end of a two-day workshop on “Peace as a Panacea for Development’’, organised by the foundation.
Kente stressed that the recurrent acts of violence in parts of the state had slowed down economic activities, adding that the development had further aggravated the rate of poverty and hunger in the society.
“We must eschew violence and imbibe the spirit of ‘give and take’, so as to promote peace and development in the state.
L-R: Former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III and Governor Aliyu Wamakko of Sokoto State when General Abubakar paid a courtesy call in Sokoto, yesterday.
The President General of Ogbakor Ikwerre Cultural Organisation Worldwide and the Mgboh XIII of the Mgboh Royal Family of Emohua Kingdom in Emohua Local Government Area of Rivers State, Eze (Barrister) Godspower Onuekwa, penultimate Friday celebrated his 80th birthday with pomp, pageantry and fanfare.
The celebration, which commenced with a symposium organised in his honour at Rivers State University on Thursday, August 21,2025, got to a resounding climax on Friday at Suntai Event Centre in Port Harcourt, where people from all walks of life, including business associates, friends, well-wishers, relatives, community folks, traditional rulers, and admirers, gathered to pay glowing tributes to the celebrant.
Before then, a well attended thanksgiving service was held that same Friday at Emmanuel Anglican Church, Okoro-Nu-Odo, to honour him and return gratitude to God Almighty for the fruitful and eventful life and accomplishments of the Emohua leader and icon.
The service which was officiated by Rt Rev Wisdom Budu Ihunwo, Bishop of Niger Delta North had other renowned and respected clerics like Most Rev(Dr) Blessing Enyindah, Dean, Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion); Rt Rev(Dr) Emmanuel Oko-Jaja, Bishop, Diocese of Niger Delta; Rt Rev Innocent Ordu, Bishop, Diocese of Evo; and Ven Solomon Eze Nelson, Archdeacon, Okoro-Nu-Odo; among others lined up as officiating ministers.
The service lived up to its billing, as it featured powerful and soul-lifting praise and worship; point-blank prayers; and beautiful renditions, which electrified the entire atmosphere, essentially packaged to thank God for the life of the celebrant.
However, the crowning moment actually came when the who is who, the crème de la crème of the society, thronged the terraces and fabulously decorated expansive hall of Suntai Event Centre, to celebrate Eze Onuekwa, amid accolades, aplomb and panache, wining and dining, and clinking of glasses with him and all.
The chairman of the colourful ceremony, Chief Evans Woherem, who was represented by Eze(Prof) Christian Akani of the prestigious Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, praised the celebrant for his youthfulness in spite of clocking 80 years, generosity, humility, humaneness and selfless services to the Ikwerre ethnic nationality, the Niger Delta and Nigeria, and called on all and sundry to emulate his good legacies and simple disposition towards life and existence.
Goodwill messages also poured in in torrents to underscore and salute the doggedness, resilience, astuteness and uniqueness of the endearing life of the celebrant, with Prof Emenike Wami, the Ochia Ohna Ikwerre(XIV), taking the lead.
Prof Priye Iyalla, the wife of late renowned writer, novelist and playwright, Dr Elechi Amadi, held the audience spellbound as she masterfully reeled out the profile of the celebrant, amid intermittent applause from the crowd.
The Tiv Community from Benue State, resident in Rivers State, were not left out, as they honoured and decorated Eze Onuekwa in their complete traditional regalia.
Cultural displays from Baptist Church, Rumuowhor; ADNA Wogbuji Dancing Group, Egbeda; Tiv Dancing Group; and Promoter Eze and Rumu-Mgboh Emohua Wrestling Group, equally added colour and grace to the occasion, with the celebrant and his wife, Dame Ann Onuekwa, joining them to wriggle their waists and bodies in ecstasy.
In his response, the highly elated celebrant, Eze Onuekwa thanked all those gathered to celebrate with him, saying, celebrations would never cease in their homes, and attributed everything he represents in life, including his modest accomplishments to God.
Eze Onuekwa, while addressing newsmen, harped on the need for hard work among the youths and members of Ogbakor Ikwerre Cultural Organisation Worldwide, as a way of sustaining and giving meaning to the motto of the organisation, which he noted is anchored on peace, unity and progress.
He specially thanked God for sustaining his life, and for making everything possible for him and his family, saying, he was joyous that he has today become an octogenarian and elder statesman in Rivers State.
His son and medical practitioner, Dr Samuel Chizia Onuekwa expressed delight that people from far and near had come together to celebrate the father, whom he described as a role model and great inspirator.
He said it was a good thing that the children were celebrating their father when he is alive, stressing that the last time Eze Onuekwa was celebrated in such magnitude was 20 years ago, during his 60th birthday celebration, and prayed God to grant him many more years in good health.
Among dignitaries who graced the event were Senator Andrew Uchendu; Chief Sampson Agbaru; Prof Emenike Wami; Dr Peter Didia; Eze(Prof) Samuel Ugo Onyeka; and a host of others. Justice Iche Ndu(rtd); and C O Kattey were among personalities that attended the thanksgiving service, while the Vice Chancellor of Rivers State University, Prof Isaac Zeb-Obipi led the academics who graced the symposium, alongside Eze G A O Omodu.
As the 100 Ogoni youths trained by the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) in Creative Arts close out their training on Tuesday at the Theatre Arts Department, University of Port Harcourt, the Project Coordinator of HYPREP, Prof Nenibarini Zabbey, has urged the beneficiaries to use the skills acquired to ensure that the Ogoni stories are told and heard in the right way.
The trainees, who had completed a four- month training in script writing, film production and make-up are beneficiaries of the HYPREP sustainable livelihood programme, aimed at providing high demand skills to Ogoni youths in the lucrative creative arts and entertainment industry.
Zabbey described the Creative Arts training as well as other programmes and interventions as HYPREP’s strategic sustained effort to create alternative sources of livelihood.
”Targeted capacity building for Ogoni youths and women remains a central strategy in HYPREP’s livelihood restoration and improvement efforts. Our goal is to reach every part of the Ogoni community and ensure that no group or talent pool is left behind. This training is a deliberate step to empower young people who aspire to make their mark in the creative and entertainment industry”, he said.
While commending the trainees for producing four short films within the training period, one of which was premiered at the ceremony-Dirty Festival, the Project Coordinator noted that the training would serve as a springboard into the industry, and enable them earn a living, become entrepreneurs, and open new doors of opportunities for themselves and their communities. The three other movies are Open Pain, Bomu and Green War.
He enjoined them to utilise their skills and platforms to promote civic responsibility, peace, and environmental sustainability, urging them to ensure that Ogoni is heard in the right way, speak for HYPREP and highlight the progress being made in implementing the recommendations of the UNEP Report.
Other speakers at the event, including the Director of Technical Services of HYPREP, Prof. Damian-Paul Aguiyi; Dr Ovunda Ihunwo, Head of the Theatre Arts Department of the University of Port Harcourt; Chief Douglas Experience, the Project Coordinator of Halibiz Consult Limited; and Mrs Josephine Nzidee, Head, Sustainable Livelihood of HYPREP, all applauded HYPREP for the training, and charged the trainees to maximise the opportunity.
The trainees were later presented certificates of participation.
Visibly elated Ms Lebee Tornwe, one of the beneficiaries, thanked HYPREP and the Project Coordinator for offering the trainees the rare opportunity to acquire skills in the creative arts and entertainment industry, and expressed delight that Dr Ihunwo and Halibiz Consult Limited gave their all in grooming them.
With the wrapping up of the Creative Arts training(100), HYPREP has trained 230 Ogoni youths in high demand skill sets ,viz; seafaring(100); and aviation (30). The Project will this year, commence training in other skill areas, including Mechatronic, Aviation, Full-Stack Development, Commercial Diving, Underwater Welding and Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
Still in the offing is the training for Ogoni Persons Living with Disabilities in five skill sets- fish farming; basic computer skills; photography; fashion and design; and shoemaking in line with their Needs Assessment and HYPREP’s policy of inclusivity.
The National Youth Council of Ogoni People (NYCOP) had called on stakeholders to work collaboratively towards the development and empowerment of Ogoni youths.
NYCOP made the call in a communique issue over the weekend after an emergency Congress in Port Harcourt and signed by its President, Comrade Raymond Nwibani Marcus.
In the communique, NYCOP endorsed President Bola Tinubu’s appointments of the Governing Council and Board of Trustees (BOT) members of the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP), particularly Rt. Hon. Emmanuel Nwika Deeyah as Chairman of HYPREP’s BOT.
It respectfully appealed to the President to consider appointing a representative from the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) under the leadership of Engr. Olu Andah Wai-Ogosu, being the pioneering social vehicle for Ogoni advocacy since the inception of the Ogoni struggle, adding that it would significantly contribute to the decision-making process.
The body commended the overall management of HYPREP and urges the President to continue funding the HYPREP project.
NYCOP furthermore recommended considering the conversion of HYPREP from a project to a full-fledged agency of the Federal Government of Nigeria.
The communique also stated that NYCOP thanked President Tinubu for establishing the Federal University of Environmental Technology, and for appointing key staff, forming a dialogue committee, and initiating infrastructural projects like the Eleme axis of the East-West Road and the Bonny-Bodo Road, significantly enhancing regional connectivity and economic prospects.
In solidarity with the Renewed Hope Agenda, the endorsed President Tinubu’s second-term bid, saying it believes his leadership embodies the aspirations of the Ogoni people and Nigerians at large.
“After thorough consideration of the Disciplinary Committee’s report, NYCOP resolves:
” To indefinitely suspend Comrade Nade Nade Burale from his position as Secretary General due to misconduct.
“To declare Comrade Saviour Imeabe persona non grata on Ogoni youth issues, given his actions’ potential to instigate crisis in Ogoni and beyond” the communique stated.
NYCOP in his resolution issued a 7-day ultimatum to former HYPREP BOT Chairman Mike Nwialeghi to explain the $100 million HYPREP fund investment, warning of potential litigation.
NYCOP reaffirmed its commitment to safeguarding Ogoni youth interests and preventing personal aggrandizement.
According to the communique the resolutions demonstrate NYCOP’s efforts to promote the collective welfare and advancement of Ogoni youth.
“We will no longer tolerate any individual or group using the name or issues of Ogoni youth for personal aggrandizement.
” Our mandate is clear: to promote the collective welfare and advancement of Ogoni youth” the communique said.
NYCOP passes a vote of confidence in Hon. Emmanuel Nwika Deeyah, acknowledging his impeccable credentials and credibility to lead the BOT of HYPREP effectively.
Kiadum Edookor
