Nation
Commissioner Wants Jonathan To Tackle N’Delta Problems
Mr Raymos Guanah, the Commissioner for Lands, Survey and Urban Development in Delta, on Friday advised President Goodluck Jonathan to urgently tackle the problems of the Niger Delta region.Guanah gave the advice in an interview with the newsmen in Asaba.He said that the amnesty programme initiated by the late President Umaru Yar’Adua recorded some success with militants dropping their arms and carrying out less attacks on pipelines.“ President Jonathan should sustain the tempo of the programme, being someone from that region who has had personal experience of the problems, deprivations and degradation there. “He should be able to adequately deal with the issues of the Niger Delta,’’ Guanah said.The commissioner said that having been sworn in as president, Jonathan should do something for the country for which he would be remembered. He advocated for support for the new president from all well-meaning Nigerians considering the complexity of the country.The commissioner also said that although there were challenges in various sectors of the economy, the president should tackle the most crucial ones such as power and electoral reforms.“The president will be writing his name in gold on the sands of time if he is able to achieve success in the two areas,” Guanah said. Following the swearing-in of former Acting President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, as substantive president of the country on Thursday, Special Adviser to Rivers State Governor on Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Dr Godknows Tam-George has called on the new head of State to declare a state of emergency in the region, Dr Tam-George who gave the charge while speaking with newsmen in his office on Friday, expressed shock over the death of President Yar’Adua on Wednesday night.While recalling the contribution the late leader made to transform the Niger Delta, he said by declaring a state of emergency in the region, there would be speedy development that would better the lives of the people. He stressed that special attention should be given to infrastructure development, economic empowerment and human resources transformation in order to address the long years of neglect the area has suffered. The problems of inequality, neglect, marginalisation, poverty and employment has eaten deep into the fabric of the area and needed to be reversed, he said. The Governor’s aide called on the federal government to speedily approve this year’s budget for the NDDC, in order for the agency to carry out its primary duties.He stated that although the location of the Niger Delta remain a choice site for industrial activities, there was need to embark on massive reclamation of land, including dredging of some of the canals in the region, boost marine transportation and tourism.For him, Nigeria can tow the path of developed countries which gives priority to its tourist potentials, which in his view are in abundance in the Niger Delta. He expressed the belief that Dr. Jonathan knows the problems and plight of the people and would use his good office to redress the wrongs of the past.Dr Tam-George expressed happiness that the country was able to transit despite the tension created by late Yar’Adua illness and prayed God to give President Jonathan the wisdom to pilot the affairs of the nation.
The Chairman of Malumfashi Local Government Council of Katsina State, Maharazu Dayi, has been impeached.
Maharazu Dayi was impeached yesterday by 11 out of 12 councillors, barely two days before the local government elections in the State.
The councillors reportedly took action following allegations of misconduct and poor governance against the chairman after a dispute over the distribution of the council’s Paris Club funds.
The development has sent shock waves across the local government area, especially as the impeached chairman is among those who failed to secure the ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to contest in the forthcoming election.
The Rumuwoji Ultra Modern Market Traders Association, Mile 1, Port Harcourt, has urged the state government to utilise the available spaces within the area to build phase 3 of the Rumuwoji Market in order to solve the ever increasing needs of traders.
The association, which said this at a media briefing in Port Harcourt, also described as a welcomed development the decision by the state Governor to open the phase 2 of the market for business.
According to the association, “We consider it as an answer to the various cries of the people, because he is a man on a mission who is out to place the interest of Rivers people first. It is a dream come true for the first time for the market to be dully allocated and open for business”
Chairman of the association, Hon Godspower Wobo, who briefed the press shortly after a meeting of the association in Port Harcourt, also urged the public to disregard the activities of some persons whose stock in trade is to cause disaffection in the market.
He said the attention of the association was drawn to the activities of some strange fellows who went about misforming the people about situation in the market, stressing that apart from his association, no other group exists in the market except subdiary unions.
Wobo also tasked the reallocation committee to tread with caution so as to avoid being deceived by any group.
According to him, time has come for the state government to engage in robust discussion with aggrieved shop owners who went to court and those who paid monies to the state coffers and issued with allocation certificates for the overall interest of peace.
He also advised the public to deal directly with his association, stressing that the meeting was to review activities for the last year as well as unveil their new Constitution.
Also speaking, former Chairman of the association, Deacon Kenneth Eze urged the Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara to open the phase 2 of the market, as it is long overdue.
Eze who is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the association also urged the public to do business with only the Rumuwoji Ultra Modern Market Traders Association as it is the only union recognised by the traders.
The President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwunmi Adesina, has debunked reports linking him with the race for Nigeria’s presidency in 2027.
Reacting to the report on his X handle yesterday, following a recent interview with Arise TV, the AfDB boss said his quotes were misrepresented and misinterpreted in several Nigerian media reports.
However, the AfDB president denied the media reports, stating that he never said that he wanted to contest for President.
“A segment of my recent interview on @Arise TV has been both misinterpreted and misrepresented in several Nigerian media outlets. What I said was, “I will be available to serve in any capacity, globally, in Africa, anywhere, including my own country.”
“A listen to the substantive and robust interview, which is available online, will show this to be the case. For clarity and for the record, I did not say that I am running for the office of President of Nigeria,” Adesina said.
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