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Minister Commissions Two Water Projects In Ogoniland
The Minister of Environment, Hon Balarabe Abbas Lawal, has commissioned two water facilities in Bomu Community and Kporghor Community in Gokana and Tai Local Government Areas respectively of Rivers State.
The commissioning ceremony, which took place in Bomu Community last Friday witnessed a large crowd of enthusiastic Ogoni people and personalities from all walks of life.
The Minister was accompanied at the event by the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Engr Abubakar Momoh and some bigwigs of federal agencies.
Before the commissioning of the water projects proper, the Ministers had visited the barricaded HYPREP’s remediation site in Ogale Community in Eleme Local Government Area to assess the situation, before proceeding to the palace of the Gbere-Mene Gokana Kingdom, King Festus Babari Bagio on a courtesy visit, where they and other dignitaries were treated to a lavish reception.
At the palace, the two Ministers and the Project Coordinator of HYPREP, Prof Deinibarini Zabbey were presented awards of excellence by the Gokana Youth Council led by MeneKpakol E. Kpakol.
Lawal and Zabbey were also presented their certificates of recognition by the Gokana Council of Traditional Rulers and Chiefs as members, having been inaugurated into the council last year.
While inaugurating the water facilities, Lawal praised the Ogoni people for their support to the President Bola Tinubu administration and the various projects being carried out by HYPREP in their land, and enjoined them to continue to take ownership of the projects.
The Minister also issued International Maritime Organisation(IMO) Levels 1 and 2 certificates to trained community workers as well as launched the pilot cook stove project and equally unveiled GROWCOON for growing mangrove seedlings.
As a way of commemorating the 2024 International Mangrove Day which was marked that Friday, the Ministers and the Project Coordinator of HYPREP planted mangroves at the Bomu waterfront.
Goodwill messages were also delivered at the occasion by the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs; the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of HYPREP, Dr Mike Nwielaghi; the representative of the United Nations Environment Programme(UNEP); representative of Shell Petroleum Development Company(SPDC); representative of Stakeholder Democratic Network(SDN); representative of the Centre of Environment and Human Rights Development(CEHRD); and the spokesman of CRAC , HYPREP, King Suanu Baridam.
In his welcome address, the Project Coordinator of HYPREP, Prof Nenibarini Zabbey said the commissioning of the water facilities reflects the new spirit of accelerating the Ogoni clean-up project in alignment with Priority 3, Derivable 3 of the Renewed Hope Agenda, which emphasises the importance of environmental sustainability and community empowerment as critical pillars for sustainable development.
He noted that HYPREP is proud to contribute to this national agenda, reflecting a new spirit of determination and action.
According to him, the Minister of Environment’s wisdom and guidance have ensured that the Project Coordination Office proceeded meaningfully while carrying out this presidential directive.
The Project Coordinator said “the commissioning of the water projects marks another milestone in our collective journey toward successfully implementing the UNEP Report on Ogoniland recommendations”.
He further indicated that access to clean and safe water is a fundamental human right, as the people witness once again the fulfilment of this promise to the hydrocarbon impacted communities in Ogoniland, and urged the communities to continue to protect the water facilities for common use.
Zabbey hinted that HYPREP is strengthening healthcare facilities across the four local government areas of Ogoniland.
He also announced that the construction of the Centre of Excellence for Environmental Restoration is at 60 percent completion rate, as a committee has been established to recommend a framework for its operations.
According to him, progress is being made on the Ogoni Specialist Hospital while the Buan Cottage Hospital has been roofed.
The Project Coordinator equally revealed that the training of 5,000 Ogoni youths and women in 20 skill areas is nearing completion while the Minister has graciously approved the provision of skill-specific starter packs to the trainees.
He said HYPREP is also enhancing its stakeholder engagement strategies, ensuring that the voices and needs of the Ogoni people are at the forefront of its initiatives.
He said the Project is undertaking the world’s largest restoration of oil-degraded mangroves, as it has so far planted 514,819 mangrove seedlings.
The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Engr Abubakar Momoh noted in his goodwill message that the Federal Government is highly committed to the clean-up project in Ogoniland, and appealed to the youths to remain calm and not allow politicians to use them to foment trouble or to engage in anything that would disrupt and truncate the gains already achieved, saying he was delighted to witness the commissioning of the water facilities and for having come to witness what was happening in Ogoniland.
He also expressed joy that President Tinubu had within a tickle of the eye reinstated the Project Coordinator as soon as interventions were made on his behalf.
He said the Niger Delta Development Commission(NDDC) in particular has taken a different shape under the President Tinubu administration, and assured the people of Niger Delta that good things would continue to come to the region.
According to him, the Niger Delta would be greatly transformed, going by the allocations made for the region in this year’s budget.
The dignitaries were treated to scintillating cultural displays at the event.
By: Donatus Ebi
The Rivers State Chief judge, Justice Simeon Chibuzor Amadi has granted pardon to six inmates standing awaiting trial at the Port Harcourt maximum correctional center.
The six lucky inmates granted pardon on Tuesday by the state Chief Judge included Nwekeala Chizoba, Samuel Emmanuel, Aniete Kelvin, Ebube Fubara and Goddey Okpara who were on awaiting trial as murder suspects and have all spent between 10 years to seven years in the custody without a proper information filed against them in the court.
Justice Amadi during a special gaol delivery exercise last Tuesday at the Port Harcourt Maximum Correctional Centre opined that the special gaol delivery was part of activities lined up to commomerate the 2024/2025 legal year in the State and restated the commitment of the state judiciary in decongesting the correctional centre and ensuring that those inmates who are not supposed to be there are removed from the custody.
The state chief judge stressed the need for all stakeholders to work together to build a society that supports rehabilitation and gives a second chance to anyone or group of people who have fallen short of the expectation of the law and have been punished accordingly.
He stressed that the National Judicial Council(NJC) encourages judges to pay more attention to criminal matters to enable them to decongests the correctional facilities, noting that since his assumption into office, his administration has been able to reduce the number of inmates in Nigerian Correctional Centres and the Port Harcourt Correctional Centre in particular, to less than 2,000 as against the over 4,000 inmates previously in the faculty.
According to him, “as they release the deserving inmates, they affirm their commitment to justice, compassion and rule of law but that they must not forget the fundamental principles of justice delivery system which is truth and fairness, integrity and equality before the law.”
I encourage you all the released inmates to return to your families and become better citizens. You must not engage in action that will return you all back to prison. Let me say that while the judges show empathy to you all, it does not absolved individuals from being held accountable for actions against individuals, corporate organisations and state which the law frowns at, ”he stated
The Chief Judge thereafter stood down the exercise to enable the DPP to intervene to case files following the fact that majority of the persons listed to benefit from the exercise are facing murder charges and adjourned to a date that will come before December.
Earlier in his goodwill message, the outgoing state Comptroller of Nigerian Correctional Centre, Port Harcourt, Felix Lawrence, who was recently promoted to the rank of Assistant Controller General, commended the state judiciary led by Chief Judge, Justice Simeon Chibuzor Amadi for their continuous effort aimed at ensuring justice and decongesting the facilities.
Other activities lined up for the event included special church service at St Paul’s Cathedral , Anglican Communion, Rebisi Port Harcourt, inspection of guard of honour by the state Chief Judge mounted by officers of the Nigerian police and a special court session held at the ceremonial court hall.
By: AkujobiAmadi
The Director General of Rivers State Bureau on Public Procurement (RBoPP), Dr. Ine Briggs, has explained that the Sir Siminalayi Fubara administration plans to enforce transparency in governance through public procurement.
Speaking at a one-day Public Procurement Enlightenment workshop organised in collaboration with the State Local Government Service Commission for newly elected chairmen, vice chairmen, secretaries and leaders of legislative assemblies, Dr. Briggs said it is key for grassroot development.
She stated that the Sir. Fubara administration plans to reduce wastage and at same time infuse efficiency in public expenditure.
The RSoPP DG said the local government political office holders remain key drivers in the new vision hence the workshop is to arm them with knowledge on how to execute projects in tandem with needs of the people.
“ Your role in the prudent management of public resources is, therefore, not just administrative it’s the cornerstone of delivering the dividends of democracy. Every procurement decision you make must reflect a commitment to fairness, transparency and accountability” Dr. Briggs submitted.
One of the key goals of the administration she further reminded the participants was to use their offices to foster economic growth through public procurement.
She warned that the law establishing the agency empowers it to penalise defaulters, but that what is more important is voluntary compliance to the laws.
In addition to that, she said urged the local government council leaders that champion the practice and implementation of public procurement law.
On his part, Acting Chairman of Local Government Service Commission, Pastor GoodLife Ben Iduoku averred that the aim of the workshop is to arm key stakeholders in the local government system to generate new ideas, innovation and strategies in tandem with government policies and programmes.
The workshop dealt on various topics on procurement planning, methods, Understanding Bid Process, including types of Construction Contracts and law.
Some participants were awarded excellence and meritorious awards as part of the programme.
By: Kevin Nengia
The 19th anniversary of the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS), Rivers State Chapter, recently ended in Port Harcourt in grand style, with participants from various schools including proprietors, the academia, civil society groups and top government functionaries charting the way forward for educational improvement.
The 19th NAPPS anniversary christened, ‘Innovation and Adaptation: Transforming Challenges Into Opportunities’ was held at Casoni Hotels, Port Harcourt.
In his remarks, the Chairman of the Rivers State Chapter of the association, Dr. Jaja Adafe Sunday expressed gratitude to the members and executives for their untiring efforts towards the achievements of the body.
He sought the intervention of government on the lingering crisis on the economy as it is affecting the running of schools.
He decried high cost of things including fuel and raw materials which has adversely affected the running of schools and payment of teachers.
Dr. Sunday hinted that the current economic situation in the nation is biting hard on the operations of schools, saying inflation, removal of fuel subsidy, fuel scarcity, poor electricity supply, tariffs and lack of government grants are some of the challenges faced by schools, and urged the members to brace up to the challenges, as it is the panacea to building a brighter future.
Guest speakers from the health sector and the academia thrilled the gathering on the essence of basic education which they said is the key to national development.
Former Dean of the Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Professor Azuru and the Chief Medical Director of Meridian Hospitals, Dr. Odo Iyke were some notable guest speakers who delivered lectures at the occasion.
Some distinguished proprietors also got special recognitions and awards.
The 19th anniversary cake was cut by the Rivers State NAPPS Chairman with representatives of the state government assisting.