Nation
THE STATES
Bauchi
The Nigerian Inter-Religious Council (NIREC), has urged the Federal Government to punish perpetrators of the Plateau crisis and other crisis in the country.
This is contained in a communique issued at the end of the first quarter meeting of the council held in Bauchi, Friday.
It sated that punishing the perpetrators, promoters and facilitators of the crisis would serve as deterrent to others.
The council urged government to compensate victims of crisis and other disturbances to enable them to mitigate the effects of their losses.
It also resolved to “caution reckless religious preachers who conduct inciting sermons without regard to the feelings of others and therefore fan the embers of religious misunderstanding and disturbances.”
Damaturu
The Minister of Police Affairs, Alhaji Adamu Waziri, says the new concept of community policing will drastically reduce crime rate in the society.
He told newsmen in Damaturu that the concept would be all inclusive with crucial roles for every member of the community to play in maintaining peace.
He explained that the system afforded the community the opportunity of checking the activities of the police too.
“It is a system where everyone will be a stakeholder in maintenance of law and order.”
The minister said there would be massive transformation in the police with improved commitment to providing security to lives and property.
He noted that the police was making efforts to face the challenges of the 2011 elections.
FCT
The Architects Registration Council of Nigeria (ARCON) on Friday in Abuja expressed displeasure over the demolition of the 500 year-old Kofar Na’isa Gate by the Kano State Government.
Mr Umaru Aliyu, the President of ARCON, made the council’s feelings known while speaking with newsmen on the sideline of this year’s “Architects Colloquium.
The gate was demolished last week by a construction firm to pave way for the expansion of a state road, which leads to the Emir’s Palace.
It would be recalled that during the reign of Sarki Gijimasu, a 17-km perimeter fortress was built around Kano City (the old city) with Kofar Na’isa Gate as the main gate leading to it.
According to a Kano-based historian, Alhaji Maje Gwangwazo, Kofar Na’isa means “I can do it or I can prove my mettle’’.
Ibadan
Sports enthusiasts and other eminent Nigerians on Thursday showered encomiums on the late Vice-Chairman of the defunct Nigeria Football Association (NFA), Chief Nathaniel Idowu.
At the wake-keep ceremony, which drew a large crowd at his Iyaganku GRA residence in Ibadan, Idowu’s death was described as not only a loss to Oyo State, but also to the whole country.
Idowu, a renowned sports financier, died at Cromwell Hospital, London on February 20 at the age of 75.
Popularly called “Okanlomo of Ibadanland,’’ the late Idowu was until his death, an industrialist and sports financier.
He was also a staunch supporter of the Super Eagles and the national female teams.
The deceased was particularly noted for his annual sponsorship of the N. O. Idowu Under-18 soccer competition.
Ilorin
The Kwara Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board said more than 1,000 people from the state had obtained forms for this year’s pilgrimage.
The board’s Chairman, Alhaji Abdullahi Abdulhameed, who said this in an interview with newsmen in Ilorin on Friday, added that the board would ensure a hitch-free Hajj.
Abdulhameed urged the intending pilgrims to pay up the N400,000 deposit on time.
“We started selling the forms more than a month ago and we are now in April. We don’t have enough time left because we have to start making preparations, so people should pay up in good time,” he said.
The chairman explained that the N400,000 was arrived at as a fair deposit because about N360,000 would be remitted to the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) in Abuja.
Jos
The Ewi of Ado-Ekiti, Oba Rufus Aladesanmi, has advocated regular exchange of visits among royal fathers in order to build bridges of unity across the country.
Ewi, who spoke when he visited the Gbong Gwom Jos, Jacob Buba, in Jos on Thursday, said traditional rulers must work together to ensure Nigeria did not become a failed state.
He said traditional rulers, as custodians of the people’s culture, should always live up to the expectations of their subjects in times of crisis.
“We need to encourage regular visits among ourselves at the royal fathers’ level so that we can build the bridge of friendship and unity across the country.
“ This is what we can do to move this country forward.
“It is only when we the royal fathers work together as one that this country can be peaceful, progressive and be secured for all.
Kaduna
Alhaji Ibrahim Bio, the Minister of Sports and Chairman, National Sports Commission (NSC), said the commission would offer scholarships to deserving athletes.
Bio made the pledge in Kaduna at the closing ceremony of the first underage championship organised by the commission.
The championship was held at two venues, Kaduna and Ibadan between April 17 and April 22. The six geo-political zones participated in the competition, which featured Taekwondo, Athletics and Boxing.
He said the award of scholarships was to promote the overall development of the athletes.
“The National Sports Commission will take over the training programmes of the athletes and ensure the provision of qualitative education through the award of scholarships to them to ensure their all round development,” he said.
Katsina
The Katsina State Government will spend N68 million to address the perennial flooding in Malumfashi, an official has said.
Mr Danjuma Alti, the Permanent Secretary in the state’s Ministry of Works and Housing, disclosed this in Malumfashi on Friday in an interview with newsmen.
Alti said government had constructed a drains protector in Malunfashi and was constructing a canal outside the town to divert the ‘Asha da lafiya’ stream which always wreaked havoc in the area.
He noted that when the canal project, which would cost the state N68 million was completed, the entire water of the Malumfashi stream that passed through the town would flow outside it so that the flood would be avoided.
The permanent secretary disclosed that the canal project, which comprised two box-bridges, was awarded to the Boriri Prono company and would be completed before the rains set in.
In May 2009, three people died, 450 houses were destroyed and many families rendered homeless in Malumfash as a result of flooding.
Lagos
The Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke, says the new oil industry local content bill just signed into law will generate about 30,000 jobs in five years.
She made the assertion on Friday in Lagos in a statement released by Mr Levi Ajuonuma, the Group General Manager, Public Affairs, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
The statement quoted the minister as saying that the law had far-reaching implications for the issues of technological advancement and long-term cost effectiveness.
She said the law would take care of post amnesty programmes in the Niger Delta and improve the impact of the oil and gas industry on the nation’s GDP.
Alison-Madueke said the law would transform the industry from a major importer of goods and services to an industry “that sources a substantial proportion of its inputs locally”.
Our correspondent reports that the bill was signed into law on April 22 by the Acting President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, alongside the nation’s N4.6 trillion budget for 2010.
Sokoto
Kebbe Local Government Council in Sokoto State has embarked on developmental projects that would gulp N287.4 million, its Chairman, Alhaji Bala Kokani, said.
Kokani disclosed this on Friday in Kebbe, headquarters of the local government when a team of journalists under the auspices of the state council of the NUJ visited the area as part of the monitoring of projects across the state.
The chairman said 40 per cent of the total amount had since been paid to the various contractors as mobilisation fees and listed the projects to include 10 solar powered boreholes which would cost about N 100.74 million.
The boreholes, he added would be located in Dukura, Gaddace, Guru, Tungar-Lambo, Kuchi, Gurundi, Indare, Tune, Fakku and Runtuya-Yamma.
He explained that N99.07 million would be spent in the construction of 10 upgraded dispensaries in Sangi, Arusaya, Gadace, Karma, Nasagudu, Ungushi, Umbutu, Fakku, Dukura and Girkau.
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