Niger Delta

UNICAL Demonstration School Wins SAGE 2024

Published

2 years ago

June 24, 2024

The University of Calabar International Demonstration Secondary School has won the 2024 edition of the Students for the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurship (SAGE) competition.
By coming tops at the national competition, the School will represent Nigeria at the global level in Tokyo.
The school presented a solar-powered Chi ECOSOL Freeze Storage System, equiped with off-grid capacity for areas with limited or unreliable traditional electricity.
The system uses high efficiency cooling storage unit to preserve fresh produce and vegetables.
The Tide’s source reports that Federal Government Girls College (FGGC) Abuloma, finished second with a project on Bio Fortification of Cassava Flour at the finals held in Calabar.
The source also reports that FGGC Benin came third with their project on Tomato Powder.
It would be recalled that Nigeria has won 12 out of the 17 international SAGE completions held in different parts of the world after its premier edition in 2002 in America.
The theme for this year’s edition of the competition is: “Mobilising Education for Food Security”.
Speaking during the award ceremony on Monday in Calabar, Mr Peter Odey, the Cross River Deputy Governor, said the theme for the 2024 edition of the competition was apt and well thought-out.
Represented by Hilary Bisong, the member representing Boki Constituency II at the State House of Assembly, Odey, said that the theme touched on a major challenge in todays human society.
He said there was need for a multifaceted global campaign against hunger and food scarcity.
“Nobody who has access to three square meals in a day will start thinking of crimes and violence.
“Our state has very fertile soil, the winning school has proffered solution to the challenge of food storage and preservation.
“For example, in Boki, we always have so much food after harvest, but a lot of the foods get wasted due to poor storage, so this project gives us a solution”, he said.
Also speaking, the President, SAGE Nigeria, Mr Agwu Amogu, said that the essence of the initiative was to make young people to become solution providers through entrepreneurship and community service.
Amogu said the initiative had directly and indirectly impacted on no fewer than 200,000 people since 2005 when it took effect in Nigeria.
“Also, no fewer than 8,000 students have passed through the initiative, many of them have graduated, and are now alumni of SAGE.
“Our goal is to move the mindset of young Nigerians from entitlement to being solution and innovation providers.
“This new mindset will not only create jobs for them, it will even make them to become job creators and self-reliant”, he said.
On her part, 15 year old Miss Victory Idiku, the team lead of UniCal International Demonstration Secondary School, expressed her team’s joy after wining the competition.
“It took us several weeks of research to create that innovative project, it also took a lot of hard work to effectively present it.
“We are happy to represent Nigeria at the global event in Tokyo, we promise to make our nation proud”, she said.

Niger Delta

Otu Orders Sanitation Operations Review In Calabar

Published

5 hours ago

March 16, 2026

The Tide

Cross River State Governor, Bassey Otu, has ordered an immediate review of environmental sanitation operations in Calabar metropolis.

In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Linus Obogo, on Friday, the Governor said the sanitary situation of the city had become a cause for concern.

He said the review became necessary because Calabar should continue to maintain its status as the cleanest city in the country.

“The city is now littered with wastes, the cleanliness status of Calabar is almost gone, we cannot just fold our arms and watch,” he said.

The Governor continued that every resident of the city had roles to play towards restoring the sanitary status of the city.

“Every resident should live up to their responsibilities. Our reputation in sanitation was not earned overnight, we worked for it.

“It is the product of discipline, policy consistency, and civic responsibility. We cannot allow negligence to take away this reputation,” he said.

He further directed that henceforth, sanitation exercise should be supervised by the office of his Special Adviser on General Duties.

“This intervention is intended to ensure stricter coordination among contractors and government agencies that are responsible for waste management,

“Environmental sanitation is not a peripheral concern of government. It is central to public health, urban dignity, and the overall quality of life of the citizens”, he said.

Otu expressed displeasure at lapses arising from the attitude of some refuse contractors in the state.

He said breakdown of mechanical tools could not be a reasonable excuse for non-evacuation of refuse.

“Operational setbacks should never translate into visible environmental neglect. Preparedness, contingency planning and prompt response are the hallmarks of responsible service providers.” he said.

Niger Delta

Lawyer X-rays Consequences Of Court Injuction Suspending INC Polls … As Diri Intervenes

Published

5 hours ago

March 16, 2026

The Tide

A Bayelsa-based lawyer, and candidate for the position of National Assistant Secretary in the suspended National Executive Council (NEC) elections of the apex Ijaw socio-cultural organization, the Ijaw National Congress (INC), Barr. Abraham Marshall, has said the court order, which restrained the conduct of the March 7th, 2026 polls, was a setback to stakeholders of the INC.

He expressed his worries about the plights of delegates who travelled from various parts of Ijaw land to come for the elections in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, only to be disappointed by the court order.

While thanking other candidates for maintaining orderliness and brotherliness all through the campaign processes, Marshall said the court injunction has devasted candidates vying for various positions.

He described the cost of what has already been spent on campaigns and sundry arrangements for the elections as huge.

Marshall noted that already he was a leading candidate for the position of National Assistant Secretary as he was optimistic of victory.

“First of all I’ve great confidence in the ability of the Electoral Committee headed by a retired Justice of the Supreme Court, HRM, Justice F.F Tabai, which was eager to conduct a seamless election.

“Some of us have campaigned through the three zones and clans of the INC. Some of us went to the Western Zone, Eastern and Central Zones to meet delegates.

“That is how it happenes atimes when there are contest, some persons who are aggrieved, rather than take laws into their hands, go to court to seek judicial redress. So, I want to commend all candidates for maintaining decorum throughout the entire process.

“I like to also call on stakeholders to quickly seek for ways through internal mechanisms of the INC to end this problem so that the elections can be conducted because as candidates we’ve incured lots of expenses leading to the process”, he stated.

Meanwhile, in a bid to proffer solutions to the issues bedeviling the smooth conduct of polls, Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, on Friday met with stakeholders of the INC and its six Presidential candidates, as well as other major stakeholders of the Niger Delta region in Government House, Yenagoa.

In his remarks, the Governor commended individuals and institutions, including the presidential candidates and the Conference of Ijaw Traditional Rulers and Elders (CITRE), for their efforts towards actualising a peaceful and seamless transition of leadership in the Ijaw National Congress (INC).

The Tide gathered that at the meeting, the presidential candidates agreed to withdraw all subsisting litigations concerning the election.

Represented by his Deputy, Dr. Peter Akpe, Diri also expressed gratitude to the Chairman of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), Ambassador Godknows Bolade Igali, the Chairman and members of the INC National Electoral Committee, and other stakeholders who contributed to the resolution reached at the meeting.

Drawing an analogy from the scriptures, particularly 1 Kings Chapter 3, he likened the unanimous agreement of the candidates to withdraw all pending court cases to the decision of the true mother of the disputed baby who pleaded with King Solomon not to cut the child into two.

According to the Bayelsa helmsman, the resolution reflects the enthusiasm, love and patriotic fervour in all the presidential candidates to move Ijaw nation forward.

Speaking to newsmen shortly after the meeting, the candidates, including High Chief MacDonald Igbadiwe, who secured the injunction from a Port Harcourt High Court stopping the INC Elections billed for last weekend, confirmed the agreement and pledged commitment towards the peaceful emergence of the next President of the apex Ijaw socio-cultural organization.

By: Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa

Niger Delta

Police Rescue 7 Trafficked Victims In A’Ibom

Published

5 hours ago

March 16, 2026

The Tide

The Police Command in Akwa Ibom State has rescued seven victims and detained four suspects linked to human trafficking along Ikot Ekpene–Aba Road.

The state’s Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Timfon John, disclosed this in a statement issued to journalists in Uyo on Saturday.

John said police operatives dismantled a human trafficking syndicate operating within the state, rescuing seven victims and arresting four suspects involved in the network.

She said acting on credible intelligence, operatives swiftly mobilised a patrol team for a coordinated stop-and-search operation along Ikot Ekpene–Aba Road on Friday.

The operation, conducted at about 8 a.m. on Friday, targeted vehicles suspected of transporting victims of human trafficking.

“During the operation, the suspected vehicle was intercepted and four victims were immediately rescued, while the suspect conveying them was arrested and taken into custody.

“Following reports that a vehicle was conveying young persons suspected to be victims of human trafficking, our operatives quickly moved to intercept it,” John said.

She said interrogation of the suspect led to the expansion of the operation to Itam and Ibaka in Oron Local Government Area.

John said three additional victims were rescued and three more suspects apprehended during the follow-up operation.

This brought the total number of rescued victims to seven and suspects arrested to four.

According to her, preliminary investigations revealed that the trafficking syndicate specialised in recruiting and transporting young persons across borders for exploitation.

“Intelligence gathered further disclosed that one of the ringleaders earlier escaped through waterways from Ibaka in Oron to Cameroon and Gabon with some victims”, she said.

John said investigations were ongoing and the suspects would be charged in court upon completion of the probe.

The police spokesperson reiterated the Command’s commitment to combating human trafficking and other organised crimes in the state.

She assured the public that efforts were ongoing to apprehend other fleeing members of the syndicate.

John urged residents to remain vigilant and provide timely information to the police to help protect vulnerable persons and strengthen community safety.