Rivers
RSG To Check Youth Restiveness In Ogoni Land
The Rivers State Government says its agricultural projects in Ogoni land are aimed at checking youth restiveness and militancy in the area.
Governor Rotimi Ameachi stated this when the National Good Governance Tour team visited the Songhai farm project and the Rivers State banana plantation project, all in Ogoni land.
It would be recalled that the Songhai farm was established in 2009 and is being run by the state government in conjunction with a private investor.
The banana plantation project is an ongoing project and is being managed by San Carlos Ltd with a 60 per cent equity share while the state government retains the remaining percentage.
Amaechi said the farms, being operated on public-private partnership arrangement, were established mainly to create employment for the youth and build their capacity to run their own farms.
He said that although investors in the projects could make profit, the state government was interested more in the opportunities the farms would create for the people that would be involved.
The governor said that the banana plantation alone could directly employ about 4,000 people while many others could be employed through the off-farm activities of the plantation.
“For the businessman who is investing a lot of money, he is here to make money, he wants to make profit, and we in the Rivers State Government are interested in creating jobs for our people through these projects.
“For this plantation, 4,000 people will be employed; that is 500 workers per 250 hectares of land and the entire farm is about 2,000 hectares.
“For Songhai farms, we did not establish it to make money, our interest is to train our people in commercial and mechanised farming; that is our interest and the people of this area are our targets,’’ he said.
He, however, decried the negative attitude of some youths in Ogoni land, saying their attitudes were inimical to the development of the area.
Amaechi bemoaned the recent destruction of more than 10,000 banana plants at the new plantation in Sapkenwa in Tai Local Government Area.
Rivers
Rivers CJ To Sanction Lawyers Who Refuse To Comply With ADR Compliance
The Rivers state Chief Judge, Justice SIMONE CHIBUZOR-AMADI has given an indication to sanction any lawyer who fail to comply with directive of a judge in the state to transferred a case to Rivers State Multi Door Courthouse for Alternatives Dispute Resolution.
Justice AMADI stated this during a brief ceremony held at the chief judge auditorium in port Harcourt Friday held to hand over certificates of operation to two private ADR chambers on Precarious Dispute Resolution Services and Harmony Arbitration and mediation center .
He urged the two private ADR centres to be diligent in the discharge of their duties and warned against compromising the standard of Alternative Dispute Resolution, ADR but should observed the regulations set out in collaboration regulation by the state Multi Door Court House.
Earlier in a address, the Director of the State Multi Door Courthouse, VICTOR NWEKE esq, highlighted some of the achievements of the Multi Door Courthouse especially in decongestion of court rooms.
NWEKE while disclosing how the department certified the two private ADR centres called for serious punitive measures be taken against any lawyer who fail to comply with a case referred to Multi Door Court House by a judge or magistrates in the state.
In her acceptance speech on behalf of the two certified private ADR centres, ALICE NIMI commended the State Judiciary and Multi Door Courthouse for the approval and assured that all the rules and regulations spelt out will be followed.
In a related development; the Rivers State Judiciary has assured its readiness to collaborate with Nigerian Securityding Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC in using Alternative Dispute Resolution to resolve some of the issues in their office.
The state Chief Judge , Justice SIMONE CHIBUZOR-AMADI made the promise when he received in audience the Zonal Commander of NSCDC, Assistant Commandant General, AYINLA TALYE OLOWO and his team who paid him a courtesy visit in his office , Friday where issuees ADR utilization took centre stage.
He used the opportunity to brief his visitors on the hurdles judges faces daily in the court room and the need for the decongestion of the court room , stressing that one judge handle more than three hundred cases but that if lawyers and litigants adopt ADR practice court rooms can be releive of the daily congestions.
The state Chief Judge however urged NSCDC to ensure a wider sensitization of the members of the public on the practice of ADR for a better awareness and knowledge.
Earlier in his speech, the Zonal Commander of NSCDC, Assistant Commandant General, AYINLA TALYE-OLOWO said the visit was to seek collaboration on the use of ADR in resolving some issues which he insisted would help decongest the courtrooms.
Our correspondent reports officials of the Rivers State Multi Door Courthouse led by the Director, VICTOR NWEKE led the team of NSCDC on a technical session where information on how to the fully in cooperated into the Multi Door Courthouse and operation of ADR will be emphasized.
Akujobi Amadi