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NHRC Praises Peterside’s Public Service Exploits
The Chairman, National Human Rights Commission, Professor Chidi Odinkalu, has described, governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC in Rivers State, Dr. Dakuku Peterside as a public servant per excellence.
Odinkalu, who is on a fact-finding mission to Rivers State, said this during a courtesy call on Peterside at the Greater Together Campaign office in Port Harcourt.
The chairman, who was accompanied by the governing council of the commission, described the APC candidate as his brother, adding that he is an exemplary public servant with good record.
“Thank you for having me. Rivers State is my home because I have families here and they are on both sides of the divide. Peterside has been in public service long before now.
“I congratulate and pray for him. I also wish to offer my condolences because a lot of blood has been shed, it does not matter where you belong. We didn’t want to sit in Abuja and assume that we know what is happening through twitter. We are here because we want to see both campaigns, we also want to see evidence of those who were killed. Do we have names and documents? Can we get a sense of what is happening? Do we have records?
“We will see the commissioner of police for more details. There is no alternative to civil and democratic governance and Rivers State is strategic in this respect. That is why we wish to start from here. Our role is not take sides. We are all worried, not just because we have families and friends, if we don’t have a country that exists, we can’t even do politics, we can’t do public service or think of improving our country. That is the spirit of this visit, to engage and try to understand the issues. Nobody wants a situation when we end elections and the country is not governed or stable enough.
We must all work to see how we can pull ourselves back to a place of civility and minimize violence. And we must rise to the challenge of protecting our country by ensuring that we are committed to a better country, he said.
Responding, Peterside, on behalf of his party and the campaign organisation, thanked Odinkalu for his commission’s interest in the crisis in Rivers State.
‘I am sure that before coming to Rivers State, you must have received with mixed feelings, our stories of political violence. These negative stories appear to have overshadowed the achievements of this government. Your visit, I must say, will show you that we are peace loving people. When we experience one form of violence in one part of the country, the ripple effects are felt in other parts of the country. So, it is in our best enlightened interest to ensure that whenever it occurs, we put a check for the good of all of us.
‘I must commend your commission for this intervention. This effort to help monitor and curtail this distressing degree of human rights abuses is most welcome because lives are wasted daily. I was shocked to discover that in less than one year in one local government area alone (Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni), we lost 30 persons to political violence.
“In Okrika, you would have read in the papers that we are not allowed to campaign there. Similar scenario is playing out in Ogo Bolo Local Government Area. I am told, though unconfirmed that some chiefs in Okrika issued an order barring us from coming to campaign in Okrika and I am wondering if Okrika is not part of Rivers State,” he said.
Peterside who used the opportunity to call on fellow politicians to eschew bitterness in their quest for power said power only comes from God.
He charged them to appeal to voters with their programmes rather than resorting to intimidation and violence, adding that anyone who truly wants to serve must care for the lives of the citizens.
Peterside later presented his manifesto: Road Map to Prosperity to Odinkalu, a comprehensive audio/visual package and other documents on the violence in Rivers State.
Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar, had lauded the courage and commitment of troops of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) to the ongoing counter-insurgency operations in North East Nigeria.
Abubakar gave the commendation during a morale-boosting visit to the Air Component of Operation HADIN KAI in Maiduguri, Borno.
This is contained in a statement by the Director, Public Relations and Information, NAF, Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, yesterday, in Abuja.
The CAS said their sacrifices were etched in the history of the nation, and in the hearts of millions of Nigerians who sleep safer because of the troops’ vigilance.
He emphasised that their bravery and resilience in the face of adversity have not gone unnoticed, saying his visit underscored the vital role airpower plays in neutralising threats and protecting communities.
Abubakar pledged continued investment in cutting-edge technology to empower frontline units.
According to him, the NAF remains steadfast in its mission, guided by leadership, strengthened by unity, and driven by the selfless service of its personnel.
The visit comes at a critical moment, reinforcing the importance of public support for military operations and spotlighting the human element at the heart of national defence.
Nigeria’s soft drinks and beverage market continues to show strong growth potential, making it the leading consumer of soft drinks in Sub-Saharan Africa, according to the German Mechanical Engineering Industry Association.
A statement by the VDMA disclosed during a press conference held in Lagos ahead of drinktec 2025, that Nigeria consumed over 53 billion litres of soft drinks in 2024, placing it well ahead of other African countries such as Ghana and South Africa.
Despite challenges such as inflation and a weakening naira, Nigeria’s growing population, rising urbanisation, and expanding middle class are key factors driving demand in the beverage sector.
Bottled water led the segment with 48.7 billion litres sold in 2024, a figure projected to rise by 27% to 62 billion litres by 2028.
Carbonated soft drinks followed with 3.4 billion litres, expected to reach 4.4 billion litres by 2028, while energy drinks are forecasted to grow by 30% over the same period. Juices, though relatively small, are also on an upward trajectory.
“The Nigerian beverage market is expanding quickly due to increasing accessibility and affordability,” VDMA stated, citing data from Euromonitor International.
Set to take place in Munich from 15 to 19 September 2025, drinktec is the world’s leading trade fair for the beverage and liquid food industry.
VDMA, a key exhibitor and technical partner for the event, revealed that Nigerian participation is expected to be strong, especially as the country anticipates economic recovery.
Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has condemned the recent ban placed on a song by Nigerian musician, Eedris Abdulkareem, describing the development as a return to the culture of censorship and a threat to the right to free expression.
Abdulkareem had waxed a song titled “Tell Your Papa” which criticized President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
In a statement issued from New York University, Abu Dhabi, yesterday, Soyinka criticised the action and its wider implications, saying it echoed past attempts to stifle artistic and socio-political commentary in Nigeria.
“Courtesy of an artist operating in a different genre – the cartoon – who sent me his recent graphic comment on the event, I learnt recently of a return to the culture of censorship with the banning of the product of a music artist, Eedris Abdulkareem,” Soyinka said in the piece posted on PM news.
He expressed irony in suggesting that the ban did not go far enough, stating, “It is not only the allegedly offensive record that should be banned – the musician himself should be proscribed. Next, PMAN, or whatever musical association of which Abdulkareem is member, should also go under the hammer.”
Soyinka noted that he had not listened to the banned song but stressed that the issue transcends content and concerns a fundamental democratic principle.
“It cannot be flouted. That, surely is basic. This is why I feel that we should look on the bright side of any picture and thus recommend the Aleshinloye cartoon – and others in allied vein – as an easy-to-apprehend, easy-to-digest summation of the wisdom of attempting to stifle unpalatable works of art or socio-political commentary,” he said.
He also pointed out the irony that censorship often benefits the targeted artist.
The ban is a boost to the artist’s nest egg, thanks to free governmental promotion. Mr. Abdulkareem must be currently warbling his merry way all the way to the bank. I envy him,” he added.
The literary icon warned that such censorship was not only counterproductive but also dangerous to democratic development.
“We have been through this before, over and over again, ad nauseum. We know where it all ends. It is boring, time-wasting, diversionary but most essential of all, subversive of all seizures of the fundamental right of free expression,” Soyinka said.
He warned that the ban creates “a permissive atmosphere of trickle-down power,” where state authorities feel emboldened to clamp down on dissent.
Soyinka’s statement also touched on broader issues of impunity and mob violence in Nigeria, lamenting the recent lynching of 19 youths in Edo State.
“My heart goes out to friends, colleagues and families of victims and traumatised survivors of this senseless slaughter. Our thirst for justice must remain unslaked,” he said.
Referencing the 2022 killing of Deborah Samuel in Sokoto, Soyinka criticised the culture of impunity, saying, “Identified killers were set free to gloat, and paste their photos on the Social Media… in full daylight glare, in the presence of both citizen voyeurs and security forces.”
He called for accountability, warning that “as long as the culture of impunity is given the sheerest strain of legitimacy in any given cause, such gruesome assaults on our common humanity will continue to prevail.”
Soyinka concluded by urging the relevant regulatory body to reverse what he described as a “petulant irrationality,” warning that any government that only tolerates praise-singers “has already commenced a downhill slide into the abyss.”