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Justice Wike Promises Right Environment For Dev
The wife of the Rivers State Governor, Justice Suzzette Eberechi Nyesom-Wike, has stated that the Rivers State Government will continue to create an investor friendly environment for the sustained development of the state.
Justice Nyesom-Wike further said that the state will legislate on policies that will encompass stable marco-economic situation as well as ensure security of lives and property in the state.
Delivering a keynote address titled: “Sustaining Youths Engagement and Development”, at a one-day LEAD Summit organized by the Rivers State Sustainable Development Agency (RSSDA) in conjunction with Heritage Bank Limited in Port Harcourt, Justice Nyesom-Wike said she has the passion for the empowerment of youth.
The wife of the governor, who noted that the benefit of engaging youth for entrepreneurship cannot be overemphasized, stated that the task of engaging the youths in entrepreneurial development is not only for the state government alone.
She called for the collaboration of all stakeholders in the state to enhance the empowerment of youth.
She observed that entrepreneurship was essential for rapid and sustained growth and development as it creates the required manpower and skills needed for accelerated growth as well as addresses security and societal violence.
Justice Suzzette Eberechi Wike emphasized that the efforts of the state government has reduced the level of crime and kidnapping in the state as part of efforts to woo investors.
“Young entrepreneurs have led and will continue to lead economic revolution which repeatedly improves the standard of living everywhere. When young people are fully engaged as entrepreneurs, they crystallize economic development by increasing gross domestic product, national income help improve the standard of living of citizens of the country,” she noted.
“The state government under my husband’s focused and able leadership continues to create an investor friendly environment and legislate on policies that will encompass stable marco-economic situation as well as ensure security and protection of lives and property in the state,” Justice Suzzette Eberechi Wike said.
While noting that the existence of small scale businesses in the state will provide job and employment to many citizens as evident in Colombia, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia where small scale enterprise employ more than 50 per cent of the workforce, Justice Suzzette Eberechi Wike, stressed the hope that the summit will provide support for participants in order to engage youths appropriately for economic revamp and nation building.
“It is my hope that the summit will continue to provide support for participants in order to engage the youths for economic revolution and nation building,” she said.
She commended Heritage Bank Limited for sponsoring the programme
In his remarks, the Chairman of the occasion, Chief Onueze Okocha, SAN, described the theme of the summit: “Leadership, Entrepreneurship and Development” as apt, saying the summit was critical to the state and nation in view of the present realities of the economy.
Also speaking, the Chief Executive Officer of Second Opportunity Africa, Mrs. Linda Somiari-Stewart said the essence of the summit initiated nine years ago, was aimed at opening the eyes of youth to the opportunities that abound, especially with the dwindling nature of the nation’s economy.
She lauded the wife of the governor and the deputy governor for their support in nurturing the programme to maturity.
Earlier, the Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Rivers State Sustainable Development Agency, Mr. Lawrence Pepple, had thanked Heritage Bank Limited for sponsoring the programme and collaborating with the agency to provide the necessary support geared towards securing a single digit loan for youth of the state.
President Bola Tinubu has approved the nomination of four new members to the Governing Council of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB).
The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, in a statement yesterday, said the appointment is to fill existing vacancies and strengthen the board’s capacity.
The statement said the approved nominees are Mr. Olusegun Omosehin of the National Insurance Commission and Engr. Wole Ogunsanya of the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria.
Tinubu also endorsed the nomination of Sam Onyechi, who represents the Nigerian Content Consultative Forum and Barrister Owei Oyanbo from the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.
The President encouraged the new members to leverage their expertise and dedication to enhance local content development within Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
It added, “The nominations arose from the exit of previous institutional representatives from the Governing Council.
“The NCDMB Governing Council, established under Section 69 of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act, 2010, comprises representatives from key institutions.
“These include the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria, the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria, the Nigerian Content Consultative Forum, and the National Insurance Commission.”
The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has announced plans to construct additional hostels, rehabilitate roads, and enhance power supply in the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT).
NDDC’s Managing Director, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, disclosed this during a visit to the commission’s headquarters in Port Harcourt, yesterday by a delegation from the UNIPORT’s Governing Council.
Ogbuku stated that the NDDC had committed to upgrading facilities at UNIPORT as part of efforts to foster partnership with educational institutions across the Niger Delta.
According to him, the implementation of additional projects at the university forms part of a broader strategy to improve education standards in the region.
“Aside from the construction of new hostel blocks and installation of a 300 KVA solar inverter system, the NDDC will also facilitate more projects in the university.
“The commission will also deploy its engineers to assess the condition of UNIPORT’s roads and hostels for potential rehabilitation,” he said.
Ogbuku noted that upon completion, the projects would add to various initiatives previously undertaken by the commission at the university.
“These and other projects reflect our commitment to actualising President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda in the Niger Delta region,” he added.
He reaffirmed the NDDC’s dedication to fostering development and strengthening partnerships across the region.
Earlier, Sen. Mao Ohuanbunwa, Chairman of UNIPORT’s Governing Council, who led the delegation commended the current leadership of the NDDC for its achievements in accelerating development in the Niger Delta.
He highlighted the university’s infrastructural challenges, noting that it lacked adequate facilities to accommodate its growing student population, and appealed for the NDDC’s support in addressing the shortfall.
“Currently, UNIPORT has a total student population of about 50,000, while its hostel accommodation capacity can only cater for 5,000 students.
“We therefore urge the NDDC to assist in the construction of additional hostels, improve transportation facilities, and facilitate the acquisition of gas turbines to enhance power supply for our students,” Ohuanbunwa pleaded.
The Vice Chancellor of UNIPORT, Prof. Owunari Georgewill, commended NDDC for its impactful projects across the Niger Delta and extended an invitation to the commission to participate in the institution’s forthcoming 50th anniversary celebrations.
The Senate has rejected a motion to rename the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) headquarters after the former chairman of the defunct National Electoral Commission, late Prof Humphrey Nwosu.
Nwosu presided over the June 12, 1993, presidential election, which was truncated by the former military President, General Ibrahim Babangida (rtd).
The election which was won by the late business mogul, Chief MKO Abiola, was adjudged to be the freest and fairest in the electoral history of Nigeria.
The motion to rename INEC after Nwosu was re-sponsored by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe yesterday after lawmakers threw it out last Wednesday.
Abaribe called for posthumous national honours to be conferred on Nwosu in recognition of his role in Nigeria’s democratic evolution.
However, the proposal sparked a heated debate once again, with lawmakers deeply divided over Nwosu’s legacy.
Senator Osita Ngwu acknowledged that Nwosu operated under a military regime, which restricted his ability to announce the results.
He argued that “there was no way he would have announced the results with a gun to his head. That doesn’t change the fact that some of us see him as a hero.”
Senator Austin Akobundu, however, described it as most uncharitable for lawmakers to dismiss Nwosu’s contributions, insisting that he deserved a place in Nigeria’s hall of honour.
On the other hand, several senators like Senator Jimoh Ibrahim dismissed the idea outright, questioning why the Senate should honour someone who failed to announce the results insisting that “nothing should be named after him”.
Senator Cyril Fasuyi argued that history does not reward efforts, but only results.
“As long as he did not announce the result, whether under duress or not, I am against naming INEC headquarters after him,” he submitted.
Also, Senator Sunday Karimi criticised Nwosu for lacking the courage to speak out, while Senator Afolabi Salisu warned that immortalising him would undermine the memory of MKO Abiola, the widely accepted winner of the June 12, 1993, annulled election.
“Any attempt to do anything beyond a one-minute silence is to rubbish Abiola’s legacy,” he tendered.
After intense deliberation, most senators rejected the motion through a voice vote.
They, however, agreed to honour him with a one-minute silence and extend condolences to his family, effectively dismissing the other prayers to immortalise Nwosu.