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Wike Recommits To Promote Peace In Rivers …As RSG Warns LGs Against Illegal Education Levies, Fees
The Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike has declared that no individual would be allowed to compromise the peace of the state.
He stated that his administration would always take decisive steps to promote peace in the state through key interventions in crisis-prone areas.
He spoke, yesterday, during a meeting between Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) and Mgbuesilaru Community of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area at the Government House, Port Harcourt.
Wike said: “My interest is peace in my state. Whatever will bring peace; that is where we will stand. Whoever is causing problems, the state will take it up with that person”.
The governor said that in Kula community, he has no business with Shell Petroleum Development Company operating in the area, outside the fact that the Federal Government has renewed their license and an enabling environment must be created for them to function.
He said: “Like I have told the Kula community, I have no business about Shell operating. But if the Federal Government has given Shell the license, I have a duty to make sure that Shell operates.
“If they did not give Shell and they give the license to another person, I have a duty to protect that person. I have no business with Shell. Mine is to do the right thing and to provide the enabling environment.
“Let nobody claim that he has contact in Abuja or elsewhere. I will not shy away from my responsibility to do the right thing”, the governor assured.
Wike said that he took oath of office to make majority of Rivers people happy, protect lives and property and develop the state.
“There is no single individual I cannot protect. Whether you are PDP, AAC or APC, it is my duty to protect you. Where things go wrong, I must come in”, he said.
On the Mgbuesilaru conflict, Wike said that he invited the community leaders and SPDC officials to discuss the issues and resolve the dispute.
He said: “Before I became governor, I do know that there was a problem at Mgbuesilaru community. I learnt that an agreement was to be signed and there was a fracas”.
In his remarks, Eze Oha Okporo Okwurusi Clan, Eze Morgan Nwenenda Amadi said that the Mgbuesilaru community and Shell had an issue of outstanding rent, which led to a legal dispute that got to the Supreme Court.
He said he was invited as a mediator and eventually worked for an out-of-court settlement between Shell and the community, explaining that rather than work with the genuine representatives of the community, Shell politicised the issue, and thereafter, refused to sign the agreement.
He said an attempt to sign the agreement at Hotel Presidential ended in mayhem.
Amadi said that on June 13, 2019, the community requested the Obio/Akpor Local Government Council to intervene and give the council headquarters for the signing of the out-of-court settlement agreement with Shell.
He said that Shell failed to turn up on June 18, 2019, when the community signed the out-of-court settlement.
Amadi urged the governor to prevail on SPDC to honour the out-of-court settlement and pay the community rent money, which was in arrears of 23 years.
Also speaking, General Manager, External Affairs of Shell Petroleum Development Company, Mr Igo Weli, said that the only interest of the company was to do what was right.
Weli said: “We want our place to grow. We want our place to develop. We want everything to be peaceful”.
He said when the rent issue came up, Shell agreed with Eze Morgan Amadi that it would be nice to settle out-of-court in the interest of the community, adding that the company was committed to the peaceful settlement of the issue.
Meanwhile, sequel to the meetings with local government chairmen, heads of government-owned primary, junior and senior secondary schools and proprietors of private schools, the Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, has warned all LG chairmen and their agents to desist from imposing any other levy or charge apart from tenement rates on private schools across the state.
The governor, who gave the warning in a statement signed by the Secretary to the State Government, Dr. Tammy Danagogo, in Port Harcourt, yesterday, also directed all proprietors of private schools to shun all demand notices for payments other than tenement rates, insisting that such payment must be paid into dedicated bank accounts for transparency and accountability.
According to the statement, “The general public is hereby notified that all fees, levies or whatever payments in government-owned primary, junior and senior secondary schools have been abolished.
“To this end, the general public is enjoined to report any government school heads or teachers, who make any demands for whatever payments from their pupils/students to the office of the governor via the named dedicated phone lines,” it added.
Danagogo reminded all concerned that, “All cash payments have been abolished. Proprietors of private schools and the general public are enjoined to report any officer or agent of local government council or any organ or agency of the state government, who demands for cash payment to the office of the governor through the said dedicated phone lines.
“The dedicated phone lines are: 0704-544-4471 (WhatsApp enabled), 0704-544-4472, 0704-544-4473, 0705-269-8118 (WhatsApp enabled), and 0909-065-4112”, the statement added.
The statement clarified that, “The Nigeria Police and the DSS have been notified to arrest and prosecute any agent or officer of local government councils or the state government caught in the act.
“Meanwhile, all proprietors of private schools are to submit their applications for approval/re-certification to the Governor’s Office at Room 312, Wing B, Point Block, Rivers State Secretariat Complex, Port Harcourt.
“Such applications should be accompanied with your last approval from the Ministry of Education and the approved Building Plan from Ministry of Urban Development,” Danagogo explained.
“Note that, no fee is payable for this application. It is free of charge,” the statement added.
Similarly, the Mayor of Port Harcourt City, Hon Victor Ihunwo, has once again made it clear that tenement rate was the only revenue collected by the council.
Making the clarification in a statement signed by the Press Secretary to the council, Bob Abayomi in Port Harcourt, yesterday, Ihunwo directed that, “All payments should be a made to the Port Harcourt City Council Account; United Bank for Africa UBA 1007510998”.
According to the statement, “In line with the directive of the Rivers State Government, the Port Harcourt City Council has only approved the payment of tenement rate by proprietors of private schools in the city and all payments should be made to the council’s account as stated above.
“Proprietors of schools should disregard any demand notice purportedly from the council for payment of any levy asides that for tenement rate, and such persons moving with the illegal notice for payment should be apprehended by the law enforcement agencies and prosecuted.
“The council has abolished all cash payment.
“Business owners and those doing business in Port Harcourt City should henceforth desist from patronising cash payments, as the council will not be liable for any discrepancy as a result of any cash payment during the revenue verification exercise of the council.
“Those selling liquor in the city should cooperate with the liquor license committee of the council and obtain their licenses.
“All enquiries should be directed to Dr Ezebunwo Nyeche in the council’s Secretariat, Moscow Road, Office of the Secretary of Council, or call: 08033097907″, the statement added.
Susan Serekara-Nwikhana
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.”