Rivers
Fubara, An Exceptional Leader -Rivers Women …As RSG Donates Sanitary Towels, Bags Of Rice To 23 LGAs
The President of the Rivers Women Unite for Sim, Mrs Sotonye Toby Fulton, has described the Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, as an exceptional leader sent to alleviate the sufferings of women and children in the State.
Fulton stated this in Port Harcourt while taking delivery of gift items provided by the Rivers State Government for women during this year’s International Women’s Day (IWD) celebration in the State, last Friday.
The theme for this year’s IWD is ‘Invest in Women, Accelerate Progress.’
She noted that this year’s IWD took a different dimension in the State as women leaders across the 23 local government areas in the state took delivery of gift items given to them by the state government for distribution to poor women in the state.
Some of the items distributed by the state government to each of the 23 local government areas in the State include over 1,000 sanitary towels and 30 bags of rice.
The women leader noted that Fubara is a calm and peaceful man that loves touching lives positively without making noise about it.
“Not everybody likes to make noise in doing good and one of such persons is His Excellency, Sir Siminalayi Fubara. he doesn’t make noise about his achievements”, she stressed.
“The rivers state Governor, His Excellency, Sir Siminalayi Fubara is being sensitive to the plights of women and children in the society and as such has given sanitary pads and bags of rice to be distributed to rivers women,” Fulton added.
Fulton urged the various women leaders to ensure equitable distribution of the gift items to poor women across the 23 local government areas in the State irrespective of their political leanings, warning them to guide against personal aggrandizement.
“you must resist the urge for personal aggrandisement as there are those that need these items more than you do. Try to make some sacrifices for others, especially those in need. we understand the harsh economic downturn across the nation, but then, it is better to give than to receive. bear also in mind that givers never lack”, she said.
She also charged women to be humble and supportive to their husbands especially if they are blessed by God to be breadwinners in their homes.
According to her, it is unacceptable for any woman to use her economic power to insult or disrespect her husband because of his inability to provide for the family.
“Men too suffer one form of abuse or the other, but they are not able to speak out. Many of them rather prefer to bottle up and when they can no longer endure, they quit their marriages, which ordinarily wouldn’t have happened”, she noted.
Also speaking, one of the women leaders from Okrika, and member of the Rivers State Task Force on Sanitation, Princess Ibiene Ogan, thanked the Governor for his kind gesture to women in the State.
“We are here to receive some items donated by His Excellency through our Rivers Women Unite women leader, Sotonye Fulton.
“It is so shocking and a great joy for us in the communities that the Rivers State Governor, His Excellency, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, thinks so much about the women even down to the grassroots.
“This has never happened before. so, we are happy with him and we look forward to him to take us through the hard times to the better times.
“We all know that as a woman, you must go through your menstrual cycle and many of them are passing through difficult times, such that they cannot afford to buy sanitary pads and rice. so for me, these are the best gifts his excellency can give the women in the State”, Ogan said.
Another women leader from Gokana, Mrs Florence Kpoobe, while also appreciating Fubara’s gesture, urged well-meaning individuals to emulate the governor and join forces with his administration by investing in the girl-child education.
“This kind gesture witnessed today by His Excellency, I haven’t seen it in the history of Rivers State as such. I am urging all women to join hands with the governor to build peace that we all yearn for in the State”, she said.
Immediate past Vice Chairman of Ogu/Bolo Local Government Council, Barrister Christiana Tamunobereton-ari, who also thanked Fubara for the gift items, urged women to always speak up against abuse and intimidation.
Susan Serekara-Nwikhana
Rivers
MOSIEND Urges RSHA To Reconcile Differences With Gov

The leadership for the Movement for the Survival of Izon Ethnic Nationality in Niger Delta (MOSIEND) has called on the Rivers State House of Assembly led by the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Martins Amaewhule, to reconcile their differences with Governor Siminalayi Fubara in the interest of the State
MOSIEND also urged the lawmakers to honour the invite by the Governor to chart the way forward for peace and development of Rivers State following the Supreme Court ruling, saying the meeting by the Governor presents a unique opportunity for the Assembly members and the Executive Governor to put aside their differences and work towards the progress and development of the State.
This was contained in a statement signed by the National President, MOSIEND, Ambassador. Kennedy Tonjo West, and made available to The Tide in Port Harcourt.
“We commend Governor Siminalayi Fubara for taking the bold step of inviting the Rivers State House of Assembly, led by Rt. Hon. Speaker, Martins Amaewhule, for a meeting to discuss the way forward following the Supreme Court judgment”, the statement said.
It urged both parties to bury their hatchet, make peace, and settle all areas of concern.
“We urge them to seize this moment to bury their hatchet, make peace, and settle all areas of concern.
“In a democratic setting, it’s essential that the arms of government work together harmoniously as the state has suffered significantly due to the ongoing wrangling. The meeting will demonstrate the Assembly members’ commitment to peace, unity, and progress.
“We believe that the Assembly members have legitimate concerns and should be given the opportunity to express themselves. It’s not about who’s right or wrong but about putting the interest of Rivers people first.
“The Governor and Assembly members should prioritize the state’s well-being as they swore to protect and preserve it.
“This meeting is the first step towards peace, and we encourage all parties to approach it with an open mind and a willingness to compromise. This is as the Bible says, ‘There is a time for everything under the sun: a time for war and a time for peace’.
“We urge the Speaker and the state lawmakers to attend this meeting and reconcile their differences with the Governor.
“The Peace of Rivers State depends on their collective efforts”, Amb. West said.
By: Chinedu Wosu
Rivers
UPTH Premium’ll Reduce Capiral Flight, Medical Tourism-CMD

Following the launch of University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH) Premium facility, the Chief Medical Director (CMD), UPTH, Professor Henry Ugboma, has said the newly launched UPTH Premium would drastically reduce capital flights and medical tourism in the region.
Ugboma, who spoke at the unveiling of the state-of-the-art facility located in UPTH complex, said the new hospital is of same standard with any hospital overseas.
He stated that the idea of UPTH Premium was birthed by a quest to face the challenges faced by people who want to seek specialized medicare abroad, who goe through so much and the huge financial implications.
“The problem associated with moving patients from here to outside state or country is a major issue. So, we took it upon ourselves and consulted with the board, and we agreed to map out projects that will benefit our people, things that are affordable, achievable and to reduce capital flight and medical tourism.
“This project was one of them and we are happy today that we have achieved it”, Ugboma said.
The CMD commended the hospital’s board and their partners for keying into their dream of birthing a world-class medical facility to attend to specialized healthcare needs of the people.
He disclosed that the facility would run on a Public Private Partnership (PPP) basis.
“I thank my board for making it possible, because without your support we won’t be able to achieve this. We thank the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) that listened to us to put up this facility and the manager of the facility, Dr. Teinye Isokariari, who is also our product here, for envisioning into our dream and to have come out with this project.
“Public Private Partnership is the way to go and that’s why we brought in Patricare. We gave them this infrastructure and they gave the final torch”, he added.
The Chief Medical Dirrctor emphasized that the new hospital does not diminish the existing teaching hospital, but would rather serve as a feeder to the new facility, while also assuring that the hospital is cost effective with all expertise intact.
“We have two systems here: the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, and UPTH Premium. Their cost can’t be the same, but what we have here can accommodate everybody.
“What we have here is like what you have outside the country, but definitely this is cheaper when you consider your flight ticket and all that.
“You have all the expertise here even in the teaching hospital. UPTH would serve as a feeder to the new hospital.
“Patricare is also coming in with their team of doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers who will impact positively on service delivery as all departments are complete”, he said
Earlier, the Managing Director of Patricare and Chief Executive Officer of UPTH Premium, Dr. Teinye Isokariari, said the driving vision behind the project is the desire to give back to his alma nater and to boost healthcare delivery in the region.
He explained that the new hospital aims to create a support system for the already existing structure in the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital.
“I feel comfortable bringing this back home to my alma mater because UPTH has one of the greatest minds.
“What we are trying to do is to make sure that we bring our colleagues oversees back home and for UPTH, what we are doing is to enable the private sector pluck into the resources that UPTH already has. So, the drive is to make the hospital, state and region great.
“We have put together a facility that has about seventy beds, we have four theaters, an Intensive Care Unit, Special Care Units, laboratory and quite a good facility here.
“The idea is to provide care at the same level you can get anywhere around the world”, Isokariari explained.
He assured that the management would continue to partner with their consultants, the management of UPTH and others to ensure that the value the hospital provides is not just driven by financial gains, but patients satisfaction.
Also Speaking, Commissioner for Health, Rivers State, Dr. Adaeze Oreh, said the State Government would partner UPTH Premium to ensure that it delivers on its objectives.
Represented by the Head, Rivers State Emergency Medical Services and Ambulance Systems (RSEMSAS), Dr. Sylvanus Ojums, Oreh said the State would partner the hospital because the services to be rendered there are for the benefit of Rivers people.
The Commissioner also assured that the emergency ambulance service system would be available to carry patients to the hospital at no cost.
By: Chinedu Wosu
Rivers
Fight Riverine, Upland Politics In Rivers, Don Urges Stakeholders

A renowned scholar of Environmental Literature, Ignatius Ajuru University of Education (IAUE), Port-Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria, Professor Anthony Adele Orlu, has called on Rivers State citizens to collectively fight the unhealthy politics of upland and riverine dichotomy.
Speaking while delivering the 63rd inaugural lecture of IAUE last Thursday at the university auditorium, main campus, titled, “Literature, Environmental, Violation and Leadership Crisis in the Niger Delta”, Professor Orlu stated that the element of disunity has dampened the economic fortunes of the region and further exacerbated the sense of deprivation in the citizens.
While advocating for the provision of a leadership that indulges all ethnic groups in the region, he stated that those from the upland also have water body and are not totaling isolated from rivers.
He also enlightened the audience that those from the riverine do not live inside the river but on land, adding that since there is also land everywhere in the region, the ploy or attempt to divide the people along these lines should be resisted at all cost.
The inaugural Lecturer emphasized that divisions based on ethnic lines of Ijaw, Ikwerre, Etche and so on should be discarded and inclusivity practiced.
The Rumuwoji Oroabali Rebisi-born Professor reiterated that militancy in all forms should be thrown into the garbage heap of history as these militants have become extremely rich and powerful to the detriment of the people.
He further stated that their contributions to economic or physical redemption of the region is not felt in anyway, especially as some of them have become self-acclaimed warlords, maintain their own non-state actors and have continually terrorized the region at will.
Corruption and ethnicity, he explained, are the major cankerworms that have destroyed the sense of unity to n the State.
He encouraged all to “resist the common enemy and to fight for the unity of Rivers State people”.
Professor Orlu proposed a new strand of the ecological theory to be known as ec-hygiene.
This eco-hygiene strand, which, he explained, examines issues concerning personal hygiene and its impact on the environment, has not been mentioned by other theorists.
He stated that issues bothering on public defecation, open urination along street corners and major highways, lack of cleanliness at home, office, car, kitchen, noise pollution in the church, on the street and so on, are the concerns of the eco-hygiene strand of the ecological theory.
He, therefore, advocated the inclusion of the eco-hygiene strand to the whole gamut of ecological literary analyses.
As far as the Professor of Environmental Literature is concerned, eco-hygiene as a strand of the ecological theory “will ensure that the searchlight of analyses will shift slightly away from the activities of Shell Petroleum Development Company and other oil prospecting companies to the examination of the activities of the individual in his personal environment”.
The 63rd Inaugural Lecturer also exposed the importance of environment to the study of literature, especially as the cherished environment of the Niger Delta region is facing extinction with the discovery of the “black gold”, which has led to the destruction of farmlands, caused environmental pollution and the violation of the biosphere through spillages, flooding, gas flaring with its inhuman effects on the entire flora and fauna.
Orlu reaffirmed that the importance of the lecture “is not only about the examination of the degree of environmental deprivation caused by the prospecting of crude petroleum, but also the activities of man and his sense of hygiene with regards to the preservation of the environment”.
He, therefore, hinted that it is on this understanding that the issue of environmental personal hygiene becomes the fulcrum of the lecture for which a new strand of the eco-theory , to be known as eco-hygiene is proposed.
In concluding, Professor Orlu highlighted the importance of the environment to the study of literature, particularly in the Niger Delta region, where the cherished environment is facing extinction due to oil prospecting activities.
Speaking at the event, the Dean, Faculty of Humanities, Professor Kingdom Eke Orji, who represented the Acting Vice Chancellor of IAUE, commended the Inaugural Lecturer and emphasized the need for citizens to stop apportioning blame to oil companies and focus on individual actions that constitute nuisance.
Professor Orji, who declared that “the fault is on ourselves and not in our stars”, urged all to not allow individual differences to prevent achievement of common goal, but to promote peaceful coexistence, unity and inclusivity, and to adopt eco-hygiene practices to mitigate environmental degradation.
The Registrar of IAUE, Dr. Chinonye Abraham Ajie, also commended Professor Orlu for his position on the subject matter and expressed the hope that all would abide by his proposed eco-hygiene.
In a vote of thanks, the former University Librarian, Orator, now the Head, Department of Library and Information Science, Professor Boma Beatrice Obi, lauded the 63rd Inaugural Lecturer for the epoch making lecture and enjoined all to “take responsibility for our collective actions as well as our impact on the environment”.
She appreciated everyone who turned out to support the Inaugural Lecturer and made the event a success.
By: Sogbeba Dokubo
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