Rivers
HYPREP Inaugurates Water Project’s WCA In Rivers Community
The Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project(HYPREP) in conjunction with the Rivers State Ministry of Water Resources and Rural Development, has inaugurated members of the Water Consumers’ Association(WCA) for the Alesa community water project, provided by HYPREP.
The inauguration ceremony, which held at Aleto community’s Town Hall in Eleme Local Government Area recently, was performed by the Permanent Secretary of the Rivers State Ministry of Water Resources and Rural Development, Barrister Patience Omereji, who was represented by the Acting General Manager of Rivers State Small Towns Water Supply and Sanitation Agency, Dr(Mrs) Queen Amachree.
Eleven members of the Water Consumers’ Association were inaugurated at the event, with Rev Loveday Nwafor serving as the chairman of the association.For gender balance, the Project Coordinator of HYPREP, Prof Deinibarini Zabbey, however, promised to expand the membership by later appointing two females into the body to bring the number to 13.
At the event, the former General Manager of Rivers State Small Towns Water Supply and Sanitation Agency, Engr Martins Mmeo presented a lecture, and highlighted the need for the WCA to ensure that the Alesa-Eleme water scheme is not only owned by the community but also make it sustainable. He also harped on the need for the water to be kept safe and clean at all times.
In his opening remarks, the Project Coordinator of HYPREP, Prof Deinibarini Zabbey said the inauguration of the WCA marks a new chapter in HYPREP’s shared commitment to ensuring sustainable access to clean water for the people of Alesa, Alode, Agbonchia, Aleto and some Ogale communities.
According to him, HYPREP’s mission is clear: to restore the environment and community livelihoods, strengthen public health, and improve the quality of the Ogoni communities. “Today, we take a critical step in realising an aspect of the recommendations of the United Nations Environment Programme(UNEP) Assessment Report on Ogoniland”, he intoned.
Zabbey noted that the operational sustainability strategy for the water scheme in Ogoniland is robust, as the contractor handling the project runs it for a year upon completion, followed by two years of managing it by HYPREP, after which, the operations and management of the facility are transferred to the WCA and the Rivers State Ministry of Water Resources and Rural Development.
He further hinted that during the two years of HYPREP’s operation of the water scheme, members of the WCA are trained for effective management, including sensitising and mobilising beneficiary communities for ownership.
The Project Coordinator said establishing the WCA, with membership drawn from the benefiting communities is a cornerstone of HYPREP’s operational sustainability plan to sustain operations after completion, adding that it would replicate same across all its water facilities in Ogoniland.
He further indicated that HYPREP recognises that the long term success of its efforts hinges on empowering the community to take ownership and manage the resources and infrastructure it has put in place.
Zabbey reiterated that HYPREP would build the capacity of the WCA members and the wider community to manage and sustain the water facility effectively, contending that the association would be instrumental in ensuring the continued functionality and efficiency of the water infrastructure.
“By taking this responsibility, the people of Alesa and other communities serviced by this water scheme will be equipped with the skills and knowledge necessary to maintain their water supply, address issues promptly, and safeguard this vital resource for future generations,” he said.
According to him, HYPREP’s commitment to the WCA includes comprehensive training programmes, technical support and other resources for effective management.
While thanking the leaders and members of the serviced communities and the people of Eleme Kingdom for their support and cooperation, Zabbey said their active involvement has been crucial in reaching this significant milestone, stressing that, “together, we are creating a legacy of community stewardship and wellbeing as we take ownership of and protect the water scheme”.
He, therefore, charged members of the WCA to embrace their responsibility with pride and dedication, saying, “the success of this initiative depends on the community and our collective effort and commitment”.
“The association is more than an organisation; it symbolises our shared vision for participatory shareholder engagement. HYPREP is doing its part, and we expect the communities to complement our efforts”, he said.
A member of HYPREP’s Central Representative Advisory Committee (CRAC), Rev Canon Abraham Olungwe said, in a goodwill message that there had been plethora of water projects in Eleme Local Government Area which he noted had gone moribund after some time.
He indicated that the water projects put in place in the area by HYPREP are durable and sustainable, for which reason, the WCA for the Alesa-Eleme water scheme was being inaugurated, to enable the various benefiting communities to own the water facility.
Olungwe, however, regretted that instead of the people to access and utilise the water provided to them, by paying little tokens as tariffs, they rather prefer to buy water from other sources, saying, this is in spite of the fact that the water provided by HYPREP is of global and international standard.
Also speaking, the King of Eleme Kingdom, Emere Philip Osaro-Obele thanked HYPREP for the water project and the inauguration of the WCA, saying he was happy with what the Project was doing in the area, and urged it to keep the flag flying.
The monarch, who addressed the participants through the Paramount Ruler of Alesa community, Emere J. D.Nkpe appealed to HYPREP to execute more projects in the Kingdom as well as create more employment opportunities for the people of Eleme.
In his speech, the Chairman of the Water Consumers’ Association, Engr Loveday Nwafor gave the historical background of water projects in the area, and listed several technical challenges facing the people, particularly in terms of the provision and supply of potable water to the area.
He solicited for the support and cooperation of the people, and promised that the WCA would deliver on its mandate.
By: Donatus Ebi
The Rivers State Chief Judge, Justice Simeon Chibuzor Amadi, says the state judiciary has a total of 23,870 cases pending in various courts in the State.
This figure includes all cases pending in Magistrate, High, and Customary Courts, as well as Customary Court of Appeal in the State.
Justice Amadi stated this while presiding over a special court session held to mark the comencement of the 2024/2025 new legal year held at the auditorium of the High Court in Port Harcourt, Thursday.
The State Chief Judge, while giving the breakdown of performances by the Judiciary in the last year ended, revealed that the stastics of the cases brought before the courts from October 30, 2023 to 30th September 2024 is 31,886, while cases filed stood at 14,791 and cases disposed in the period under review is 22,725.
He further disclosed that the State Judiciary and the customary courts generated a total of #525,322,478,83 as revenue in the last judiciary year under review.
He described the special court session as an annual ritual of the judiciary marked to herald the beginning of a new legal year, stressing that it affords the judiciary and all stakeholders the needed opportunity to take stock of the activities of the judiciary in the past one year in order to improve, with a view to strengthening the justice administration.
The number one state judiciary officer stated that the judiciary had undertaken a lot of capital infrastructure in the year ended to ensure the comfortablility of the workers and judicial officers, and announced that additional high courts would be constructed at Okehi and Degema to ease the challenges of numerous cases coming from such jurisdictions.
Justice Amadi further disclosed that the state judiciary has a total of 51 judges, 57 magistrates, 30 Chairmen of customary courts, and 60 presiding members, adding that the state judiciary has 12 judicial Divisions, 37 magisterial Districts, and 30 customary courts.
“We lost seven judiciary staff, Port Harcourt NBA lost 16, Okehi branch 1, Bori branch 2, and Ahoada branch 2 . Creation of a judicial Division is based on cases filed from such area and we recommend for approval of such and not for politically based”, he stated.
The State Chief Judge used the opportunity to thank the State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, for the support given to the judiciary in the state, noting that the success recorded by the judiciary in the state was attributed to the huge support from the State Governor.
He also appreciated the efforts of the security agencies and the media for their various cooperation and support and urged them to sustain such in this legal year .
In their various speeches at the event, the State Attorney General and Commissoner of Justice, Dagogo Isreal-Ibroma, SAN; the Leader of the body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria, Rivers State, OCJ Okocha, SAN; and the Chairman of NBA, Port Harcourt Branch, Mrs. Eke Cordelia, commended the achievements recorded by the state judiciary and urged that more measures be put in place to enhance speedy dispensation of justice.
The special court session was preceded by a church service.
By: Akujobi Amadi
A religious body in Rivers State, the House of Jesus Christ Ministries, has appealed to the warring politicians in the State to stop the orgy of violence over leadership supremacy and embrace genuine dialogue.
This is contained in a recent statement by the Parish Church Council (PCC) meeting of the church.
The statement, which was signed by the General Overseer, Apostle Joseph Emmanuel; Secretary, Evangelist ThankGod Akpanowoh; Parish Women Leader, Mrs. Promise Aniebet William; and Parish Evangelist, Elder Aniefiok Benneth, noted that the spate of violence witnessed across the state has taken unimaginable dimensions with the recent killings, wanton destruction of properties, and the burning down of Council Secretariats.
It said if care is not taken, the crisis could extend to homes, and therefore called on the warring parties to stop and gove room for a lasting solution.
Blaming the Federal Government under the watch of President Bola Tinubu, who it said had been seemingly passive in handling the political difference between the former Governor of the State and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Chief Nyesom Wike and his successor, Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
“The kind of crisis we are seeing cannot be rationalised. Whether in Rivers or Lagos, whether we are talking of state violence of political upheavals rocking the state, we plead as a church with the contending politicians to pull back their hatchets of indifference for the sake of peace, unity, stability and progress, and allow the possibility of genuine dialogue to begin, and lasting peace restored”, the church said.
Noting that the xurrent wind of democracy blowing in the state is one of the legacies of Governor Siminalayi Fubara and others who preach peace, love and development in the state, the Church cautioned against further crises “in the once peaceful state for posterity”.
It urged the current politicians in the country to emulate the peaceful disposition and virtues of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, which is instrumental to the prevailing peace in the state, in the face of continued provocations.
By: Bethel Toby
Rivers State has topped the performance chart in the implementation of the Nigerian Community Action Resilience And Economic stimulus (NG -CARES) programme in the South-South and Nigeria.
This was contained in a report released at the just-concluded two-day peer learning and experience sharing event in Port Harcourt.
According to the report, Rivers State performed excellently in all aspects of the programme implementation.
The state was followed by Delta State, which emerged second both in the South-South and the country at large.
Meanwhile, the World Bank has approved an additional $500million for the extension of the programme for the next three years.
World Bank Task Team leader, Dr.Lire Ersado, said at the event that the programme has lived up to expectations as it has gone along way to alleviate the sufferings of millions of poor and vulnerable Nigerians.
Ersado, who was represented by Professor Folorusho Okumadewa, said NG CARES has gotten the right strategies and approach in making sure that poor and vulnerable Nigerians can smile.
He said the programme, which was initially setup to address suffering caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, is even more relevant today with a view to addressing the plights of Nigerians affected by flood and other natural disasters.
Ersado said the Port Harcourt meeting, which is the sixth in the series of meetings held across the country, will provide opportunity for all states in the country to cross check their performances with each, as well as learn from the successes and failures of each other.
Also speaking, Rivers State Commissioner for Commerce And Industry, Barrister John Otamiri, said the programme was in line with the State Government programme of alleviating the sufferings of the people.
He also said the government is ready to partner with NG CARES to alleviate the sufferings of the poor and vulnerable in the society.
Otamiri said also assures that Rivers State is safe for investment.
While reeling out its performances, National Coordinator, NG CARES, Dr. Abdulkarim Obaje, said the world Bank is passionate about the programme , adding that the bank has graciously extended the programme for another three years with an additional $500 million.
He said within the last three years $750 million was disbursed to the 36 states and FCT in 160 delivery platforms.
Obaje added that 9.2 million poor and vulnerable Nigerians also benefited from the programme across the country in the last three years.
Earlier, Rivers State Coordinator, RiV CARES, Mrs. Ephraim George Imaonyani, commended the delegates for choosing Rivers State for the South-South meeting.
By; John Bibor