THE Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to leverage shared aspirations and collaborate on diverse fronts in the delivery of sustainable development projects in the region. At a brief signing ceremony at NLNG’s Corporate Head Office, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NLNG, Dr Philip Mshelbila, and NDDC’s Managing Director, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, signed the MoU in the presence of executives from both organisations. As part of the pact, the two organisations agreed to collaborate and partner to empower communities in the region, promote local content and…
Author: Eileen Peters
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THE Federal High Court in Abuja has disqualified the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former petroleum minister, Chief Timipre Sylva, from contesting the November 11 election in Bayelsa State. The ruling was delivered on Monday by Justice Donatus Okorowo. Okorowo ruled that Sylva, having been sworn in twice and ruled for five years as governor of the state, would breach the 1999 constitution as amended if allowed to contest again. The judge stated that Sylva was not qualified to run in the forthcoming November poll because he would have spent more than eight years in office…
THE Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, says it has trained 185 collation officers across the nine states of the Niger Delta region to create awareness in the rural communities for its youth development scheme, tagged: Holistic Opportunity Projects of Engagement, HOPE. Addressing newsmen on the progress made on the youth empowerment scheme at the NDDC headquarters in Port Harcourt, the Commission’s Director, Agriculture and Fisheries, Mrs. Winnifred Madume, stated that another batch of 185 supervisors were being trained for the programme. She said that over one hundred thousand youths of Niger Delta region have so far registered in the first…
FORMER President Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday decried the recent spate of coup in the African where civil government are being overthrown, saying democracy in the continent needs to be rejigged and put in proper direction. He spoke during Democracy Dialogue 2023 organized by the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation with the theme: “Breaking New Grounds In The Democracy Development Nexus in Africa” held in Yenagoa. Jonathan expressed worry that in recent years, democracy in the continent has faced serious crisis, including the challenges of poverty and unemployment, which, according to him, has created a crisis of trust in the hearts of the…
THE Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, has announced the commencement of the application process for its 2023/2024 Foreign Post Graduate (Masters) Scholarship Programme. This marks a significant stride in the Commission’s unwavering commitment to fostering human resource development and empowerment of the youths in the Niger Delta region. Aiming to cultivate empowerment and specialization, this initiative is designed to equip the vibrant minds of the region with indispensable skills and training. The goal is to facilitate their meaningful participation in the Federal Government’s local content programme and to enable them to excel in various professional disciplines, enhancing their global competitiveness.…
MANAGING Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, has charged youths of the Niger Delta region, to embrace entrepreneurship as a springboard for sustainable development. Ogbuku, who made the call in his keynote address at the Ogbia Youth Summit in Ogbia, Bayelsa State, noted that for any community to achieve sustainable development and peace, the youths must be meaningfully engaged. The NDDC boss urged the youths to key into the Commission’s Holistic Opportunity Projects of Engagement, HOPE, meant to identify interests of the youths for skills training. He also advised them to eschew cultism, drug abuse,…
THE Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, says that the Commission is fast-tracking the construction work on the Oruma rigid pavement Road, in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, to ensure its commissioning next month. Speaking during an inspection of the road, in the company of NDDC Directors and engineers, Ogbuku, said that it would serve as a major by-pass for commuters in many communities in both Bayelsa and Rivers states. He explained that the Oruma Road, which links another NDDC road, the 23.5-kilometre Otuasega-Obedum-Emelego Road and bridges, connecting Bayelsa and Rivers communities,…
VICE President Kashim Shettimma says lawmakers are fortunate to lead the nation, urging them to work to make Nigeria better. Shettima stated this while addressing lawmakers at a retreat hosted by the National Assembly leadership in Ikot-Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State, on Friday. “We are the luckiest among Nigerians; we are not better than our next-door neighbour. Yesterday, I hosted my classmate from the University of Ibadan, the MSc class of 1991,” he said. “The best-graduating student in my class was one Oladipo. Oladipo is languishing as a DGM in one mediocre bank. He was the best-graduating student, and that goes…
THE feud between Governor Godwin Obaseki and his deputy, Philip Shaibu has continued as the office he vacated has been allocated as the Secretariat of the yearly Alaghodaro summit. In a leaked memo sighted by News Point Nigeria, Obaseki asked the Secretary to the State Government, Osarodion Ogie, to allocate the office building of the Deputy Governor to the Trustees of the Alaghodaro Summit as their Secretariat. According to the leaked memo, dated September 18th and signed by the governor, the office space closest to the venue of the summit is that formerly occupied by Shaibu, and should be allocated…
JUSTICE Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja, has restrained the national body of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from dissolving the Rivers’ chapter of the State Executive Committee over alleged anti-party activities. Delivering judgment, Justice Ekwo, said he found that the case of the plaintiff, Mr Desmond Akawo, who is the chairman of the state excos, succeeded on merit. Justice Ekwo held that the PDP and its national chairman did not deny Akawo’s averments. The judge, who granted all Akawo’s reliefs, declared that the party and its national chairman cannot unilaterally and without reasonable cause, dissolve the state’s…
THE Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, has commenced partnership with the Rivers State Government to revamp the government’s Information Communication and Technology, ICT, Centre for the training of youths under the Holistic Opportunity Projects of Engagement, HOPE, project. Speaking during an inspection of the ICT facility in Port Harcourt, the NDDC Managing Director, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, said that the HOPE project would create jobs for the youths through strategic partnerships and skill development in the Niger Delta region. He noted: “What we are experiencing today is the dawn of reality. We have gone beyond planning and we are now collaborating…
THE Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, has charged newly promoted Directors of the Commission to emphasise efficiency in the discharge of their duties. Ogbuku, who made the call during the Opening Session of a Two-Week Capacity Building Workshop for NDDC Directors in Abuja, stated that providing quality service to the people of the Niger Delta was a collective responsibility of all the staff of the Commission. The NDDC Boss, represented by his Chief of Staff, Rev. Julius Oworibo, said that the Strategic Management and Leadership Programme would equip the Directors to make critical…
THE Deputy Governor of Edo State, Philip Shaibu, has been denied access to his office at the Government House in Benin, the state capital. News Point Nigeria reports that Shaibu arrived at the Government House on Monday morning but met the gate leading to his office under lock and key. He says is yet to receive a formal letter from the governor’s office and that according to him is the proper channel to transmit a directive pertaining to the relocation to a new office. “Up till now, I don’t have any official communication that I should relocate. The only people…
THE Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC is set to partner with the British High Commission on renewable, clean energy and green infrastructure in the region. The Second Secretary (Political), British High Commission, Abuja, Mr. Hamish Tye dropped the hint when he led a delegation that visited the NDDC Managing Director, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, at the Commission’s headquarters in Port Harcourt. Mr Tye observed that the NDDC had shown commitment to realising sustainable development in the Niger Delta region through partnerships and collaborations with national and international development agencies. He stated: “The attraction to the NDDC now is to explore the…
THE Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, has pledged to collaborate with the Oil and Gas Free Trade Zone Authority, OGFTZA, on the development of Industrial Parks in the Niger Delta region. The NDDC Managing Director, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, made the commitment during a courtesy visit by a delegation from the OGFTZA, led by its Managing Director, Senator Tijani Kaura at the Commission’s headquarters in Port Harcourt. Ogbuku noted that Industrial Parks occupy a strategic position in sustainable development value chain because of their multiplier effects. He said: “Having industrial parks is very key in the development of a society like…
THE Deputy Governor of Edo State, Philip Shuaibu has commenced the relocation of his office to an area outside the vicinity of the Government House. The new office is situated at No. 7, Dennis Osadebey Avenue, close to the government house. Sources close to the deputy governor told News Point Nigeria that the new office has not been completely renovated and there is no running water in the office although some plumbers are on site. It was also gathered that the new office is not habitable as there is no electricity, is waterlogged, and the office spaces are significantly small.…
GOVERNOR Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State, on Saturday, has ordered the indefinite suspension of a monarch in relation to the “gruesome murder” of the Ahoada Divisional Police Officer (DPO), SP Bako Angbashim, by “a bunch of criminals”. This comes days after Bako was killed in the Odiemudie Community in the Ahoada East Local Government Area (LGA) of the state. The DPO and his team ran into an ambush while returning from their operation during which they were attacked. He was reportedly shot, captured, and murdered by his captors. The governor, in a personal statement on Saturday, said, “His Majesty, Eze…
THE Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri, has commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for re-appointing Dr Samuel Ogbuku as the Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC. Senator Diri expressed his appreciation when he received the Minister of Niger Delta Development, Engr. Abubakar Momoh, and his entourage, which included the Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, at Government House, Yenagoa. The Governor, who described Momoh and Ogbuku as illustrious sons of the Niger Delta region, said they “will do justice to the issues and challenges facing the region.” He canvassed for…
THE Akwa Ibom State Governor, Umo Eno, has visited the Super Eagles camp ahead of their Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier against Sao Tomé and Principe, assuring them of the government’s support. In his interaction with the Super Eagles contingent at their Four Points by Sheraton Hotel camp, at Ikot Ekpene on Thursday, Governor Eno welcomed the team to the peaceful and hospitable ambiance of the state and assured them of security and safety. The Governor congratulated the players for making it to the national team and encouraged them to play their best to make the country proud, assuring…
FAMILIES of National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, members from Akwa Ibom State, abducted in Zamfara State by gunmen over two weeks ago on their way to Orientation Camp in Sokoto State are gripped in fear of bad news, as the ultimatum the abductors gave for ransom expires today. Speaking to this newspaper, yesterday, in Uyo, some families of eight victims still in captivity disclosed receiving calls from the abductors to send a ransom balance of N8 million latest today or expect bad news having earlier paid N5 million. The latest development comes even as the Akwa Ibom State Government remains…