Author: Eileen Peters

FOLLOWING the Local Government (LG) crisis rocking Rivers State in the oil-rich South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria, two security operatives have lost their lives in the line of duty. Though the details are a bit unclear, it was gathered however that the sad deaths which occurred in Omuma Local Government Area on Tuesday, might not be unconnected with the invasion of the council headquarters at Eberi-Omuma. Confirming the incident to Channels Television, the spokes person for the Rivers State Police Command, Grace Iringe-Koko, said two deaths were recorded. She said a policeman and a vigilante operative lost their lives in…

THERE were sporadic gunshots at the Secretariat of Port Harcourt City Council, on Tuesday, as the police scared away scores of youths who stormed the secretariat to protest. The youths said they were at the secretariat to carry out a peaceful demonstration against the immediate past local government council chairmen whom they claimed have refused to vacate office after expiration of their tenure. A spokesperson of the group said immediately the police sighted them, they started shooting at them. “We are Ijaw youths; we are here on a peaceful demonstration against those whose tenure have expired but said they will…

IN a significant boost to healthcare education infrastructure, the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (OSSAP-SDGs) has donated a state-of-the-art hostel block to the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi, Lagos. This new facility aims to provide comfortable accommodation for nursing students and support the federal government’s ambitious goal of producing 120,000 nurses annually. The commissioning ceremony was attended by prominent figures, including the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Mr. Tunji Alausa, who highlighted the hostel’s modern amenities. “The newly built 36-bed hostel is equipped with en-suite bedrooms, kitchenettes, common rooms with…

THE curfew imposed on the Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State in the wake of violent attacks on communities in the area, has been lifted five months after the stay-at-home order was issued. In a statement signed by the Director of Press and Public Affairs, Gyang Bere, said the decision to lift the order by Governor Caleb Mutfwang, was taken after careful consultation with the state security council giving a return of normalcy to the affected communities. The decision is also, to pave the way for residents in the communities, to engage in agricultural and economic activities. The statement…

THE political wranglings in Edo State have taken a distressing turn, with attacks and sudden disappearances of key opposition members within the All Progressives Congress (APC). This development appears to stem from the intense power struggle between the incumbent governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, and his predecessor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole. Speaking with our reporters on Tuesday, August 10, 2021, a visibly distraught Mrs Mary Jimoh, 62, cried out over the ordeal her family has faced following the invasion of her brother’s residence on July 20, 2021. Her brother, Mr. Tom Oshoakpeme, and his wife, Mrs. Jane Oshoakpeme, were abducted by suspected…

RIVERS State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has cancelled the 10, 000 jobs in the State Civil Service approved by his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, saying a fresh recruitment process would be carried out. Before leaving office, Governor Wike approved the immediate employment of a significant number of youths to fill existing vacancies in the state’s workforce, effective immediately. However, Fubara during an interactive session with stakeholders in Port Harcourt, on Friday, said he cancelled the recruitment because the process was flawed and compromised by those entrusted to handle it. He stated that a more transparent process would commence soon, expressing sadness that…

THE police in Rivers State have arrested 13 people, including four soldiers and a Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) officer, for alleged armed robbery, hijacking of food trucks, and diverting them to other locations. The police spokeswoman in the state, Grace Iringe-Koko, disclosed this in a statement on Monday. She said the arrests followed a thorough investigation triggered by an initial arrest of suspected burglary in a private warehouse in Elimgbu community, Ohio/Akpor LGA. She said two of the initial suspects were identified as a corporal in the Nigerian Army serving in Delta State and an officer of…

THE Management of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) has threatened to dispose all unclaimed corpses that have been in the hospital mortuary for a very long time. According to a statement by the hospital, the corpses in question include those of infants that have been in the mortuary since January 2023 and corpses of adults that have been in the mortuary from April 2021. The teaching hospital gave owners of such corpses a period of six weeks to claim their corpse(s) as they would otherwise be disposed through mass burial or any other manner considered appropriate. See full…

RIVERS State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, said on Tuesday, that he wasn’t in charge of governing the state fully until February 2024. Though he assumed office in May, Fubara said he did not start taking decisions until February this year – eight months after taking office. He spoke while inaugurating Egbeda internal roads in the Emohua Local Government Area of the state. He said since he started confronting governance fully in February, he had done remarkably well and earned the commendation of the people. Fubara did not give reasons why he did not start governing fully for the first eight months…

THE Victor Oko-Jumbo-led Rivers State House of Assembly will today screen an additional eight nominees for the position of commissioners.  The nominees were listed by Governor Siminalayi Fubara as part of his ongoing efforts to strengthen his administration. The screening to commence at 10: 00 am, marks the second screening exercise to be conducted under Oko-Jumbo’s leadership. The first, which took place last week, saw the successful screening and confirmation of Dagogo Iboroma, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), as the Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General of the state. The eight nominees to be screened include, Charles Bekee, a…

A FRESH wave of resignations has hit the Rivers State Government headed by Governor Siminalayi Fubara as five more commissioners, who are loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, have resigned from the governor’s cabinet. Those who resigned are Chinedu Mmom (from the Ministry of Education), Gift Worlu (from the Ministry of Housing) and Jacobson Nbina (from the Ministry of Transport). Inime Aguma resigned as the Commissioner for Social Welfare and Rehabilitation saying “there is no room for progressional development in the work place”. Austin Ben-Chioma also resigned as the Commissioner for Environment “due to…

UNKNOWN gunmen suspected to be kidnappers have reportedly abducted an unspecified number of workers of Dangote Cement Company Plc, Okpella, Etsako West local government of Edo state News Point Nigeria gathered. The incident was said to have occurred on Monday. News Point Nigeria reports that the workers were in a staff bus conveying them back to Okpella town after the close of work when they were intercepted and abducted by the gunmen. An anonymous source in Okpella community who confirmed the incident, disclosed that the gunmen laid ambush on the workers, emerged from the bush and forced the bus to…

RIVERS State Governor Siminalayi Fubara has disclosed that the State Government will set up a panel of enquiry to probe the 8 years administration of immediate past Governor Nyesom Wike. This newspaper reports Governor Fubara made the disclosure while swearing in Dagogo Israel Iboroma as the new Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice of the State. A faction of the Rivers State House Of Assembly had earlier screened and confirmed Iboroma as Commissioner to serve in the State Executive Council. he House led by the Speaker Rt. Hon. Victor Oko Jumbo screened and confirmed Iboroma at the Chambers inside the…

THE Dangote Cement Plc Thursday flagged off its malaria intervention programme for host communities at Okpella, Etsako East Local Government Area of Edo State. Group Head of Sustainability, Dangote Cement Plc, Dr Igazeuma Okoroba, said the 2024 Malaria Campaign is not just to commemorate World Malaria Day, but also to contribute to advancing Nigeria’s progress on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3 of the United Nations, which harps on good health and wellbeing. Dr. Okoroba described the relationship between the Dangote Cement and host communities as robust. “As we observe, a significant portion of the population lacks access to vital healthcare…

THE Speaker of the Edo state House of Assembly, Blessing Agbebaku, has suspended three lawmakers with immediate effect, over allegations of an impeachment plot to remove him, and some other Principal Officers Council (POC) of the house. The three suspended lawmakers are Donald Okogbe( PDP Akoko-Edo 11), Bright Iyamu (PDP Orihonmwon South), and Adeh Isibor, (Esan North East 1). During the sitting at the assembly complex on Monday, Agbebaku insisted that the three suspended members were being backed by some persons outside the assembly, to foment trouble, and remove the leadership of the house. He also alleged that some persons…

THE governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the March 2023 governorship elections and former Minister of Education, Kenneth Gbagi has died. His death was confirmed on Saturday in a statement by his family by his eldest son, Emuoboh Gbagi. The statement reads in part, “It is with profound sadness but gratitude to God that we announce the passing of our beloved father, grandfather, husband, and brother Olorogun Kenneth Omemavwa Gbagi, former minister of education, departed this life on the 4th of May 2024 at the age of 62. “We take comfort in the fond memories of his…

THE Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki, has approved a new minimum wage of N70,000 for civil servants in the state. The governor revealed this while commissioning the new Labour House in Edo state on Monday. According to him, the new wage comes into effect on May 1st, 2024. This is as the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) battles the Federal Government over increasing the minimum wage to match increasing national inflation and skyrocketing food inflation. The inflation rate for March 2024 hit 33.2 per cent from 31.70 per cent in February, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). Food…

NINETEEN persons have died in an auto crash in the Okene area of Kogi State, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) said on Sunday.  “Emergency rescue teams of the Federal Road Safety Corps endured another over three hours of inferno in their bid to rescue road traffic victims at the scene of a fatal crash that claimed 19 lives on Sunday 28 April 2024 at Okene bypass, on the Okene-Lokoja highway in Kogi State,” FRSC’s corps education officer Jonas Agwu said in a Sunday statement. The accident involved two vehicles, a truck, and a Toyota Hiace bus coming from Kano…

A MASSIVE fiery carnage on the East-West Road in Rivers State has destroyed more than dozens of vehicles, destroyed goods worth estimated billions, and claimed an unconfirmed number of lives. The devastating incident happened on Friday night along the Eleme axis of the road, which has long been neglected, increasing motorists’ risks. Reports suggest that the tragedy was triggered when the tanker, navigating the dilapidated road, was hit by another heavy-duty vehicle, igniting flames and an explosion. The ensuing inferno engulfed more than 50 vehicles on the road at the time, with some occupants trapped and unable to escape the…

THE Federal Government says the demolition of buildings on the right of way of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road will begin on Saturday. The Federal Controller of Works in Lagos state, Korede Keisha, made this known during a press briefing in Lagos on Thursday. She asked all those whose houses were marked for demolition to come to the Ministry’s Secretariat in Lagos to sort out whatever process was required by the ministry. She said the demolition squad would move in on Saturday to begin the removal of the marked properties. The Minister of Works Dave Umahi recently said the Lagos-Calabar coastal…