SIEMENS, A leading global technology company and PANA Infrastructure Have announced their collaboration to tackle Nigeria’s electricity infrastructure sector. The partnership, according to the , is aimed at modernizing and upgrading Nigeria’s electric power infrastructure through the provision of grid automation, creating job opportunities in the country , and smart infrastructure solutions across Nigeria. The agreement signed between Siemens and PANA infrastructure, focuses on enhancing grid reliability and stability, deepening electrification rates to meet the rapidly growing demand for electricity in Nigeria. They stressed that the collaboration, solidified through a formal agreement, signifies a pivotal step towards addressing Nigeria’s pressing…
Author: Eileen Peters
GOVERNOR of Abia State, Alex Otti on Wednesday inaugurated a 100-bed Sustainable Development Multipurpose Hospital in Obeaja, Ugwunagbo Local Government Area. The hospital, constructed and equipped by the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (OSSAP-SDGs), aims to enhance access to quality healthcare in the region. Speaking during the ceremony, Otti emphasized that health occupies a significant position in Abia Government’s rebuilding agenda. He noted that the state-of-the-art hospital would bolster efforts to improve healthcare access. The hospital is part of the Federal Government’s health intervention program aimed at achieving Goal 3 of the…
THE authorities of the University of Benin (UNIBEN) on Thursday shut down academic activities in the institution indefinitely. The university, in a statement by its Public Relations Officer, Dr Benedicta Ehanire, attributed the decision to the refusal of the students to shift grounds on their demands. This newspaper recalls that the students on Wednesday took to the streets, blocking the ever-busy Benin-Ore Highway, to protest weeks of power outages on campus. The students, who had two weeks until their first semester examination, said the situation was severely affecting their preparation. The students also called for a downward review of transport…
THE Governor of Bayelsa State, Douye Diri, said on Wednesday that he is not interested in being a running mate to ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar for the 2027 presidential election. A statement by Diri’s Chief Press Secretary, Daniel Alabrah, on Wednesday, said, “A faceless group, which sarcastically named itself Diri Angels, in a statement, had made the suggestion to Alhaji Abubakar.” Atiku was the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the 2023 presidential election, which he lost to President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress. According to Alabrah’s statement, the Diri Angels met with Atiku and expressed…
THE Rivers state police command has arrested a man in the Omoku council headquarters of Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of the state. The man identified as Felix Nwaobokata is the immediate past commander of the local vigilante group, popularly known as ONELGA Security and Peace Advisory Committee (OSPAC). According to a statement by the Police Public Relations Officer, Rivers State Police Command, SP Grace Koko, said Nwaobokata had two human skulls and bones in his possession at the time of arrest. Nwaobokata was arrested alongside three others following accusations of abducting a member of the Hausa community in Omoku. Koko…
RIVERS State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, says the intention of the man who detonated an explosive in Port Harcourt Tuesday, was to blow up the Presidential Hotel, a highly-rated hospitality facility in the state. Governor Fubara said this during a visit by the Senate Committee on Privatization led by Senator Orji Uzor Kalu to the government house in Port Harcourt on Wednesday. He said the failed attacker targeted the facility that was accommodating high profile individuals including the members of the Senate committee to justify the call for imposition of a state of emergency in the state. He said, “The idea…
FORMER Council Chairmen of 21 out of the 23 Local Governments Area (LGA) in Rivers State on Monday staged a protest at their various council areas. In Buguma, council headquarters of the Asari-Toru LGA, former Chairman Onengiyeofori George, alongside his supporters marched through the streets of the town as they gyrate to songs in solidarity with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike. They waved placards with inscriptions asking the police to continue occupying the council headquarters. Some of the inscriptions read, “Sim Fubara Can’t Continue to Act As He likes” and “There’s No Vacancy in Asari-Toru…
RIVERS State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has appointed the King of Apara Kingdom in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Eze Chike Worlu Wodo, to chair the Rivers State Council of Traditional Rulers. Eze Wodo, who recently visited Governor Fubara to pledge his support for his administration, is to replace King Sergeant Awuse, an ally of the former governor. Obio/Akpor Local Government Area is where former Governor Nyesom Wike comes from. Awuse, a prominent politician, became a traditional ruler in his Emohua Kingdom in Emohhua Local Government Area two years ago. Despite being new to the revered Council of Traditional Rulers, the former…
THE leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, has called on the Federal Government to declare state of emergency in the state. Caretaker Committee Chairman of the party in Rivers, Chief Tony Okocha, made the call during a media briefing in Port Harcourt on Wednesday. He said, “Rivers State is at war. And the dramatis personae who are responsible for the mayhem that has claimed lives are known. “The Governor is helpless, the police is helpless. Therefore the APC in Rivers State is calling for a state of emergency in Rivers State as a way of taming…
RIVERS State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has sworn in 23 new caretaker chairmen for the 23 local government areas of the state. The swearing-in was done on Wednesday at the Government House in Port Harcourt, the state capital amid tight security. Channels Television reports that the exercise was carried out at the Council Chambers with the first batch of 11 CTC chairmen taking their oath of office. It comes a day after he forwarded the list to the state House of Assembly led by factional Speaker, Victor Jumbo. The lawmakers had invited the nominees for screening as early as 8 am…
RIVERS State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has nominated caretaker chairmen for the 23 local government areas of the state. Fubara sent the list to the state House of Assembly led by factional Speaker, Victor Jumbo, on Tuesday. The nomination came amid a renewed political crisis in the state, as former council chairmen have refused to vacate their offices after their tenure expired. Fubara’s communication to the assembly was contained in a statement issued on Tuesday night by the Clerk of the House, G.M. Gillis-West. According to the statement, the assembly invited the nominees for screening on Wednesday by 8 am. The…
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…