OPERATIVES of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) have located and destroyed an illegal crude oil refining site in Rivers State. The operation which took place on Friday 21st July 2023 as part of the air component of the joint security effort codenamed Operation Delta Safe was largely intelligence-driven. It was achieved after hours of careful surveillance by the NAF. The strike took place at Dariama village which is about 20km from Abonnema in the Akuku-Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State. The Air Force Air spokesman Commodore Edward Gabkwet confirmed the development to News Point Nigeria. “Yes, I can confirm…
Author: Eileen Peters
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DOCTORS in Cross River on Sunday embarked on a total and indefinite strike in solidarity with one of their members abducted on Thursday from her residence in Calabar. This is contained in a communique signed by Dr. Felix Archibong, Chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association, (NMA), Cross River branch, after an Emergency General Meeting (EGM) on Sunday in Calabar. It would be recalled that on Thursday July 13, Dr. Ekanem Ephraim, a medical practitioner with the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH), was kidnapped from her residence by armed men who pretended to be patients at about 7.30 p.m. The…
THE family of two-year-old Ivan Omorhiakogbe is seeking justice over the death of their son allegedly hit by a stray bullet from the guns of the men of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) during a raid in the Okapanam Oshimili North Local Government Area of Delta State. Ivan’s brother, who was also injured during the incident on Thursday, is currently receiving treatment at a hospital. Narrating the incident, the grieving father of Ivan said his son was looking forward to his graduation ceremony in school scheduled for next Tuesday but all that has been cut short following the…
THE Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has announced the launch of a new initiative to empower the youth of the Niger Delta region. The initiative, called HOPE, stands for Holistic Opportunity Projects of Engagement, and it aims to create 1,000 jobs per state through strategic partnerships and skill development. Speaking at the flag off of project HOPE today, July 12, 2023, the MD/CEO of NDDC, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, said: “Today marks a new dawn in the NDDC because we are kicking off project HOPE to touch the lives of youths in the Niger Delta. It is holistic because it will…
A THREE-STOREY building under construction has collapsed in Okotomi area, Okpanam, Oshimili North Local Government of Delta State. The building which was meant for hotel caved in around 6pm Friday. No casualty has been recorded as of the time of filing this report. This is the latest in the recent building collapses across the country. Just on Monday, a five-storey building also under construction collapsed in the Lifecamp area of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja. Emergency responders including officials of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) rescued no fewer than mine persons who were trapped in the Abuja collapsed…
In line with its set out goal of Make Edo Great Again (MEGA) agenda and capacity-building, the Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Mrs. Adaze Aguele-Kalu visited the Benin Mall and urged the contractors to intensify their efforts to ensure timely completion and opening. The commissioner, who was in the company of the Honourable Commissioner of Trade and Investment added that to avoid any delays in the project’s completion, Mrs. Aguele-Kalu encouraged the on-site manager to promptly reach out to her in case any challenges arise. She further advised the supervisor to engage in Zoom meetings with the 39 tenants,…
THE Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has called on development partners and donor agencies to join hands with the Commission to transform the Niger Delta region into a model of development. The NDDC made this appeal at a one-day policy dialogue with development partners and donor agencies in Abuja, held in collaboration with the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs. The policy dialogue, themed “Deepening Governance through Transparency and Value-added Partnership”, aimed to brainstorm on the shared mandates of the Ministry and the NDDC, and how best to collaborate and promote greater synergy for enhanced results in the overall development of…
THE Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) said it was deeply saddened and shocked by the news of the passing on of one of its committed members and Publisher of NewsDirect Newspapers Group, Dr Samuel Ibiyemi on Tuesday. Aged 56, Dr Ibiyemi succumbed to death at the Babcock University Teaching Hospital, Ilisan, Ogun State, where he was undergoing treatment. In statement on Wednesday by the NGE President, Eze Anaba and its General Secretary, Dr. Iyobosa Uwugiaren, the professional body of all the editors in Nigeria described the late publisher as a committed member of the NGE, who made his mark in…
A STOREY building that is under construction has collapsed in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area in Rivers State, injuring four persons. The structure is said to be erected for the hospitality business, more like a sit-out bar around the Okilton junction on Ada-George Road. Apart from the four persons said to have sustained varying degrees of injury, no life was lost in the incident. The injured persons are currently being treated at a hospital near the accident scene. Reacting to the incident, Rivers State Government said it will bring to book all those whose actions contributed to the collapse of the…
THE Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has described as fake, a contract award letter being circulated online, purporting to originate from the desk of the Managing Director of the Commission. The fake letter purportedly notified an Italian company of an award of a contract for 56,250,000 Euros and the fake letter neither states the purpose of the contract nor the consideration for the award. In a statement by its Director, Corporate Affairs, Ibitoye Abosede, the Commission said: “We hereby state unequivocally that the document is fake. The purported contract is also a scam. It does not exist either in the…
THE Cross River State Police Command has confirmed the discovery of the corpses of three medical students involved in the Marina Resort boat mishap in Calabar on Saturday. Speaking to journalists on Monday, the state Commissioner of Police, Gyogon Grimah, said the bodies recovered included those of two males and one female. “As you are all aware, on Saturday, about two days ago, after 3 in the afternoon, there was an incident reported at the Marina Resort here in Calabar where a boat capsized. “Three students were drowned and we have not rested since then, it has been rescue efforts…
IN recognition of her commitment and visionary leadership in promoting the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development in Nigeria, the United Nations in Nigeria has honoured the former Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (OSSAP-SDGs), H.E. Princess Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire with ‘SDGs Champion’ award. At the award ceremony held at the UN House Abuja, on 20 June 2023, Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, commended the United Nations in Nigeria for rewarding performance and dedication. “I thank the UN and the orgnisers of this award for finding it imperative to reward performance and dedication. This will go a…
THE Cross River State Governor, Senator Bassey Otu has ordered the immediate ban of all commercial motorcycles within the Calabar Metropolis. This was disclosed in a statement on Wednesday by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Emmanuel Ogbeche, stating that the ban followed due consultations with security chiefs in the state. According to the statement, those willing to use their cycles to earn a decent living are restricted only to remote areas away from the city centre. The state government warned that anyone caught going violating the directive will have the motorcycle impounded and the offender prosecuted. “The Governor,…
AN Appeal Court in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, has set aside a bench warrant of arrest issued against the former Governor of the state, Rotimi Amaechi and two others. The others are the Governorship Candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2023 elections, Tonye Cole and the Commissioner for Power in the Amaechi administration, Austine Wokocha. The ruling followed an appeal filed by Amaechi and the others seeking the setting side of the order by a lower court. His appeal was considered by a panel of three judges, of which two of them agreed that the…
GUNMEN suspected to be kidnappers have abducted the Operations Manager of the Sterling Bank, Mrs. Nneka Enuka Ugonochie in Bayelsa State. This newspaper gathered that the incident, which occured on Friday around the PDP Junction of the Sanni Abacha Expressway in Yenagoa, caught many residents unaware due to the multiple presence of joint security check point along the road. Security sources told this newspaper that the victim had been warned previously to relocate from her residence which is adjacent to that of the arrested kidnap kingpin, John Ewa aka John Lyon and Emmanuel Agase. It was gathered that the men…
FORMER Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike said despite the political gang-up against him, God has, without doubt, made all those evil plots against him fail. Wike spoke at the family thanksgiving service on Sunday organised in his honour that was held at St. Peter’s Anglican Church, Rumuepirikom Deanery, of the Diocese of Niger Delta North. The former governor explained that he cannot talk about his triumph in office as governor without attributing the victories to God. He recalled that in 2018, he was poisoned at the campaign secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and experienced liver and kidney…
EZE Anaba of Vanguard Newspaper has been elected the President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE). News Point Nigeria reports that, Anaba won the election with 250 votes to defeat Bolaji Adebiyi of Thisday Newspaper, who polled 81 votes at the NGE 2023 Biennial Convention on Friday in Owerri. The event drew over 300 editors in Nigeria’s media industry, with the Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma also in attendance. The theme for the conference is “Post 2023 Election: Promoting Professionalism for Enhancement of Democracy and good governance”. Prior to Anaba’s election, he was the Publicity Secretary of the Nigerian…
THE immediate past governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, says all members of the G5 supported the emergence of Godswill Akpabio and Tajudeen Abbas as the Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives. The G5 refers to a group of five former and incumbent governors who rejected Atiku Abubakar as the Peoples Democratic Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 election over the party’s zoning arrangement. They include Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, as well as former governors Wike, Samuel Ortom (Benue), Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu), and Okezie Ikpeaz (Abia). Their seeming alliance between them and President Bola Tinubu…
THE Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, has assured the people of Akinima community in Ahoada West Local Government Area of Rivers State of its speedy intervention on the damaged and unmotorable road linking the community with Joinkarama. The NDDC Managing Director/CEO, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, gave this assurance on Friday when he led some members of the Commission’s management committee on an inspection tour of the Akinima – Joinkarama road, which has been greatly damaged by erosion. Ogbuku sympathized with the commuters and residents of the area and promised to provide a temporary alternative route while the permanent solution to the…
A TRICYCLE rider has allegedly been beaten to death on Thursday by a member of a task force operating in the Ogbogoro area of Obio Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State. According to eyewitnesses, the keke rider identified as Nsikak Esieme was transporting a passenger when he was accosted by members of the task force who demanded N200 ticket money from him. However, trouble started when Mr. Esieme refused to oblige their request, arguing that he had just come out and was yet to make a substantial sum of money yet. Trouble started when a member of the task…