Port Harcourt
Family indicts vigilance group over missing man in Rivers
Family members of a missing 22-year-old man, Arinze Obiukwu, are asking the Rivers State Police Command to put pressure on a local vigilance group popularly known as OSPAC in Elele Ikwerre Local Government Area to produce him dead or alive. The elder brother of the missing man, Ifeanyi Obiukwu, said Arinze was arrested on the 27th of April 2020 by members of the vigilance group and efforts to reach him or secure his bail has proved abortive since then. He claimed the family is being threatened by some OSPAC members while some policemen have been inviting and intimidating them while asking for ‘settlement’ over their missing brother. On how his brother was arrested, he said, ‘’On the 27th of April, 2020, along Elele roundabout, my brother Mr. Arinze Obiukwu was arrested by OSPAC operatives ...
Edo guber: NWC members not tax collectors – PDP
The Peoples Democratic Party has faulted an allegation by the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, that members of the party’s National Working Committee are tax collectors. The PDP reacted to the governor’s claim in a press statement by its National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Kola Ologbodiyan, Wednesday. Newsmen had reported that Wike on Tuesday pulled out of the reconciliation of the Edo State chapter of the PDP. He also accused some members of the National Working Committee of the PDP of “being sycophants and tax collectors who would never tell the truth”. Wike made the allegations after a publication accused him of sponsoring disunity among PDP members in Edo. The PUNCH reports that despite efforts by leaders of the party, some aspirants of the PDP have refused to step down for Gov...
Governor AbdulRazaq appoints Kayode Aremu as Kwara Radio chief
Gov. AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara has appointed the General Manager of Sobi FM, Ilorin, Mr Kayode Aremu, as the new General Manager of Kwara Radio. The governor announced the appointment of Aremu in a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Mr Rafiu Ajakaye, on Friday in Ilorin. According to Ajakaye, the appointment of Aremu, who hails from Ilorin, took immediate effect. The statement said the appointment was based on Aremu’s track record of achievements in the broadcast industry and professional acumen. “Mr Aremu perfectly fits into the vision of the Governor to equip, project and rebrand Radio Kwara as the number one radio station not just in the state, but in the entire north central region. “Aremu has a rich background in the media world as a crack reporter whose profes...
President Buhari authorises N19.67 billion for completion of East-West road
President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the immediate release of N19.67 billion to ramp up efforts in completing sections I-IV of the East-West Road project by 2021. The presidential directive was part of efforts to address infrastructure deficit in the Niger Delta region and boost its economy. Mr Buhari had, in his Democracy Day address, said the funding of the sections of the road project would be duly released to better the lot of his people and would be followed by a forensic audit. “I am determined to ensure that development meant for the people of the Niger Delta get to them so I have authorised a Forensic Audit of the Niger Delta Development Commission,” the president said. The road project, which was first conceived in 2006 by the Obasanjo administration, was meant to be completed ...
Governor Wike slams NGF as toothless bulldog
Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike on Monday slammed the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) for not standing up for embattled Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki. He said the NGF had become a toothless bulldog as it has lost focus on its role in defending the rule of law. Wike said the Forum used to be non-partisan and a powerful voice on national issues. He noted that since the All Progressives Congress (APC) took over the NGF in 2015, governors have been turned to beggars. The governor spoke at a media parley held at Government House in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital. He said: “Before 2015, the Nigeria Governors’ Forum used to be very powerful as symbols of their respective states but APC killed it because they were protecting the interest of the ruling party. “It is quite unfortunate ...
Pastor Ighodalo conducts service hours after wife’s demise
The Senior Pastor, Trinity House, Ituah Ighodalo, on Sunday morning conducted funeral service hours after receiving news of the death of his wife, Ibidunni Ighodalo. The cleric, who conducted the funeral service of Deji Okoya, the grandson of industrialist, Razak Okoya, said he was shattered by the death of his wife but life must go on. At the funeral, the cleric spoke about how transient life is and how important it is to live in accordance with the will of God. Ituah is normally cheerful but he was sombre and quite philosophical in the video obtained by newsmen. He said, “For the past 72 and 84 hours, everywhere tensed, confused, frightening, and disturbing but here we are today. I mean, if they had told us last week Sunday that we will be here to celebrate Ayodeji’s life, we’ll say it’s...
NDDC HQ shut over ‘coronavirus outbreak’
The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, has ordered the immediate shutdown of the headquarters of the Niger Delta Development Commission in Port Harcourt following the sudden death of the Commission’s Executive Director, Finance and Administration, Chief Ibanga Etang. Chief Etang, whose death occurred in the early hours of Thursday at the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital in Port Harcourt, was suspected to have died from complications arising from coronavirus disease. To this ends, Senator Akpabio has directed all staff of the Commission currently exhibiting symptoms not to panic but to report to the nearest NCDC centre in Port Harcourt for evaluation. The ministry in a statement by its Director, Press & PR, Mrs Deworitshe Patricia said the “Minister of N...
NNPC explains parameters for employment, career progression
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has explained the parametres for employment as well as career progression in the corporation, using the recently concluded Graduate Trainee employment process as well as top Management promotion exercise executed by the corporation as an illustration. The National Oil company says unblemished academic competence, logical thinking, ability to engage meaningfully in problem solving in addition to federal character are key to becoming an employee of the corporation. To progress in the Management cadre, professional competence, accountability and transparency as well as ensuring national spread in top management positions are critical factors that are not negotiable. Explaining the parametres, NNPC Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs D...
Governor Wike: Manager of demolished hotel tests positive for coronavirus among 27 new cases in Rivers
Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike has confirmed 27 new cases of Coronavirus with Manager of demolished Prodest Hotel, Eleme, listed among the latest cases. Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communication, Paulinus Nsirim, who made the disclosure Sunday evening said the development validates the State Government’s proactive fight against COVID-19. Nsirim recalled that “Protest Hotel was demolished two weeks ago because the owners violated Executive Order 7 which banned the operation of hotels. “The COVID-19 Taskforce members from the Local Government who went to enforce the Executive Order were brutalized and dehumanised leading to the death of one of them.” Get more stories like this on Twitter You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagin...
Governor Wike: Oil workers constitute 60 percent of coronavirus cases in Rivers
Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike has stated that 60 per cent of coronavirus cases recorded in the state are oil workers returning from rigs. Wike disclosed this Wednesday when the management team of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited paid him a courtesy visit at Government House, Port Harcourt. He stated that it was for that reason the state government insisted that oil workers coming into the state must be tested to confirm their coronavirus status, noting that oil remains the mainstay of the economy and that government actions are not targeted at anybody or organisation. He recalled that recently the Nigeria Airforce Base, Port Harcourt, also quarantined 14 oil workers out which three tested positive. “It is not in anybody’s interest to deny people to carry out their official duties. Oil...
Rivers monarchs accuse IGP of reversing presidential lockdown order
President Muhammadu Buhari has been asked to reverse the order of the Inspector General of Police (IGP) on the movement of agricultural produce, livestock, goods and services in Rivers State. The call was made on Saturday by the Rivers State Council of Traditional Rulers, which noted that the IGP had set up a Joint Technical Task Force at the instance of the Federal Ministries of Agricultural and Rural Development, Defence, Environment as well as various security agencies, to ensure free and unhindered movement of food, livestock, agricultural inputs and others into the State. The State Chairman of the Council, King Dandeson Jaja, speaking on behalf of the council in Port Harcourt wondered why the IGP would unilaterally lift the ban on the Presidential order restricting interstate movement...
PDP chides federal government for ‘denying’ Rivers, other states help
File Photo Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Wednesday chided Federal Government (FG) for denying Rivers and other states of the federal significant support in the fight against Coronavirus. National Chairman, PDP, Prince Uche Sencondus, expressed disappointment over the development at a stakeholder gathering in Port Harcourt to inaugurate the new Rivers PDP Executive Committee (EXCO) chaired by Ambassador Desmond Akawor. Secondus said, “Governors are working without help from the Federal Government. But for God, the situation would have been worse. Governors are running from pillar to post. “We must be grateful to Governor Wike for the initiative he took. What the Governor has done has helped to drastically reduce the number of cases. Rivers is lucky to have Governor Wike at this time of ...
