Author: Chim Ogwutum

Despite the mayhem and disruptions that followed the last local government elections in Rivrs State, citizens of the state have unanimously said that they expect the new council chairmen and the councils to render service and good governance. Speaking to National Point, a community leader, Elder Joseph Anyaogwu described the violence and burning of some council secretariats as very unfortunate and diversionary to create ugly scene in the state, so that a state of emergency will be declared. “What matters is that we now have democratically elected Government in place at the Local level. We expect that now that they…

Brain Ajuriebie Gokpa, the newly elected Chairman of Eleme Local Government, with his back to a burning section of the local government secretariat, stood in front of an Arise News TV camera that was waiting to beam live. He reached out for a white handkerchief in his right pocket as he waited for the anchor on the live TV to call him. He wiped his creased face of the beads of sweat that had formed there. The atmosphere was cool. But the events of that morning made things hot, actually burning for Chief Gokpa. He had woken up ready to…

A leader of the Action Peoples Party, APP, Mrs. Agnes Onyekwe, has expressed joy that the last local government election in Rivers State will go down in history as one of the best, devoid of violence, rigging and manipulation.The APP ward 8 Chairman, Obio/Akpor LGA, Engr. Richman Chuku, said the victory of APP was well deserved because they campaigned vigorously, selling their manifestos to the electorate.He thanked all voters for turning out to exercise their franchise, as it is their constitutional rights to do so.Ms Tina Ogwutum, a leader of Ward 8, Obio/Akpor, popularly known as ‘Aunty London’, noted that…

Residents of Rumuodunwere Community in Elelewo Clan, Oropotoma kingdom in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State have called out for help following an oil spill that has rendered them homeless. It is the second time that an oil spill is occurring in the community since 1974, which destroyed farm lands and buildings. The latest spill occurred on Wednesday, 21st August. Speaking to National Point, on Tuesday, 27th August 2024, in his Palace, the Paramount ruler, Rumuodunwere Community, HRH Eze Ken Nnanta Otto, said the spill has destroyed their habitations and farmlands. He called on Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC),…

The Atlantic Hall of Hotel Presidential, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, was filled to the brim with notable personalities from Rivers and Bayelsa States as people turned up to honour the first civilian Governor of the Old Rivers State, Chief Melford Okilo on the 16th memorial of his death. The event was sponsored by the Rivers State Government with the support of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). Former President Goodluck Jonathan, who was the Special Guest of Honour, said Okilo was not only his political mentor, but was also a father to him and thanked organizers, Bayelsa Government, Movement for…

In line with its mandate of training and retraining journalists for enhanced professionalism, National Point newspaper/Foreword Communications Limited organized a one-day media training on “Investigative Journalism, Inclusive Development and Accountability,” for journalists drawn from various media houses across the Niger Delta states of Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Delta, Edo, and Rivers. The event held on Friday, July 19, 2024, at the Conference Hall of New Point Hotel and Suites, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, was supported by Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism, WSCIJ, and Mac-Arthur Foundation. The programme, which was graced by the chairman of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ),…

The political feud between the incumbent governor of Rivers State, Sir Siminalayi Joseph Fubara and the immediate-past governor, Chief Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, now minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, ignited late October 2023, got to a climax on Tuesday, June 17, 2024, when the tenure of the chairmen of the 23 local government areas of the state expired. That day, Rivers State became a hotbed of political crisis following the refusal of the council chairmen and their councilors to leave office, predicating their legitimacy and action on the six months tenure elongation bill passed by the embattled Hon.…

The towering edifice with the inscription “Dr. Peter Odili Cancer Cardiovascular Diagnostic and Treatment Centre,” at No. 120 Ikwerre Road, Rumuokwuta, in Obio/Akpor LGA of Rivers State, now looks like a graveyard, silent and completely deserted. The centre built by the immediate-past governor of the state now Federal Capital Territory (FCT) minister, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, at the cost of N26billion was first unveiled by the then minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, on June 8, 2021. The Centre was constructed by Julius Berger PLC, as a specialized hospital in Port Harcourt, to cater for the treatment of all levels of…

Wife of the Rivers State governor, Lady Valerie Fubara, has presented 50,000 exercise books to public primary schools in Rivers State. Making the donation on behalf of the Renewed Hope Initiative, a project of Mrs Remi Tinubu, wife of the president, at Government House, Port Harcourt on Monday, the Rivers State first lady said education is pivotal to the development of the society. She acknowledged the valuable programmes of the Renewed Hope Initiative of the wife of the President, Senator Remi Tinubu in the state, and emphasised that the provision of the books was to support education of school children…

The Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, has set free a former director-general of Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Patrick Akpobolokemi, after it upheld a no case submission by his counsel. Hon. Justice Ayokunle Faji held that none of the witnesses called by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC that prosecuted him, led any evidence that linked Akpobolokemi to the offences he was charged with. But the court held that the second defendant, Maj. Gen. Emmanuel Atewe, a formerc Commander of the Joint Task Force in the Niger Delta, and the third defendant, Mr. Kime Engonzu,…