Author: Emmanuel Obe

Nigeria’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Amb. Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, has appealed for calm and restraint following the conviction and sentencing of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, on terrorism charges. In a statement issued on Friday, Ojukwu said she returned from Zanzibar, Tanzania, where she had been on a five-day NTAC monitoring mission, only to meet the “sad news” of Kanu’s conviction. She described the development as an outcome “not prayed for,” but one that must now be confronted with maturity and wisdom. “At this time in our history, there is need for…

The Asagba of Asaba, His Royal Majesty Prof. Epiphany C. Azinge, has withdrawn from serving as Chairman of the Technical Committee driving the campaign for the creation of Anioma State. In a statement issued by his personal secretary, Ogbueshi Dr. Jude C. Mgbeze, the monarch announced that he would no longer participate in the committee’s activities, citing “irreconcilable differences” over the geographical delineation of the proposed state. According to the statement, the Asagba is concerned about attempts to alter the traditionally recognized boundaries of Anioma, as well as what it described as “clandestine and delusional complicity” to relocate the proposed…

A renewed call for Africans to embrace their cultural identity and revive indigenous knowledge systems dominated speeches on Sunday as the Kalabari people, a major Ijaw subgroup in Rivers State, celebrated their New Year Day at Elem-Kalabari, regarded as the ancestral homeland of the Kalabari. The Amayanabo of Elem-Kalabari and Torusarama-Piri, the Source, Alabo Dokubo Asari, in his New Year goodwill message, urged African intellectuals, especially geographers and astronomers, to work towards reconstructing the traditional Kalabari calendar, which he said was distorted during British colonial rule. The Kalabari New Year is marked annually on November 16, a date tied to…

Two children, aged eight and six, were killed in a late-night fire that swept through a cluster of makeshift homes in Port Harcourt on Sunday. The incident occurred in a shantytown settlement behind the Elechi Amadi Polytechnic, Rumuola, where about 27 families reside. Earlier reports had suggested the fire happened within the polytechnic, but this has since been clarified. According to neighbours, the children were locked inside their room by their mother, who had stepped out briefly to buy items to complete a pot of soup she was cooking. The fire was said to have started in the same room,…

The rich history and culture of the Kalabari people of the Niger Delta have been on vibrant display at the Moriri Art Gallery in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, where an exhibition is holding as part of activities marking this year’s Kalabari New Year celebrations. The Kalabari New Year Day, organised by the Kalabari Renaissance Foundation, will be celebrated on Sunday, November 16, at Elem-Kalabari—the ancestral homeland from which the major Kalabari kingdoms of Buguma, Abonnema and Bakana migrated. Elem-Kalabari is currently undergoing major rebuilding following the emergence of Alhaji Mujahid Asari Dokubo as Amayanabo. The exhibition features driftwood sculptures by…

Investigative journalist Fisayo Soyombo has alleged that persistent killings and insecurity across Nigeria are directly linked to deep-rooted corruption within the country’s security institutions, particularly the Nigeria Police Force and the Ministry of Interior. Soyombo, who founded the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), said over ₦1 billion allocated between 2016 and 2018 for the construction of police transit camps in Benue, Bauchi, Plateau, Katsina, and Kano States was diverted by senior police officers and officials of the ministry. The camps, according to him, were approved to house policemen closer to violence-prone areas in the North to enable faster response to…

…as Government Begins Distribution of Relief Materials Residents of flood-prone communities in the Orashi region of Rivers State have yet to move into government-prepared shelter camps, even as the state government on Thursday began distributing relief materials to areas affected by this year’s flooding. The worst-hit areas include Ahoada West, Ahoada East, Abua/Odual, and Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni local government areas. At the flag-off ceremony held at the Central Medical Stores in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State Deputy Governor and Chairman of the 2025 Flood Prevention and Management Committee, Professor Ngozi Nma Odu, said the initiative marked the beginning of relief distribution to…

The Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) has expressed shock and concern over the sudden collapse of the overhead water tank at the newly commissioned Gwara Water Station in Khana Local Government Area of Rivers State. In a statement signed by its Management, HYPREP described the incident as “deeply disturbing,” adding that an immediate investigation has been ordered to determine the cause of the collapse. According to the statement, the Project Coordinator, Professor Nenibarini Zabbey, has constituted a high-level committee to visit the site and commence a thorough probe into both the immediate and remote causes of the incident. “The Committee…

Major international oil companies operating in Nigeria including Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), Chevron, Total, and Eni came under heavy criticism from environmental activists at the First Peoples Environmental Assembly held in Port Harcourt. The event, organized by We The People Centre for Social Studies and Development, brought together environmental rights advocates from Nigeria, South Africa, and Europe to discuss decades of oil pollution and the quest for justice in the Niger Delta. The Executive Director of We The People, Mr. Ken Henshaw, accused the multinational oil companies of abandoning their responsibilities after 70 years of exploiting the Niger Delta…

A leading civil society activist, Mr. Celestine Akpobari, has urged Governor Siminalayi Fubara to resist pressure to divert Rivers State’s resources into national politics. Akpobari said the governor should take advantage of his current popularity to deliver good governance, industrial growth, and urban expansion beyond Port Harcourt. He warned that the state had suffered enough under leaders who “played national politics with Rivers money,” adding that Fubara could “turn Rivers into a new Dubai or Kigali” if he focused squarely on development. Akpobari, who spoke following the governor’s return from a six-month political standoff, urged him to channel the goodwill…