Author: Emmanuel Obe

There was confusion in Port Harcourt the Rivers State capital on Thursday when the Court of Appeal reversed the judgment of a Rivers State High Court that nullified the membership of the 27 members of the House of Assembly that defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) last December. The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja held that the Rivers State High Court that delivered the judgment had no jurisdiction as it was only the Federal High Court that had the Constitutional jurisdiction to determine whether a member of the House of Assembly had…

The last two-day strike embarked on by organized labour in Nigeria cost the economy about N148 billion, according to Dr. Joseph Obele, a former Chairman of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN. Obele, who is also a lecturer at Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Port Harcourt, said the total loss of revenue was up to N500 billion for the two days in all the sectors of the economy. However he said that the strike was inevitable given the prevailing state of affairs in the country, where the minimum wage is just N30,000 a month and where substantial size…

Some stakeholders have raised concern over the stoppage of work on the Eleme axis of the East-West road in Rivers State. The flurry of activities that was noticed on the road since November last year when the contractors, RCC Limited mobilized to site suddenly began to slow down after the fire disaster in April on the Indorama section of the road that claimed many lives and burnt more than 100 vehicles. Investigation by National Point showed that work on all the sites of the project completely ground to a halt by Monday June 4, when workers at the Refinery Junction…

Rivers State Governor, Mr. Siminalayi Fubara, has said that the aim of his administration is to make Rivers State compete with Lagos as the economic hub of Nigeria in terms of infrastructure and the blue economy. The governor stated this when he played host to a delegation of Nigerian Guild of Editors in Port Harcourt. He said his administration has started working hard to build the needed infrastructure and expand revenue nets to boost economy of the state. He listed the 50:51km Port Harcourt Ring Road project, traversing six local government areas; the 12km Trans-Kalabari Road, connecting Port Harcourt to…

Deadly larvae known as armyworms are devastating maize farms in Rivers State. The larvae attack the crops when they are only a few weeks old and abort them. They have been around for some time but their devastating effect is now badly felt as more people launched into farming with the prohibitive cost of food in the state. The high cost of food had forced people in both rural and urban areas to resort to farming this year to reduce cost of food items. Mrs. Evelyn Gomba- Obe, a farmer from Alesa in Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State,…

Rivers State Governor, Mr. Siminalayi Fubara, has said that the government decided to host the 2024 Rivers International marathon despite the challenges because it wanted to open up the economy of the State to global investment opportunities. The Governor also said that his administration was already committed to youth development by expanding the space and exposing them to a variety of sporting activities to groom potential talents for excellence and attainment of their aspirations. The governor stated this at the close of Rivers International Marathon 2024 at Yakubu Gowon Stadium, Elekahia in Port Harcourt on Saturday. He expressed delight that…

The Governor of Rivers State, Mr. Siminalayi Fubara, has felicitated with former militant leaders and citizens of the state, Alhaji Asari Dokubo, and HRH Ateke Tom, on their 60th birthdays. The governor, who attended the birthday celebration of Tom at Okochiri, said his administration would continue to provide social services, critical projects, and sustain peace across the State. Fubara reiterated that the worse was over with the political crisis that confronted governance in the State, adding that the government was now working assiduously to deliver quality services and signature infrastructure projects in line with his administration’s ‘people first’ mantra. “I…

Curiosity is one of the driving instincts of the journalist. Once something of significance erupts within their area of coverage, the hairs on their skin jut out like antennas. They want to know where the place is, how to get there and who to guide them. The purpose is to get to the root of the story and if possible, dig out as many scoops that they can with the originality that come with them. It is indeed a life of adventure, the sweetness of which is savoured when they sit back to write about their experiences. So, when the…

With over 100 of its people killed and all the houses in the community flattened during the seven-week occupation by the Nigerian military there, it remains to be seen if Okuama community in Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State can ever be restored. Our Editor, EMMANUEL OBE and Correspondent, CLIFFORD CHRISTOPHER SOLOMON, visited Okuama, the Internally Displaced Camp at Ewu and other neighbouring communities and report. It’s been over one month since the military pulled out of Okuama, the settlement of fishermen and farmers on the west bank of the Forcados River in Delta State, but fear and…

There is palpable tension in Rivers State as elected local government Chairmen and Councillors insist that they would not vacate office beyond the June 17, 2024 date when their current tenure expires. The present crop of elected council chairmen and councillors whose tenures will expire on June 17th, have said they will not vacate their seats because a faction of the House of Assembly led by Hon. Martins Amaewhule had amended the Rivers State Local Government Law to extend their tenures by six months. One of the council chairmen, Dr. Samuel Nwanosike of Ikwerre LGA, had said categorically, “We will…