Author: Emmanuel Obe

The Supreme Council of Ogoni Traditional Rulers has appointed a former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Port Harcourt, Prof. Ndowa Lale, to head a Peace and Reconciliation Committee to resolve the crisis in the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP). It is a major step towards ending the prolonged division in MOSOP, unifying all factions and restoring stability within the movement. The Committee was inaugurated on Tuesday, 15th July 2025, by the King of Tai, HRM Samuel L. A. Nnee, who also serves as the Coordinator/Convener of the Supreme Council. The inauguration followed a leave of court granted…

…commends PINL on zero infractions The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa, has called on host communities along the Trans Niger Pipeline (TNP) to take greater ownership of national assets within their territories and work collectively to protect them. Speaking through Navy Captain Lassie Audi Ozovehe at a monthly stakeholders’ engagement hosted by Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Limited (PINL) in Port Harcourt, General Musa warned that the primary victims of pipeline vandalism and oil theft are often the communities themselves. “If you break a pipeline, the environmental and health hazards will affect the community more than the oil companies,”…

At the 17th Wole Soyinka Centre Media Lecture held virtually on July 13, 2025, leading voices in journalism and human rights raised the alarm over growing surveillance, digital threats, and the systematic silencing of journalists across Africa. They called for urgent reforms to safeguard press freedom, strengthen privacy protections, and build public awareness of the consequences of suppressing independent media. Themed, “Surveillance, Safety and the Silencing of Truth,” this year’s lecture marked the 91st birthday of Nobel Laureate and grand patron of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ), Prof. Wole Soyinka.The event featured a keynote by Angela Quintal,…

…SOLAD directs people to move upland The consistent rainfall in Port Harcourt and environs has led to serious flooding that has been causing residents anxious moments.In Oyigbo urban, residents are trapped in the floods while vehicles cannot move around. Areas like Rumuagholu, Rukpoku, Eleme and Elimgbu were also affected.Other affected areas were Odili Road, Eliozu, East West Road and many other places.Victor Ezuma, who operates the Oyigbo TV said on his Facebook handle that people are moving out of their homes as their homes are besieged by the flood.”Politicians don’t want to fix internal roads because of me. They feel…

Stakeholders in the Niger Delta region have urged the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, to ensure that the funds allocated in its 2025 budget are in line with current economic realities, to ensure that conceptualised projects are completed for the benefit of the communities. This was part of the resolutions issued at the end of a two-day NDDC 2025 Budget Conference and Partners for Sustainable Development, PSD Forum, held in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. The stakeholders emphasised the importance of handing over projects to communities, noting, “To avoid cases of non-utilisation or under-utilisation of projects, all completed projects should be…

The Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, has reaffirmed its commitment to gender equality and women’s empowerment in the Niger Delta region. Speaking at the opening of a three-day workshop to commemorate International Women’s Day in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, the NDDC Executive Director of Projects, Mr. Victor Antai, said the Commission was taking significant steps toward promoting inclusivity and development for women across the region. Antai, represented by the Akwa Ibom State Director, Mr. Evong Evong commended the resilience and hard work of the women in the region. He emphasised NDDC’s dedication to gender inclusivity, stating, “In our sustainable development…

The Director-General of Rivers State Tourism Development Agency, Mr. Yibo Koko, has said the political crisis in Rivers State that culminated in the declaration of a state of emergency in the state regressed the gains the tourism industry made towards the end of 2024. Writing on his Facebook handle, Koko said, “Between December 20th, 2024, and January 5th, 2025, data revealed an unprecedented movement of people into Rivers State through the Umuagwa Airport, surpassing numbers from the last nine and a half years.” He said this followed the rejuvenation of cultural and social activities across the state during that period.…

Shocked by the allocation of N24 billion for the provision of CCTV installation in Government House in the N1.48 trillion budget of Rivers State, the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee on Rivers State has given the state’s Sole Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (Rtd), a 48-hour ultimatum to submit a detailed breakdown of key allocations in the proposed 2025 budget. Chairman of the committee and House Majority Leader, Rep. Julius Ihonvbere (APC, Edo), issued the directive during a budget defence session in Abuja. He said that the committee had gone through the budget as presented by the sole administrator and…

I had a meeting with you on the 29th of May, 2025, here, and in that meeting, I did inform you that we are in a peace process. I know and not just being in the process I said it’s ongoing. I called for this meeting to address you formally, for you to have the first-hand information. It’s not the one you are reading in the paper, it’s not the one you are seeing on social media or wherever. You are now hearing from me. We have fought. I think, in my own assessment and in the assessment of anyone…

The people of Ebubu community in Eleme Local Government Area have sent a distress call the Nigerian authorities to save them from the continuous attacks, harassment, and kidnapping by suspected Fulani herdsmen in their farmlands. In a media statement, the people said that over the past weeks, “Our mothers, wives, and sisters who engage in farming activities their main source of livelihood have faced unprovoked attacks by armed Fulani herdsmen.” They said the incidents involved kidnapping of women while they are working on their farms; physical assault and intimidation, leading to fear and psychological trauma; destruction of crops and farmland…