Author: Emmanuel Obe

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…

The Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, has said the Commission was committed to the speedy completion of the Gbaregolor-Ogulaha Road project Phase I in Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State. Ogbuku, who was accompanied by the Chairman of the NDDC Governing Board, Mr. Chiedu Ebie, the Executive Director Project, Mr. Victor Antai and some members of the House of Representatives Committee on the NDDC, on an assessment tour of the 24-kilometre road project, said that with a bridge spanning 576m, the project was massive, stating that billions of naira had already…

The Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, has launched a comprehensive technical skills acquisition programme to equip participants with practical in-demand skills. At the flag-off of the programme in Port Harcourt, the NDDC Managing Director, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, stated that it aligned with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and the efforts to address youth unemployment and restiveness in the Niger Delta. Ogbuku, who was represented by the NDDC Executive Director of Projects, Mr. Victor Antai, described the programme as “development in action.” He stated, “Every enduring legacy begins with a foundation. What we are doing today is laying down…

Rivers State Police Command have declared two senior officials of Ahoada East Local Government wanted for their role in the attack of the Administrator of the local government, Mr. Goodluck Iheanachor on June 20. In a signal made public on Sunday, the command named the wanted officials as Mr. Hector Ekakita, the Chief Security Officer, and Mr. Aloni Olodi, the Chief of Staff. According to the police, the two allegedly led a group of over 30 persons in a coordinated assault on the administrator on June 20, 2025, at the Ahoada-East Council Secretariat. The attackers beat up Mr Iheanachor and…

Youths from Ogoniland and other groups in Rivers State have taken their protest against the spate of attacks on farming communities in Ogoniland to the authorities in Port Harcourt. Organised under the auspices of Coalition of Rivers State Youth Bodies (CORYB), the groups marched through the streets of Port Harcourt and called for an end to the growing wave of insecurity perpetrated by Fulani Herdsmen in the communities. They took their protest to Government House, the DSS and the headquarters of the Rivers State Police Command where their leaders addressed the protesters. There has been a rise in attacks by…