Author: Emmanuel Obe

Thousands of families in Bayelsa, Rivers and Delta States have fled their homes as devastating floods took over their homes and farmlands. The victims are also faced by the high cost of evacuating their homes in view of the high cost of doing and the and harsh economic realities. Biseni, a community in the northern part of Bayelsa State has been completely submerged by the invading flood for over two weeks now. Residents of the community have since evacuated to higher grounds and some faraway communities. Most of the victims have found refuge the bridge and road that lead to…

The Chairman of Eleme Local Government, Chief Brain Gokpa, has begun disbursement of bursaries to the over 1,500 students of Eleme origin in post-secondary institutions in Nigeria. Already the benefiting students have been acknowledging receipt of the payments in their respective bank accounts. The process of paying the bursary to the students was started when Chief Gokpa was the Chairman of the caretaker committee of the local government through the Education Committee headed by Hon. Okaka Obe, the former Supervisor for Education. The Chief Press Secretary to the Chairman, Hon. Udeme Obot, said in a press statement during the week,…

The Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, has commenced the channelisation of Kolo Creek, traversing 17 communities from Okarki-Otuogidi to Ogbia communities of Rivers and Bayelsa states. Speaking during the ground-breaking ceremony at Okarki in Ahoada West Local Government Area of Rivers State, the NDDC Managing Director, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, said that the project would reduce flooding in surrounding communities and mitigate its impact on the Ahoada axis of the East-West Road. He stated that the channelisation project would also boost commercial activities in the area, improve aquatic life and reduce the threat of water-borne diseases to the rural communities. The…

A civic-tech organisation, BudgIT, has rated Rivers State as the leading state in fiscal performance in Nigeria in its maiden edition of its fiscal performance ranking for states. BudgIT, in its report launched during the week, said Rivers State maintained the number one spot in the fiscal performance throughout 2023. The report was titled, ‘Moving Healthcare Delivery from Suboptimal to Optimal.’ It used five different metrics for ranking all 36 states. The metrics include Index A, which examined ability of states to meet operating expenses (recurrent expenditure) with only their internally generated revenue. “Index A1 looks at the percentage year-on-year…

Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State has promised to revive the Port Harcourt Tourist Beach in Rivers State, which has been abandoned for several decades. A visit by Governor Fubara, round the facility on Tuesday, offered a renewed assurance to get the facility, which provided relaxation and fun spots for residents and visitors to Port Harcourt, back to live again. Speaking to reporters after visiting the beach, the governor said, “We are here to inspect this place that is usually called Port Harcourt Tourist Beach, and for so many years has been abandoned and not put to good use. “So,…

The Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, has promised to equip all the nine police command headquarters within the coverage area of the commission. The Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission NDDC, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, stated this when the new Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Bala Mohammed, paid him a courtesy visit at the Commission’s headquarters in Port Harcourt. He said a contract has already been awarded for the supply of the solar power systems at the police command headquarters. “The NDDC is committed to giving adequate support to the Nigeria Police and other security agencies in the…

The Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria, PETROAN, has raised an alarm that about one million people might lose their jobs by the end of November if government failed to intervene urgently to save those jobs. PETROAN said the inflationary trend in the downstream petroleum sector was forcing retail outlets to close shop as they no longer could afford the spiraling prices of petrol. According to the National Publicity Secretary of the association, Dr. Joseph Obele, policy inconsistency, instability and financial turbulence in the sector have compounded the challenges of retail outlets and have made it difficult for…

Bayelsa State Government has received the sum of N3 billion from the Federal Government as its share of the flood preventing fund for flood prone states. The Technical Adviser on Treasury and Accounts to Bayelsa Governor, Mr Timipre Seipolou, disclosed this while giving a breakdown of revenue profile of the state for August and September 2024. Bayelsa was among the 21 states at risk of flooding by the National Emergency Management Agency’s 2024 Flood Alert. The highlights of the revenue figures show that while Bayelsa’s oil derivation revenue for the month was N 8.69 billion, the state got N22.99 billion…

The Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, said that the commission will leverage evolving technology to improve agricultural productivity in Niger Delta states. Ogbuku, who was speaking at the opening session of the NDDC Food Security Innovation and Investment Summit in New York, United States, said the Commission was committed to creating an enabling environment for investors by streamlining processes and providing incentives for those who wish to invest in the agricultural sector. Ogbuku, who was represented by the NDDC Executive Director, Projects, Sir Victor Antai, explained that in seeking innovative solutions to address…

Bayelsa State Government has assured that public power supply would be restored to Bayelsa State by the end of November following assurances it received to restore the vandalized power transmission towers that supplied power to the state. The Commissioner for Information, Orientation and Strategy, Mrs. Ebiuwou Koku-Obiyai, said after an inspection of work at Okogbe in Rivers State by the contractors, said government was impressed by the progress being made on the project. The whole of Bayelsa State was thrown into darkness on July 29 following the vandalism on several 132 KVA twin circuit transmission towers that feed the state.…