Author: Emmanuel Obe

Community Environment and Development Network (CEDEN) and Media Awareness and Justice Initiative (MAJI) have joined forces to combat adverse effects of oil exploration and climate change in Oloibiri communities of Bayelsa State. The two Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) collaborated on a capacity building workshop on Effective Eco-Management Enhancement and Biodiversity Promotion Communication. The workshop which was held on Friday dwelt on restoring lost species and promoting sustainable ecological livelihoods in the Niger Delta. The workshop featured a technical session by Menidin Egbo, emphasizing the restoration of the raffia forest ecology in Ekpadio swamp forest, Otuabagi community, in Ogbia Local Government…

The people of Die-Ama Community in Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa State have given a one-month ultimatum to Federal and Bayelsa State governments to include them in the Memorandum of Understanding for the ongoing Nembe/Brass road project. According to the community, they are the most impacted community in the course of the project. The Amanyanabo of Die-Ama, HRH Baratuaipre Eketei Amaene Ikaba XI, said from Western side of Saint Nicholas Rivers to the other side of the bush, “We are the most impacted, the whole mangrove areas fall within our side. “Now a road construction is being undertaken by…

The police in Rivers State are investigating a case in which a woman allegedly killed the seven-year old daughter of her friend and later died herself. The girl, Alicia Olajumoke, was allegedly killed in the Agip Estate area of Rumueme, Port Harcourt. Police said the incident occurred on 25 November at the child’s residence at 21 Okabia Street, where she lived with her mother, Glory Joseph. Police Public Relations Officer, Mrs Grace Iringe-Koko, said the child’s mother reported that a woman known as Success, who was familiar to the family, went to Alicia’s school, took her home, and fatally attacked…

The Ogale Graduates Association (OGA) and other stakeholders have called for an urgent investigation into the status of water projects funded by the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP), following claims that the Ogale Water Scheme is functional. In a statement signed by its Executive President, Engr. Aleyla-Obari Sam Nwanje, OGA dismissed a recent report by a Port Harcourt radio station alleging that the facility had been commissioned and was supplying water to residents. According to the group, the project “remains inactive, abandoned and not functional,” despite the severe hydrocarbon pollution affecting Ogale and surrounding communities. “It is gazzetted in the…

A fresh rift has emerged in the ongoing national debate over the creation of Anioma State, as the Asagba of Asaba, His Royal Majesty Prof. Epiphany Azinge (SAN), and legislators from Delta North Senatorial Zone have firmly opposed suggestions to relocate the proposed state capital away from Asaba or align the new state with the South-East geopolitical zone. The opposition comes amid mounting concerns that political manoeuvres could undermine decades of development and the historical identity of the Anioma people. Speaking against what he described as “poorly considered proposals,” the Asagba warned that removing Asaba as the capital would threaten…

Rivers State House of Assembly has ordered an investigation into the allegations that Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited has failed to clean up the oil spills that devastated B-Dere community in Gokana Local Government Area of the state. The House gave the order based on a petition from the community against the company. The petition, which was signed by the community’s surveyor, Mr. Hamilton Odom, was presented on the floor of the House by the Deputy Speaker. The Speaker, Mr. Martin Amaewhule, subsequently referred the petition to the House Committee on Public Complaints and Petitions, chaired by Dr. Enemi Alabo…

The Managing Director of Foreword Communications Limited and publisher of National Point newspaper, Ms. Ibiba Don Pedro, has been conferred with the Defender of the Environment Award by Environment Outreach Magazine. The Award was presented at a special ceremony held at the Lekki Conservation Centre of the Nigerian Conservation Foundation in Lagos. With the award, Don Pedro has now been inducted into the First Nigerian Environmental Hall of Fame, a platform that celebrates individuals and institutions making outstanding contributions to environmental protection and sustainability in Nigeria and beyond. Publisher of Environment Outreach Magazine, Mr. Noble Akenge, said Don Pedro was…

…Fubara promises sustained funding, security at satellite campuses A total of 157 students of Rivers State University (RSU) graduated with First Class honours out of 13,242 degrees conferred during the institution’s 37th and 38th combined convocation ceremony held on Friday and Saturday in Port Harcourt. The graduating class comprised 10,648 first-degree recipients and 2,594 postgraduate awardees. The event drew thousands of families, friends, and well-wishers celebrating the academic accomplishments of the new graduates. Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, who attended the ceremony, congratulated the students and praised their resilience, discipline, and hard work. He also commended parents, guardians, and…

A youth representative, Abbey Johnson, has appealed to Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, to release the long-awaited appointment letters to the remaining successful candidates of the 2023 recruitment into the state civil service. In an open letter written on behalf of the Concerned Rivers State Successful Interviewed and Documented 10,000 Civil Service Applicants, Johnson commended the governor for recently approving the recruitment of 1,000 teachers drawn from the same 10,000 applicants who were interviewed and documented under the exercise. He noted that the teachers, along with health workers previously absorbed, emerged from the same recruitment demand and process initiated…

Senator Seriake Dickson, Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, has defended his decision to support the confirmation of former Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ambassador Ayodele Oke, as an ambassadorial nominee. In a statement released on his social media handle, the senator representing Bayelsa West said the committee had a duty to ask tough and relevant questions during the screening of President Tinubu’s nominees — Ayodele Oke, Kayode Are, and Aminu Dalhatu. Dickson said he specifically pressed Oke to address the controversies surrounding his exit from office during the previous administration. According to him, the…