Author: Emmanuel Obe

Candidate of the Labour Party in the forthcoming Bayelsa governorship election, Comrade Udengs Eradiri, shone brilliantly on Monday evening at the governorship debate organised for candidates in the November 11 election, as the candidates of Peoples Democratic Party, Governor Douye Diri, and All Progressives Congress, Mr. Timipre Sylva, stayed away from the debate. Also absent was the candidate of the Zenith Labour Party, Simeon Karioru. Eradiri took the opportunity to showcase his manifesto and won hearts as he took his time to reel out his plans for Bayelsa State if he wins the election. The debate, which held in Yenagoa…

Delta State Government and German construction giant, Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, have signed N78billion contracts for the construction of flyovers, cloverleaf and road expansion projects in Effurun and Warri metropolis of the state. The contracts include road expansion of a section of DSC/NPA Expressway, including a cloverleaf Interchange at the existing Effurun flyover, alongside two pedestrian bridges, flyover bridges from Enerhen junction to Marine Gate, DSC Roundabout and the PTI Junction. Secretary to the State Government, Dr Kingsley Emu, and the commissioner for Works (Highways and Urban Roads), Comrade Reuben Izeze, signed on behalf of the state government, while the…

For five hours, guests were glued to their seats at Eko Hotel, Lagos as they awaited the declaration of the winners of the 2023 Nigerian Prizes for Literature, Science and Literary Criticism. The prizes are the biggest in Nigeria, and indeed the whole of Africa. The annual awards sponsored by Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NLNG) have become Nigeria’s version of the Sweden-based Nobel Prizes given annually to outstanding researchers, scientists and scholars in different fields of learning and endeavour in the world. Nigeria’s Wole Soyinka won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1986. In 2004, NLNG inaugurated the Nigerian…

The unity in the political camp of former Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, has been shattered throwing the state into a crisis that could lead to a constitutional situation. Two factions of the House of Assembly emerged on Monday, with two speakers, taking conflicting decisions. The one loyal to Wike and under the speakership of Martin Amaewhule removed the Majority Leader, Edison Ehie, and went on to serve an impeachment notice on Governor Fubara. The other faction, loyal to Fubara, impeached speaker Amaewhule and elected Ehie as speaker. It went on to suspend the Chief Judge, Chukwudi…

Major oil producing companies, now known as settlors, were absent at a sensitization and engagement forum on Host Communities Development Trusts for Rivers West Senatorial District which held in Port Harcourt on Monday, September 19, 2023. The forum was an avenue for Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), the regulatory agency, oil producing companies and host communities to engage and dialogue over their roles and duties in the Host Communities Trust Fund as provided for under the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021. The forum was facilitated by Deinomas Float Nigeria Limited. Rivers West Senatorial District comprises eight local government areas: Ahoada…

Art Choreographer, Dan Kpodoh and other art enthusiasts in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, have lamented the poor appreciation of the art industry in the city and indeed, the entire Rivers State. Kpodoh, who recently hosted Bolobolo, a stage performance in Port Harcourt, said on his social media handle, that it was disappointing that despite having a rich reservoir of players in the arts, entertainment and film industry, recognition of the arts was embarrassingly low in Port Harcourt. He said compared to Lagos and Abuja, big arts events in Port Harcourt do not attract much money to encourage entertainers…

Rivers State Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ambassador Desmond Akawor, has been appointed by the Governor of Rivers State, Mr. Siminalayi Fubara, to chair the committee set up to distribute the federal government cash and rice palliatives sent to Rivers State. Governor Fubara during the inauguration of the committee confirmed that the state government had received the sum of N2Billion from the federal government and 16,800 bags of rice from Nigerian Governors’ Forum as part of the palliatives to help the poorest of the poor deal with the biting effect of the fuel subsidy removal. Fubara said, “The…

Rivers State Police Command has initiated a new scheme aimed at eradicating crime in the state. The scheme is called ‘Rivers Zero Crime’ (RZC). The Commissioner of Police, Dr. Polycarp Nwonyi, said at a press conference preceding the launch of the scheme in Port Harcourt on Wednesday that RZC was set up to rebuild trust in the police, fight crime and promote unity between the police and the public. He said without law and order there cannot be any meaningful development in the state. He recalled that within the three months that he had been in the state, the police…

The Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, has reaffirmed the commission’s commitment to all ongoing partnership talks with local and international entities aimed at accelerating the development of the Niger Delta region. Dr Ogbuku, who spoke at the NDDC headquarters in Port Harcourt, expressed gratitude to President Bola Tinubu for the confidence reposed in him by his reappointment as MD/CEO in the new NDDC Board. He pledged to vindicate this trust by working assiduously to speed up development of the Niger Delta region. “I am humbled and honoured by the trust and confidence that…

Oil communities in Bayelsa under the auspices of Host Communities Producing Oil and Gas (HOSTCOM) have alleged that they have been neglected in 13 percent derivation revenue accruing to the state. In an open letter they issued on the matter to Governor Douye Diri, HOSTCOM alleged that the amount of money released to the state government for use to develop the oil communities has not been felt in the communities. The letter, which was signed by Pastor Samson Dabbey, the Bayelsa State chapter of HOSTCOM, demanded that Governor Douye Diri should give an account of the funds received so far…