Author: Emmanuel Obe

The Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to urgently intervene in what it described as a growing “cold war” in the downstream petroleum sector involving the Dangote Refinery and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA). PETROAN made the call in a statement issued in Abuja by its National President, Dr. Billy Gillis-Harry, following what it said was an escalating price war between petroleum product importers and the management of the Dangote Refinery. According to the association, public allegations and verbal attacks allegedly directed at the leadership…

Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has inaugurated the first phase of the Greater TAF Housing Estate, consisting of 1,000 housing units, marking a significant step in his administration’s plan to deliver 20,000 homes across the state. At the commissioning ceremony, Governor Fubara described the project as a major milestone, noting that it was initiated at one of the most challenging periods of his administration. He said the housing scheme exemplifies his government’s commitment to inclusive and decentralised development, adding that it encountered more obstacles than any other project embarked upon so far. According to the governor, more than 90…

Eleme, Rivers State—In a bold call for self-driven development, scholar and innovation advocate Bode Osaro has unveiled a vision aimed at repositioning Eleme youths from job seekers to job creators, despite the heavy industrial presence in the area. Speaking on his background and motivation, Osaro recalled growing up in Eleme, a community long rooted in agriculture before the arrival of large-scale industrialisation. Today, Eleme hosts some of Nigeria’s most strategic industrial assets, including the Port Harcourt Refinery, Indorama Eleme Petrochemicals, Notore Chemical Company, Daewoo C&E Nigeria Limited, and over 200 multinational firms operating within the Oil and Gas Free Zone.…

Elem-Kalabari community in Degema Local Government Area of Rivers State has raised an alarm over what it described as a worsening environmental disaster caused by persistent pollution and two major oil spills linked to NNPC Eighteen Limited’s operations in OML-18, Cawthorne Channel. In a strongly petition dated December 4, 2025, and addressed to the Director-General of the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), community leaders said the spills traced to Well 41 and Well 43 have devastated waterways, destroyed livelihoods, and endangered public health across several Kalabari settlements. According to the petitioners, the spill from Well 41 has…

The Rivers State Police Command has rescued five persons abducted by suspected cultists in Emuoha Local Government Area. The victims, Prince London, Azubuike Kelechukwu, Elizabeth Aniete, Onyebuchi Precious and London Sampson, were freed unhurt during a midnight operation carried out around 1:00 a.m. on Thursday, December 4, 2025. According to a statement issued by the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Grace Iringe-Koko, the victims were kidnapped from their isolated residences by yet-to-be-identified cultists before police tactical units, working with sister security agencies and members of Rumudogo 2 community, carried out the successful rescue. The five victims have since been taken…

A human rights lawyer and public interest advocate, Chief Malcolm E. Omirhobo, has strongly criticised a recent suggestion by the Chairman of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Bashir Dalhatu, that the Niger Delta Amnesty Programme should serve as a model for addressing banditry in Northern Nigeria. In a public statement issued on Thursday, Omirhobo described the comparison as “deeply flawed, intellectually dishonest, and utterly insulting to the Nigerian people.” Dalhatu had reportedly argued that the Federal Government could adopt a similar amnesty framework for bandits in the North, a proposal that has sparked widespread debate. But Omirhobo insisted that equating…

The Rivers State Government has announced a ten-day schedule for the commissioning and flag-off of major infrastructure projects across the state, beginning December 10, 2025. Secretary to the State Government, Dr. Benebo Anabraba, disclosed this on Monday during a media briefing in Port Harcourt, where he said the exercise would run through December 23, covering key sectors including healthcare, housing and road infrastructure. Dr. Anabraba, who also chairs the Projects Commissioning Committee, said the move reflects the administration’s renewed commitment to delivering essential services and development to the people of Rivers State. “As a government elected on the popular mandate…

The 37.9-kilometre Bonny–Bodo Road in Rivers State has been partially opened to traffic, ending decades of isolation for Bonny Island and linking the strategic oil and gas hub to the mainland by road. The commissioning was performed on Monday by the Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, on behalf of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Umahi disclosed that the full inauguration of the project would take place in the first quarter of 2026. Bonny Island hosts critical national assets, including Nigeria’s Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) facilities, the Bonny Petroleum Export Terminal, and several oil, gas and maritime industries, but had never…

Bayelsa Education Development Trust Fund (EDTF) has donated microbiology equipment to Niger Delta University to facilitate the accreditation of the Microbiology programmes at the university. The Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof Allen Agih, commended the EDTF for the timely intervention ahead of the visit of the Accreditation Panel of the National Universities Commission (NIC) . He noted that the equipment would enhance the admission quota of the university as more students can now be admitted for undergraduate programmes. Agih thanked the Bayelsa government for the establishment of the EDTF to intervene in critical areas of need at all levels of…

Bayelsa State Government has floated an airline, Bayelsa Air with the inaugural flights of the first two aircraft landing at Bayelsa International Airport on Wednesday. The ATR-72/600 aircraft, took off from the domestic wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, at 09:30hrs with about 50 passengers and crew on board, including Governor Duoye Diri. The immediate past deputy governor of the state, Rear Adm. Gboribiogha John-Jonah, (rtd) members of the state’s National Assembly Caucus, the Minister of State for Petroleum (Oil), Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri were also on board the maiden flight. Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission,…