Author: Emmanuel Obe

The Yenagoa Division of the Federal High Court on Tuesday adjourned a suit challenging the divestment by Shell UK PLC from onshore and shallow water assets hitherto operated by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) to Oct 22. The suit was filed by King Bubaraye Dakolo, traditional ruler of Ekpetiama in Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa, who is also seeking redress and remediation of cumulative pollution of his domain for 40 years. Ekpetiama community is in the neighbourhood and part of host communities to the Gbarain-Ubie gas plant and Gbarain oilfields. The plaintiff alleged that the divestment by Shell did…

Women cut across the 10 – wards of Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State have cried out for help following consistent invasion of their farms by Fulani herdsmen with their cattle. The women who spoke with National Point in Eleme said the cattle were often let loose on their farms by the herdsmen who feed their cassava and maize to the cattle. Apart from the destruction of their crops, they disclosed that several women had been raped and kidnapped by the herdsmen, who have violently taken over their farms. The situation, they told National Point has created hardship in…

President Bola Tinubu’s generous financial rewards to Nigeria’s victorious Super Falcons, who recently clinched their record 10th Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) title, have ignited a heated debate across the nation. While the gesture was intended to celebrate a much-needed morale boost, critics argue the lavish spending is tone-deaf given Nigeria’s struggling economy and the dire conditions faced by essential workers. The Super Falcons secured their historic WAFCON triumph in a thrilling final against hosts Morocco. After falling behind by two goals in the first half, the Nigerian women’s national team staged a remarkable comeback, leveling the score in…

The Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RISIEC) has reiterated its commitment to conducting local government elections on August 30, despite a wave of rejections and legal concerns surrounding its recently unveiled timetable. RISIEC had, on Monday, July 28, hosted its first stakeholders’ meeting since the new board was inaugurated last month. During this meeting at its Aba Road office in Port Harcourt, the commission presented a new election timetable. Dr. Michael Odey, the Chairman of the commission, stated that this new timetable superseded an earlier one set by the dissolved board, previously headed by Hon. Justice Adolphus Enebeli (Rtd.), citing…

…calls for urgent intervention from international community, democratic institutions Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) has raised the alarm over shrinking civic/democratic space and increasing threat to a free press in Nigeria.In a statement issued on Thursday ahead of it’s public presentation of the 2024 Journalism and Civil Space Status Report, the centre said the civic space in Nigeria was “shrinking and increasingly violent.”The statement, which was titled, “A nation’s voice at the crossroads: An urgent call to defend Nigeria’s civic space and journalism,” was signed by Motunrayo Alaka, the Centre’s Executive Director and chief executive officer.It said, “Core…

A prominent community stakeholder and National Public Relations Officer of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), Dr. Joseph Obele, has faulted the decision of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to retain ownership of the Port Harcourt Refining Company while preparing to privatise the Warri and Kaduna refineries. In a statement made available to journalists, Dr. Obele described the move as a misguided strategy that contradicts national interest, community development, and economic efficiency. “This is not good news,” he declared. “The decision to exclude Port Harcourt Refinery from privatization is deeply concerning, especially given NNPCL’s…

Leaders of host ethnic nationalities in the Eastern Corridor of Nigeria’s oil-producing belt have commended Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Limited (PINL) for its role in securing the Trans Niger Pipeline (TNP) and other oil and gas assets, calling for the renewal and expansion of the company’s contract with the Federal Government. At a world press conference held in Port Harcourt on Wednesday, representatives of the Ijaw, Ekpeye, Ikwerre, Eleme, Ogoni, Andoni, Bonny, Egbema, Ukwa, Oguta, and other ethnic nationalities described PINL’s engagement since 2022 as transformative, crediting the firm for restoring oil production, reducing unemployment, curbing pipeline vandalism, and enhancing peace…

Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, RISIEC, has fixed the local government election for Saturday, August 30, 2025.The Chairman of the Commission, Dr. Michael Ekpai Odey, declared this on Monday during the stakeholders meeting held at the head office of the Commission in Port Harcourt. Odey said in arriving at the new date, he had to use his powers conferred by the RISIEC Law 2018 to cancel the previous date set for Saturday, August 9, 2025 because of incontrovertible evidence against the initial date set by the dissolved RISIEC board of the Commission.Members of the Commission were earlier introduced to the…

A Niger Delta-based group, Buckingham Palace Group, has condemned recent calls by a faction of ex-agitators for the termination of the pipeline surveillance contract awarded to Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Limited (PINL), describing the allegations leveled against the company and the Olu of Warri, His Majesty Ogiame Atuwatse III, as baseless and inflammatory. The group, in a statement jointly signed by its Public Relations Officer, Kenny Amgbare, and Vice President, Festus Ederekumor, faulted the claims made by a group known as Aggressive Niger Delta Freedom Fighters Forum. The ex-agitators had, in a widely circulated social media statement, urged the Federal Government…

The University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) on Saturday conferred a total of 934 Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees and honoured four distinguished Nigerians with honorary doctorate degrees during its 35th convocation and 50th anniversary celebration. Among those awarded honorary degrees were the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Chief Nyesom Wike; Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu; former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Aminu Masari; and Governor of Adamawa State, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri. The ceremony, held at the Chief Nyesom Wike Convocation Arena, Choba campus, Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State, marked a significant milestone in the…