Author: Emmanuel Obe

Senator Ned Nwoko has said that malaria posed a significant structural crisis in Nigeria, going beyond a mere public health issue. Nwoko, who represents Delta North Senatorial District and Chairman the Prince Ned Nwoko Malaria Eradication Project, said that malaria accounts for about 11 per cent of maternal mortality in the country. Shedding light on his Bill, ”An Act To Establish the National Agency For Malaria Eradication,” which had passed its second reading in the senate, he noted that the disease drains economic productivity and impedes national development. “Malaria is a structural crisis that impairs maternal health, drains economic productivity,…

Environmental groups, led by the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), have raised alarm over new oil pollution incidents in Ogoniland, Rivers State, following a Trans Niger Pipeline rupture, which has severely impacted the B-Dere community in Gokana Local Government Area. The spill caused significant distress and displacement, with residents fearing for their health and safety. A visit by HOMEF and other Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to the spill sites revealed a community grappling with the immediate and long-term consequences of exposure to toxic hydrocarbons. Mrs. Augustina Biebie, a woman leader in B-Dere, lamented the worsening restlessness in the community.…

The National Orientation Agency (NOA) has said that improvement in the quality of education and development of skills could just be the tools needed to improve the welfare of children. The Bayelsa State Director of NOA, Mrs. Grace Olobio, said in Yenagoa that this was why the agency decided to embark on a campaign to alert stakeholders to improve on the quality of education and development of skills for young people. Mrs. Olobio, who said that the campaign was designed to coincide with the 2025 Children’s Day celebrations, gave the theme of the campaign as, “Enhancing the Total Well Being…

Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited says it is injecting $15 billion (about N24 trillion) into its oilfields onshore and shallow waters in the Niger Delta region in the next five years. Renaissance Africa, a consortium of indigenous oil firms recently acquired assets held by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) following divestment by Shell UK from onshore operations in the Niger Delta. The General Manager, Supply Chain at Renaissance Africa Energy, Mr Greg Akhibi, who represented the Managing Director, Chief Tony Attah spoke at the 2025 Nigeria Oil and Gas Opportunities Fair (NOGOF) in Yenagoa. About 1,000 participants took part in…

Ijaw leaders under the auspices of Coalition of Ijaw Interest Groups (CIIG) have expressed dissatisfaction with the political developments in Rivers State. The group in a statement issued in Yenagoa, also expressed disappointment with suspended Rivers State Governor, Mr. Siminalayi Fubara’s alleged attempt to betray the democratic mandate handed to him by the people of Rivers State. The statement was signed by Ben Okoro, Efiye Bribena, Chief Denzil Kentebe, Iniruo Wills, Elaye Otrofanowei, Tare Ekpebu, Pattison Boleigha. Other members of the coalition who endorsed the statement are Ms. Annkio Briggs, Mrs. Rosemary John-Oduone, Ebitim Egbunukumoh and Yimovie Sakue-Collins The statement…

Rivers State Government has announced the commencement of a phased rehabilitation of the State Secretariat in Port Harcourt, in a move aimed at revitalizing the public service and improving the welfare of civil servants across the state. The Administrator of Rivers State, Vice Admiral (Rtd) Ibok-Ete Ibas, disclosed this at the closing ceremony of a four-day Transformational Leadership Training Workshop organized by the state government in collaboration with the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS). The event, which brought together Permanent Secretaries, Directors, Local Government Administrators, and senior officials, was held to sharpen leadership skills and bolster governance…

The Sole Administrator of Rivers State, Vice Admiral (Rtd) Ibok-Ete Ibas, has charged participants of Senior Course 47 of the Armed Forces Command and Staff College (AFCSC), Jaji, to find practical solutions to current security challenges facing the nation. The Administrator gave the charge when the Senior Course 47 participants paid him a courtesy visit at the Government House in Port Harcourt on Monday. Represented by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Prof. Ibibia Lucky Worika, Vice Admiral Ibas emphasized the significance of their study tour to Rivers State, given the prevailing security threats to lives and property, which…

Residents of Oyigbo in Rivers State have lamented the bad state of internal roads in the city as the rains set in and flash floods worsen movement of people and vehicles. “We are trapped” said Victor Okpute, who runs Oyigbo TV, an online Television outfit dedicated to reporting life in Oyigbo Local Government Area of Rivers State. Okpute said the kind of suffering that residents of the city have been exposed to “can’t be found anywhere in the universe,” adding, “Even in Animal Farm you Can’t Read the Nightmare Situation people are going through in Oyigbo LGA.” He said he…

The people of Polobubo (Tsekelewu) community in Egbema Kingdom, Warri North Local Government Area of Delta State, have raised alarm over the continued abandonment of their Cottage Hospital. They said lack of a hospital in the community has already caused the death of hundreds of people that needed urgent medical attention. Polobubo is home to several major oil operations, including Chevron Nigeria Limited’s Opuekeba and Olero Fields, the NPDC/Elcrest Joint Venture’s Opuama Flow Station (OML 40), and marginal field operators such as Sahara Energy and Conoil Nigeria Limited. Constructed at a cost of ₦596 million through a partnership between Chevron…

The Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) has concluded the distribution of laptops to final year beneficiaries of its scholarship scheme aimed at enhancing their academic research in universities across Nigeria. The agency presented a total of 663 laptops to the beneficiaries in the 26 partnering and 72 non-partnering universities at the end of the exercise, which lasted between April and May 2025. The PAP also carried out physical verification and orientation programme for the newly deployed 3,171 beneficiaries in the resumption list for the 2024/2025 academic session. Various teams coordinated by the PAP’s Head of Education, Dr Charles Ariye, visited the…