Author: Emmanuel Obe

A prominent Ogoni traditional ruler, King Suanu Baridam, has urged the Ogoni people to embrace constructive engagement with the Federal Government on issues affecting the development of Ogoniland. King Baridam, the Gbenemene Bangha, Khana LGA, who was responding to renewed calls from some groups opposing negotiations on the possible resumption of oil production in Ogoniland, said adopting a posture of silence or resistance would not advance the Ogoni cause. In a statement titled, “Who Is Afraid of Oil Resumption in Ogoniland?”, the monarch argued that the Ogoni Bill of Rights was not cast in stone and should not be used…

The management of Rivers State University (RSU) has ordered the immediate relocation of students from its three satellite campuses in Ahoada, Emohua and Etche to the main campus in Port Harcourt. In a memo issued on Friday, the Registrar, Mrs. I. B. S. Harry, stated that the affected students are those in the Faculties of Agriculture, Social Sciences and Humanities. She explained that the relocation is a temporary measure to allow the university undertake infrastructural upgrades at the satellite campuses. However, sources within the institution said the decision was also prompted by persistent appeals from parents, students and staff over…

Security operatives in Bonny Local Government Area have arrested a man, Fredrick Pollyn, popularly known as Opulo Opulo, for allegedly attacking and severely injuring a resident. Pollyn was apprehended in the early hours of Monday, November 24, 2025, in a coordinated operation carried out by the Nigerian Police Force and the Bonny LGA Surveillance Team, led by the Chief Security Officer, Warisenibo Hon. Prince Wilcox. The operation was conducted on the directive of the Bonny Local Government Chairman, Amasenibo Hon. Abinye Blessing Pepple. According to a press release issues by Amb. William Chapp-Jumbo, the Media and Communication Assistant, to the…

The Rivers State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) has expressed its desire to strengthen collaboration with the Etche Local Government Council. The call was made during a courtesy visit by the NUJ delegation, led by its Chairman, Comrade Paul Bazia, to the Executive Chairman of Etche Local Government Area, Hon. Boniface Chima Njoku. Speaking during the visit, Comrade Bazia congratulated Hon. Njoku on his recent electoral victory and commended the remarkable progress recorded within his first three months in office. He described the achievements as unprecedented, particularly praising the administration’s decisive action against land grabbers—an issue that…

…HYPREP seals off facility, begins investigation The massive ground-level water reservoir built by the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) at Obolo, Ebubu, ruptured on Saturday, unleashing a torrent of water that swept through nearby homes and institutions, destroying buildings, property and livelihoods. The waterworks, inaugurated about a year ago to supply potable water to the Ebubu community as part of the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP)–recommended cleanup of Ogoniland, burst around 10 a.m. shortly after workers reportedly turned on the pumps and left the facility. It was the second time in a few weeks that a HYPREP water reservoir was…

Nigeria’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Amb. Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, has appealed for calm and restraint following the conviction and sentencing of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, on terrorism charges. In a statement issued on Friday, Ojukwu said she returned from Zanzibar, Tanzania, where she had been on a five-day NTAC monitoring mission, only to meet the “sad news” of Kanu’s conviction. She described the development as an outcome “not prayed for,” but one that must now be confronted with maturity and wisdom. “At this time in our history, there is need for…

The Asagba of Asaba, His Royal Majesty Prof. Epiphany C. Azinge, has withdrawn from serving as Chairman of the Technical Committee driving the campaign for the creation of Anioma State. In a statement issued by his personal secretary, Ogbueshi Dr. Jude C. Mgbeze, the monarch announced that he would no longer participate in the committee’s activities, citing “irreconcilable differences” over the geographical delineation of the proposed state. According to the statement, the Asagba is concerned about attempts to alter the traditionally recognized boundaries of Anioma, as well as what it described as “clandestine and delusional complicity” to relocate the proposed…

A renewed call for Africans to embrace their cultural identity and revive indigenous knowledge systems dominated speeches on Sunday as the Kalabari people, a major Ijaw subgroup in Rivers State, celebrated their New Year Day at Elem-Kalabari, regarded as the ancestral homeland of the Kalabari. The Amayanabo of Elem-Kalabari and Torusarama-Piri, the Source, Alabo Dokubo Asari, in his New Year goodwill message, urged African intellectuals, especially geographers and astronomers, to work towards reconstructing the traditional Kalabari calendar, which he said was distorted during British colonial rule. The Kalabari New Year is marked annually on November 16, a date tied to…

Two children, aged eight and six, were killed in a late-night fire that swept through a cluster of makeshift homes in Port Harcourt on Sunday. The incident occurred in a shantytown settlement behind the Elechi Amadi Polytechnic, Rumuola, where about 27 families reside. Earlier reports had suggested the fire happened within the polytechnic, but this has since been clarified. According to neighbours, the children were locked inside their room by their mother, who had stepped out briefly to buy items to complete a pot of soup she was cooking. The fire was said to have started in the same room,…

The rich history and culture of the Kalabari people of the Niger Delta have been on vibrant display at the Moriri Art Gallery in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, where an exhibition is holding as part of activities marking this year’s Kalabari New Year celebrations. The Kalabari New Year Day, organised by the Kalabari Renaissance Foundation, will be celebrated on Sunday, November 16, at Elem-Kalabari—the ancestral homeland from which the major Kalabari kingdoms of Buguma, Abonnema and Bakana migrated. Elem-Kalabari is currently undergoing major rebuilding following the emergence of Alhaji Mujahid Asari Dokubo as Amayanabo. The exhibition features driftwood sculptures by…