Author: Emmanuel Obe

PETROAN, the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association, has urged Rivers State government to take steps to check the activities of Association of Distributors and Transporters of Petroleum Products (ADITOP), a new group trying to enter the oil and gas sector without following proper procedures. According to a statement issued by the National Public Relations Officer of PETROAN, Dr. Joseph Obele, PETROAN was worried that ADITOP was trying to use Rivers State as a testing ground for their nationwide expansion. “It’s impossible for any new group to gain recognition in the Nigerian oil and gas sector without the endorsement of…

Residents of Agum-Bukuma in the Degema Local Government Area of Rivers are lamenting the adverse effect of raging fire sparked off from oil leakage from a yet-to-be ascertained operator. The area hosts a network of pipelines operated by several oil companies who have either denied responsibility or kept quiet over the oil leakage. The fire, which ignited over two weeks ago, has destroyed farmlands, as crude oil polluted the community’s only source of drinking water. The community residents describe the situation as dire, with fears of long-term irreversible environmental and health consequences. The National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency…

A Niger Delta advocacy group, the Movement for the Sustainable Development of the Niger Delta (MSDND) has raised the alarm over a plot to blackmail and accuse prominent people and former militant leaders from the region of plots to disrupt the peace and attack oil assets in the region. According to the group, the plot to blackmail the likes of High Chief Bibopere Ajube also known as “Shoot-At-Sight,” King Ateke Tom, the Amanyanabo of Okochiri in Rivers State, Chief Ebikabowei Victor-Ben also known as General Boyloaf, the leader of the Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Force, Alhaji Mujahid Asari Dokubo and…

The Chairman of Port Harcourt City Local Government, Hon. Ichemati has named the garden park at the popular Garrison Roundabout, Port Harcourt City Love Garden. The City Mayor, who disclosed this on his Facebook social media handle on Tuesday, said the love garden would be formally inaugurated on February 14 to mark this year’s Lovers’ Day tagged, Lovers Night With The Sugar Mayor. The city mayor had last December decorated the roundabout with Christmas lights and planted a garden, which changed the look of the junction and its environment. Ichemati said the new look of the roundabout is the manifestation…

Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has sued for a change in the current approach adopted by Governors of States in the Niger Delta region in their pursuit to achieve holistic regional development and economic prosperity. The Governor insisted on de-emphasis in vested individuals’ political interests while looking at the bigger picture of achieving enduring regional integration that will strengthen unity of purpose to change the trajectory of development in the region. Governor Fubara made the appeal during the meeting of Governors of South-South States, under the auspices of BRACED Commission, at the Bayelsa State Government House in Yenagoa on…

People in 52 communities across four local government areas of Rivers State now enjoy steady supply of potable water. The water projects are in located in Ebubu (Eleme LGA), Korokoro (Tai LGA), Terabo, (Gokana LGA), and Kpean in Khana LGA. In an age of total absence of municipal water in most parts of Nigeria, HYPREP’s water project has received the commendation of Environment Minister, Balarabe Abbas Lawal. “In our pursuit of a sustainable and healthy future, access to clean water and robust healthcare are foundational pillars. The water scheme project we celebrate is not merely a structure but a symbol…

Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has promised that he would not allow the privileges and authorities of his office as governor get him power drunk. Fubara, who made this declaration on Tuesday in Port Harcourt during the celebration of his 50th birthday with some elders of the state, said position of power will not change his humble disposition. He said that rather than get power drunk he would commit himself to fulfilling the campaign promises he made to the people of Rivers State and transform the state to their dreams. He said though he was not given to celebrating birthdays,…

The Ogoni people have expressed their willingness to negotiate the resumption of oil production in their land, but only if the Nigerian government is prepared to address the long-standing demands outlined in the Ogoni Bill of Rights. This stance follows a recent meeting between President Bola Tinubu and Ogoni leaders in Abuja. While the details of that meeting remain undisclosed, many believe its primary focus was to secure Ogoni consent for the return of oil companies. Oil production in Ogoniland has been suspended since 1993, following widespread protests led by environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa against the environmental devastation caused by…

…caretaker committee to be appointed to run council’s affairs The Eighth Triennial Delegates Conference of the Rivers State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, ended in a stalemate on Wednesday after an alleged interference by the state government went awry.The National Vice-president of the union, Mr. Opaka Dokubo, who presided over the business session of the conference announced to the delegates at about 5.30 pm that the election of a new state executive committee of the union has been suspended. He said the chairmen and secretaries of the respective chapels if the NUJ in the state would meet…

The oil spill, which occurred at Bukuma on the New Calabar River in Rivers State about two weeks ago, has spread to the neighbourhoods of Ido, Tombia and other communities through the river in Degema and Asari Toru Local Government Areas of Rivers State. The fire that followed the spill to surrounding farmlands and settlements on Iwoama Bukuma has however been put out. But that was after it had destroyed several hundreds of hectares of farmlands, fishing settlements and vegetation. The effects of the fire and spill are heavy on the communities where they have caused respiratory issues. Farmers have…