Author: nationalpoint

As the world marks the 2025 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, Amaclare Connect & Development Initiative has urged government, technology companies, and communities to intensify efforts to curb the rising tide of online abuse targeting women and girls. At a stakeholders’ workshop themed “Safe Online Spaces for All – End Digital Violence Against Women and Girls,” the Executive Director of Amaclare, Mrs. Loretta Ahuokpeme, warned that digital violence is fast becoming one of the most widespread forms of modern abuse. She said online platforms originally designed for learning, expression, and innovation were increasingly being misused for harassment,…

Youths of the All Progressives Congress (APC) under the auspices of the Bayelsa Progressives Youth Movement (BPYM), a pro-APC organisation, has kicked against moves by the Bayelsa State Government in collaboration with some individuals with federal interests to take over existing surveillance contracts of some law-abiding members of the party. The youths in a statement signed by their Secretary, Jordan Ebifatei, lamented that the only offence of the targeted surveillance contractors was their loyalty to former Governor Timipre Sylva. The APC youths were particularly worried that Mr Joshua Maciver and Chief Kojo Sam were the primary targets of the conspirators…

Bayelsa Education Development Trust Fund (EDTF) and the British Council have commenced the training of the last batch of 400 public school teachers to wrap up the partnership to train 1,000 teachers in the state. The EDTF, British Council and Teachers Training, Registration and Certification Board collaborated in the capacity development programme. Speaking at the opening ceremony of the programme, Bayelsa State Commissioner for Education, Dr Gentle Emelah, reiterated the commitment of the Bayelsa government to building the capacity of teachers in the state. He noted that the improved teaching methodology in the state was responsible for the state producing…

Students of Ignatius Ajuru University of Education have staged a peaceful protest over what they described as exorbitant admission and registration charges, calling on the university management and relevant authorities to urgently review the fees. The students, drawn from different faculties, marched through major campus routes with placards bearing messages such as “Education Is Not For the Rich” and “Reduce School Fees Now”, demanding affordability and transparency in the institution’s fee structure. According to the protesters, the rising cost of admission and registration has placed severe financial pressure on students from low-income backgrounds, with many struggling to complete mandatory clearance…

Edo State Governor,  Monday Okpebholo, has turned the MOWAA controversy into a political party affair by appointing APC leaders as Chairman and members of the fact‑finding committee. The committee members were announced in a statement by the Secretary to the State Government, Umar Musa Ikhilor. The fact‑finding committee is chaired by former Governor and Senator Adams Oshiomhole, APC leader for Edo North. Retired Major‑General Cecil Esekhaigbe, APC leader for Edo Central, serves as vice‑chairman of the committee. Other members of the committee are Lucky Imasuen, APC Edo South leader, former deputy governor, Pastor Osagie Ize‑Iyamu–, former SSG and APC Leader in Edo South…

Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, Prof. Julius Ihonvbere, has raised strong objections to the Federal Government’s directive ordering the withdrawal of police escorts from VIPs, saying the insecurity along the Benin–Owan corridor makes it impossible for him to visit his constituency without armed protection. Ihonvbere, who represents Owan Federal Constituency of Edo State, said the policy should be clearly defined to avoid exposing public officials to life-threatening risks. He noted that although he does not see himself as a VIP, his position as a national officer of the Federal Republic requires adequate security. Speaking in an exclusive interview…

The Ijaw National Congress (INC) has joined the global call for the formal exoneration of Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight Ogoni convicted and executed for the murder of four Ogoni leaders. The President of INC, Prof. Benjamin Okaba, made the call in his Solidarity message on the 30th anniversary of the execution of the Ogoni 9. Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni activists, otherwise known as the Ogoni 9 were convicted executed by the Nigerian military government in November 1995 following a trial by a tribunal. “They were convicted of being complicit in the murders of four rival Ogoni chiefs and had…

Rivers State Governor, Mr. Siminalayi Fubara, has said that reports of insecurity in Rivers State were deliberately placed in the media to portray the state as unsafe and said the state remained peaceful for business, tourism and other activities. The governor, who spoke at the grand finale of the Python Golf Club’s 6th Edition Chief Ikenna Okafor 2025 Pro-Amateur Golf Championship in Port Harcourt, said the large turnout of visitors from across Africa showed that the state was safe. “More than half of the things you read in the media are not true,” he said. “Worse things have happened in…

It’s pleasing to hear that Governor Siminalayi Fubara has directed that the 1,000 teachers whose recruitment in 2023 was halted by the governor can now be formally absorbed into the teaching service of Rivers State. I want to thank the governor for this magnanimous gesture. It shows that the effort to restore peace between the governor and his political traducers is actually yielding fruit. Apart from the fact that the young graduates will start work now and begin to earn their salaries after a long wait, the schools that have been starved of qualified teaching will now benefit from the…

Nearly three months after their reinstatement to office following President Bola Tinubu’s lifting of the state of emergency, Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the Rivers State House of Assembly appear to have finally found their voice. Since returning to their posts on September 18, the executive and legislative arms of the Rivers State Government had maintained an unusual silence, seemingly taking time to recover from the shock of their abrupt removal on March 18, 2025. But last week, at one of its plenaries, the House of Assembly broke that silence with a sobering revelation: the deplorable state of public school infrastructure,…