Author: nationalpoint

Public Interest Law Center, PILEX, aka The Peoples Advocate with support from Public Interest Lawyers Initiative in West Africa and Advocates for Community Aternatives, ACA, recently held a conference on Black Soot, Pollution and Flooding to draw attention to the grave dangers these are causing to lives in the Niger Delta. The very interactive session which took place at the Conference Hall of the Environmental Rights Action, ERA in Port Harcourt, featured presentations from experts and reactions  from participants drawn from the civil society and some government officials. Convener, Courage Nsirimovu Esq., said the body was concerned about the continued…

Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara has sworn in a new Head of Rivers State Civil Service, Dr George Nweke, whose appointment the governor described as strictly on merit. The governor also appointed Ibierembo Thompson, as a member of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission RSIEC. Governor Fubara charged the new appointees to regard their appointments as an opportunity to offer selfless service to the state to enable the new administration succeed. At the formal swearing of four commissioners, Prof Zacheous Adango Dr Alabo Dax George-Kelly Prof. Prince Chinedu Mmom and Barr Isaac Kamalu at the Executive Council Chambers of…

Senator Douye Diri on Thursday June 1, formally took the ceremonial kick off to herald the 5th edition of the Bayelsa Governor’s Cup. The tournament also referred to as ‘The Prosperity Cup,’ is described as the largest grassroots football competition in Nigeria and Africa. Governor Diri who performed the event at the Samson Siasia Sports Complex in Yenagoa, was accompanied by the deputy governor, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo and a cast of top officials of the Bayelsa State government shortly after participating in the weekly Prosperity Jogging exercise. Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Daniel Igali said the tournament would have…

Appointment of Inspectors-General of the Nigeria Police under successive administrations have often triggered avoidable controversies that have been allowed to fester over the years, now crying for the immediate attention of, and resolution by, Mr. President, as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, and more specifically, as Chairman of the Police Counsel. The appointment by former President Muhammadu Buhari of Mr. Usman Alkali Baba as the Acting Inspector General of Police in April 2021 following his sudden removal of Mr. Muhammed Adamu (Baba’s predecessor), while he was on an official assignment in Owerri, Imo State expectedly stoked the…

No fewer than 40 journalists from the print, broadcast, and blogosphere have been trained on investigative journalism in Lokoja, Kogi State by Stallion Times Media Services, publishers of Stallion Times digital newspaper. The training which was conducted on Wednesday under the Participatory Governance and Media Literacy project tagged, “Get Involved, Dialogue and Improve (G-DRIP)” being implemented by Stallion Times Media Service in Kano and Kogi states, was supported by the Wole Soyinka Center for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) with funding from the MacArthur Foundation. The G-DRIP is in collaboration with the WSCIJ under the Collaborative Media Project (Collaborating for media independence…

Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre, WARDC in association with NCAA organized an onsite/virtual media engagement for media operators from  Edo, Rivers, Delta and Akwa Ibom states, on ‘The Impact of Violence and Corruption in 2023 Election: Gender Integrity and Accountability,’ May 10, 2023.  The media session provided room for experience sharing between some civil society activists and media practitioners on the conduct of the 2023 elections, how the media performed and how to improve on media services to promote women and project accountability. Addressing participants from both print and electronic media, activists called for objectivity noting that some practitioners…

On May 29, 2023 Rivers State becomes a witness to not just history, but   something different since 1999. Social justice and equity raise a signal from  yesterday’s ashes of “might is right”. The embryo of a new convention among politicians comes alive. It is to ensure fairness and inclusion between ethnic groups and clans in the three Senatorial Districts. This is what the inauguration event unfolds.  But will it hold? Will Rivers people rise as true stakeholders of a State that holds so much promise as beacon for the Niger Delta, will the people rise to secure a foundation…

The Peoples Advocates (TPA) is an association and assembly of public interest lawyers and citizens of Nigeria who are interested in the rights of peoples globally. We are part of the Public Interest Lawyering Network in West Africa, Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, Rivers State Network of Non-Governmental Organizations, CSO I-Report Platform/CIEPD Election Situation Room, Network of Police Reform in Nigeria, Transition Monitoring Group, Civic Space Watch Cluster etc. One of the significant lessons from May 29 in the history of Nigeria is that POWER IS TRANSIENT and as such citizens who have been given the mandate to…

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The state secretariat was once the centrepiece of the Port Harcourt skyline evoking memories of the good old days, when the young military governor, Alfred Diete-Spiff held sway as the helmsman of the old Rivers State. It used to be a beauty to behold. Alas, today the Rivers State Secretariat is a shadow of itself. As it were, it has received the beating of a lifetime. A beating punctuated by tales of decay and sheer neglect. The Rivers State secretariat is now more of a monstrosity than the beautiful state secretariat residents often showed off to visiting friends and relatives,…