Author: nationalpoint

The Minister for Mines and Steel Development, Olamilekan Adegbite has performed the ground-breaking ceremony for a 600MW Mine-Mouth Coal Power Plant in Ugboba community in Aniocha North Local Government Area of Delta State. While performing the ground breaking ceremony, the Minister acknowledged the dogged efforts of the Ugboba King, HRM Obi Ezedimbu Emmanuel Nkebakwu III whom he said, visited his office in Abuja to ascertain the authenticity of the mining project in his community, and when convinced and satisfied made frantic efforts to see the project succeed. He noted that while some traditional rulers were engaged in sharp practices that…

Edo State governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has declared that history would be kind to his Delta State counterpart, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, whose tenure as governor would end on May 29, 2023. Obaseki said that no matter what people think about the Okowa administration, history has recorded the massive achievements of the governor’s eight year rule. Obaseki spoke at a valedictory dinner held for the outgoing governor and his deputy, Mr Kingsley Otuaro, at the Events Centre in Asaba. He described Okowa as a unifier who had ensured that Edo and Delta states remained united and, for supporting the Peoples’ Democratic…

The Delta State Ministry of Justice has assured the Delta Legal Hub, a Non-Governmental Organization, of partnership, to enable the organization seek redress for victims of trafficking in persons and irregular migration in the state. The Delta Legal Hub is a brain child of the International Organizations for Migration, (IOM). The state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Isaiah Bozimo gave the assurance in Asaba, when members of Delta Legal Hub paid him a courtesy visit. He commended the Delta Legal Hub for the synergy in combatting human trafficking, saying the role they play in the fight against human trafficking…

The complicated political re-alignments in Rivers State which created political fragility within the political landscape before and since the 2023 election, is now further heightened by the emergence of cult war in some parts of the state. On Saturday, May 6, 2023, two rival cult groups – the Greenlanders and Iceland engaged each other in a supremacy battle around the Ahoada axis of the East-West Road. The cult clash which led to the killing of three suspected cultists after a prolonged gun duel, is a traditional signature of violent politicians who induce and aid cultists to achieve political gains. In…

Stakeholders have called on the federal government to widen the community of policy makers to include non-state actors in its drive to effectively respond to the drivers of organized crime in Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea. The call was made at a Conference on ‘Organized Crime in Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea.’ The conference which was organized by the Youth and Environmental Advocacy Centre (YEAC-Nigeria) was held on April 28, 2023 at the Landmark Hotel, Port Harcourt. In his welcome address, the Executive Director, YEAC-Nigeria, Mr Fyneface Dumnamene Fyneface, commended the guests for their various roles towards a…

Introduction The Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) was passed in August 2021, initiating the restructuring of regulation for the oil and gas sector in Nigeria, with a significant impact on communities that host operations. One section of the Act is focused on community development and provides for the establishment of Host Community Development Trusts (HCDTs) to increase social spending by oil and gas companies (OGCs) in host communities. While SDN’s view is that this section of the act should have focused on a more holistic, government-led strategy for development in host communities and protecting them from the harmful impacts of hydrocarbon…

The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajia Sadiya Umar- Farouq has assured Bayelsa state Government that the school feeding programme will not be stopped as the programme in the state and as a new administration comes onboard. Speaking on Thursday in Yenagoa at the formal launch of the programme and handover of utensils to the cooks, the minister who was represented by the director legal services of the Ministry Garba Haganawega advised the state not to be afraid because the programme has already been domesticated. She said “Allay your fear concerning the sustainability of the feeding…

National Spokesman of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Ebilade Ekerefe has advised stakeholders from the Niger Delta region to adopt new strategies to tackle the persistent reluctance of the Federal Government to respond to their agitations. According to Ekerefe, the region must do away with obsolete strategies and adopt the new era of strategic alliances with other ethnic nationalities and intellectuals in an aggressive engagement with the federal government for accelerated development of the region. Speaking recently in Yenagoa at a colloquium to mark his 36th birthday and the unveiling of his book, “Chronicle of Ebilade Ekerefe, The Journey So…

May 29 is the baton handover date for Nigeria’s political leadership. With May 29, 2023, Nigerians come to the end of an eight-year leadership under President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressive Congress (APC), an era that has witnessed record anguish, abuse of office, deaths and desolation. An unprecedented 63,111 Nigerians are reported to have died from various conflicts within this period while the bulk of the skilled manpower, especially youths migrated abroad. These were as a result of governance failure, a system crash that began with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) government in 1999, which the succeeding APC regime…

January 27, 2021, Magistrate Mikhail Kadiri (Coroner) presided over the Sylvester Oromoni vs Dowen College case in Epe, Lagos State. The sitting attracted a very large crowd of mainly Ijaw youths and elders from Lagos and Epe among other spectators. The Courtroom was filled to the brim. Lawyers representing Oromoni family, Dowen College, Lagos State Government, Nigerian Bar Association, Civil Rights Organizations and other lawyers representing some students accused of torturing Sylvester Oromoni jnr were also present. Outside the Court were policemen with patrol vehicles. Conspicuously parked opposite the Court premises was a mini bus belonging to Ijaw Youths Council…