Author: nationalpoint

The Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Dr Dennis Otuaro, has said that President Bola Tinubu has the political will to support the sustainable development, stability and peace of the Niger Delta. Otuaro, who spoke at the Technical Session of the Niger Delta Stakeholders’ Summit 2024 with the theme, “Renewed Hope for Sustainable Development of the Niger Delta,” organised by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in Port Harcourt, Rivers, on Wednesday, also noted that communities and stakeholders from the Niger Delta also have a vital role to play in ensuring the progress of the region. Otuaro emphasised that…

Indigenes of the Olugboboro community in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa have cried out over a massive oil leakage of from the pipeline operated by the Nigerian Agip Oil Company, (NAOC) in the area. According to the Olugboboro indigenes, the spill occurred about two months ago along Ogboinbiri/Tebitada pipeline when the pipeline ruptured which has been attributed to equipment failure. In a letter to the Bayelsa State Government, the community called for urgent intervention to save the communities from the toxic effects of the oil spillage. The letter signed by the Olugboboro community, Chief Azeke Matthew Akpowari, Chief…

The Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Dr Dennis Otuaro, has said that the programme will not relent in its determination to improve the manpower base of the Niger Delta. Otuaro, who stated this while hosting four cadet pilot trainees of the PAP, Lawrence Oliki, Kingsley Bassey, Osekporovwere Diamond and Crosby Otobo, at Presidential Amnesty Office in Abuja, said this will be achieved with quality vocational, educational skills and empowerment as well as agriculture, among others. The quartet had successfully completed the type-rating programme as cadet pilots at the Sim Aero training Limited in Johannesburg, South Africa. A statement…

I wish Governor Douye Diri’s Bayelsa State Government would take a cue from Governor Soludo’s Anambra State Government and also implement key recommendations of the commissions it set up, especially the Archbishop John Sentamu Commission on environmental pollution. The commission was set up 19 or 7 years later than it should have been, depending on how one looks at it. Due to constraints traceable mostly to the state government and not to the panel, it then took 4 years to probe pollution in the state and produce its report, which with the right support could have been done in 2…

Nigeria is on the verge of going through another nationwide protest after the 2020 #EndSars protest that shook the nation to its foundations. This time around the anonymous organizers of the protest have tagged it #EndBadGovernance protest. Coming after a similar protest against a public taxation law protest lasted many days in Kenya with the attendant huge loss of lives and property, there are fears that the protest in Nigeria could come with more devastating effects. Already people in government have begun to exhibit signs of desperation as they anticipate the protest. The National Assembly has declared a recess, which…

Gender activists have made a strong call for the establishment of Special Courts for gender abuse by the federal and state governments, as part effort to speedily reduce violations against women and girls in the country. The call was made at a Theories of Change dissemination workshop jointly hosted by Kebetkache Women Development and Resource Center and the West African Women Peacebuilding Network with funding from the University of Leicester, UK. Participants at the interactive forum, identified decried the slow process of accessing justice for victims of gender violence which was identified as being on the increase, lamenting that endless…

Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has advised politicians not to allow their actions to undermine peace, economic growth. Governor Fubara gave the advice when he received a delegation of the House of Representatives Committee on Ports and Harbours, led by its Chairman, Hon. Nnolim Nnaji, on a courtesy visit to Government House in Port Harcourt on Tuesday. The delegation was in Rivers State to conduct oversight functions at the Port Harcourt, Onne Sea Ports, and Bonny channels. Governor Fubara said the Sea Ports are essential facilities that will contribute in harvesting the rich gains of the blue economy, adding…

The Rivers State Chapter of the Action Democratic Party (ADP) has said it would participate in the forthcoming local government election scheduled to hold on October 5, 2024 as announced by the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC). The state chairman of the party, Hon. Kendrick Christian, told newsmen in Port Harcourt that it was commendable of Governor Siminalayi Fubara to have paved the way for the elections to hold. He also commended the leadership of RSIEC led by Hon. Justice Adolphus Enebeli (Rtd.) for reassuring the state of an all-inclusive local government election. The ADP Chairman, who said that…

The newly appointed Rivers State Commissioner for Environment, Hon. Tombari Sydney Gbara has said that he would use his tenure to tackle general environmental degradation in the state. Hon. Gbara, who spoke to National Point, said that as someone from the Niger Delta, particularly from the Ogoni, “I will use my natural experience and knowledge as well as skill to ensure that the issue of environmental degradation in Rivers State will be a thing of the past and there will be better and safer environment for Rivers State and Rivers people.” The commissioner explained that sooner or later he would…

The Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) has queried the removal of Dr. Solomon Arase as Chairman of the Police Service Commission (PSC) by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Arase, a former Inspector General of Police, from Edo State in the South-South, was appointed Chairman of PSC in January 2023 by former President Muhammadu Buhari but was relieved of his duty on 10th June this year. PANDEF in a statement signed by its National Chairman, Senator Emmanuel Ibok Essien, said Arase’s removal was a contravention of the Police Service Commission Act, which prescribed a term of four years for the Chairman. It…