Author: Treasure Chisa Achor

A capacity-strengthening training program aimed at empowering youth leaders on conflict transformation and non-adversarial engagement has officially commenced in Port Harcourt. Organized by Search for Common Ground and funded by the European Union, the program is part of the larger project titled A Community-Centered Approach to Transforming Criminality and Violence in the Niger Delta.The initiative, being implemented across Rivers, Bayelsa, and Delta States, seeks to equip young people with the skills to manage conflicts using peaceful and collaborative approaches. The training, held at The Edge Hotel, GRA, Port Harcourt, focuses on helping participants understand identity, its role in conflict, and…

…first major development project in 28yrs In a landmark initiative, the European Union (EU), in collaboration with Search for Common Ground, is set to launch a solar-powered water and sanitation project in Igbikisikila-ama, addressing long-standing infrastructural deficits in the community. The Intervention follows a December 2023 investigative report by National Point, which shed light on the dire conditions in Igbikisikila-ama, including inadequate toilet facilities, lack of clean water, recurrent flooding, and the prevalence of crude oil theft and illegal refining—factors that have contributed to the area’s economic downturn. Despite its persistent challenges, the community has not benefited from any government-led…

In a bid to curb conflict and promote peace in the Niger Delta, Search for Common Ground (SFCG), with funding from the European Union, and partnership with stakeholders Democratic Network (SDN) and Partnership initiative in the Niger Delta(PIND) has trained youths from diverse communities in digital media literacy. The initiative aims to equip participants with the skills to combat online misinformation and foster transformative dialogue and peace.The training, themed “Digital Media Literacy Training,” is part of a broader project titled “A Community-Centered Approach in Transforming Criminality and Violence in the Niger Delta.” This initiative seeks to promote inclusive community security…

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has has recently revealed that over 14 million Nigerians are engaged in drug misuse, highlighting a growing crisis of substance abuse in the country.Amidst these concerns, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has expressed deep alarm over the increasing prevalence of drug abuse among secondary school students. During an awareness campaign at Government Girls Secondary School, Rumuokwuta, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, NAFDAC Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, represented by the agency’s South-South Zonal Coordinator, Oligbu Chukwuma, warned that secondary schools were becoming breeding grounds for drug abuse. Describing…

Abuloma Community in Port Harcourt Local Government Area in Rivers State has banned gas retail outlets in the community following last Saturday’s gas explosion at Orazi, also in Port Harcourt where several people died and many others were admitted in hospital with severe 3-5 degree burns.In a memo to all residents, landlords and business owners in the area, Abuloma Community Development Committee said the ban on the retail outlets was to ensure the safety and well-being of all residents in Abuloma.”Landlords are hereby warned that they will be held liable for any breach of this prohibition. It is their responsibility…

A devastating gas explosion occurred on Saturday 4th of January 2025 at around Big Tree Junction, Orazi Port Harcourt leaving so many including children with severe five-degree burns and a five-year-old dead the next day.The fire spread into neighbouring shops. The explosion according to an eye witness started in a lockup shop where a man named Chidi was running a business of refilling gas, selling cylinders and welding cylinders.She said, “The explosion happened in the shop, the guy sells gas. He sells cylinders, he also welds inside. I don’t know how he does it but he fixes pot, cylinders and…

A former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Mr. Joseph Daudu (SAN), has risen to the defense of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, after radical lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN) accused the minister of trying to gain political favour from the judges by providing them with accommodation. Falana in a well publicized comment has said the recent provision of residential accommodation by Wike was unconstitutional and an affront on the judiciary. Daudu, who was addressing the Sixth Annual Criminal Law Review Conference in Abuja, dismissed claims by Falana that the houses could be perceived as an attempt…

The Pan-Niger Delta Forum, PANDEF, has said that the development of the Niger Delta should be taken beyond just setting up interventionist agencies like the NDDG, PAP and others to actually empower the people of the region to take benefits from the huge endowments of hydrocarbons under their soil. The demand for the empowerment of the people of the Niger Delta formed part the communiqué of the one-day Special Assembly of the forum that held in Port Harcourt last Thursday. A key component of the communiqué said, “The Assembly applauded the initiative of the African oil producing nations to establish…

The Federal High Court in Abuja has thrown a wrench into the financial gears of the Rivers State government, issuing a stern order to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to put a temporary halt to the monthly financial allocations flowing to the state. Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, the presiding judge, made this decision on Wednesday, just days after Governor Siminalayi Fubara presented his 2024 budget proposal to the Rivers House of Assembly. The court deemed Governor Fubara’s actions – accepting and disbursing monthly allocations since January – as a blatant violation of the constitution, a document he solemnly swore to…

The air was tension soaked as voters trickled to their various units after the dramatic events that characterized the local government electoral process. Unsure of what would be the eventual outcome, voters dared the odds and went to their polling units to cast their votes. As a concerned citizen of Nigeria and indigene of Rivers State, I took the obligation to observe the process especially in view of the legal shenanigans and efforts by the members of the major political parties to stop the process. I arrived at Ward 1, Units 1 and 2, Oro-Abali at around 10:44 a.m. Voting…