The Centre of Excellence in Reproductive Health Innovation (CERHI), the University of Benin (UNIBEN) Benin-City Edo State has been rated as the best performing centre in Nigeria.

The feat followed CERHI’s achievement of the World Bank’s Disbursement Linked Indicators at the ongoing West African conference in Cotonou, Republic of Benin.

The Centre Leader of CERHI, Prof. Friday Okonofua, who is currently attending the conference, made this known yesterday in an online statement.

Okonofua hailed UNIBEN’s “transformational and dynamic” Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Lilian Salami, on her commitment and support, which he said had translated to immense growth and development of the centre.

CERHI’s leader also commended the hardworking staff and associates of the centre for their dedication.

Since its inception in 2014, CERHI, UNIBEN, has been making an impact in the health sector in the country, including contributing manpower and state-of-the-art equipment to efforts to check the COVID-19 pandemic.

The programmes being offered by CERHI include M.Sc. and PhD in Reproductive Health; MPH and PhD in Public Health, with specialisation in Reproductive and Family Health; M.Sc. and PhD in Nursing Sciences; M.Sc. and PhD in Health Economics; M.Sc. and PhD in Maternal and Child Health Nursing, and other short courses.

Also, the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo State during the September 19, 2020 polls, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, has urged Nigerians to register as voters, thereby owning valid Permanent Voter’s cards (PVCs), and be ready to vote for good, tested and credible candidates during next year’s general elections.

He also stated that politics in Nigeria was seen to be dirty, largely because many good people had allowed the bad people to be in it and dominate it.

Ize-Iyamu, a former Secretary to Edo State Government (SSG), stated this yesterday in Benin-City, the state capital, in an interactive session with reporters, to mark his 60th birthday.

He said: “It is time that we take the bull by the horns and be active in politics, to reverse the system. As the Bible puts it, when the righteous person rules, the people are happy and rejoice.

“When you have bad people in politics, the system will be bad. It is true that in Nigeria, politics is seen to be very dirty. It is so because we have allowed the wrong people to be in it. Because good and decent people do not participate in politics, that is why we are facing what we are facing in the country.

“The truth is that for a long time, there have been quite some wrong teachings among us Christians. In the past, there was the wrong teaching about poverty that rich men would not make heaven, only poor people would do.  So, a lot of Christians would shun good jobs, to make heaven.

They later realised that there was no scriptural basis at all for such belief.

“When Jesus talked about how hard it would be for a rich man to make heaven, he was just referring to those who carried riches above the things of God, not that rich men would not make heaven. Rich men would make heaven if they use their wealth in a manner that would please God. In fact, your riches could actually guarantee you heaven, if well used.”

The Pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) also stated that in a democracy, good leaders would always emerge through participation in politics, while stressing that politics and the actions of the leaders would definitely affect the daily lives of other Nigerians.

He said: “I ventured into politics because I am concerned about the situation of our state (Edo) and the condition of our people. No matter the much you do as an individual, you can only scratch the surface. The only institution that has the capacity to contribute meaningfully to the welfare of many people in the government. Government is the custodian of our commonwealth.

“So, anybody with a passion for good governance and empowerment of the people, like me, must be in government.”

The former standard-bearer of the APC also urged his teeming supporters and other Edo residents to keep hope alive, ahead of the 2024 governorship election in the state, in order to truly benefit from the real dividends of democracy.

The candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Eseme Eyiboh has reaffirmed that Akan Udofia remains the governorship candidate of the party for next year’s general elections in Akwa Ibom State.

In a chat with reporters at the weekend, Eyiboh said the declaration by the State Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, Mr Mike Igini that APC has no governorship candidate was not only false but contemptuous.

The former spokesperson of the House of Representatives urged Nigerians to disregard any insinuation that Udofia will not be listed on the ballot.

“It is not true that APC does not have a governorship and other candidates for the 2023 general elections.

“The Akwa Ibom chapter of the party had followed all stipulated procedures in the conducts of the various primaries. At this point in time, it is pertinent to seek answers to some specific questions.

“How could Mike Igini have gone to the Sheer Grace Arena for the governorship primaries of APC? Was that the official venue contained in the circular issued by the Stephen Ntukekpo-led executive?” he queried.

He recalled the judgment of the Abuja Federal High Court delivered by Justice Taiwo Taiwo on March 16, 2022, which declared Mr Ntukekpo as the Chairman of APC in Akwa Ibom State.

Eseme Eyiboh recalled that the 42-page judgment was explicit, a situation which he said, made the former secretary of the party, Senator John Udoedehe withdraw his appeal, which further led to its dismissal by the Court of Appeal.

“What we should be interested in is “Why should Mike Igini constitute himself into a Supreme Court to upturn a judgment which the Court of Appeal dismissed?

“While it is the duty of a political party to notify INEC of its political activities, it cannot drag the Commission into coming to observe them. It is the responsibility of INEC to go to the designated venues to carry out their own duty.

“In the event that Mike Igini left the approved venue of the primaries to go to Sheer Grace Arena, you can then appreciate the fact that he may have been on a voyage of self-destructing,” he said.

On the emergence of Senator Godswill Akpabio as the candidate of the party for Akwa Ibom Northwest Senatorial District, Eyiboh stated that the National Secretary of the party, Senator Iyiola Omisore has issued a circular indicating that the party would conduct the primaries again.

Eyiboh observed that the withdrawal of the winner of the previously conducted election, Ekperikpe Ekpo, necessitated the need to conduct the primaries again, and that “such could not have amounted to candidate substitution as falsely peddled by Mr Igini.”

He said: “We should applaud and glorify Senator Godswill Akpabio for the strategic role he played in the emergence of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the presidential candidate of APC. Indeed, this shall bring enormous benefits for the entire Akwa Ibom people.”

He stressed that APC as a political party was populated by people who have high regard for the judiciary.

The member representing Oyi/Ayamelum Federal Constituency of Anambra State in the House of Representatives, Hon Vincent Ekene Ofumelu, has said that hard work, performance and good representation of his people were responsible for his return ticket as the party’s candidate for the 2023 election..

The lawmaker, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), expressed gratitude to the delegates in Oyi and Afamelum Federal Constituency for finding him worthy of a return ticket.

He assured that he would work harder the ensure that the party wins the House of Representatives election.

Speaking after being presented with his Certificate of Return in Abuja, he said the ticket which he also credited to God Almighty has provided the needed impetus to do more and face the battle ahead.

“I would start by saying I am glad and I want to let you know that the Almighty God has done successful in our life today. I would start by thanking Almighty God. He who did it today would still do it tomorrow. I want to thank the good people of Oyi and Ayamelum Federal Constituency, more especially the delegates who deemed it fit to vote my very humble self, they call me Talk and Do in my locality.

“You know that politics is local. We are going for this war without fear or favour. We are going there without looking behind. Forward ever backward never. I know that our good people, which we have served very well, would still repeat to assist us and vote us in to succeed again come 2023 election.

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Hon. Vincent is among a few lawmakers with the good fortune of a return ticket in the 9th Assembly, through the delegate system which has thrown so many others out of contention in the coming elections.

He however said he was optimistic of victory at the primaries, bearing in mind the inherent drawbacks of system.

“It is not about whether the delegate system favoured us. When they were electing the delegates, I was not there. I allowed them to choose whomever that would be the delegates, but I knew they would vote me. It is the antecedents. It is things I have done for the constituencies and the things I am still doing and the ones I would still do. They know I have them in mind. I know whomever emerges delegates just like I told my people in my locality that whoever they must elect delegate must come from Oyi or Ayamelum. So it is not coming from another constituency. Hence it is from my place, they would vote me. I know they would vote me.

“I would not say about another person or constituency, but concerning Anambra North or South, the election went transparently in the day time. INEC was there and witnessed it. PDP National was there to supervise everything. The state was there. All of them came together to witness the election. It went perfectly and transparently. All I know is that my people would vote me in the delegate election. It has come and gone. I have to pray to God who has made it before to do it again,” the lawmaker said.

On her part, Senator Stella Oduah applauded the delegates for voting en-masse during the primaries

She said the PDP Candidates are adequately equipped with “strategies and the goodwill that will enable us to combat the other political parties.”

“What we want to assure them is definitely the victory is ours. By God’s grace we are going to win this and in winning this, all PDP will enjoy. About six of us are sitting members in the National Assembly and about six as well for state assembly. The rest are new people but with wonderful antecedents.

“For those who are already sitting, if you take Hon Lynda Ikpeazu who is representing Onitsha North and South, and Hon Vincent Ekene Ofumelu you will see that they have done so well, Hon. Ofumelu here has open roads where there was no road before, you have to visit to see the remarkable work that is going and would continue going on,” she said.

Interim administration of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Dr. Efiong Akwa says he is not against the constitution of a substantive board for the commission.

Akwa in a statement personally signed by him and made available to the Nation in Uyo on Friday debunked a publication in a major national daily that he was against calls by people of the Niger Delta for the inauguration of a board for the commission.

He said the story which emanated from a faceless group, Niger Delta United Congress, NDUC was not only untrue but aimed at heating up the polity and the region ahead of the 2023 general elections.

“I have confirmed that Engineer Eradiri did not make that statement at the online interaction which focused on the theme: “2023 Elections and the Imperative for Strategic Participation of Niger Delta Youths.”

An environmental rights group, the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), has trained no few than 60 residents of oil-bearing communities in Bayelsa State.

Speaking to the volunteers yesterday during the training in Ikarama community, Yenagoa Local Government Area of the state, Executive Director, HOMEF, Dr Nnimmo Bassey, said that a safe environment was fundamental to support lives and livelihoods.

It may be recalled that Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), an oil major, started operations in Ikarama community in 1964.

Bassey said that there was the need for people, who reside near oil and gas fields, to remain vigilant in conserving the environment.

According to him, available data indicate that the area records the most frequent oil spills from the operations of Shell and the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC).

Before the training session began, HOMEF took volunteers and concerned residents on inspection of oil spill impacted sites.

“The Ministry of the Environment, the NOSDRA and those from Federal Ministry should be involved too. We are having contamination not just in this location here. Therefore, it is very important to test soil across the communities because we are having oil facilities traversing Ikarama community and other Niger Delta communities.”

Also speaking, an environmentalist, Mr Alagoa Morris, said that monitoring the environment demanded factual and evidence-based data collection, recording and reporting.

Morris, who is the Bayelsa State Coordinator of Environmental Right Action and Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN, called on Shell and other oil companies to be proactive when such happens for the safety of the rural dwellers, and the aquatic lives that the people depend on.

On his part, Mr Benjamin Enebiri, the owner of the fish farm where oil was coming from the ground, expressed sadness over the situation, calling on Shell to remediate his land.

Speaker of Ebonyi State House of Assembly and the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ebonyi State, Rt. Hon. Francis Nwifuru has assured other aspirants who contested alongside him in the APC gubernatorial primary election in the State of his cooperation.

He made this appeal in Abakaliki, the state capital while addressing a women group from Abakaliki, Ebonyi and Izzi Local Government Areas, under the umbrella of Royal Women Association.

The group is loyal to the wife of the Speaker, Mary-Maudline Uzoamaka Nwifuru.

Nwifuru described the contest which produced him as the party’s governorship candidate in the State, as a huge lesson to him, one which has afforded him enormous experience.

In her own speech, Mrs. Nwifuru appreciated the faith and love of her beloved women towards her husband and family, stressing that it is “More appealing to my heart is that, you’re the first group to bring us gift of this magnitude and I am aware that this costs so much. It means as well, that you made contributions to get this special gift long ago, testament of your faith and trust in God that we’ll win.”

Leaders and stakeholders in the Niger Delta have applauded the Interim Administrator, Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Col. Milland Dixon Dikio (retd) for honouring the late activist, Tony Uranta.

The leaders under the auspices of the Ijaw Monitoring Group (IMG) described the recent role played by Dikio during the burial of Uranta and his visit to the late activist’s widow as commendable.

The National Coordinator, IMG, Joseph Evah particularly pointed at the decision of Dikio to award Uranta’s daughter a scholarship, saying the gesture had brought immeasurable feeling of satisfaction to the deceased family.

Evah, a former spokesman of the Ijaw National Congress (INC), said Dikio’s benevolence and disposition to honour persons, that had made sufficient sacrifices for the region, rekindled their commitment to the struggle for a better Niger Delta.

He said: “We see such things only in Yoruba land. Heroes of Yoruba land are always honoured. They don’t joke with those, who have sacrificed for their generation and that is why God is blessing them. They value their heroes. Don’t you see how they honour MKO Abiola which has made the Federal Government to recognise June 12 as Democracy Day?

“So what he (Dikio) has done, we are more than grateful. It is a big reference point because Tony Uranta did a lot for the Niger Delta. We thank Dikio for visiting the family, awarding scholarship to his daughter and also the contribution he made during his burial. His presence was felt. With such gestures, the widow and the entire family will not regret the sacrifices he made for a better Niger Delta.”

Governorship candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Abia State, Prof. Uche Ikonne has said he will boost trade and Investment in the state, if elected as governor in 2023.

Ikonne who stated this while addressing members of the Abia State Market Traders Association (ASMATA), who came on a solidarity call at his residence in Umuahia, disclosed that he is working with the Ministry of Trade and Investment to develop a new design and master plan to expand the expansion of existing markets in the state.

He commended Governor Okezie Ikpeazu for changing the face of trade and investment in the state through his promotion of made in Aba products to the global market as well as the provision of infrastructure.

Ikonne added that with the foundation the governor had laid to boost trade in the state, he will work to reduce the difficulties traders encounter in bringing goods and containers to Aba from neighbouring state

Earlier, the Commissioner for Trade and Investment, Chief John Okiyi Kalu, assured the governorship candidate the unalloyed support of traders across the state before, during and after the election.

The Bayelsa State Government has assured both serving and retired judges of the state judiciary of its commitment to their welfare.

The state governor, Douye Diri, gave the assurance on Friday at a special valedictory court session held in honour of Justice Lucky Boufini at the Chief Judge’s Court, Ovom in Yenagoa.

Represented by his deputy, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, the governor said government had already taken the initiative to build befitting residences for top judicial officers at a more secure and suitable location within the Yenagoa metropolis.

He eulogised Justice Boufini as an erudite and incorruptible judge who meritoriously served the judiciary in old Rivers and Bayelsa states in various capacities.

According to Diri, the retired Judge creditably discharged his responsibilities as a Magistrate, Chief Registrar and bowed out as a High Court Judge in the state.

Diri, however, lamented that the exit of Justice Boufini from service on account of retirement had created a huge vacuum, which he noted, would be difficult to fill in the short term.

Responding to a demand for more judges to be appointed in the state to strengthen the bench, he clarified that the appointment of judges was not the exclusive preserve of the state government because it is subject to approval by the National Judicial Council.

Diri, who assured members of the Bench and the Bar that government would look into issues bordering on office accommodation and welfare package for retired judicial officers, wished Justice Boufini happy retirement, sound health and divine protection.

He said: “As a matter of fact, the place you saw and described as the Judges Quarters was initially considered but clearly that place will no longer be used for that purpose.

“I can assure you that the prosperity government is conscious of the welfare of Judges while serving and even upon retirement; because there is no need protecting a man while he is serving and then expose him to untold hardship upon retirement.”

Earlier in her remarks, the state Chief Judge, Justice Kate Abiri, said the special court session was organised as part of activities to honour Justice Boufini’s 37 fruitful years of service.

In his address, the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Biriyai Dambo (SAN), described the just-retired Justice Lucky Boufini as a wonderful and industrious judge who distinguished himself on the bench.