Category: Southeast report

The leadership of the South South Women Assembly is in total allegiance with the President-Elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, over his preference for Senator Godswill Obot Akpabio as the President of the 10th Senate.

Without any modicum of doubt, we boldly affirm that Senator Godswill Obot Akpabio is a fit and proper person to lead the 10th Senate and properly guide the National Assembly towards the actualization of the ‘Renewed Hope’ of the Tinubu administration when it sets sail from May 29.

He understands the workings and intricacies of the legislature having had a direct relationship with it as a commissioner in the state executive council for 6 years; as an Executive Governor for 8 years; as a Senator of the Federal Republic for 4 years when he served as Senate Minority Leader; and as a Minister of government for about 3 years.

As an executive governor, he was an achiever par excellence, earning the sobriquet ‘Uncommon Transformer”. His landmark achievements as a governor are too numerous to mention.

It was in his time as a Minister of government that the permanent building housing the heaquarters of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) was completed and occupied by the interventionist agency thus saving it from millions of Naira in rent.

It was in his time that the forensic audit of the NDDC was commissioned and completed. The direct benefit of the crucial exercise can be seen in the current optimization of the performance of the Commission. It was his time as Minister that peace returned to the hitherto volatile region.

Senator Godswill Akpabio is not perfect, but he has a strong relationship with virtually every political office holder of note in Nigeria.

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As Governor, he gave women opportunities in his administration, fulfilling over 35 percent affirmative action and encouraging women to go into elective positions. His endorsement of affirmative action found eloquent expression in his appointment of the first female Deputy Governor, a female Head of Service, a female Chief Judge, amongst others. His investments in the development of the girl child remain unrivaled. Girls benefited immensely from the free and compulsory education policy initiated by the Akpabio administration. His administration also made laws to protect the girl child.

More so, South South has never occupied the position of Senate President since after Senator Joseph Wayas of blessed memory more than forty years ago.

We urge the relevant players to be mindful of the chicanery that took place in 2015 on the day of the inauguration of the 8th National Assembly.

The leadership of the South South Women Leaders Assembly appreciates the President-elect, His Excellency, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu for standing for equity as it relates to the leadership of the 10th Senate, and we pledge our solidarity to his incoming government.

We appreciate the solidarity of the majority of the Senators of the 10th senate and their rock solid resilience in supporting the choice of the President-elect.

We also appreciate all relevant stakeholders who have openly supported the candidature of Senator Akpabio, irrespective of political party affiliations.

The leadership of the South South Women Leaders Assembly views the Senate Presidency of Senator Akpabio as a call to National duty and as a call to the service of our fatherland.

Mrs Geraldine Etu, APC chieftain; Hon Racheal Kufre Nse, Federal Board Member; Hon Cecilia Brigidi, former councilor; Mrs Ibite Dokubo, APC chieftain

Female employees of Image Merchants Promotion Limited (IMPR), the publisher of PRNigeria and Economic Confidential, have bagged double SABRE African Public Relations Awards 2023 in Lusaka, Zambia.

The award, which recognises Superior Achievement in Branding Reputation and Engagement (SABRE) and hosted by PRovoke Media, was held on the sideline of the annual Conference of the African Public Relations Association (APRA).

The female communicators won a trophy and a Certificate of Excellence for Employee Communication and West African categories with a gender inclusivity campaign titled “Nigerian Ladies in PR”

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Supported by the MacArthur Foundation and Kogi State Government, the campaign involved public speaking, press releases, article writing, social media engagement and book publishing.

The Department of State Security Service (DSS) and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) also bagged Certificates of Excellence for their campaigns also handled by IMPR.

The DSS campaign was recognised under the Public Sector/Government category for tackling lingering fuel scarcity that threatened the Ember Months through stakeholder engagement and effective communication.

That of NITDA was recognised under the Public Affairs/Government Relations category for deploying mainstream and social media to counter misconceptions by educating the public on the benefits of its Code of Practice for Social Media and Online Platforms.

Chairman of the Awards Jury, Paul Holmes said agencies across Africa performed extraordinarily well in the competition, stressing that the quality of work has never been higher.

“Robust data and smart cultural insights are informing the planning process, big bold creative ideas are driving the execution, and real business-related metrics are showing how successful these campaigns are,” he added.

IMPR Founder Yushau Shuaib, who expressed excitement about the feat of his staff, thanked clients/partners, promising that the firm would “remain the most gender-friendly communication outfit that promotes excellence in service delivery”.

The PRNigeria ladies received accolades from Nigerian delegates at the conference. In attendance were Prof. Boniface Obiefuna of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR); Dr. Omoniyi Ibietan, Head of Media Relations, Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC).

Others were Brig. Gen. Tukur Gusau, Director Defence Information (DDI); Umar Mohammed, Head of Corporate Communication, Petroleum Products Marketing Company Limited (PPMC); Alhaji Lamaran Garba of Bayero University Kano (BUK), etc.

Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, on yesterdayday, approved the appointment of Olugbon of Orile Igbon. Oyo State Oba Francis Olushola Alao as Chancellor of the State University of Medical and Applied Sciences (SUMAS) Igbo-Eno, Enugu State.

G Ugwuanyi, who is the Visitor to the university also approved the appointment of Msgr.( Prof.) Obiora Francis Ike as Pro-Chancellor and Chairman, Governing Council .

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In a statement by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Prof. Simon Uchenna Ortuanya, the appointments were pursuant to Sections 1 and 2 of the First Schedule to State University of Medical and Applied Sciences (SUMAS), Igbo-Eno Law, Laws of Enugu State, No. 1, 2022.

Prof. Ortuanya said the appointments were with effect fro May 22.

Anambra Governor Chukwuma Soludo has said the state has become one of the food baskets of the nation under his administration.

He said the state attained that status through regenerative agriculture approach.

Soludo spoke through his Chief of Staff, Mr. Ernest Ezeajuyi sun the 2023 National Action and Communication Plan for implementation of the Food Systems Transformation Pathways in Nigeria.

He further said his administration was considering establishment of food bank to avoid wastages even as he restated his government commitment to turning the state into a livable and prosperous state with enough food and healthy community.

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According to him: “Anambra state, under my watch has become one of the food baskets of the nation, through its regenerative agriculture approach. This is why the state distributed over 700,000 oil palm and coconut seedlings to citizens of the state.

“Arrangement is now geared towards exploring short season plants to beat flooding that last year submerged eight local councils that are food baskets of the state.”

Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr. Forster Ihejiofor, described the summit as timely and essential in drive to domesticate the agenda in the 18 states of the federation, insisting it was time other states developed comprehensive and tailored approach reflecting unique needs, challenges and opportunities.

He called for prioritisation of sustainable agricultural practices that improve productivity, reduce waste and protect the environment while also enhancing good security and nutrition.

He also canvassed for promotion of policies and regulations, including consumer education that reflected importance of healthy and sustainable food choices.

Two members of a gang of kidnappers and armed robbers terrorising Port Harcourt, Rivers State, have been killed by the police during a gun battle.

Operatives of the C4i Intelligence were said to have engaged the hoodlums in the early hours of Friday when they raided their hideout at Oyigbo/Igbo-Etche forest.

It was gathered that the operatives acted on intelligence they gathered on the kidnap gang.

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, SP Grace Iringe-Koko, who confirmed the incident in a statement said on sighting the police team the hoodlums opened fire on them.

Read Also: Two die in police, kidnappers gun battle in Anambra

She said: “During the gun duel that lasted for about an hour, the gang leader, who was later identified as Aka Blacky, was fatally wounded. Another suspect identified as Peter Nwafor ‘m’ was shot while trying to escape.

“The two suspects were taken to the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital where they were confirmed dead by doctor on duty. Their corpse has been deposited at the UPTH Mortuary.”

She said the gang was linked to the kidnapping of a woman and her daughter on 18th March, 2023 along Garrison, Port Harcourt and recalled that two members of the gang had earlier been arrested.

She said: “Exhibits recovered at the scene include one AK47 rifle and 18 live ammunition. Residents of the state are advised to remain supportive, law-abiding, and vigilant and promptly report acts of crime and criminality to the nearest police station or by calling the command’s emergency hotlines.”

Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State yesterday inaugurated the 2023/2024 Executive Committee of the Enugu Sports Club under the Chairmanship of Sir Nnanna Victor Atuonwu urging the new leadership of the Club to continue to expand the frontiers of unity, peace and development through offering support and wise counsel to the incoming administration of Dr. Peter Ndubuisi Mbah.

Governor Ugwuanyi who congratulated the chairman and members of the new Executive Committee of Enugu Sports Club on their emergence, charged them to re-dedicate themselves to the fulfillment of the Club’s founding objectives of providing top-notch sporting and recreational facilities.

Describing the event as “a solemn one for me” the governor disclosed that it was the last inauguration of the Executive Committee of the Club he performed as the Club’s President within the extant rules of the Club and provisions of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).

Governor Ugwuanyi thanked members of the Enugu Sports Club “for the fidelity of your support, partnership and solidarity over the years”, adding that “your contributions to the leadership dialogue and agenda-setting for good governance in Enugu State were impactful and cherished.”

The governor assured them of his abiding love and friendship, acknowledging the outstanding accomplishments of the immediate past Executive Committee of the Club led by Barr. John Henry Chinyelu Nwosu, and other past Executive Committees.

He pointed out that the premier Sports Club has continued to grow in the quality of its sporting and recreational infrastructure as well as governance processes.

In his inaugural speech, the Chairman of Enugu Sports Club, Sir Atuonwu welcomed all the distinguished guests to the event including Governor Ugwuanyi, his predecessor, Sullivan Chime and the incoming governor, Dr. Mbah who was represented by the Director General of the State Campaign Council of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Ikeje Asogwa.

The new Chairman disclosed that the inauguration was remarkable in the sense that it was the first time a sitting governor, his predecessor and the incoming governor attended the event.

Atuonwu appreciated Governor Ugwuanyi for the tremendous support the Club has enjoyed from his administration, expressing confidence that the governor will continue to be of immense value to the Club.

He also paid glowing tribute to the other past Presidents of the Club as well as all the past Chairmen of the Executive Committee for their contributions to the development of the Club.

Atuonwu went further to acknowledge the hard work and commitment of the Club’s staff and the cooperation of the members, stressing that their individual and collective efforts have been instrumental in creating an environment that fosters excellence and the love of sports.

In a bid to popularise and market its new smartphone, Itel P40, particularly among students and youths, mobile phones manufacturers, Itel Mobile, yesterday took its ‘Itel Campus All Stars’ campaign to the Bayelsa State-owned Niger Delta University (NDU), Wilberforce Island, Amassoma.

The show which featured various forms of entertainment and talent competition in rap, dance, singing, fashion and modelling, was massively attended by students of the university who filled the main auditorium of the university’s new campus.

Speaking at the event, the Marketing Manager, Itel West Africa, Oke Umurhohwo, said the mobile phones company had been going to various campuses across the nation to market its new phone, Itel P40, among students and young people, describing the phone as a youth friendly mobile device.

He said: “We are going to different campuses and this is the 25th campus, to promote the Itel P40, our latest smart phone which we just launched a few months ago.

“So we are here in NDU to talk about the phone and why it is beneficial to students and others. The Itel P40 is the most powerful phone in Nigeria at the moment with a 600mAH battery which can last for three days after charging 7GB RAM, 64GB memory, 6.6 inch display and a stylish design. It is a marathon phone and very strong. It is a youth friendly phone and very affordable.”

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Also speaking, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR, Events and Partnership, Itel Nigeria, Taiwo Ogunbaimo, said with the Itel Campus All Stars, they were basically introducing their new Itel P40 phone to the students of NDU.

“The reception is massive, we have over 5,000 students in attendance. So far so good, we are also making sales of Itel P40 and Itel A60, so the students did not only accept our brand but also accepted our products which we are very grateful for.

“The grand prize for today is N150,000; we also have an Itel laptop, Itel headset, and power bank. We are also giving out the Itel P40 to the students, as long as you are coming on our stage you are rest assured that you are walking away with a gift.”

In his remarks, the President of the Students Union Government (SUG), NDU, Precious Apiri, expressed appreciation to Itel for choosing the institution for the show, noting that it had helped to advertise the institution.

He said: “I want to thank Itel for this show, it is not just to entertain the students and make them have this social life but they have also helped to advertise our school, Niger Delta University, NDU, because most people don’t know that there is an institution called NDU. They have also come to encourage our students who are talented in one craft or another.”

The people of Otor-Edo community in Ughelli South local government area of Delta state have appealed to the Delta state government to construct the Otor-Edo access road project that has been awarded by successive governments and abandoned from Chief James Ibori’s tenure till date.

The leadership of the Effurun-Otor, Otor-Edo in Ughelli South local government expressed dissatisfaction with the abandonment of the only access road project in the community, calling on the governor, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa to come to their rescue.

In a statement by the community President General, Mr Bernard Edevwie, Secretary General, Pastor Okpobia Ejakpovi and the oldest man in the community, Chief Achoja Okome, said the deplorable state of the only access road from Effurun-Otor to Otor-Edo community has brought untold hardship to the entire people.

The statement reads, “The road, Effurun-Otor to Otor-Edo has been abandoned and unmotorable for over ten years, and during rainy seasons it leads to a lot of hardship to the entire community and its neighbouring communities.

“We of Otor-Edo people are mainly farmers and producers of native pots (pottery) but because of the bad and unmotorable state of the road, we cannot freely transport our farm produce to market nor allowing customers to freely enter the community.”

“The road was once awarded by the former governor of Delta State, Chief James Ibori led government but was abandoned, it was re-awarded by Senator Dr Ifeanyi Okowa government to Obakpor Engineering Nigeria Ltd, but for over five years now, there is no sign of hope that the road would be executed.

An indigenous oil services company, Kenyon International West Africa Limited has applauded the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) for creating jobs for Nigerian companies in the oil sector.

Field Engineer with Kenyon, Mr Paul Ubong, gave the commendation yesterday while speaking on the sidelines of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Opportunities Fair 2023 (NOGOF 2023) held at NCDMB facility in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.

Ubong noted that Nigerian companies had grown in leaps and bounds under the regulatory guides of NCDMB, saying that the development had drastically reduced the influx of expatriates in the oil and gas industry.

He recalled that Kenyon stepped in to halt the leak at Aiteo’s Oil Mining Lease (OML) 29 when a US based company engaged by the operator could not deploy personnel to site.

Ubong observed that NOGOF 2023 showcased available project opportunities for Nigerian service providers and expressed satisfaction with the development roles of the NCDMB.

The oil well control expert explained that Kenyon had developed a homegrown solution to oil theft and vandalism awaiting widespread deployment across oilfields in the Niger Delta.

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Ubong further explained that NCDMB’s policy guidelines to International Oil Companies (IOCs) to utilise services by Nigerian companies had set a benchmark for other agencies to learn from.

Ubong said that the NCDMB establishment law had helped grow the technical capacity of indigenous companies and the oil and gas business and raised the Nigerian Content level from less than five per cent in the past 13 years to current level of 54 per cent.

He said that the policies of the NCDMB had checked the total dominance of the Nigerian oil and gas sector by international companies.

Ubong stated: “All the jobs that the indigenous people can handle since the NCDMB Act 2010 have been given to Nigerians, we now have indigenous companies doing the jobs that were given to foreigners with associated capital flight.

“More training, more hands-on experience on the job, you can see now that Nigeria has competent hands, but what we need is just development.

“That is just the gap that the NCDMB has come to bridge, to create more opportunities, more development,” he said.

On the massive divestment of international operators from onshore assets, he said that Nigeria had the manpower and human resources to run the facilities.

The Chief Physician to Governor Udom Emmanuel on Medicals, Dr. Akpabio Ignatius has said that Akwa Ibom state has performed eight successful cardiac pacemaker implantations at various General Hospitals in the state.

Ignatius disclosed that three of such medical operations were carried out on Thursday at the General Hospital in Awa, Onna local government area of the state.

He stated this during a parley with a team of medical experts who had earlier donated theatre equipment worth millions of Naira to the state.

“The first pacemaker implantation carried out at the General Hospital, Awa took place on Wednesday, Feb. 15th till Thursday, May 18th.

“Akwa Ibom has had eight successful cardiac pacemaker implantations in the state since the facilities were procured by Governor Emmanuel’s administration,” Ignatius said.

Ignatius described the feat as unprecedented in the history of general hospitals in Nigeria.

He said that Emmanuel’s administration had received more accolades for eight years of sterling interventions in the health sector across the state.

Ignatius thanked the governor for training the cardiologist, cardiothoracic surgeons, anesthetist, intersivits, radiologist, radiographers, cardiac unit and theater nurses and the procurement of ultramodern theatre that made the implantation possible.

He also thanked the medical personnel for supporting the administration professionally to register the successes it had registered in the last eight years.

In his remarks, the cardiothoracic consultant at LUTH, Dr. Ezekiel Ogunleye, who led the surgery team for the pacemaker implant, said he wants to appreciate Governor Emmanuel and his Chief Physician for the tenacity of making the pacemaker implant a reality in a general hospital in Akwa Ibom.

“We started the pacemaker insertion in 1999, we have never done the surgery in any general hospital in Nigeria,” he said.

Another surgeon, who has also been partaking in the pacemaker surgery, Prof. Eyo Ekpe, a professor of cardiothoracic surgery, commended Governor Emmanuel for putting the facilities on ground to aid in major surgeries in the state like the pacemaker insertion.

He mentioned that the C-Arm machine was one of the machines that had to be in a theatre for such a procedure to be carried out and that the machine is not common even in teaching hospitals in the country.