The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Port Harcourt

  • Police confirm release of abducted columnist

    Police confirm release of abducted columnist

    The police in Rivers sate on Saturday confirmed the release of Vanguard Newspaper columnist, Donu Kogbara, abducted from her residence 11 days ago.

    The Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Ahmad Muhammad, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Port Harcourt that Kogbara was freed in the early hours of Saturday.

    He said the state commissioner of police, Mr Musa Kimo, had already visited Kogbara in her family residence in Port Harcourt.

    Muhammad said Kogbara was in good condition and had reunited with her family.

    The police spokesman, however, did not say if any ransom was paid before she was released or if any arrest was made.

    Kogbara was kidnapped in front of her house in the Nkpogu area of Port Harcourt on Sunday, Aug. 30.

    She worked for the BBC, Channel 4, the Sunday Times and the Mail and has been reporting for the Vanguard newspaper for some 30 years.

    She was visiting her family in the Rivers when she was abducted.

    NAN recalls that on Sept. 9, Rivers State commissioner of police said five suspected kidnappers had been killed by the authorities and three kidnap victims rescued.

    Speaking about Kogbara, he said: “Let me assure you and her family that we are doing all that is humanly possible to safely rescue and reunite her with you and her family members,” he said.

  • Photo: Army burn trucks belonging to petroleum thieves

    Photo: Army burn trucks belonging to petroleum thieves

    COMMANDER, 2 BRIGADE, NIGERIAN ARMY GARRISON, LT.-COL. TIMOTHY OPURUM, ADDRESSING NEWSMEN DURING THE BURNING OF TRUCKS BELONGING TO SUSPECTED CRUDE OIL AND DIESEL THIEVES, IN PORT HARCOURT ON THURSDAY
    COMMANDER, 2 BRIGADE, NIGERIAN ARMY GARRISON, LT.-COL. TIMOTHY OPURUM, ADDRESSING NEWSMEN DURING THE BURNING OF TRUCKS BELONGING TO SUSPECTED CRUDE OIL AND DIESEL THIEVES, IN PORT HARCOURT ON THURSDAY

  • Eagles arrive Port Harcourt

    The Super Eagles  landed in Port Harcourt after a four-hours-and-forty minutes flight  from Dar es Salaam, following Saturday’s 0-0 draw with the Taifa Stars of Tanzania in a 2017 Africa Cup of Nations  (Afcon)qualifying match.

    The delegation, led by NFF President Amaju Pinnick, arrived in the oil city at exactly 2am on Sunday, and the Eagles placed at the Hotel Presidential. On Tuesday, the Super Eagles tackle the Mena of Niger in an international friendly at the Adokiye Amiesieamaka Stadium.

    On a day that Mauritania trounced South Africa and Liberia defeated Tunisia, in some of the shock results in Afcon qualifying race, the Super Eagles failed to break the resistance of the Taifa Stars, thereby earning only one point on the road. The situation in Group G will become clearer after the match between Le Sao of Chad and the Pharaohs of Egypt in N’djamena on Sunday.

    Coach Sunday Oliseh gave new caps to goalkeeper Carl Ikeme, who was truly impressive, as well as midfielders Izunna Uzochukwu and Sylvester Igboun and forward Emem Eduok.

    Between them, the likes of defender Kingsley Madu, William Troost-Ekong, Obiora Nwankwo, Lukman Haruna, Anthony Ujah and Moses Simon can only talk of a few caps.

    Captain Ahmed Musa, who only started out five years ago and has just about 51 caps, remains the most experienced player in the Super Eagles’ squad that drew on Saturday, alongside defender Kenneth Omeruo and forward Emmanuel Emenike.

    “We came here with the objective of earning the three points, but that didn’t happen. It was my first match in charge of the team and I have learnt a few things which will definitely help us going forward,” Oliseh said at the end of the game.

    The Super Eagles’ next game in the series is at home to the Pharaohs of Egypt  in March 2016.

  • PDP can’t shut Amaechi out of political space – APC

    PDP can’t shut Amaechi out of political space – APC

    The Rivers State Chapter of All Progressive Congress (APC) Friday declared that the witch-hunting and sponsored probe against the former Governor of Rivers State, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi by the People Democratic Party (PDP) in the state is a waste of time.

    The state Deputy Chairman of APC, Prince Peter Odike while addressing the press Friday at the APC state Secretariat in Port Harcourt, said the plan for Wike led PDP in the state is to shut Amaechi out of political space which he said is impossible.

    Odike said the commission of inquiry set up by Wike and the petition to Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) against Amaechi were all ground plan orchestrated  by the PDP and their cohorts to deny Amaechi appointment from President Buhari’s administration.

    The party recalled that, Amaechi, the former chairman of Nigerian Governors Forum for solid eight years resisted the pressure mounted by some unpatriotic elements backed by the former President Goodluck Jonathan to control the resource of the state.

    He alleged that PDP plan to politically pull down Amaechi was intensified in the month of August when they realised that President Buhari is expected to name members of Federal Executive Council and other strategic appointments.

    “I am calling on the elders, young men and women of Rivers State and indeed  the Niger Delta Region to rise in union and to tell these few actors represented by the current occupants of the Brick House especially PDP in the state that the sound of their drums is of war.

    “They want to shut out Amaechi out of political space but they can’t because their plans are evil. Their actions are becoming inimical to the progress in Rivers State. They are not happy that Amaechi fought the political battle of his life to ensure Buhari’s victory at the poll.

    “We therefore enjoin the good people of Rivers State to discountenance this ill-motivated selfish and devilish campaign of calumny against the great son of Niger Delta. Rivers people should refuse to be part of any gang –up geared toward destroying what Amaechi has built in the state.”

     

  • Columnist kidnapped in Port Harcourt

    A columnist with Vanguard, Donu Kogbara, has been kidnapped in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.

    Her abductors reportedly stormed her home in Nkpogu, Port Harcourt, in a CRV car amid gunshots.

    Eyewitnesses, who spoke in confidence for security reasons, told our reporter that the abductors left with the columnist to an unknown place.

    The hoodlums, it was learnt last night, had not contacted the writer’s family for ransom.

    Police spokesman Muhammad Kidaya Ahmad, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), confirmed the abduction.

    He said the police command was trailing the abductors, adding that Kogbara would soon be rescued.

  • Port Harcourt gets new museum, zoo

    Port Harcourt gets new museum, zoo

    Top tourism industry stakeholders in Nigeria last week converged on Port Harcourt for the pre-opening facility tour of the Museum of African History and Culture and Zoo located in the Brooklyn Tourist Centre on  East-West Road, Rumuosi in Obio-Akpor council area on the outskirt of Port Harcourt, near the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

    The tourism complex is the brain child of one of the leading tourism practitioners in the country, Alabo Mike Amachree, the owner of Brooklyn Group of Hotels and former president of the Association Tourism Practitioners of Nigeria (ATPN).

    The practitioners were taken round the new complex to see the new zoo and the museum.

    The museum has history of top monarchs that has left indelible marks in the history of Nigeria.

    After the tour, the practitioners  visited the chairman of the Rivers State Council of Traditional Rulers, His Majesty Dandeson Douglas Jaja, the Amayanabo of Opobo.

    Amachree said tourism a major economic activity which generates income and create employment for the people. He added that for a country or state to attract tourists both local and inbound tourists, necessary infrastructures and superstructures that are capable of attracting tourists have to be put in place in addition to the tourists attractions. He said it was on that basis that the practitioners are visiting the monarchs to make suggestions on how the state could built its tourism profile and attrct tourists.

    According to him : “Rivers State with international airport, seaport and network of roads and the petroleum industry, has comparative advantage over other states in the country foe tourists’ inflow. Secondly, Rivers State was the first state in Nigeria to establish a tourist site known as the Isaka Holiday Resort in 1967 by the first military governor of old Rivers State, King Alfred Diete Spiff. The second tourist site was established by my humble self known as the Port Harcourt Tourist Beach. It is also on record that my association, the ATPN organised the first Abuja Carnival under my leadership in 1991 without government assistance. We organised the second Rivers State  Cultural and Musical Carnival in 1993, tagged RIVCAM ’93.”

    Amachree said tourism was not just about building hotels, fast food restaurants, organising carnival festivals that will attract the desired tourists to Rivers State as these facilities are mere ancillary or support service for tourism promotion and tourist delight. He said the state has to develop high class tourist sites and museums where our history and cultural relics, artifacts and monuments would be permanently exhibited for admiration by our visiting tourists. The tour operators would then market the sites and bring in visitors. He said also that development and promotion of tourism was entirely a private sector affair, and that government was to provide enabling environment.

    Amachree said traditional rulers, as custodians of culture, history and tradition, should be assisted by the government to equip their palaces with relics and artifacts to promote tourism in their various communities.

    He also called on the private sector and the government to jointly open up the rural areas by establishing private tourist sites, monuments, museums, tour operating and tour guiding enterprises which will create more jobs for people like the one he had just built.

    In his response, the Amayanabo of Opobo praised the Alabo Amachree for the consistency in his efforts in developing tourism in the country. He also praised him for the new project, the new Museum of African History and Culture.

    He said: “Tourism is a product that enhances the dignity and prestige of most countries and provides so many opportunities, employment and entertainment. It helps in boosting national economies. We are lucky so many tourist sites abound in Nigeria.

    “In Nigeria, we have so many places to go to. It requires government assistance to private sector to develop them. Your call came at the right time. We will try to talk to the government to look at that area for developing in the area of employment possibilities.”

    The monarch said if tourism was developed to its full potentials, oil would take a back seat. He said people want to see new things in Africa. He promised to be at the commissioning of the tourist centre later in the year.

    The monarch also used the opportunity to call on the government to return History as a subject in secondary school.

    Among the stakeholders on the trip were Malan Garba, President, ATPN, Dr. Mumbo Eniola, ex-permanent secretary, Kogi State Ministry of Tourism, Dr. Dike, former director general, National Gallery of Arts, Prof Alegoa and many others.

  • Tribunal: Rivers APC exposes PDP’s sinister plot

    Tribunal: Rivers APC exposes PDP’s sinister plot

    The Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has, once again, exposed the sinister plot of the leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the suits before the election petitions tribunal in Abuja.

    APC, through the Secretary of its Media and Publicity Committee, Godstime Orlukwu, Tuesday in Port Harcourt, revealed that the PDP leaders were plotting to pay money into the bank account of one of the tribunal judges, thereby implicating the APC through frivolous petitions.

    The governorship candidate of the APC in Rivers, Dr. Dakuku Adol Peterside, and most candidates of the party for the state and National Assemblies filed petitions at the tribunal, in view of the massively-rigged March 28 and April 11 polls.

    Peterside dragged his counterpart of the PDP, Chief Nyesom Wike, now governor, to the tribunal, on the sham elections, while all the motions and applications of the PDP’s governorship candidate to stall the petition have been dismissed by the fearless judges, with full hearing to commence soon.

    Rivers governorship candidate of the APC had consistently accused officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of working with the PDP and Wike to frustrate his petition before the tribunal.

    The party said: “The APC has just uncovered another desperate arrangement by the PDP to put a cog in the wheel of justice in the ongoing governorship/legislative tribunal cases in Abuja. At a meeting they held in Port Harcourt, the PDP leaders perfected moves to pay a huge sum of money into the account of one of the tribunal judges hearing the Rivers State petitions.

    “This might not have been a strange occurrence, since the PDP leaders would not imagine that every Nigerian is up for sale. The plan is to make the payment in the name of a chieftain of the APC and then write a petition to the National Judicial Council, (NJC) and the unsuspecting public.

    “The aim of the sinister move is to cast aspersion on the integrity of the members of the tribunals hearing the Rivers State petitions, and raise doubts in the minds of Nigerians and especially Rivers people.”

    The APC also stated that its candidates had good cases before God and man, while having absolute confidence in the Nigerian judiciary as the last hope of the common man.

    It noted that it did not have any reason to coerce, blackmail or corrupt the process to get justice.

    APC said: “We wish to reiterate that the APC and its candidates will not be party to any plot or ploy to compromise any judge, as we believe wholly in the rule of law and in the sanctity of the judiciary.

    “We are confident that justice will prevail and we have repeatedly said that we would pursue our matters legally and without recourse to illegality or self-help of any kind. We have never been and will never be party to any untoward act, even in the face of outright provocations and deliberate denial of our rights.

    “We have remained steadfast in our pursuit of justice and trust that God and the will of Rivers people will see us through. Eternal vigilance remains the price of freedom.”

    The APC also called on the security agents to be on the alert and monitor very closely any act that might be inimical to the peace and progress of Rivers State.

    It noted that Rivers people had suffered enough and would not believe that the state should continually be in the eye of the storm, in view of some people’s greed.

    Wike had earlier in Port Harcourt stated that he had a good defence at the tribunal, with formidable legal team and would not be involved in any criminal act to get justice.

  • Port Harcourt school pupil wins Mike Okonkwo essay contest

    Port Harcourt school pupil wins Mike Okonkwo essay contest

    With a score of 73 per cent, Chisom Emeto of Port Harcourt International School, Rivers State, has won this year’s Mike Okonkwo National Essay Competition for Secondary School pupils.

    Chisom submitted the best of 2,997 entries on the topic: “The Nigerian political class and the citizens quest for good governance” received from secondary school pupils across the country.

    He also scored highest (66 per cent) in the second stage examination for the top 10 entries organised to authenticate their authors.

    Chief Examiner for the competition, Prof. Akachi Ezeigbo of the English Department, University of Lagos (UNILAG) described Chisom’s essay as detailed and of good quality “for his ability to engage the subject by showing how citizens have been the culprit in entrenching bad governance. He then proposed what must be done to institute a political class that will deliver good governance.”

    Chisom and seven others would be honoured on September 3, during the Bishop Mike Okonkwo Annual Lecture, which is being organised to celebrate the 70th birthday of Bishop Mike Okonkwo, the Presiding bishop of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission (TREM).

    The runners up are Asuquo Mirabel of Redeemers International Secondary School, Eastwest Road, Nkpolu, also in Port Harcourt, who came second with 72 per cent in the first stage and 65 in the second stage; Ihejirika Jonathan Ikechukwu of King’s College Lagos, who came third (71 per cent, and 60); and Awe Iyanuoluwa Modupe of Chapel Secondary Schooln Ilorin,  who scored 65 and 56 to place fourth.

    Others are: Fifth placed Aladegbami Oluwadamilola of Hallmark Secondary School Ondo State; sixth placed Muhammed Babayo of Premier Academy, Lugbe, Abuja and seventh placed Iro Akanma of Kuramo Senior Secondary School, Victoria Island, Lagos (60 and 50).

    Chisom will get a cheque of N100,000, a laptop, plaque, and three computers and a printer for his school.

    Mirabel will get N75,000, a plaque and two computers and a printer for her school, while Ihejirika will go home with N50,000, a plaque and a computer for his scools.

    The others will get a consolation price of N20,000 each.

    The Mike Okonkwo National Essay Competition, initiated in 2004, as part of activities to celebrate Dr Okonkwo’s birthday, is part of his efforts to contribute to the development of the country’s education sector.

     

  • Warri, Port Harcourt refineries begin operations

    Warri, Port Harcourt refineries begin operations

    The Warri and Port Harcourt refineries are back on stream, producing for local consumption, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor Godwin Emefiele said yesterday.

     Consequently, Nigerians will soon “start to see a drastic drop in the importation of refined petroleum products,”  Emefiele said  at the end of the bimonthly Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting in Abuja.

      The Kaduna refinery will follow suit next month, he said. He also threw light on the rise in Nigeria’s foreign reserves.

    The major reason, according to him, is the plugging of leakages in the system.

     He urged Nigerians to begin to adopt best practices in their dealings giving the disposition of the new government. The Committee underscored the imperative of growing and protecting the country’s foreign reserves and building fiscal buffers in the process of strengthening confidence in the economy which is essential for promoting growth and stability

     Emefiele described  federal government’s   recent financial  aid to the states as a loan because the CBN  stepped  in  as a lender of last resort. The CBN he said will encourage benefiting state governments to diversify their Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) bases adding that more details of the bailout will soon be made public.

      On inflation, the Committee stressed that “some of the drivers of the current pressure on consumer prices are transient and outside the direct influence of monetary policy.  Pressure on food prices is expected to gradually wane as the planting season gives way to harvests in the months ahead. Early resolution of fuel scarcity would dampen transportation costs and improve food distribution across the country while improvements in electricity supply could steady output at lower costs.”

      As for the national currency the Naira,  Emefiele said the CBN cannot continue with intermittent devaluation of the Naira because the Naira is appropriately priced. According to him, “if there is any need to change the value of the Naira, Nigerians will be informed.”

     The relatively stable exchange rate in the inter-bank segment, the CBN governor noted “can be attributed to the effects of some recent demand management measures.

    Gross official reserves increased from US$28.57billion at end-May 2015 to $31.53 billion as at July 22, 2015, reflecting the blockage of leakages as well as the bank’s management policies.”

     At the end of the MPC meeting members of the committee voted to  retain the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR)/Interest rate at 13 per cent with a corridor of +/- 200 basis points around the midpoint; retain the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) at 31 per cent; and retain the symmetric corridor of 200 basis points around the MPR.

     Overall, the Committee expressed optimism that business confidence would continue to improve as Government continues to unfold its economic plans.

    Emefiele said  that  ”some of the reassuring measures of the administration including efforts aimed at resolving fiscal challenges at the sub-national levels, and the fight against corruption and improving the business environment would unlock the inflow of foreign direct investment.”

  • Ajani Ibrahim targets another goal in Port Harcourt

    Ajani Ibrahim targets another goal in Port Harcourt

    • Delighted with brace against Giwa

    3SC’s Ajani Ibrahim has disclosed that scoring another goal against Dolphins at the Liberation Stadium, Port Harcourt today will be his next target after his brace helped to beat Giwa FC last Sunday.

    Ibrahim netted two first half goals before Nojeem Olukokun complemented his effort with the third goal in a 3-0 whitewash of the Jos Elephant in Ibadan but the former Sharks’ striker told SportingLife that his next target is to score again against

    Dolphins today.

    “I am always happy to score and the two goals I got against Giwa FC will motivate me to get more against Dolphins on Wednesday. I have scored three goals in six matches and I will be willing to get more by God’s grace,” Ibrahim, who had featured for Sunshine Stars and Enyimba in the past, told SportingLife.

    Ibrahim’s goals coupled with additional effort from other strikers has taken 3SC away from the relegation zone as they are now 11th on the log with 23 points from 17 matches.