Nelly's SmartBriefs

The Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Dr Samuel Ogbuku, has enjoined the newly promoted directors to make a difference in the discharge of their duties and take the commission to greater heights. Ogbuku, who gave the charge at the closing session of a two-week course on Leadership and Performance Management for directing staff of the NDDC in Abuja, said that the provision of quality services to the people of the Niger Delta was a collective responsibility and should be given priority. A statement signed by the Director, Corporate Affairs, Pius Ughakpoteni, in Port Harcourt, on Thursday, September 28, 2023, quoted Ogbuku as saying that the reason for sending the new Directors for training was to ensure they took the administrative knowledge acquired back to the commission in order to make a difference for the overall benefit of the region. He said: “We are supposed to be training and retraining our staff. This is just the beginning. I want the directors...

The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), has announced the commencement of the application process for its 2023/2024 Foreign Post Graduate (Masters) Scholarship Programme. This marks a significant stride in the commission’s unwavering commitment to fostering human resource development and empowerment of the youths in the Niger Delta region. Aiming to cultivate empowerment and specialization, this initiative is designed to equip the vibrant minds of the region with indispensable skills and training. The goal is to facilitate their meaningful participation in the Federal Government’s local content programme and to enable them to excel in various professional disciplines, enhancing their global competitiveness. Diverse Opportunities for Study: The programme offers a broad spectrum of fields, including diverse engineering disciplines like Biomedical, Software, and Marine, and cutting-edge domains such as Artificial Intelligence and Math/Sciences. Opportunities also extend to Health a...

In commemoration of Nigeria’s 63rd Independence Day anniversary, the Federal Government has declared Monday, October 2, 2023, as a public holiday. The Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, made the declaration in Abuja on behalf of the federal government on Thursday, according to a statement by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Dr Oluwatoyin Akinlade. The minister assured assured Nigerians of the President Bola Tinubu-led administration’s continued commitment to tackling challenges facing the country. “It is today a known fact that difficult socio-economic and security challenges are global, and Nigeria is not isolated. “The Government is daily making efforts to confront these varied and numerous challenges with all the might available until respite comes our way,” the statement quoted him as saying. Tunji-Ojo said the greatness ahead of the country was achievable if all citizens worked together in unity. “Our warm welcoming spirit and love as well as our unbounded human capit...

The Niger Delta Stakeholders Coalition, led by Amb. Alfred Etuk has thanked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for reappointing Dr. Samuel Ogbuku as Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) while pledging to support the new management and leadership under Ogbuku. In a meeting on Tuesday, September 19, 2023, with the MD, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, the stakeholders, drawn from the nine Niger Delta states and the civil society canvassed for the development of the region using available resources for human capital development, especially, youth and women development and participation of community people in all activities of the commission.  One of the leaders of the ex-agitators from Akwa Ibom, General Skiller, said it was time for youth leaders and ex-agitators to support the new leadership in other to bring development to the Niger Delta.  He said they would support the MD to succeed till the end of his tenure.  He asked the ex-agitators ...

The Military Joint Task force of Operation Delta Safe (OPDS) has arrested eight barges, conveying over 100,000 litres of illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), popularly called diesel, in Rivers State. The Commander, Joint Task force, South-South, OPDS, Olusegun Ferreira, told newsmen at the creek of Bonny, that the barges were arrested by the OPDS team in conjunction with some maritime units in the Bonny area. Ferreira, who was represented by the Maritime Component Commander, Commodore Adedokun Siyanbade, said the operation was in line with the team’s mandate to eradicate crude oil theft and criminality in the Niger Delta region. He said: “As you all know, the mandate given by the Chief of Defence Staff to OPDS was to protect oil and gas installations, and ensure that crude oil theft is stopped in joint operation areas. “This instruction was reiterated during the last conference he had with the Joint Task Force Commander, where he stressed the need for the total eradication of cr...

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has said that it has no agreement with the Federal Government to call off the planned indefinite strike scheduled to commence on October 3, 2023. The NLC Head of Information and Public Affairs, Comrade Benson Upah, said this in a statement on Thursday, September 28. It would be recalled that the NLC and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) at the end of the joint National Executive Council meeting on Tuesday declared an indefinite strike beginning from October 3 to press home their demands. Upah, in reaction to a statement allegedly issued by the Director, Press and Public Relations in the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Olajide Oshundun, said there were some inconsistencies in the statement which include the proposed strike and the illegal occupation of the secretariat of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW). He stated: “Accordingly, we find it necessary to make clarifications. Firstly, we do not have any agreement with the government to ...

Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, has urged Nigerians not to lose confidence in the nation’s leaders to move the country forward. Akpabio, who enjoined the citizens to continue on the pathway of patriotism, said Nigeria now has firm foundations to hold the country’s democracy forever. The Senate President said though Nigeria did not stand upon firm foundations at Independence, the challenge of every generation of Nigerians, thereafter, has been to fortify and strengthen the foundations of the country so that the citizens could hold their collective aspirations and expectations. The former governor of Akwa Ibom State said this at the symposium to mark the 63rd anniversary of Nigeria’s Independence at the International Conference Centre in Abuja on Thursday, September 28, 2023. He said: “In 1999 after several hopes were betrayed, after several false starts and disappointments, after despair gave way to malaise, Nigerians, led by the statesman, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, stormed the ...

The Defence Headquarters says troops of the Nigerian armed forces have eliminated 191 terrorists, apprehended 184 and rescued 91 kidnapped hostages in different operations across the country. The Director, Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. Edward Buba, who made this known while briefing newsmen on Thursday in Abuja, said the operations were conducted in the last two weeks. Buba said a total of 104 Boko Haram and Islamic States of West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists and their families also surrendered to troops across theaters of operation during the period. In the North-East, he said troops of Operation Hadin Kai had conducted series of clearance operations in Borno and Yobe, neutralising 17 terrorists, apprehending 12 and rescuing 17 kidnapped hostages. Buba added that the troops were able to recover 40 AK47 rifles, 10 G3 rifle, one single barrel gun, one 36 hand grenade, five AK47 rifle loaded with 105 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, nine AK47 magazine, one G3 magazine and 546 r...

Google on Thursday called for applications for the Hustle Academy SMB Fund, a N75 million equity-free fund dedicated to the Nigerian Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs). Head, Brand and Reputation, Sub Saharan Africa, Google, Mojolaoluwa Aderemi-Makinde,  said in a statement that the initiative would offer N5,000,000 to 15 Nigerian small business owners. Aderemi-Makinde said that this initiative cemented Google’s unwavering commitment to cultivating entrepreneurial growth in Nigeria. She said that SMBs formed the backbone of Nigeria’s economy but consistently grapple with challenges, notably the perennial obstacle of securing vital funding. Aderemi-Makinde said that according to the World Bank, African SMBs faced a staggering finance gap of $330billion. She said that additionally, only 25percent of SMBs in Africa had access to bank loans, a percentage that sharply contrasted the 50percent observed in developed economies. “Hustle Academy Fund is a testament to the resilience and inno...

The Kaduna State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Kaduna has upheld the victory of Governor Sani Uba in the March 18 gubernatorial election in the state. Delivering judgement in a petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Isah Mohammed Ashiru, the tribunal, on Thursday, September 28, 2023, declared that Sani was duly elected. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Sani, who contested on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as the winner of the election. Speaking via a statement he personally issued, Sani described the judgement as “an unequivocal affirmation of the popular mandate graciously given to me by the good people of Kaduna State”. He commended the tribunal judges for their “thoroughness and lucidity, saying they enriched the country’s jurisprudence and practice of electoral democracy. Sani added: “I also commend my dear brother, Hon. Isah Ashiru Kudan for approaching the Tribunal to vent...