Nelly's SmartBriefs

The Board of Trustees of Community Development Committees (CDCs) of the Niger Delta Oil and Gas Producing Areas (NDOGPAs) has appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to increase the annual budgetary allocation to the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) to reflect the present economic realities. The appeal by the board was made during a courtesy call on the Interim Administrator of the PAP, Major-General Barry Tariye Ndiomu (rtd) in Abuja. Led by its Chairman, Mr. Joseph Ambakederemo, other members on the delegation were General Charles Omoregie (rtd), Elder Timi Aya, Mr. Augustine Iyamu, Mr. Jonathan Elendu, and Mr. Charles Umukoro.  Speaking, Board of Trustees of Community Development Committees (CDCs) of the Niger Delta Oil and Gas Producing Areas (NDOGPAs) Chairman, Mr. Joseph Ambakederemo, reiterated the board's desire to synergize with the PAP to explore ways to tackle oil theft and vandalism of critical oil infrastructure in the region while pursuing the development of ...

Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has been commended for the early steps he has so far taken on the entertainment subsector but he has been urged to move further by pushing the sector into a wealth and job spinner. Some of the biggest investors in the entertainment and leisure industry, who made the appeal, said that the appointment of a driver of entertainment issues in government would reactivate the sector that made the old Rivers State the entertainment destination in the past.  The key leading voices and investors in the Niger Delta, including the Mayor of Pitakwa, KO Baba Jornsen, and Mayor of Housing, My-ACE China, urged Fubara to work closely with the leaders of the industry so as to trigger spike in the industry. They made the call during a press briefing to unveil details of ‘Mayor of Pitakwa’ show 2024 in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital. The creator of the show series, Jornsen, also tasked the state governor to leverage the brightening relations betwe...

The Federal Executive Council has approved the 2012 Steve Oronsaye committee report recommending the merger of some Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) as well as commissions of the government as a plausible means of cutting down on the cost of governance. The President Goodluck Jonathan administrations,  which set up the committee, did not implement the recommendations, but simply issued a White Paper to activate executive acceptance. Similarly, the President Muhammadu Buhari administration also issued another White Paper on the report, and attempted to implement it but backtracked after a few steps, which resulted in the merger of some MDAs.  The approval was given at the FEC meeting on Monday, February 26. A statement signed by Special Adviser Information and Strategy to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Bayo Onanuga, in Abuja, gave the details of the resolutions of the meeting. Titled, "Highlights of Federal Executive Council decisions on Monday, 26 February", the stat...

  Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has approved the reconstitution of the Governing Councils of three state-owned tertiary education institutions. The reconstitution of the governing councils was announced in a statement signed by the Secretary to the State Government, Dr. Tammy Danagogo, in Port Harcourt, on Monday. While Rivers State University has Hon. Justice Mary Odili as pro-chancellor/chairman; Ignatius Ajuru University of education has Chief Adokiye Amiesimaka as pro-chancellor/chairman; and Captain Elechi Amadi Polytechnic has Dr. Robinson N. Ewoh as chairman. Rivers State University has eight-member governing council, while both Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, and Captain Elechi Amadi Polytechnic have seven members each. The statement, titled: OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY TO THE RIVERS STATE GOVERNMENT: GOVERNMENT SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT", read in full: "Governor of Rivers State, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, GSSRS, has approved the reconstitution of Governing...

Authorities of the Rivers State Police Command have assured that adequate security arrangement has been put in place to ensure the security of lives, and protection of property of residents of the state. This is even as the Inspector General of Police, Dr Kayode Egbetokun, has directed the  substantial deployment of security personnel across the country to protect and uphold the constitutional right of every citizen to engage in peaceful protest. This was contained in a statement signed by the state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Grace Iringe-Koko, in her office in Port Harcourt on Monday. The statement, titled: "PLANNED PROTEST: RIVERS STATE POLICE COMMAND ENSURES ADEQUATE STATEWIDE SECURITY", read in full: "Ahead of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) protest scheduled to take place on February 27 and 28, 2024, the Rivers State Police Command acknowledges and upholds the constitutional right of every citizen to engage in peaceful protest. "In alignment with the...

The Court of Appeal sitting in Port Harcourt has granted an exparte order of substituted service on Hon. Martins Amaewhule and 24 purported members occupying the Rivers State House of Assembly. A three-man panel of judges led by Hon. Justice Oluayemisi Williams-Dawodu on Monday, agreed that Amaewhule and 24 others be served through substituted means or WhatsApp. This was sequel to an application by the counsel to the applicants Elder Wilcox Abereton, SAN, who informed the court that it has been difficult and life threatening to serve Amaewhule and the Rivers State House of Assembly as a result of tight security around them occasioned by the political tension in Rivers State. The learned counsel also informed the court, citing a sworn affidavit by the bailiff of court who went to serve the respondents and was warned and threatened not to come to serve any further process again. He explained to the court that the bailiff was told that he can paste process if he has the order of court to ...

The National Examination Council (NECO) has released the 2023 senior secondary school examination (SSCE) external results with 67.35 percent of candidates who sat for the examination earning five credits and above including English Language and Mathematics. The Registrar and Chief Executive of the council, Prof Dantani Wushishi while declaring the results on Monday, 68 days after the last examination, said 74,342 candidates sat for the examination for 29 subjects. According to the breakdown, 52.28 percent of the candidates were male and 47.71 candidates were female. The registrar also said that 8,518 candidates were booked for various forms of malpractice showing a 25.4 percent decline in 2022. Professor Dantani said two supervisors in Oyo and Lagos states were blacklisted for poor supervision and one centre in Borno was also blacklisted. The registrar also launched the council’s automated annual posting calendar for the staff of the council.  He said the innovation will eliminate ...

A coalition of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), community groups, and individuals organized a peaceful rally in Port Harcourt to appeal to the state government to intervene and prevent the Federal Government from granting Shell and other International Oil Companies (IOCs) permission to divest until an audit is conducted on the environment, health, and livelihood, and steps are taken to remediate the fallout of the findings. Led by the Social Development Integrated Centre – Social Action, the rally commenced from the UTC Junction and culminated at the Government House in Port Harcourt, the state capital. The protesters carried placards bearing various inscriptions such as “No restoration, no remediation,” “Save the Niger Delta, restore our livelihoods,” and “Shell is going nowhere until they restore our original environment.” Programme Manager of Social Action Nigeria, Dr. Prince Edegbuo, expressed the collective sentiment of the gathering, stating, “The legacy of environmental devas...

A first class traditional ruler in Rivers State, Eze Kelvin Ngozi Anugwo, has hailed the Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara; the Inspector General of Police, Dr Kayode Egbetokun; and the state Police Commissioner, Olatunji Disu; over the successful neutralisation of the most wanted killer of the late DPO of Ahoada Police Station, SP Bako Angbashim. Anugwo said that the killing of the kidnap and cult kingpin at Ebrass has rekindled the hopes of the people for a safer community and state. In a statement, Anugwo also thanked the security agencies for sustaining the heat on the most wanted kingpin, and successfully eliminating him with a view to making the area safer for residents.  The statement, titled: " MURDER OF SP BAKO: EZE EKPEYE LOGBO COMMENDS GOVERNOR SIMINALAYI FUBARA, IG OF POLICE AND RIVERS POLICE COMMISSIONER FOR THE KILLING OF PRIME SUSPECT, DAVID OKPARA ALSO KNOWN AS 2BABA ", read: The Eze Ekpeye Logbo III of Ekpeye land, His Imperial Majesty Eze Kelvin N...

Operatives of the Rivers State Police Command have exhumed the corpse of the wanted notorious cult, kidnap kingpin, and prime suspect in the brutal murder and beheading of the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Ahoada Police Station, SP Bako Angbashim on September 8, at Odiemudie forest in Ahoada East Local Government Area of the state. The exhuming of the remains of the most wanted criminal lord comes on the heels of serious outcry by members of the public over the secrecy surrounding the controversial killing of the man whose gang has been terrorising the state, kidnapping and killing innocent residents and taking over their properties by force for many years. Recall that the police had claimed that 2Baba was killed in a gun duel with a combined team of security forces at Ebrass in Ahoada East, but could not provide pictural and video details of the man who had given police and other security operatives sleepless nights for over six months. In a statement, the state Police Public Relat...