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By Amos Odhe, Yenagoa The Bayelsa Elders Council has urged the state government to make massive investments in agricultural development and technical education to recalibrate the economy of the state towards self-sufficiency. It said the only way to overcome the looming food crisis is for government to be directly involved in crop, fish, livestock and other areas of agricultural production as the subsisting peasant farming could no longer meet the food needs of the people. This was the position of the Elders Council at its third quarter meeting of the year, which held at the Niger Delta Wetlands Centre, Ekeki,…

By Godwin Chukwumaechi, Port Harcourt In commemoration of the 2024 Army Day, soldiers from the 6 Division, Nigerian Army, in collaboration with Nigerian Army Officers’ Wives Association have conducted a free medical outreach in Edeoha community, Upata kingdom, Ahoada East Local Government Area of Rivers State. In the course of the exercise, the army medical team diagnosed and treated scores of beneficiaries including children, youths and the elderly from the community who gathered at the Upata Civil Centre, Edeoha community, venue of the exercise on Friday. Addressing the people on the importance of the initiative, the General Officer Commanding (GOC)…

By Kelechi Nwaucha After three years of implementing a campaign for gender equality and social inclusion, with focus on improving electoral integrity and accountability in Nigeria, non-governmental organization, Kebetkache Women Development and Resource Centre on Tuesday reviewed the impact of the project on communities and women in the South South states. The campaign, tagged ‘The Improving Electoral Integrity and Accountability (IEIA) Project,’ and embarked on by Kebetkache Women Development and Resource Centre, in partnership with Women’s Rights Advancement & Protection Alternative (WRAPA) and the MacArthur Foundation, sought to improve awareness on gender and social inclusion issues, especially with regards to…

Emma Sunday, Port Harcourt Niger Delta Young Professionals, NDYP, has tasked the National Assembly to make legislation that would encourage entrepreneurship development in the country. NDYP made the call at the 4th edition of the Niger Delta Micro, Small and Medium-Scale Enterprises, MSME, Summit/Boot camp, in Port Harcourt to commemorate the 2024 World MSME Day with theme; ‘Building a Culture of Entrepreneurship and Self-Reliance Beyond Oil’. The body urged the federal and state governments and Niger Delta leaders to create institutions that would give young people in the region opportunity to unleash their potentials. Speaking, the Convener of the Summit…

By Mandy Tina The Rivers State Police Command has commenced a clampdown on the “excesses of vigilante groups operating within the state.” This followed “numerous complaints about the operations of the ONELGA Security and Peace Advisory Committee (OSPAC) in different parts of the state, predominantly in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni LGA (ONELGA), as well as clashes between this vigilante group and other security agencies.” Spokesperson for the command, SP Grace Iringe-Koko, who disclosed this in a press statement on Wednesday, 3 July, 2024, said there have been reports of clashes between OSPAC and other security agencies, prompting the police to take action to…

By Ehichioya Ezomon Bomb-throwers in the political arena and mediasphere are at work in Edo State, orchestrating a campaign of personal attacks on the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Monday Okpebholo, aimed at demarketing him ahead of the September 21, 2024, governorship election. The attacks look syndicated to opposition elements within the party, and outside groups parading as writers, who question Okpebholo’s character, competence, capacity, congnition, carriage, charisma, and ability to articulate” achievable actions to take Edo State out of its morass. Take a look! Writing in The Guardian in early June 2024, one Ifeanyi Ibeh, in…

The Managing Director/Chief Exective Officer of the Niger Delta Basin Deverloment Authority (NDBDA), Prince Ebitimi Amgbare, has extended hands of fellowship to the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) in the bid to seek ways of ensuring development for the Niger Delta region, in accordance with the vision of the Willinks Commission of 1957. Prince Amgbare made this known during a courtesy visit to the PAP Administrator, Dr. Dennis Otuaro, in Abuja Monday, while also re-echoing the importance of the basin authority in the Niger Delta area. He recalled that the NDBDA was conceived as a special purpose vehicle to drive development…

By Amos Okioma, Yenagoa Aggrieved youths from Anyama Clan of the Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) and Onuebum Community of Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State stormed the site of appraisal of oil well project in OPL 2005 located in the community. According to the youths, the owner of the project, Sterling Oil Exploration and Energy Production Company Limited (SEEPCO) allegedly showed disregard for the state government directive on resumed negotiations with host community and compliance with local, state and federal laws, including the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). The angry youths, numbering over a hundred, arrived the dredging site of…

By Godwin Chukwumaechi, Port Harcourt Promoters in the entertainment industry in Rivers State are building synergy to create platform for musicians and budding talents based in the state to showcase themselves to the world. They plan to enlarge the scope and frequency of musical shows in the city for the numerous talents abounding in the industry and are bringing the ‘Light Up Port Harcourt Festival’ as one of such platforms. The purpose of the festival, according to organisers, is to close the identified gap “which is not about dearth of talents, but about promoting the talents, and providing platforms to…

Chairman, BRACED (Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Edo, and Delta) Tourism Promotion & Development Initiative (BTPDI) and Publisher of The Blue Economy Magazine Online, Dr. Piriye Kiyaramo has said that the Blue Economy would generate employment opportunities for the youth and women in fishing, aquaculture, marine transportation, shipbuilding, coastal & marine tourism and more, thereby contributing to the state’s economy. Dr. urged the new Bayelsa State Commissioner for Blue Economy, Dr. Faith Azibenua Zibs-Godwin, to initiate a process of formulating strategic policies for proper coordination of Blue Economy initiatives in order to harness the untapped potential of the ocean…