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By Amos Odhe, Yenagoa Citizens of Bayelsa State were upbeat on Sunday as events marking the second term inauguration of Governor Douye Diri kicked off with a thanksgiving service. Thousands of beautiful dressed Bayelsans thronged the state’s Ecumenical Centre at Igbogene in appreciation to God for the governor’s victory in the November 11, 2023 poll. Senator Diri and his deputy, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, will be sworn in for another term on February 14, 2024. Speaking during the thanksgiving service, the governor expressed gratitude to God for his victory in the November election, saying without His intervention, it would not have…

By Amos Odhe, Yenagoa Wadata Barau of Bauchi State, on Saturday, emerged winner of the male category of the fourth edition of the Senator Douye Diri (SDD) Bayelsa Marathon. One hundred and thirty-five athletes participated in the elite, teens (male and female students) and Leisure Runners categories of the 21km and 5km races respectively. Twenty-four-year-old Barau, a 400-level student of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, beat other participants in the 21km elite event to clinch the N500,000 star prize. The race flagged off from the Akenfa community along the Glory Drive and terminated at the Peace Park in Yenagoa.…

By Amos Odhe The zonal coordinator of the Nigeria Immigration Service Zone C, with headquarters in Bauchi State and covering Plateau State and the North East (Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Yobe states), ACG James Sunday has launched a security operation tagged ‘Operation Tsaron Iyaka,’ meaning ‘Operation Secured Border,’ to tackle smuggling of farming produce outside Nigeria.The operation, according to Assistant Comptroller General (ACG) James Sunday, is targeted at combating cross border movement of food products like rice, beans, onion, yam and other agricultural commodities that may lead to price flight in the local markets and escalate food shortages and price…

By Amos Odhe, Yenagoa Some key stakeholders from the Niger Delta region have “unanimously condemned the false claims” of the alleged involvement of the frontline former militant leader, Chief Ebikabowei Victor-Ben, also known as General Boyloaf, in the alleged financial wrongdoings levelled against the Interim Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) by an online tabloid. The key stakeholders, made up of some elders of the Ijaw National Congress (INC), members of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), traditional rulers, youth and women groups across the Niger Delta region, described the online tabloid report as a selective witch-hunt, a sponsored personal…

By Mandy Tina A High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has granted order of interim injunction restraining Inspector General of Police, IGP, Kayode Etokun, Commissioner of Police Rivers State, CP Olatunji Disu and Martin Amaewhule, their subordinate, agents, privies, proxies and representatives from arresting chairman of National Youth Council of Nigeria, Chijioke Ihunwo, Happy Benneth and Jinjiri Bala. Justice G.O Ollor in an experte application filed by the applicants’ counsel, Damian Okoro, restrained the defendants from taking further steps in arresting, whisking away, detaining or infringing on the fundamental rights of the applicants pending the determination of the originating motion.…

… As Delta Approves N15.7bn for Flood Control, N600m for SDGs The Delta State Commissioner for Information, Dr Ifeanyi Osuoza, has said that the state governor, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori is committed to improving the lives of citizens, especially given the current harsh economic realty in the country. This was as the state executive council, presided over by Governor Oborevwori, approved the sum of N600 million as counterpart funds for SDGs in the state, and N15.7 billion for flood control in Warri South, Uvwie Council areas. Briefing newsmen on Thursday, alongside his Works Highways and Urban Roads counterpart, Comrade Reuben…

By Amos Odhe, Yenagoa The immediate past spokesman of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Comrade Ebilade Ekerefe has faulted claims of alleged financial wrongdoing levelled against the Presidential Amnesty Programme by an online tabloid over payment made to beneficiaries of the programme through their leaders in 2023. On Wednesday, an online medium claimed in a report that the office of the special adviser to the President on Niger Delta was among government MDAs that had violated the financial transparency laws by authorizing the payment of huge amounts of public funds into private accounts. The report partly stated, “The Office of…

By Ehichioya Ezomon Previously unknown groups and talking heads have emerged in the lead-up to the primaries for the September 21, 2024, off-cycle governorship election in Edo State. Most of the groups and individuals come out openly and forcefully to promote and defend the interests of certain aspirants as “the best qualified” for the journey to the Osadebey Avenue Government House in Benin City, the capital city of the “Heart Beat of the Nation.” But others simply throw dirt, and engage in diatribe and campaign of calumny to discredit, malign and sully the public and private image and reputation of…

By Amos Odhe, Yenagoa Arrangements have been concluded for the fourth edition of the Bayelsa City Marathon tagged ‘SDD Marathon’ which will commence this weekend on Saturday, February 10, 2024. This was disclosed by the organizers during an interactive session with the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) Bayelsa State chapter at NUJ Press Center in Yenagoa, just as Mr Igbeta Odonkumo posited that the fourth edition will feature Elite and Teen categories. He said over 250 participants are expected to feature in the elite category while the teen category will involve 50 secondary schools in Bayelsa State with the…

By Mandy Tina The operatives of the Anti-Vandal Unit, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, Rivers State Command have arrested five suspects for their alleged involvement in illegal dealings in petroleum products. Briefing newsmen at the command’s headquarters in Port Harcourt, the state commandant, Basil Igwebueze, said that the command under his watch will continue to fight relentlessly the activities of illegal oil bunkerers in the state. Igwebueze said it is high time the perpetrators turned a new leaf by engaging in legal ventures, instead of continuous involvement in sabotaging the nation’s economy. The commandant disclosed that the arrests…