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A group of Rivers elders and leaders suspected to be loyal to the Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, on Sunday visited the state House of Assembly residential quarters. The group’s visit is coming a few days after Governor Siminalaye Fubara embarked on an inspection visit to the facility. During that visit, Mr Fubara had said the essence was to find out the facility’s state for possible rehabilitation. Speaking during the visit, Desmond Akawor, a former chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party in Rivers, said it was to ascertain the structural viability of the buildings. ”We got information about some leakages on some roofs and other structural defects on your residential buildings. ”We are also informed that the governor is set to intervene by breaking down s...

By Ebere Agozie, NEWS AGENCY OF NIGERIA A Senior A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Mohammed Ndarani says the Nigerian constitution should allow all the customary owners of natural resources to have over-riding control with regard to those assets. Ndarani said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja. He said that one of the hindrances to the realisation of the full taxing potentials of the country is the restrictive and usurping provisions of Section 44 (3) of the Constitution. ``This section alienates the customary owners of the land and bestows on the Federal Government all rights to exploit, produce and dispose of all mineral deposits under the soil, land, waters and air in Nigeria. ``This has led to numerous growing and unrestrained...

The Abuja Division of the Federal High Court on Friday granted the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) ‘s application for the former governor of Kogi, Yahaya Bello, to appear in court for his trial. Justice Emeka Nwite ruled that the former governor should have appeared before the court before making any application. He insisted that even if the arrest warrant had been illegally obtained, the defendant (Mr Bello) should have still appeared in court. On April 23, the judge fixed May 10 for the ruling on the former governor’s application to set aside the arrest warrant against him. The EFCC’s lawyer, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, moved the ex-parte application for the arrest warrant on April 17. But Mr Bello’s counsel, Adeola Adedipe, SAN, prayed the court to set aside the...

A cross-section of residents in Osogbo, Osun, have hailed the Senate’s passage of an amendment to the NDLEA Act, which prescribes a death penalty for dealing in hard drugs. The respondents, in separate interviews with journalists on Friday in Osogbo, said such punishment would deter reasonable people from getting involved in drug trafficking. However, they advised that investigations into such offences should be thorough and unbiased so that only those guilty face punishment. A resident, Michael Olusesi, said that if the law is given assent, security agencies would be expected to be more thorough in their investigation of drug-related cases. “Security agencies involved in handling such crimes must be properly trained and checked to ensure they do the needful to avoid implicati...

Martin Amaewhule (Obio/Akpor 1), the factional speaker of the Rivers House of Assembly, has accused Governor Siminialayi Fubara of planning to demolish the quarters of the state House of Assembly. Mr Amaewhule remarked in Port Harcourt about the governor’s recent inspection visit to the assembly quarters. During the visit, Mr Fubara told journalists he wanted to assess the facility’s state for possible rehabilitation. Meanwhile, Mr Amaewhule described the visit as ‘unannounced and an invasion’ on the residential premises of Rivers Assemblymen. He said, ”His plan is to demolish the quarters the way he did to some parts of the state assembly complex in 2023.” The factional speaker said the governor’s move was purely political because the Rivers assembly residential quarter wa...

The Joint Task Force, codenamed “Operation Delta Safe (OPDS),” on Friday destroyed over 40 illegal refining sites in the Ukwa forest of the Ukwa West Local Government Area of Abia. The JTF commander, Rear Adm. John Okeke, who led the operation, said illegal refining of stolen crude oil was taking place at each site. He recalled that he had warned oil thieves to desist from the illegal business or relocate to another area. Like I told you guys on the assumption of office on February 15, 2024, the joint operation area of Operation Delta Safe will never be a haven for illegality, especially those criminals that have chosen to steal our oil. “But here we are today in Ukwa West of Abia State, bordering Oyigbo LGA of Rivers State; the criminals felt that we would never get to this p...

By Gami Tadanyigbe  The management team of the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB), has paid a courtesy visit to Air Marshal H.B. Abubakar, the Chief of Air Staff, at the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) headquarters in Abuja. The Director General of NSIB, Captain Alex Badeh Jr, during the courtesy visit said the engagement is aimed at promoting closer ties and collaboration between NSIB and NAF while prioritising aviation safety and promoting a strong, collaborative environment. According to him, with aviation safety being a paramount concern, both institutions recognise the importance of working in unison to uphold the highest standards and proactively address any potential risks or challenges that may arise. He said discussions centered around enhancing information-sha...

Delta State Governor Rt Hon Sheriff Oborevwori on Thursday May 10 expressed the state's readiness to partner with the AfDB and other stakeholders for the establishment of the Special Agro-processing zone in the state. He stated this when he received on courtesy call ,officials of the African Development Bank, AfDB and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture led by the Chief Agro-Industrial Economist Dr Chuma Ezedinma at Government House Asaba. Governor, Oborevwori, said the state was among states in the country with most arable lands for sustainable agriculture and food security in the country. He said the state was blessed with arable lands for the cultivation of crops ranging from cassava, maize, yam, rice, assorted vegetables and even rubber; which could be grown in commercial qua...

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, on Thursday, May 9, warned against unnecessary protest in the Federal Capital Territory.Wike isued the warning when traders from the Apo Mechanic village, besieged the entrance of the FCTA secretariat, demanding that the FCT minister sign the lease agreement to enable them to move to their permanent site at Wassa District He said there should be due process before any protest is embarked upon. He maintained that any other action would be considered an attempt to intimidate the government. The traders who carried different placards commending the developmental strides of the Minister, however, appealed to him to sign the lease agreement which was entered into in 2015. The chairman of the association, Chimezie Ife, sa...

The United Nations Women Representative to Nigeria and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Ms. Beatrice Eyong, Thursday said the current security situation in the country has worsen the prevalence of Gender Based Violence (GBV) in Nigeria. Eyong, disclosed this in her welcome address in Abuja at the Convening of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) on assessing Ending Violence Against women, EVAW and Gender Equality and Women Empowerment , GEWE Landscape in Nigeria. She said “we are confronted with the harsh reality that gender-based violence continues to be a pervasive and deeply rooted problem in our society. It affects women and girls of all ages, backgrounds, and walks of life, depriving them of their fundamental rights and freedoms. It is a violation of human righ...