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                  L-R: The Council's Secretary, Dr Ijeoma Tubosia & Council;'s Chairman, Comrade Paul Bazia-Nsaneh By Dr Helen Chimezie The Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Rivers State Council, on Thursday, 17 April, 2025, held its first congress under the leadership of Comrade Paul Bazia-Nsaneh, setting a tone of inclusiveness, commitment, and renewed direction for the union. In his opening remarks, Chairman of the State Council, Comrade Bazia, expressed gratitude to members for their unwavering support during the last council election. He pledged to maintain an open-door policy, emphasizing his readiness to accept constructive criticism and always keep a listening ear to the concerns of members. He also urged members to prioritize punctuality, stating that future meetings will commence at the scheduled time, regardless of attendance. A major highlight of the congress was the inauguration of a five-man committee, chaired by Paul Damg...

  By Dr Helen Chimezie The Leadership of the Former Labour Leaders Forum in Rivers State has strongly condemned what it describes as the “brazen and fragrant desecration of democracy and the rule of law”, following the declaration of a state of emergency and the suspension of the state’s democratic institutions by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. At a press conference held on Thursday, April 17 in Port Harcourt, the forum leadership accused the federal government of orchestrating a “dangerous and undemocratic takeover” of Rivers State, calling for the immediate reinstatement of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy Prof. Ngozi Ordu, and the members of the State House of Assembly. According to the forum, tomorrow, April 18, marks exactly one month since President Tinubu made the controversial pronouncement, which also included the appointment of retired Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas as Sole Administrator of the state. “Such mindless take over, of Rivers State in such an absurd manne...

  By Dr Helen Chimezie Tensions flared in the Rumuosi, Ohia-Egbelu axis of Airport Road, Port Harcourt, following the arrest of a suspected land grabber, Mr. Colonel Ogwumerum Eke, who has allegedly been involved in a series of unlawful property invasions and fraudulent land sales.   According to reports, Mr. Eke was taken into custody yesterday after multiple complaints by original property owners accused him of repeatedly destroying perimeter fences and other structures in the area.   His actions, witnesses say, were part of a coordinated attempt to resell the lands to unsuspecting members of the public, despite clear evidence of prior ownership.   The alleged criminal activity has left a trail of financial losses and heightened tension in the affected community, with many residents expressing frustration over the slow pace of legal intervention in the past.   Mr. Eke is expected to appear before the Port Harcourt Magistrate Court by 10:00 a....

  By Dr Helen Chimezie  In a significant step toward addressing Nigeria’s long-standing challenge of failed and abandoned projects, the Association of Professional Practising Project Managers of Nigeria (APPPMON) has officially launched a new project management framework called ABOKI. The hybrid unveiling ceremony, which held on Tuesday, April 8, 2025 in Port Harcourt, brought together project management professionals, development experts, members of the media and other key stakeholders. The ABOKI framework, an acronym that stands for APPPMON Body of Knowledge and Innovation, emphasizes community participation, stakeholder collaboration, and context-specific strategies to ensure that projects not only start, but are successfully completed and sustained. According to APPPMON, ABOKI is a locally developed framework tailored to suit Nigeria’s unique project environment, with the aim of improving the planning, execution, and sustainability of projects across the country. In his ad...

  By Dr Helen Chimezie  In a shocking new development, four individuals previously detained in connection with the burning of the Rivers State Assembly complex have come forward with explosive allegations. The individuals claim that they were illegally detained and subjected to torture during their time in custody.  They also revealed a fresh plot to falsely implicate Edison Ehie, the Chief of Staff to the suspended Rivers State Government, in the infamous fire that ravaged the Assembly complex in October 2023. The individuals - Chime Ezebalike, Kenneth Kpasa, Prince Oladele Lukman, and MacPherson Olumini, came forward, at a press briefing which held on Monday, April 7, 2025 in Port Harcourt, narrating that a few days ago, one of them was called by Lawrence Amadi, a PDP leader in Obio/Akpor, and asked to come and meet with one of their leaders. “Upon further prodding he said they were reaching out to us to persuade us to re-write our story in order to implicate Rt Hon Edi...

In a bid to reduce maternal mortality rates, the Federal Government has launched the Maternal Mortality Reduction Innovation and Initiatives (MAMII), a national effort designed to reduce deaths among mothers and newborns. The initiative was officially inaugurated at Gwarinpa General Hospital in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, on Monday. Prof. Muhammad Pate, Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, outlined several provisions of the initiative, including free health insurance for pregnant women, access to free cesarean sections, mama delivery kits, and transportation vouchers. Pate, represented by Dr Dayo Adeyanju, the National Coordinator of MAMII at the Ministry of Health, emphasised that the initiative was a direct response to President Bola Tinubu’s directive that “No woman should die as a result of childbirth.” Pate described the programme as a comprehensive effort aimed at ensuring every pregnancy resulted in a healthy baby and a healthy mother. According to...

By Dr Helen Chimezie  Rural leaders in Akwa Ibom state have endorsed the model initiated to groom agripreneurs in their areas. This is as the new model fashioned along the incubator-incubatee system seems to make waves in the Niger Delta. Details: The model involved experts in a particular agric value chain being contracted to train young persons and women including persons with disabilities (PWD) in the rural areas. The programme which is anchored by a special purpose vehicle named Livelihood Improvement Family Enterprises – Niger Delta (LIFE-ND) has been endorsed by Akwo Ibom rural leaders as the most suitable in the oil state.  Newsmen who went round some of the communities found that community leaders in Ikot Ikpa and Ui Ikot Monte communities in Etim Ekpo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State have commended the incubator-incubatee model. The chairman of Ikot Akpa village council, Chief Friday Johnson, who spoke with newsmen described the programme as a laudable initiat...

By Dr Helen Chimezie  The conversation around the Blue Economy in Rivers State and the Niger Delta is unrealistic without first addressing the widespread environmental pollution and degradation caused by decades of oil exploration, an expert has warned. President of Garden City Premier Business School and former Commissioner of Finance in Bayelsa State Commissioner, Prof. Silva Opuala-Charles, said the Niger Delta region cannot genuinely pursue a blue economy when its waters were stained by oil spills and its marine life is devastated by pollution. Prof. Opuala-Charles spoke at the 2025 Correspondents’ Week of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Rivers State Council. He said: “We say Blue Economy, but what is blue about our water? The waters are dark, oily, and toxic. The creeks are dead zones. Our fishermen bring back nothing but stories of hardship. Before we can talk about tapping into the ocean economy, we must clean up the mess first.” Delivering a speech titled “Blue Economy: S...

  By Ignatius Chukwu & Dr Helen Chimezie When the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) made a burnfire at the Aluu dumpsite near Port Harcourt of N4.7bn worth of drugs impounded at the Onne Port in Rivers State, little did they know that they had set the stage for a big drug market that thrived around the dumpsite for weeks. Or did they know? This is because while the fire raged at the top, black market traders knew that it would cool down and destroy the surface whereas the main drugs were intact beneath the smoke and fire. BusinessDay painstaking investigations can reveal that a racket around the area has produced several millionaires who now supply the Garden City and nearby towns with ‘drugs’ from Aluu. Most of the newly ‘made men’ have left town to parts of the country especially the north. BusinessDay uncovered a huge racket that seems to start with the guards at the place who issue permit to go and explore; the land owners around t...

  By Dr Helen Chimezie   In a bid to reinforce its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) efforts, and enhance security along the Trans Niger Pipeline (TNP), Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Limited (PINL) convened a stakeholder engagement meeting aimed at reviewing its CSR interventions, assessing progress, and gathering feedback from community stakeholders from Rivers, Imo and Abia States, for continuous improvement. The event, which took place in Port Harcourt on Monday, 31 March 2025, brought together key stakeholders on the TNP corridor, including Local Government Chairmen, Community chiefs, women leaders, and youth leaders, to openly dialogue on PINL’s CSR impact in host communities. Speaking at the event, PINL’s Community Relations Consultant, Dr Akpos Mezeh, said pipeline surveillance is intelligence -driven, and they get reliable intelligence from the communities. “So far, the support from the communities have been wonderful. And we think that there is no better...