NewsPointers

NDDC and the Forces Against Change There is no doubt that there is a paradigm shift at the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, as the current board and management are now doing things differently by adopting new strategies. Indeed, it is a new dawn at the Commission and the era of underhand practices are over. It is, therefore, surprising that some ill-advised or even mischievous groups have been casting aspersions on the activities of the Commission and its principal officers. Recently, an obviously uninformed group, calling itself the Foundation for Human Rights and Anti-Corruption Crusade (FHRACC) made spurious allegations against the Commission that were totally out of sync with reality. The group, which seems to be hands-in-glove with other misguided bodies like the National Coalition of Niger Delta Ex-Agitators, Egbesu Union, is apparently being used as a tool of destabilization by those working against the development of the Niger Delta. One of the misguided groups, t

PLANNED REVOCATION OF THE CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY OF NOVOTEL HOTEL ALONG STADIUM ROAD, PORT HARCOURT; A RECKLESS ABUSE OF POWER By comrade Barango-Tariah, Hope The governor of Rivers state, chief Barr. NEW has once again made an insidious and uninformed statement  while in church service yesterday. The statement which quoted the governor to have ordered the revocation of the C of O of a world class hotel like NOVOTEL is highly regrettable and practically condemnable because the statement is coming from the governor of a state that is in dare need of investors. Taking a careful, close and conscious look at the streets of port Harcourt will inform residents that the regularly tormenting and frustrating hold ups (go slow) are gradually on the decline without TIMARIV, traffic wardens now relax for more hours on their duty stands because the traffic on our roads are not what they used to be. The reason for this development is as a result of the daily eloping of investors from the stat

HYPREP PERFECTS PLANS FOR PORTABLE  DRINKING WATER IN OGONI COMMUNITIES The project coordinator of Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project HYPREP Dr Marvin Dekil today met with the management of the Niger Delta Basin Development Authority (NDBDA). This is part of the drive to provide good drinking water for the Ogoni communities as recommended by the UNEP Report. The NDBDA is one of the bodies that have non functioning  water facilities in Ogoni and other parts of the Niger Delta #NDcleanup. HYPREP is meeting these parties with the intent of taking over, and reactivating these facilities as a first step. The Managing Director of the NDBDA, Eng. Tonye David West said his agency was willing to collaborate with HYPREP towards the success of the NDcleanup, and was willing to collaborate in more ways. @HYPREPNigeria

NDDC Bows to East/West Road The Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Mr. Nsima Ekere, has assured that the emergency repairs on failed portions of the East West Road, between Eleme Junction and Onne Junction in Rivers State will be completed within three weeks. Mr. Ekere gave the assurance while inspecting work on the road yesterday. He was accompanied by the Executive Director Projects, Engr. Samuel Adjogbe, and other directors of the Commission. The NDDC Chief Executive stressed the importance of the road, describing it as the gateway to economic activities in the Niger Delta region. He declared: “This road means a whole lot to the people of the Niger Delta.” Mr Ekere assured that NDDC would ensure that the project was properly supervised to guarantee quality, adding: “So far, the quality of work here is impressive. I am not an engineer, but even as a lay man, the fact that you have to excavate as much as 2.5 metres in some areas to remove unsuitable

Sen. Abe opens up on World Sickle Cell Day Senator Magnus Ngei Abe, senator representing Rivers South East Senatorial District, has promised to spearhead sickle cell awareness campaign and its collaboration with the Senate. Speaking at a symposium to mark the World Sickle Cell Awareness Day 2017, organized by Sickle Cell Interactive and Management Association in Collaboration with Sickle Cell Support Society of Nigeria and Action Against Sickle Cell, in Port Harcourt, Abe said he would liaise with the Senate committee on Health in conjunction with the Association with a view to creating a legislative platform and framework for intensive national awareness as well as legal control in attitude and behavior. He said this was necessary if the plights of sticklers are to be alleviated and the critical condition stemmed. Senator Abe, who is the Chairman, Senate Committee on Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA), narrated a pathetic account of news of the horror of sickle cell disease i

World Sickle Cell Day!

Unbelievable! Just see what US ambassador to Nigeria said to NDDC boss The United States envoy to Nigeria, Ambassador William Stuart Symington, has made an outrageous remarks on the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, for communicating constantly with its stakeholders to ensure efficient service delivery to the people of the Niger Delta. Ambassador Symington gave the remarks when he led a delegation from the US mission in Nigeria to pay a courtesy visit to the NDDC management at the Commission’s headquarters in Port Harcourt. He said: “We are highly interested in the success story of the Niger Delta region. So, we are satisfied with the approach of taking stock and thereafter charting the way forward.” The US envoy said he was pleased to see Nigeria through eyes of the NDDC, as well as see how the Board and management were tackling the challenges of developing the Niger Delta “I hope the people of Nigeria can be united for the development of the country,” he said. Making a p

Road Construction: Rivers communities Lauds NDDC Several Communities in Borikiri, Port Harcourt Local Government Area of Rivers State have expressed their gratitude to the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, for repairing six major streets in the area. The contract for the repairs which covered Etche, Rumukwurushi, Ochiri, Andoni, Rex Lawson streets and its environs was awarded by the NDDC to Origyne company Ltd. And completed at the stipulated time has restored smiles and happiness to the people of Borikiri in the town axis of Port Harcourt. Mr. Innocent Nwosu, a bus driver who covers Lagos Bus stop to Borikiri said “the road was so bad to the point that most drivers avoided the area “if you tell any driver that you are going to waterside, which is this area, nobody will carry you, instead we will drop you off and you will have to walk down,” he said. Mr. Nwosu stated that, “drivers that dared to use the road ended up in mechanic workshops. We are very happy with NDDC for wh

Vickoria Wobo Nyeche kicks against Wike's obvious illegality Drama, as Hon. Victoria Wobo Nyeche(APC), member of the Rivers State House of Assembly, representing Port Harcourt Constituency 1, staged a walkout of the Assembly Chamber because she would not like to be associated with obvious illegality. When asked why she walked out, she said that they were billed to sit yesterday but only 7 in a 32-member House showed up for the sitting and as a responsible lawmaker and representative, she had to raise a point of order, pointing out that 7 out of 32 members couldn't constitute 1/3 for quorum but was ruled out of order by the Speaker. This act of illegality, she said, necessitated her to walking out of the Chamber. The Speaker, Ikunyi Ibani ruled Hon. Victoria Nyeche out of order, stating that in the Attendance Register before him, 11 members signed and are deemed to be present for the sitting and as such the sitting should go on and indeed the sitting commenced even after the

Meet the new boss of Alvan Ikoku College of Education. A new boss has been appointed as chairman governing council of Alvan Ikoku College of Education. Hon. Abinye Alex-Hart was appointed recently  to head the activities of the institution. Hon. Alex-Hart was born on June 21, 1956, in Bonny, to the family of Late Pa. A.B. Hart (the famous Headmaster, Bandmaster and Choirmaster) and Late Mrs. Violet E. Alex-Hart (the famous Educator and Opera singer). He is the last child in the family of six, whose miraculous birth was an answer by God to persistent prayers for male children.  He grew up under the tutelage of a grand disciplinarian when discipline was not a story-book idea, but the merciless grinding reality of everyday life. EDUCATION: Hon. Abinye Alex-Hart began his formal education at the famous Bonny Government School, left in 1972 and proceeded to Bonny National Grammar School, where he came out with flying colours in the West African Schools Certificate Examinations in 1977.

AMAECHI REJECTS WERE'S AWARD ……Tell the world your $43m Ikoyi tale is a Wicked lie. In the past couple of days, Minister of Transportation and immediate past governor of Rivers State, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi has been inundated with calls and enquiries from journalists about a purported award/honour to him from Nyesom Wike, the current governor of Rivers State. The minister was shown a publication of the Rivers State government indicating his name as one of many others to be given awards by Nyesom Wike. But as at today, Amaechi has not received any communication from Nyesom Wike and/or Rivers State government in this respect. Be that as it may, we want to state categorically that whatever Wike claims to be giving to Amaechi is a poisoned chalice that has been unequivocally rejected by the minister. Firstly, the purported award itself is a contradiction of monumental proportions, a contradiction that can only come from a warped and perverted mind. From day one as governor, Wike

SENATOR ABE URGES RIVERS COUNCILLORS TO RECOVER GOVERNMENT HOUSE IN 2019 Senator Magnus Ngei Abe, senator representing Rivers South East Senatorial District, has charged Councillors that were elected on the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2015,to work tirelessly to ensure that the party wins the 2019 elections in Rivers State. Speaking when the Rivers councillors forum of the 8th Assembly under the APC from the 319 wards of the state, visited him to congratulate him on his emergence as Senator representing Rivers South East, in Port Harcourt, on Monday, Abe who sympathized with them on their plight, said the only best way that their marginalization could be addressed adequately is if the APC recovers the Government House from the PDP in 2019. This, he said, therefore, requires everybody's effort including the councillors to achieve. The Chairman, Senate Committee on Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA), said the present government in the state was very myopic

The Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, says it will collaborate with the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Niger Delta Task Force to build peace and resolve conflicts in the Niger Delta region. The Chairman of the NDDC Governing Board, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba (SAN), said this when members of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Niger Delta Task Force paid him a courtesy visit at the Commission’s headquarters in Port Harcourt on Thursday. He said that the challenge of development in the Niger Delta was the challenge of peace. Put differently, he said: “The challenge of peace in the Niger Delta is a challenge of development because for us to have development in this region, which is urgently needed and very highly needed, we need to have peace. In achieving that peace we are ready to engage with everybody to ensure that peace returns to this region.” Senator Ndoma-Egba said that the Federal Government had in the last few months demonstrated its desire to address the concerns in th

Shocking! See what Ughelli said about Buhari's administration The people of Ughelli Kingdom in Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State have expressed satisfaction with the performance of President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration, especially with its contributions to the development of the Niger Delta. The Ovie of Oghelli Kingdom, Dr. Wilson Ojakovo Oharisi, stated this at a ceremony to mark his 25 th Coronation Anniversary on April 24, 2017, in his palace at Ughelli. He said that the choice of members of the current board of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, led by Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba provided the necessary impetus for better service delivery from the interventionist agency. He added that the appointing of their son, Engr, Samuel Adjogbe as the Executive Director Projects (EDP), could not have been better. According to the Ovie of Ughelli Kingdom, “Mr. President has made no mistake in his choice, because Engr. Adjogbe is a man of impeccable cha

Wike May Face EFCC Charge as battle with IG Deepens The Rivers State Chapter of All Progressives Congress, APC, is utterly dismayed at the serial show of shame and disgrace Gov. Nyesom Wike is bringing upon the good people of Rivers State especially in recent times. As soon as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, announced the discovery of $43m and other currencies at Osborne Road, Ikoyi, Lagos Gov. Wike immediately addressed the media laying claim to the money. In doing so, he issued a 7-day ultimatum to the Federal Government to return the money to him or he would go to court. Two weeks after his bogus claim it has turned out that the governor made an empty threat as he is not in any position to carry it out for the reason that what appears like credible ownership of the said money is unraveling and it has nothing to with the Rivers State Government. More so, despite the opportunity given by a federal high court sitting Lagos for the owner of the money to come forwar