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Akpabio Gives Reason Why Inauguration Of NDDC Board Delayed

Published

4 years ago

November 19, 2021

The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Sen. Godswill Akpabio has assured that a new board of Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, would be inaugurated once the summary of the forensic audit report is submitted to President Muhammadu Buhari.

Sen. Akpabio, who gave the assurance when the members of the Niger Delta Ethnic Nationalities Youth Leaders Council, NDENYLC, paid him a courtesy visit in Abuja, said a reformed NDDC would emerge with new terms of reference.

The minister, who commended the coming together of the different ethnic nationalities in the region to speak with one voice, noted that this would not only afford the people of the region the opportunity to discuss emerging issues but also enable them to take a stand on the way forward, in order to find solution to the problems of the region.

Akpabio explained further that the COVID-19 pandemic has affected development in Nigeria while prompting, President Muhammadu Buhari to initiate reforms that will affect the region positively.

He, therefore, added that the government has commenced the cleaning up of polluted areas in Ogoni Land and has taken steps to see that projects are completed and commissioned, while the incoming board would be encouraged to complete some of the abandoned 14,000 projects discovered through the forensic audit.

Speaking further, Akpabio said refocusing of the NDDC would help the incoming board to work hard in developing the infrastructural needs of the people that would lead to investment and assist the region in terms of empowering and developing the entrepreneurship skills of the youths so that they can be more focused.

According to him, “At this time when insecurity seems to be the other of the day, the Niger Delta region has remained the safest place.

“This shows that the youths have decided to embrace peace and the reason for this is that, the Present administration has continued with the amnesty programme.

“Youths are also involved in the development of modular refineries under the Local Content Act, skill acquisition centers have also been completed by the Ministry which when put to use will help in empowering the youths of the region.

“President Muhammadu administration has initiated various programmes to assuage and ensure that the youths have reliable source of livelihood. The Ministry is also discussing with various funding agencies to ensure that Section I-IV of the East-West road which has been under construction since 2006 is completed and commissioned by 2022.”

Related Topics:NDDC Senator Godswi Akpabio

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NGO Says Starving Gaza Children Too Weak To Cry

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9 hours ago

August 27, 2025

Editor

The head of Save the Children described in horrific detail on Wednesday the slow agony of starving children in Gaza, saying they are so weak they do not even cry.

Addressing a Security Council meeting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the president of the international charity, Inger Ashing, said famine — declared by the UN last week to be happening in Gaza — is not just a dry technical term.

“When there is not enough food, children become acutely malnourished, and then they die slowly and painfully. This, in simple terms, is what famine is,” said Ashing.

She went on to describe what happens when children die of hunger over the course of several weeks, as the body first consumes its own fat to survive, and when that is gone, literally consumes itself as it eats muscles and vital organs.

“Yet our clinics are almost silent. Now, children do not have the strength to speak or even cry out in agony. They lie there, emaciated, quite literally wasting away,” said Ashing.

She insisted that aid groups have been warning loudly that famine was coming as Israel prevented food and other essentials from entering Gaza over the course of two years of war triggered by the Hamas attack of October 2023.

“Everyone in this room has a legal and moral responsibility to act to stop this atrocity,” said Ashing.

The United Nations officially declared famine in Gaza on Friday, blaming what it called the systematic obstruction of aid by Israel during more than 22 months of war.

A UN-backed hunger monitor called the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Initiative said famine was affecting 500,000 people in the Gaza governorate, which covers about a fifth of the Palestinian territory, including Gaza City.

The IPC projected that the famine would expand by the end of September to cover around two-thirds of Gaza.
AFP

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Again, Russia Claims Another Village In Ukraine’s Region

Published

3 days ago

August 25, 2025

Editor

The Russian army Monday claimed to have captured another village in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, moving deeper into Ukrainian territory as peace efforts stall.

Russian forces are slowly but steadily gaining ground in costly battles for largely devastated areas in eastern and central Ukraine, normally with few inhabitants or intact buildings left.

Russia’s defence ministry said its forces had seized the settlement of Zaporizke in the region, which Russian troops recently advanced into for the first time in the three-and-a-half-year offensive.

Kyiv denies that Russian troops have gained a foothold in the Dnipropetrovsk region, an important industrial hub.

After another push by US President Donald Trump to broker a Ukraine-Russia summit, hopes for peace dimmed when Russia last week ruled out any immediate meeting between presidents Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky.

The central region of Dnipropetrovsk has previously been largely spared from fighting that has ravaged swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine, until Russia said its forces broke through in July.

Dnipropetrovsk is not one of the five Ukrainian regions — Donetsk, Kherson, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia and Crimea — that Moscow has publicly claimed as Russian territory.

Ukraine said Russia had launched over 100 drones Monday, killing a 37-year old civilian driver and wounding two people in the northeastern Sumy region.

Moscow said Kyiv had launched about two dozen drones targeting western Russia

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US Comedian Reggie Carroll Shot Dead In Mississippi

Published

3 days ago

August 25, 2025

Editor

A United States comedian, Reginald “Reggie” Carroll, has been shot dead in Southaven, Mississippi.

The 52-year-old Carroll, widely known as the Knockout King of Comedy, was reportedly killed on Wednesday, August 20, 2025, after sustaining multiple gunshot wounds.

The Southaven Police Department confirmed the incident in a Facebook statement on Saturday.

“Southaven officers located one male victim suffering from gunshot wounds.

“The officers and medical personnel provided life saving techniques but the individual succumbed to his injuries,” the statement partly read.

The victim was later identified as Carroll, a Baltimore native.

Police said one suspect was arrested and charged with his murder.

“One male is in custody and has been charged with the murder of Reginald Carroll.

“Our thoughts are with the family of Mr. Carroll.

“Thank you to the community for their patience and understanding,” the department added.

The police further assured that there was no ongoing threat to residents, describing the case as “an isolated shooting.”

Carroll, who built his career in stand-up comedy, gained national recognition touring with Katt Williams and headlining his own showcase, Knockout Kings of Comedy.

He also featured in the 2000 edition of Showtime at the Apollo, appeared on the UPN sitcom The Parkers alongside Mo’Nique and Countess Vaughn, and starred in the 2022 television film Rent & Go.

In 2023, he produced the stand-up special Knockout Kings of Comedy.

The Southaven Police Department disclosed that an investigation into his death is ongoing.