News

Edo: N8bn Jattu Dam To Be Ready In 2028 – Official

Published

2 years ago

June 17, 2023

Managing Director of Benin-Owena River Basin Development Authority, Mr Saliu Ahmed says the N8 billion Jattu Dam in Edo will be completed in 2028.

Ahmed made the declaration on Saturday at the dam site in Ayoghena, Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo State during site visitation and first meeting report of stakeholders.

At the visitation were officials of the Federal Government, those of Edo State government and the contracting firm – Prospective Multilink Ltd. and Havage Engineering Services Ltd. Joint Venture.

He said Edo State has committed 25 per cent counterpart funding on the project, the contract of which was awarded by the Federal Government in April.

“This is a special project of the Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Water Resource and co-financed by Edo State government.

“Edo State has committed 25 per cent counterpart funding for the project,’’ Ahmed said.

He thanked the state governor, Godwin Obaseki for his commitment in ensuring that water supply becomes a thing of the past in the area.

“Public water supply has become cumbersome, so the dam will address the challenge in the area,’’ he said.

In his remarks, Mr Nyamali Joseph, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Water Resources, said the project would help to solve water supply challenge in the area.

He said the state government was committed to working with the Federal Government to ensure that the project is delivered on time.

“We are looking forward to ensure that the project comes to logical conclusion,’’ he stressed.

Earlier, the Project Manager, Eng. Oni Stephen said the project was being handled by Prospective Muiltlink Limited/Havage Engineering Services Ltd. Joint Venture.

He explained that the project covers an area of about 19,600sq.kms with pedestrian bridge, access road, storage reservoir and more than 5,000 hectares of irrigable land, visible downstream of the dam embankment.

“Jattu Dam is located across Ogio River just before the Auchi-Apana Bridge in Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo,’’ he said.

Stephen said the dam would provide potable water for Jattu and Auchi and their neighbouring communities and promote fishing and other aqua-cultural activities.

It would also increase food production through all-season crop cultivation and animal husbandry, he added.

The dam would provide gainful employment for many farming families and support cottage industries in areas of storage, processing and marketing, he stressed.

Stephen said, however, that no payment had been made to the contractor company.

“No advance payment has been made on the project. The work programme for site camp erection and construction work programme has already been submitted to the river basin authority.

“The revision of the work programme may be required depending on the time that mobilisation fees are paid,’’ Stephen noted.

News

Bumper Harvest: Foundation Distributes 6,000 Fertilizers To Farmers In Bauchi

Published

20 hours ago

August 14, 2025

Editor

A group, Wunti Al-Khair Foundation has donated 6,000 50kg bags of fertilizer to farmers in Bauchi state in order to have a bumper harvest.

Speaking during the flag off ceremony of the distribution of the fertilizers on Thursday, Mr Abubakar Mohammed, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, Wunti Al-Khair Foundation, said the distribution was only for the indigent farmers in the state.

He said the fertilizers would be distributed to farmers in underserved communities across the three Senatorial Districts of the state.

“We are gathered here to flag off the free distribution of fertilizers to farmers, especially the indigent farmers that don’t have the means to buy fertilizer for their farms.

“That is the reason why the founder of this foundation bought the fertilizers and distributed them to the low income farmers in the state.

“We have gone round the nooks and crannies of the state to identify the underserved communities and those that deserve this particular gesture.

“We planned to distribute about 6,000 bags of fertilizer and due to the populous nature of the Bauchi LGA, they have the largest share but some other local governments too have hundreds of beneficiaries which we divided into Senatorial zones,” he said.

According to him, today was the flagging off of the Bauchi South Senatorial District, adding that the extension of the gesture would commence in Bauchi North and Bauchi Central Senatorial Districts tomorrow.

Mohammed explained that the only criteria used in selecting the beneficiaries were underserved communities and low income farmers, adding that “we know that a large number of the farmers in Bauchi state are low income farmers.

“Those are the people that we identified, verified and they are our beneficiaries and we have warned the general public about the activities of some unscrupulous elements that go round to impersonate our foundation.

“Wunti Al-Khair Foundation is not charging a kobo for every part of its activities, be it education, healthcare, economic empowerment and community development”.

Responding, one of the beneficiaries, Emmanuel Samson, described the support as a timely intervention that would greatly enhance his farming activities and appreciated the foundation for the intervention.

Another beneficiary, Salisu Maidawa, who was short of words for the gesture, said the gesture came at a time when he was in dire need of it.

News

IYC Urges Tinubu To Sack NCDMB Boss

Published

21 hours ago

August 14, 2025

Editor

Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Western Zone, has urged President Bola Tinubu to immediately sack Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, the Executive Secretary of Nigeria Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) for allegedly not “keeping up to the fundamental mandate,” upon which the agency was established.

This was contained in a statement jointly signed by Comrade Nicholas Igarama, Comrade Ebi Joshua Olowolayemo, and Comrade Tare Magbei, Western Zone
Chairman, Secretary, and Information Officer respectively, and made available to newsmen in Warri on Thursday, August 14, 2015.

According to the IYC, the call for Ogbe’s sack becomes necessary following his incompetence and ethnic bias, adding that Ogbe has turned the agency meant for the whole Niger Delta to his Itsekiri ethnic group alone.

The IYC, while noting that efforts to meet the NCDMB Executive Secretary to discuss critical issues as they affect the region and its people have proved abortive, said it can no longer fold it arms and watch while things go from bad to worse.

“As Executive Secretary of the NCDMB, Ogbe has consistently failed to input his supposed industry track record in the advancement of the mandate upon which the agency was founded.

“He has continually had a sectional engagement with his fellow Itsekiri Kits and Kin, thereby shutting all other ethnic nationalites in the Niger Delta region out.

“Repeatedly, he avoided critical youth engagement in the region while sponsoring that of his Itsekiri ethnicity through different human capacity development initiatives, while other ethnic nationalites are left unattended.

“As Ijaw, mostly from the western flank where Engr. Ogbe also hails from, we will not sit and watch others benefit from the resources that we produce without our practical involvement to better the lives of our people as well.

“It is on record that the leadership of Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Western Zone has tried to establish communication with Engr. Ogbe, for the last ten months, but every medium of communication to get his attention has fundamentally proven to be abortive.

“As youths, we can no longer have leaders in office who have now equated themselves to demi-god and have refused to attend to most significantly youthful issues in the Niger Delta Region.

“To this end, we therefore call on President Bola Ahmed Tinibu to immediately sack Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, who has consistently displayed disregard for critical actors in the Niger Delta and has also exhibited the highest level of gross inefficiency by not keeping up to the fundamental mandate upon which NCDMB was founded,” the statement reads.

The IYC also called for the probe Ogbe as Executive Secretary after his sack.

Efforts to reach Dr. Obinna Ezeobi, the General Manager, Corporate Communications, NCDMB, for reaction proved abortive.

News

I’m Being Impersonated – Goodluck Jonathan Disowns Social Media Account

Published

23 hours ago

August 14, 2025

Editor

Former President Goodluck Jonathan, on Thursday said he is being impersonated by fraudsters.

Jonathan alleged that a fraudulent Instagram handle has been impersonating him.

In a statement by his Media Aide,
Ikechukwu Eze, the former President insisted that he does not operate any Instagram handle.

The statement is titled ‘Beware of fake Instagram account impersonating H.E. Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan’.

“Our attention has been drawn to a fraudulent Instagram account operating under the handle goodluck_ebelejonathan, which is falsely impersonating former President Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.

“This impostor account has been deceitfully posting content, some copied from Dr. Jonathan’s Facebook page, while pretending to represent the former President.

“We wish to emphasise that Dr. Jonathan does not operate any Instagram account.

“The media and members of the public are strongly advised to disregard, avoid sharing, or promoting any content originating from this fake profile,” the statement read.