News

Ndiomu: Coalition Of N’Delta Civil Society Group Chides Ex-agitators

Published

2 years ago

May 21, 2023

The Niger Delta Civil Society Group, consisting of the Niger Delta Solidarity Forum, Niger Delta Progressive Front & Coalition of Niger Delta Youth Movement, has described the open letter written by some faceless group masquerading as Coalition of Niger Delta Ex-Agitator as untrue, fallacious, and regrettable.

The civil society group in a joint statement signed by Daso Famous Bibawari in Warri said the open letter was devoid of truth and could be inciting.

The group who noted that the writers decided to supplant truth with lies, stressed that such must not be allowed to flourish in the minds of the people, lest they believe the “concocted lies.”

The group said: “It is worrisome that the writers of the open letter admitted that there was a case of multiple accounts being operated by a single individual detected by the forensic exercise conducted by the Barry Ndiomu-led Amnesty Programme.

“What is more worrisome is that the group admitted to such fraud with either a weak defence in a shameful manner.

“What would have been the fate of those who are legitimately entitled to a #65,000 monthly stipend when certain people decide to use various crooks and mean to divert multiple people’s entitlement? What is more worrisome is that these unscrupulous people have been benefitting illegally from other people’s proceeds before the current administration detected it and stop it.

“Though the Amnesty Programme was designed to redeem ex-Agitators from the shackles of violence, destruction, and civil unrest, the Ndiomu leadership has continued to prioritize the interest of these people, even when he inherited backlogs of unpaid stipends from previous administrators, he never gave excuse in discharging his duty.”

According to the group, since Ndiomu assumed office, he has paid the entitlement of legitimate ex-Agitators every month, and that he even encourage them to get contemporary skills that can help them survive the current economic realities in the country.

The group added: “His brilliance has made it possible to conceive a Cooperative Scheme that can serve as a way of supporting them with soft loans. He not only stops there, Ndiomu has also made sure to rally support from philanthropists to contribute towards the success of all his initiatives, for the overall good of the ex-Agitators.

“We also note his efforts at enlisting some of our qualified men into the Nigeria Military and Para-Military, having met with the leadership of these security architectures.

“If we are to defeat corruption, one must take time to praise, General Ndiomu, for putting the interest of legitimate beneficiaries at heart rather than supporting crimes under the guise of fraudulent payment.

“We have gotten to a stage in our life where we need to start eschewing every form of dishonesty and acts that are counter-productive to the Niger Delta region. If we are very vocal on manners in which certain politicians have amassed wealth for themselves at the detriment of the people, we then, need to serve as a right example.

“One of the greatest decisions the Interim administrator has done is sanitizing the scheme to allow qualified people access to their funds. Coming from an era, where illegality is the order of the day, we are now at the phase where we can now begin to have a strong belief in public institutions.

“The public need to disregard those spurious lies because they are capable of harming our collective progress. Those who are legitimately qualified for the monthly stipend have continued to show appreciation to the Interim Administrator for the timely payment.

“We associate with the people’s General, an administrator par excellence, and agree with his efforts at sanitizing the system. It is only when we have a sanitized system that the money can go around to everyone qualified people.”

The group, therefore called on the incoming President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu to retain an upright man like Ndiomu to continue his good work in the office.

News

Dangote Cement Gets New Chairman As Aliko Dangote Retires

Published

4 minutes ago

July 26, 2025

Editor

Dangote Cement Plc has announced the appointment of Emmanuel Ikazoboh as the new Chairman of its Board of Directors, following the retirement of Alhaji Aliko Dangote from the position, effective July 25, 2025.

According to a statement issued on Friday by the Group Chief Branding & Communications Officer, Anthony Chiejina, Ikazoboh, an independent non-executive director, assumes the role as Dangote steps down to focus on the $20 billion refinery, petrochemicals, fertiliser and government relations.

This strategic move, the company said, is aimed at propelling the Dangote Group’s five-year business trajectory to greater heights.

“In the same vein, Hajiya Mariya Aliko Dangote was also appointed to the Board of Directors of the Company while Prof. Dorothy Ufot retired from the Board,” the statement added.

The company paid tribute to Dangote’s leadership, stating that he left “giant footprints” on the board.

“His vision and tenacity redefined not just a company, but the entire cement industry landscape by becoming Africa’s largest cement producer and largest exporter of cement and clinker in Sub-Saharan Africa.

“Aliko Dangote’s journey with cement began with a bold dream: to make Nigeria and Africa self-sufficient in cement production. Through strategic investments in state-of-the-art plants and a commitment to local content, he not only met that goal but exceeded it.”

According to the company, Dangote Cement Plc currently has a production capacity of 52.0Mta across Africa, with Nigeria accounting for 35.25Mta.

Additional greenfield plants under construction in Côte d’Ivoire (3.0Mta) and Itori, Nigeria (6.0Mta) will bring total capacity to 61.0Mta upon completion this year.

Under Dangote’s leadership, the company also recorded its highest ever revenue and earnings.

“According to the unaudited results for the six months ending 30th June 2025, the group revenue went up by 17.7 per cent, from N1.76tn at the same period in 2024 to N2.07tn, representing the highest revenue in the history of the company,” the statement read.

In his acceptance speech, Ikazoboh said he was honoured to take on the new role and pledged to uphold the highest standards of leadership and dedication.

He described Dangote Cement as a “beacon of African enterprise” that has consistently shown resilience, innovation, and a commitment to excellence.

“Emmanuel Ikazoboh was previously the Group Chairman of Ecobank Transnational Inc., the Pan-African banking group. He started his professional career at Akintola Williams Deloitte.

“He first became the Managing Partner for francophone offices in Cameroon and Côte d’Ivoire and later became the Managing Partner of the Deloitte firm in West and Central Africa until 2009.

“In 2010, he was appointed by the Securities and Exchange as an Interim Administrator to carry out capital market reforms of the Nigerian Stock Exchange and the Central Securities Clearing System Plc,” the statement added.

News

Boy Born At 21 Weeks Sets Guinness World Record For Most Premature Baby

Published

15 minutes ago

July 26, 2025

Editor

A baby born at just 21 weeks has been officially recognised by Guinness World Records as the world’s most premature baby to survive.

Nash Keen was delivered on July 5, 2024, at 133 days premature, at the University of Iowa Health Care Stead Family Children’s Hospital in Iowa City and weighed only 10 ounces and measured just over 9 inches long at birth.

His parents, Mollie and Randall Keen, were told by doctors that his chances of survival were virtually non-existent. Dr. Patrick McNamara, one of Nash’s doctors, told ABC affiliate KCRG that based on available data, he had to inform the family that Nash had a 0% chance of surviving.

Despite those odds, Nash defied expectations and celebrated his first birthday with his family this month.

Typically, a full-term pregnancy is 40 weeks, and babies born before 37 weeks are considered premature. Those born before 26 weeks, like Nash, are classified as micro-preemies.

After spending six months in the neonatal intensive care unit, Nash was healthy enough to be discharged. His mother described him as a spunky baby with a big personality who is always smiling.

Nash surpasses the previous record held by Curtis Means, who was born at 21 weeks and 1 day on July 5, 2020, at the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Women and Infants Center, according to Guinness World Records.

News

LG Chairman Drags Niger Govt To Court Over Alleged Tenure Reduction

Published

12 hours ago

July 25, 2025

Editor

Alhaji Aminu Yakubu-Ladan, the Chairman of Chanchaga Local Government Area (LGA) in Niger, has sued the state government over alleged reduction of tenure of local government chairmen and councillors.

Yakubu-Ladan, in the suit filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja, sought an order restraining the Niger State Independent Electoral Commission (NSIEC) and its co-defendants from conducting the scheduled LGAs’ election until the expiration of their tenure.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the NSIEC has fixed November 1 for the conduct of the local government poll across the state.

However, the plaintiff, in the suit, named the Attorney-General of Niger State, the House of Assembly, NSIEC, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Inspector-General (IG) of Police as 1st to 5th defendants respectively.

The chairman is challenging the constitutionality of the Niger State Local Government Law, 2001, which seeks to reduce the tenure of local government chairmen and councillors from four years to three years.

Yakubu-Ladan, in the originating summons marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1370/2025, dated July 10 but filed July 11 by his counsel, Chris Udeoyibo, sought eight questions for determination.

The chairman questions whether the state government can enforce inconsistent local government law, 2001 (as amended), which clashed with the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and the Electoral Act, 2022.

“Should Niger State Local Government Law Section 29 (2) be declared unconstitutional for clashing with the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and the Electoral Act, 2022,” he said.

The plaintiff seeks a declaration that a four-year tenure for local government chairmen and councillors is constitutionally guaranteed by virtue of the Constitution and the Electoral Act, 2022.

The suit also challenged the NSIEC’s preparation for the local government elections slated for November 1.

The plaintiff, therefore, seeks an order restraining the defendants from the elections on Nov. 1 until the expiration of a four-year tenure for chairmen and councillors.

The suit also seeks to restrain INEC and the I-G from providing logistical support and security protection for the election.

Yakubu-Ladan argued that the state’s local government law, 2001, is inconsistent with Section 7 of the constitution and Sections 018 and 150 of the Electoral Act, 2022.

The suit is yet to be assigned to a judge as of the time of the report.