News

Presidential Amnesty Programme Needs Adequate Funding, Says Bayelsa Gov, Diri

Published

2 years ago

November 1, 2024

Editor

Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State says funding is critical for the success of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP).

Diri also stressed that PAP was not a gift to the Niger Delta region but was deliberately designed to bring some form of succor to the abandoned oil rich region.

“I want my brothers from other states to recognise that the amnesty programme was not a gift to the Niger Delta but to bring succour to a people that had been abandoned,” he added.

Governor Diri spoke on Friday when he received the PAP Administrator, Dr Dennis Otuaro, and his delegation in Government House, Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital.

The governor stressed that funding was critical for the survival of the programme.

He advocated the need for state governments and National Assembly members from the Niger Delta to collaborate towards addressing the funding challenges of the PAP.

He said: “There is no place that will survive without funds. These are some of the issues that we as governors can also support in ensuring that our National Assembly members make the contacts and synergise so that these issues will not be left for you alone to handle.”

He advised Dr Otuaro to build linkages across relevant state governments within the region so as to ensure that the programme made a meaningful impact.

He noted that the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) also faces similar challenges, which had affected its activities.

The Bayelsa governor cautioned against the call for the scrapping of the programme, saying the issues that led to its establishment have not been addressed.

According to him, despite the transition to renewable energy, crude oil production still plays a vital role in the nation’s economy and advocates for continuation of the programme.

Diri, while recalling a brief history of the armed struggle of the Ijaw people from the days of Jasper Adaka Boro, stressed the critical place of the PAP in the region.

“The ljaws, for long, have been suffocated in a structure that they had given their all in terms of human and natural resources. Over the years, there has been a long cry of neglect and underdevelopment.

“The initial armed struggle in Ijawland basically fought for justice and development. The community called Oloibiri in Bayelsa State, where crude oil was first struck in commercial quantities in 1956, is now a shadow of itself. Nothing was ploughed back into Oloibiri that brought out all the trillions of naira for Nigeria.”

While commending the previous administrators of the programme for creating training centres across the region, the governor decried the vandalism at the training centre in Kaiama in Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area of the state and urged Otuaro to revamp it.

In his remarks, the PAP Administrator requested the support of the state government in the area of funding for its training programmes.

Otuaro said the programme was at the rehabilitation and reintegration stage, adding that there was a need to consult with all relevant stakeholders to ensure its success.

He noted that from 2014, funding for the programme was reduced by half while its scope was expanding, particularly when it had about 1,681 students in tertiary institutions in the country and 38 students studying abroad.

Otuaro also disclosed that 98 maritime cadets have just been deployed within the country, stressing that there was a need to expand the programme to accommodate women stakeholders that are business-oriented.

He applauded Senator Diri for his administration’s efforts in ensuring that Bayelsa remains peaceful, adding that Ijaw people were happy with the prevailing peace and security as Bayelsa is the homogenous state for all ljaws.

News

Edo NLC Crisis: Caretaker Committee Drags Rival Exco, Govt To Court

Published

28 minutes ago

May 6, 2026

Editor

The division in the Edo State Council of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), took a new dimension on Wednesday as Prof. Monday Monday Lewis Igbafen-led caretaker committee approached the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, Benin Judicial Division, seeking to affirm its authority and restrain a rival executive from parading itself as the council’s leadership.

Joined in the suit are the Edo State Government, the Commissioner for Labour and Productivity, and the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice.

In a suit marked: NICN/BEN/12/2026, and filed before the court in Benin, the claimant, Igbafen, acting for himself and on behalf of the NLC Caretaker Committee in Edo State, is challenging the continued occupation of the union’s secretariat and control of its assets by members of the Bernard Egwakhide-led factional State Executive Council.

The claimants are asking the court to declare that the caretaker committee (Igbafen-led faction), constituted on August 11, 2025, by the NLC national leadership, remains the only lawful authority to administer the affairs of the Edo State Council pending fresh elections.

They further seek a declaration that the continued occupation of the NLC secretariat located at No. 1 Teboga Road, Benin City, as well as the retention of union assets, financial records, and official instruments by the defendants, is illegal and void.

The suit also prays for an order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendants from parading themselves as officials of the NLC Edo Council or interfering with the functions of the caretaker committee.

In addition, the claimants are seeking a mandatory order compelling the defendants to immediately hand over the secretariat, vehicles, financial documents, cheque books, and all other properties belonging to the union.

The caretaker committee further urged the court to restrain the state government and its officials from interfering in the internal affairs of the union, alleging undue support for the dissolved executive.

The claimants further demand N50 million as general and exemplary damages against the defendants for alleged unlawful usurpation of office and acts prejudicial to the administration of the council.

According to court documents made available to our correspondent, the crisis followed the dissolution of the Edo State Council by the NLC National Executive Council on February 27, 2025, over allegations of misconduct, anti-union activities, and constitutional violations.

However, the matter has yet to be assigned a hearing date.

News

Transfer: Premier League Clubs Scramble For Dele-Bashiru

Published

6 hours ago

May 6, 2026

Editor

Lazio midfielder, Fisayo Dele-Bashiru is a subject of interest from three Premier League clubs, according to Sky Sports.

Lazio reportedly rejected offers from Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth for the Nigeria international in January.

La Biancolesti are bracing for more interest in Dele-Bashiru ahead of the summer transfer window, according to Sky Sports.

The 24-year-old has two years left on his contract with the Serie A club.

The attacking midfielder joined the Rome-based club from Turkish Super Lig outfit Hatayspor in 2024.

He has been a regular feature for Lazio this season.

News

Xenophobic Attacks: Nigerian Students To Picket MTN, MultiChoice, Other Businesses

Published

7 hours ago

May 6, 2026

Editor

The leadership of the National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS South-West Zone D, has announced plans to picket South African companies in Nigeria following the ongoing xenophobic attacks in the country.

DAILY POST reports that some Nigerians were recently killed in South Africa over the violent attacks.

A statement issued to newsmen by Comrade Adeyemo Josiah Kayode, Coordinator, NANS South-West, Zone D, said that the association is mobilizing to take decisive and lawful action by organizing peaceful picketing and mass advocacy against South African business interests operating in Nigeria.

“We categorically state that the continued targeting of Nigerians under any guise is unacceptable and must come to an immediate end.

“This will include major corporations such as MTN Group and MultiChoice Group. It is morally indefensible for businesses to thrive in an environment where the lives of Nigerians are protected, while Nigerians are subjected to fear and violence elsewhere.

“This contradiction will no longer be tolerated,” the statement said.