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NDDC Inaugurates Aquaculture Centre in Abia, Advances SDGs On Poverty Eradication

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The NDDC Managing Director, Dr Samuel Ogbuku,(2nd left) cuts the tape to commission the Aquaculture Training Centre in Elugwu-Umuntu, Olokoro community in Umuahia South LGA of Abia State, supported by NDDC Director, Abia State office, and Representative of the state on the Board of the Commission, Chief Dimgba Eruba (2nd right) and a community leader, Chief Augustine Dike Nnesom (1st right). First left is the NDDC Director, Agriculture and Fisheries, Mrs. Winifred Madume.

The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has inaugurated an Aquaculture Training Centre in Elugwu-Umuntu, Olokoro community in Umuahia South Local Government Area of Abia State, as part of its efforts to boost agriculture in the Niger Delta region.

During the commissioning, the NDDC Managing Director, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, stated that agriculture was one of the key agendas of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, noting: “This initiative is a strategic alignment with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically targeting the eradication of poverty (SDG 1) and hunger (SDG 2).

“The Centre is poised to become a cornerstone in these efforts, addressing these pressing global issues by empowering local communities through sustainable agriculture and skill development.”

Ogbuku observed that agriculture was one of the sustainable means of empowering women and youths, through the creation of jobs in the country.

“This approach reflects the broader SDG strategy of promoting sustainable economic growth, providing decent work for all, and supporting resilient agricultural practices that contribute to the overall health and stability of the community, ensuring no one is left behind in economic development,” he said.

He assured stakeholders that the centre would address the challenges of unemployment by offering relevant trainings in aquaculture, promising that 50 youths from the Umuntu community would be enlisted for training in the centre.

The NDDC Chief Executive Officer announced that facilities at the centre would be improved upon and expanded to provide the necessary training, as well as enhance development in the adjoining communities. He said that the commitment to continuous improvement underscores the sustainability aspect of the SDGs, ensuring that initiatives introduced are not only beneficial in the short term but also contribute to long-term sustainable development.

Ogbuku said further: “Coming on board the NDDC management, we decided as a policy to ensure that all projects initiated by the Commission are completed and not abandoned. As part of our policy, we are going to slow down on awarding contracts for new projects and focus on completing ongoing projects.”

In his speech, the NDDC Director, Abia State office, and Representative of the state on the Board of the Commission, Chief Dimgba Eruba, commended the Managing Director for demonstrating dedication to the Commission’s vision of providing the much-needed sustainable solution to the socio-economic challenges of the Niger Delta region. This vision is in line with the SDGs’ holistic approach, which recognises the interconnectivity between economic growth, social inclusion, and environmental protection.

He said: “This commissioning ceremony is a testimony to the fact that NDDC is fully committed to the developmental plans and commitment of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to a Renewed Hope Agenda for a greater and prosperous Nigeria.

“The Aquaculture Training Center Umuntu is envisioned to be a skill acquisition hub and an economic catalyst that will empower a good number of our growing population on how to breed, raise and harvest fish, and make a profit from the enterprise.”

Eruba charged the people of Umuntu Olokoro community to protect the “valuable and viable” project, as it would attract other physical infrastructural development around it. He remarked that the project would benefit not only persons from Umuntu and the immediate environ but also others interested in fish farming in Abia state and Nigeria at large.

In an address read on behalf of the community by Hon. Ifeanyi Umekwe, they thanked the NDDC for siting the Aquaculture Training Centre in their community. They also extended the appreciation of their Traditional Ruler Eze Paul Ogwubunka. They said: “It is important to note that this project has suffered massive setbacks like vandalism due to the isolated nature of the site. We will want to appeal to the NDDC to take into consideration the plight of our community, which has a serious problem of bad road network which has made life unbearable for our people.”

Giving a brief on the project, the Head Project Monitoring and Supervision in the NDDC state office, Engr. Kingsley Azu, said that the Aquaculture Training Centre consisted of eight fish housing tanks; two hatcheries, two lecture blocks; a six-room staff quarters; a four-room office block; a generator house and a power generating set.

The facility, he said, also had eight units of solar-powered street light and a water supply system, consisting of a borehole, an overhead tank, and reticulation.

The NDDC Director, Agric and Fisheries, Mrs. Winifred Madume, appealed to the benefiting communities to see the Training Centre as their own and protect it from vandals and thieves. She noted that the sense of ownership and responsibility was crucial for the long-term sustainability of the initiatives designed to help achieve the SDGs, ensuring that these developments remain operative and productive for generations to come.

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We’re Embarking On Silent Economic Revolution In Ogun – Abiodun

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L-R: Publisher of NewsDirect, Mr Mathew Ibiyemi; representative of the Governor of Borno State, who is the winner of the NewsDirect Governor of the Year award (Nationwide) and Borno State Commissioner of Information and Internal Security, Professor Usman A. Tar; representative of the Jigawa State Governor, who is the winner of the NewsDirect Governor of the Year award (Agro-investments and security) and, Secretary to the State Government, Mallam Bala Ibrahim; representative of Governor Dapo Abiodun and winner of the NewsDirect Man of the Year award and Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Strategy, Hon.Kayode Akinmade; winner of the NewsDirect Corporate Icon of the Year award and Chairman of Odua Investment Company Limited, Otunba Bimbo Ashiru and representative of the Lagos State Governor and Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Gbenga Omotoso, at the Nigerian NewsDirect's 14th anniversary lecture and awards ceremony held in Lagos, on Friday.

Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, has declared that his administration in the past over five years has carried out unprecedented turn-around in all the critical sectors of the state economy, describing it as ‘silent economic revolution’.

He added that despite the humongous infrastructural deficit his government inherited upon assumption of office in 2019, especially in the area of roads at the border communities and federal highways, he has been able to drastically ameliorate the situation in the best interests of the people in the State.

Prince Abiodun made this known on Friday during the 14th Annual Lecture/Award ceremony of the Nigerian News Direct Newspaper with the theme “Achieving Economic Prosperity: The Role of Human Capacity Development, Fiscal Prudence and Revenue Generation”, held in Lagos.

The governor, who was conferred with the ‘Man of the Year Award’ and represented by his Special Adviser on Media &Communications, Hon. Kayode Akinmade, reiterated his avowed commitment to  an all-round development in Ogun State and the irreversible resolution to leave behind  enduring legacies of growth and prosperity in the Gateway State.

He highlighted  his enviable success in the State within a shot period of time to include the construction of over 600km of roads across the three Senatorial Districts, the construction of world-class agro-cargo airport as well as raising the internally generated revenue base of the state to become the most viable state in Nigeria in the area of IGR generation among other achievements.

Governor Abiodun further explained that Ogun State since he took the mantle of leadership has totally changed the business environment to make it more friendly to investors, therefore making the state the best in terms of the Ease of Doing Business and the investor destination of choice in Nigeria.

According to him, the State currently accommodates over six thousands manufacturing firms in different industrial clusters across the state and contributing immensely to the micro economy of the state as well as the Nigerian macro economic growth.

He commended the management of the Nigerian News Direct Newspaper for the honour bestowed on him, promising never to deviate from the path of purposeful and responsible leadership with patriotic inclination.

“I most sincerely thank the Nigerian News Direct Newspaper for the honour, obviously, the recognition would serve as impetus for our government to do more for our people in Ogun State and Nigeria in general.

“We are happy that a media organisation like News Direct is painstakingly monitoring our activities and progress in the state, which is no doubt a silent economic revolution of sorts in every critical sector of the state economy.

“I, therefore, urge them to continue to be vanguard of ethical journalism and strong illumination to the Nigeria’s public space for the ultimate good of the generality of the Nigerian citizenry”, Governor Abiodun said.

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Spiritual Fortification Is A Sham – AfAW 

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Witch Burning, Impunity And Abuses Linked to Witchcraft Beliefs In Benue State
Dr Leo Igwe

The Advocacy for Alleged Witches ( AfAW) has urged Nigerians against encouraging or undergoing spiritual fortification. In a statement by AfAW’s Director Dr Leo Igwe, the group said that the warning had become necessary following the reported death of one Chikwado Eze, who was buried alive in the course of a spiritual fortification in Enugu in Southern Nigeria.

According to the report, the deceased, who had secured a visa to travel overseas, shared the news with the father. The father took him to a native doctor for spiritual fortification. The ritual required that he be buried alive for an hour and thirty minutes. This process, they believed, would make him strong and able to prosper overseas. The native doctor buried him alive, but he eventually passed away. The police have arrested the so-called native doctor and the father of the deceased.

The statement noted : “The case of Eze illustrates the dark and deadly effects of irrational and superstitious beliefs and rituals. Superstition is a form of intellectual poison. Many Nigerians believe in the potency and efficacy of fortification rituals. As in the case of Eze, they subject themselves or their relatives and friends to this often harmful process. In many cases, spiritual fortification forms a part of initiation into campus cult groups, community age grades, or protective and prosperity rituals. In the course of fortification rituals, people are beaten and flogged with sticks. Many end up with serious injuries that sometimes lead to death. Sometimes, they are cut with machetes, made to sleep in the wild or drink heath-damaging concoctions. The belief is that these barbaric and savage treatments and processes would make them spiritually strong and fortified to withstand and resist any threat or danger to their lives or estate.

“Unfortunately, there is no evidence for this belief. There is no proof that spiritual fortification is potent and effective. As in the case of Eze, there is overwhelming evidence that spiritual fortification leads to death or health damage.

“The Advocacy for Alleged Witches warns the public not to indulge in spiritual fortification of any kind because the process is a sham. Charlatans conduct it; ignorant and gullible people subject themselves to the ritual. First, the process is a contradiction. A spiritual fortification process should be strictly a spiritual affair, that is, it should be conducted metaphysically. The process should be carried out spiritually, not materially, not physically. To spiritually fortify, there is no need to beat, flog, or bury people alive. It is contradictory to use material and physical rituals to strengthen people spiritually. Such a process reeks of absurdity, fraud, or stupidity.

“Second, the process is harmful. In cases where people do not die in the process of being spiritually fortified, they sustain injuries, traumas, and other physical or health issues that they grapple with for the rest of their lives. Spiritual fortification yields weak health and existential conditions and contradictions.

“In addition, fortification leads to the exploitation and impoverishment of seekers of these rituals because the process is not free. Those who seek spiritual fortification are desperate and vulnerable. The so-called native doctors take advantage of them. The native doctors charge their clients huge sums of money. They use the ritual as a pretext to extort money. So the ‘native doctors’ get financially fortified while their clients end up impoverished. Spiritual fortification makes people weak financially. It leads to destitution and death.

“Spiritual fortification is another spiritual scam! It is a bogus and harmful practice.”

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Abiodun Commissions Newly Renovated Ogun State Assembly Complex After 45 years

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The renovated Ogun State House of Assembly Complex.

The Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun has again broken an age-long jinx by rehabilitating the 45-year-old Ogun State House of Assembly, built by the administration of the late Chief Bisi Onabanjo.

He commissioned the newly renovated Assembly Complex on Wednesday before presenting the N1.054trn before the state House of Assembly.

The renovated Ogun State House of Assembly Complex.

Abiodun, while commissioning the Complex, noted that the project was the fulfillment of a promise he made last year during the presentation of the 2024 appropriation bill where he promised that the complex would wear a new look when he came to present the 2025 appropriation bill.

“This time last year, we were here following which on assumption of office of the new Speaker and the new assembly, we made a commitment and that commitment was to ensure that we all come back this year and present our budget to the House by ensuring that this Assembly Complex that was built in 1979, about 45 years ago that had practically begun to fall apart gets a new look.

“Our commitment was that we will not come back here this year and present our budget in the same assembly complex it was last year.

“We have a commitment that we will reconstruct, rehabilitate this complex so as to make it more conducive for our lawmakers,” he said.

The structure, which was practically fallen apart as a result of the neglect it had suffered over the years is now wearing a new look as the complex can now boast of the availability of water.

Aside from the complex wearing a new look, all the offices for members are now ensuite as members now have the liberty of good rest rooms as against the past when all members had to use just a single toilet.

While appreciating the governor for embarking on the renovation of the Assembly Complex, the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Oludaisi Elemide lauded the cordial relationship between the Executive and the Legislature, assuring that Assembly members would work towards the speedy passage of the budget.

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