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Scrapping Niger Delta Ministry wrong, NDDC an ATM for failed politicians – Briggs  

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5 months ago

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Niger Delta human rights activist, Ann-Kio Briggs, has faulted President Bola Tinubu for scrapping the Ministry of Niger Delta.

The environmentalist was a guest on the Friday edition of Inside Sources with Laolu Akande, a socio-political programme aired on Channels Television.

“The Ministry of Niger Delta was created by the late (President Umaru) Yar’Adua. There was a reason for the creation. So, just removing it because the president was advised. I want to believe that he was advised because if he did it by himself that would be terribly wrong,” she said.

In October, Tinubu scrapped the Ministry of Niger Delta and replaced it with the Ministry of Regional Development to oversee all development commissions like the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), North-West Development Commission, South-West Development Commission, and the North-East Development Commission.

“But that’s not going to be the solution because who is going to fund the commissions? Is it the regions because it is called the Regional Development Ministry? Is it the states in the regions?

“What are the regions because we don’t work with regions right now; we are working with geopolitical zones.

“So, I was lost when I heard regions. Are we going back to regionalism? If we are, we have to discuss it, the president can’t decide on his own to restructure Nigeria. If we are restructuring Nigeria, the president alone can’t restructure Nigeria, he has to take my opinion and your opinion into consideration,” Briggs stated.

Regional Development
The activist said the “Niger Delta has been developing Nigeria since 1958, we want to use our resources to develop our region, let regions use their resources to develop themselves”.

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Briggs lamented that all the bodies set up since independence to address the neglect of the oil-rich Niger Delta area have not assisted developed the area in any way.

She said, “NDDC was created by Olusegun Obasanjo…There was OMPADEC (Oil Mineral Producing Areas Development Commission) before NDDC. OMPADEC was an agency.

“Before OMPADEC, there was the Basin Authority that was created for the Niger Delta, which was borne out of the meeting before independence that said, ‘Look, this area called the Niger Delta area is neglected, they bring a lot to the table, they are afraid that a bigger Nigeria, an independent Nigeria will further neglect them’.

“These authorities were created to help us. Were we helped by those authorities? No, we were not. While we were not, we may not have time to go into it.

“Every agency that has been created for the Niger Delta, speaking with experience, with the ones I came to meet starting from the Basin Authority, all the way to the NDDC; I look at the NDDC and describe the NDDC as an ATM (Automatic Teller Machine) for failed politicians, disgruntled politicians and politicians that have had their electoral wins taken away from them and given to somebody else.”

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Kaduna State to hold education summit – Commissioner

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3 hours ago

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April 27, 2025

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Kaduna State Government will convene an Education Summit as part of its strategy to bring about transformative change in the education sector, which will be anchored on four strategic pillars.

The Commissioner for Education, Professor Muhammad Sani Bello, who disclosed this while inaugurating the steering committee, further said that the event will be titled KADA EDUPACT International Summit 2025″.

According to him, one of the pillars is the Policy/Governance/Innovative Education Financing Pillar.

The Commissioner also listed the Access and Retention, Credible Learning Outcomes From Quality Inputs Pillars, as well as the Technology and Innovation pillars.

Prof Bello argued that the main objective of the summit is “to forge an Educational Pact between the government and the people, establishing commitment to shared model for education delivery, measurable outcomes and clearly defined negotiables.”

He further said that experts will make motivating presentations, adding that the Summit will provide opportunity for robust discussions on local and international investments in education, policy-making as well as technological innovations for improved teaching and learning.

The Commissioner also assured that a comprehensive education development roadmap for Kaduna State would fashioned out during the summit.

He said that the Director General of Kaduna State Schools Quality Assurance Authority, Professor Usman Abubakar Zaria, will coordinate the activities of the steering committee, whose membership cuts across relevant Ministries Department and Agencies.

Sub-committees to handle various aspects of the summit were announced immediately after the steering committee was inaugurated.

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Police Bust Human Trafficking Ring In Oyo, Rescue 84 Victims

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5 hours ago

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April 27, 2025

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The Oyo State Police Command has uncovered a human trafficking ring in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

In a major operation, the police rescued 83 individuals and a child from a house in the Orogun area of the city, where they had allegedly been held for an undisclosed period.

Preliminary reports suggest that the victims, believed to be nationals of the Democratic Republic of Congo, were lured to Nigeria under the pretence of being offered employment opportunities.

There are also claims that the perpetrators extorted significant sums of money, reportedly in dollars, from the victims’ parents and relatives as part of the elaborate scheme.

The rescued individuals are currently at the Police Headquarters in Eleyele, Ibadan, where authorities are conducting further investigations to ascertain the full details of the case.

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Pope Francis Laid To Rest In Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica

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5 hours ago

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April 27, 2025

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Pope Francis was buried inside his favourite Rome church after a funeral mass in St Peter’s Square, the Vatican said on Saturday.

Francis, who died on Monday aged 88, was laid to rest during a 30-minute ceremony which started at 1:00 pm (1100 GMT) at the Santa Maria Maggiore basilica in the Italian capital.

Footage shared by the Holy See showed cardinals marking his wooden and zinc coffin with red wax seals.

Cardinal Kevin Farrell, who as camerlengo is running the Vatican’s day-to-day affairs until a new pope is elected, sprinkled it with holy water after it was lowered into a tomb set inside an alcove.

A reproduction of the pectoral cross worn by Francis during his lifetime hung above it.

Francis had asked that the tomb, located near the altar of Saint Francis, be simple and unadorned, reflecting the humble spirit of his papacy.

The tombstone bears only the inscription “Franciscus” — the pope’s name in Latin.

Its marble is sourced from Liguria, the northwestern Italian region once home to the Argentine pontiff’s Italian ancestors.

Francis, born Jorge Bergoglio, had specified in his will the exact spot he wanted to be buried, in the side nave of the beloved fifth-century AD church.

The pontiff was devoted to the worship of the Virgin Mary and made a point of praying in Santa Maria Maggiore before leaving on trips abroad and upon his return to Rome.

Located in the heart of Rome, the basilica already holds the tombs of seven popes.

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