Delta lndependent Power Plant Generation will Boost the State Economy and Create Employment Rather than National Grid, Engr. Tobi Oburumu Urges Gov. Oborevwori

According to the warri based astute professional civil engineer, Tobi Oburumu in his professional piece of advice titled: 'Domestic Policy 101' to the Delta State Government under the leadership of His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Elder Sheriff Francis Oborevwori, said:

Delta is on the right track taking steps to enhance rural/Urban electrification but going independent is a more strategy approach. 

90% of Delta state, meaning most of her rural and riverine communities have not being connected to the national grid, this is a huge market awaiting to be explored.

Don't pursue that connectivity to the national grid but establish independent power plants in strategy locations of the creek close to gas pipelines (Build Gas Turbine plants).

Access to gas is guaranteed through JV with the IOC's/ NNPC. The process is simply  buying gas and selling the output as electricity. Investors are all over the world  ready to commit financial/technical resources with government commitment as a guarantee.

This will serve as a social responsibility for the IOC's, generation of revenue for the government and creation of Job for the people. Although the governor is working so hard with vision and commitment to achieve 100% electrification of the state. 

My candid advice is for him to pursue power independency in off grid areas rather than connect such areas to the national grid. If the Discos want to connect this areas with their resources,allow them but  the state government as a policy should go for power independency as a business/economic policy. 

The target market is huge including the federal government via her agencies like the Federal maritime university, oil and gas federal hospital and the Nigerian port Authority.

This will also woo private production and processing companies to the  riverine areas of the state like seafood processing companies and many more.

Opinion: “The Ballot in the Storm: Rivers at the Crossroads.”_By William Z. Bozimo.

There are times when democracy walks with a limp. Rivers State today is such a theatre, where the ballot paper flutters not like a symbol of choice, but like a kite tossed in the storm of power. First, the Supreme Court “tore down” the October 2024 elections, declaring them a house built on sand. The Supreme Court’s nullification emphasises adherence to legal standards.

Then came the promise of a new dawn in August 2025. What the people wished for was a festival of representatives celebrating, and not a tug of legitimacy and expedience. The state electoral umpire shifts dates like a restless drummer searching for rhythm, while civil society raises its voice, crying foul over short notice and shaky grounds. Above it all, the ghost of a state of emergency hovers. 

A governor suspended, a legislature in limbo, and the people asked to believe that their vote still matters. Democracy as the name implies is supposed to be like a river flowing, nourishing, and cleansing. However, in Rivers State, the water feels dammed and its current is redirected by unseen hands. The state of emergency and the rescheduled elections highlight tensions between power and procedural legitimacy.

The APC claims victory in 20 councils and the PDP is left with scraps, while voices like Atiku thunder from afar, urging the rejection of the election results, calling it a “shameful eyesore.”Observers nod politely at the conduct of voters and the security agency, but the profound question remains: when an institution wobbles, can the ballot still stand as the people’s staff of office?

Rivers' populace is not just voting for chairmen and councillors, but it is voting for greatness by faith. Therefore, if the local is broken, then the national cannot be whole. Likewise, when the ballot is mocked at the grassroots level, what then becomes of 2027 when the giants gather again? The local governance systems under the emergency rule at the moment raise important questions about democratic standards, federal influence, and electoral integrity.

Nigeria’s political season is already in full swing, though the 2027 elections are nearly two years away. Scenic imagery of political elites sprinting before the race even begins.

The storm is fierce, but storms do not last forever. Somewhere beneath the noise, the people still wait.

Farmers, traders, and the youths are holding on to the confidence that democracy, however battered, will yet find its footing somehow. The question now is whether the custodians of power will let the river flow free, or whether they will continue to bottle its waters for their own thirst.

William Z. Bozimo

Veteran Journalist | Columnist | National Memory Keeper.

How 14 years old girl was raped and impregnated by her stepfather in Kwale, Delta State

By: Israel Joe

Ofiemo Abigail married a man. After giving birth to three children, 2 girls and one boy, she left Warri for another Orogun man farming in the Kwale area of Delta State. She carried her three children along to Kwale and now had two other children for the new man known as Emmanuel.

The new man dęfíIęd and started molesting the eldest daughter until she got admitted into the Delta State University, Abraka, and left the house. In order to please the new man again, the mom kept calling the young daughter Destiny to allow the useless man to sleep with her. The man got Destiny, the younger daughter pregnant last year at age 13. When the pregnancy got to 9 months, they gave this little girl a concoction to drink, and she had a still-birth.

As if this wasn't enough, the man continued sleeping with the girl to the mother's knowledge and the mother had told the girl that she must not tell anybody about it just the way she warned her eldest daughter now in the university. As you can see, the girl is now 4 months old pregnant.

The father, who does PSP (watse disposal) job, had to raise 15k to his eldest daughters to go to Kwale to bring Destiny and the boy back to Warri. Destiny had called the father that she would ḍíę if she isnt taken out of her mother and stepfather's house as they wanted to do the ąbørtíøn the next day. This little girl has suffered, and poverty is a bąstąrd.

I was called by the younger brother to the former Chief of Defence Staff, Irabor. As a good friend of mine, he appealed that I should help handle this issue because I have recently committed myself more to my private library for academic research and assignments. 

It was difficult to entertain people at my private residence, but hearing the story of this little girl and her father, this morning broke my heart. The man couldn't even raise money to take the daughter to Kwale Police station to lay a complaint, and right in my present, the mother kept calling that the medicines to take out this second 4 months old pregnancy were ready. What a life?

Comr. Israel Joe 

#Justice4Destiny

Opinion: Lagos, The Land Where Sleep is Banished_By William Z. Bozimo.

They say Lagos never sleeps but it is not because it is a city of dreams, but it is a city of survival. Her children doze in danfos, nap on okadas, and snatch seconds of rest while traffic lights blink red. Sleep becomes a total stranger where rent is due and bread costs more than yesterday’s wage.

Every dawn, yellow buses awaken before the cock crows, their conductors’ voices cracking the fragile night: “Oshodi! CMS! Mile 2!” They herd Lagosians like cattle, each human body packed as if poverty were contagious. Yet in the rattle and roar, jokes are shared, prayers are muttered, and resilience is rehearsed daily.

On Victoria Island, glass towers touch the sky. Air-conditioned offices hum while mainland mothers hawk sachet water under bridges. Lagos is a city of two faces: one painted with foreign perfume, while the other smeared with sweat and dust. The bridge between them is not only Third Mainland, it is inequality stretched too far.

“Eko for Show,” they boast. But beneath the boasting lie bruises. The tailor chasing one more client, the banker counting not naira but borrowed hours, the market woman bargaining with stubborn inflation; all are hustlers, carrying hope in tired palms. In Lagos, survival itself is performance art.

But the lagoon remembers. The sea creeps closer, swallowing Lekki one tide at a time. Still, mansions rise on sand that shifts, as if concrete were stronger than memory. Lagosians build, but the ocean waits with patient hunger. Lagos is not a city you live in, it is a city you survive.

Lagos is like a jungle city, where you find first-hand indiscipline at the highest order, and everyone wants to get to the first place and outshine the other; thereby making the “jungle justice” a reality.

When night finally falls, it does not bring peace. Generators growl, horns snarl, lovers argue, and dreams wrestle with tomorrow’s expenses. “Las Gidi” does not sleep because her people cannot afford to do so. Yet, in this insomnia, they weave songs, inventions, and resilience that shame softer cities. As the saying goes, EKO ONI BAJE. Long live the industrial hub of Africa.

✍🏽 William Z. Bozimo

Veteran Journalist | Columnist | National Memory Keeper.

South-South People Mourn IGP Solomon Arase, Declares him a National Hero of Special Class

PRESS STATEMENT 

SOUTH-SOUTH PEOPLE MOURN IGP SOLOMON ARASE, DECLARES HIM A NATIONAL HERO OF SPECIAL CLASS 

The Board of Trustee and National Executive Committee of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), the apex socio-political body of the South South geopolitical zone, has received with shock, pain and  total devastation news of the death of Chief Dr. Solomon Ehigiator Arase, former Inspector General, Nigerian Police Force (NPF) and former Chairman, Police Service Commission, which sad event occurred earlier Sunday, 31st August, 2025. 

The entire Niger Delts mourns the loss of a towering figure in law enforcement, a distinguished academic, and a sound lawyer who left an indelible mark on the Nigerian security landscape and public service. 

Dr. Arase's remarkable career was characterized by his unwavering commitment to excellence, his passion for justice, and his tireless efforts to promote safety and security across the country. As a seasoned law enforcement officer, he brought his vast experience and expertise to bear on the challenges facing national security and the Nigeria Police Force in particular.  His diligence and contributions towards welfare of men and women of the Nigerian Police Force, earned the respect and admiration of his peers and the public on how to make Nigeria more safe and  respectable in the comity of nations. 

PANDEF also recalls with nostalgia Dr. Arase, as former Chairman of its Edo State Chapter and now a BOT Member, leaves behind  impressive achievements and was known more for his humility, kindness, and generosity of spirit. He was a true leader, a mentor, and a role model who inspired many.

He was indeed a true Nigerian hero of Special Class and will always be remembered in the annals of the country's history. 

Our thoughts and prayers are with the family, friends, the people of Sabondida Ora, Edo State  and rest of Nigeria during this difficult time. May his legacy continue to inspire and motivate us to build a more prosperous Niger Delta, and  more just, and safer Nigeria.

May his soul rest in peace. 

Ambassador Dr Godknows Boladei igali, OON 

National Chairman

Barrister Preye Onduku Appreciates Friends, Family and Well Wishers on Successful Burial Rites of late Father ln-law in Benin City

Barrister Preye Onduku, a Warri based legal practitioner and critical stakeholder in ljaw nation has expressed his deepest gratitude to God Almighty, families, colleagues, friends and well wishers who stood by him before, during and after the final burial rites of his beloved father in-law, late Pa. Elder Solomon Osayande Ehigiator over the weekend in the ancient Benin City, Edo State Capital.

The burial ceremony took place on Thursday 28th and Saturday 30th August, 2025 at late Pa. Ehigiator compound at No 5 Upper Mission Lane, off Upper Mission Road, Benin City. 

Barrister Preye who is married to Francess Aghogho Onduku (Nee) Ehigiator on behalf of his family, appreciated his friends, colleagues and well wishers, especially the Onduku family of Ayakoromo and Bozimo family of Ezebiri both in Burutu and Bomadi LGAs of Delta State over their support in kind, finance, presence and prayers, wishing them God's peace and blessings upon their lives and families.

According to the statement, read below:

" On behalf of myself and Family, we deeply appreciate friends, colleagues, well wishers, the Onduku and Bozimo's family's for the show of love, kindness and strong support on the occasion of my father ln-law, late Pa. Elder Solomon Osayande Ehigiator burial with your money, presence and prayers. 

" We are immensely grateful. God bless the Onduku and Bozimo family's. Blood is thicker than water ! Once again Adooh ", the statement added.

Among those present include; Hon. Trust Edumogiren, Barrister Akin, Mr/Mrs. Ebipade Lyon, Mrs. Dorcas Oburumu, Preye Asu, Dr. Akposeye Bozimo, Mr/Mrs. Ayaebi Onduku, Oyinbi Onduku, Kile Areweremi, Sister Etipou Onduku, John Tuedon, Stella Agidee, Tams Okunbiri Daubimene among others..