The Rivers State House of Assembly has disagreed with the claims by the State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, that he was blocked from entering the House to re-present his 2025 Appropriation Bill.

The House said it never received any official communication from the governor indicating his interest to bring his appropriation bill to the floor of the House.

Spokesperson of the House and Chairman, House Committee on Information, Enemi George, described the claims of the governor as a mere comedy skit scripted to paint the House in bad light.

George recalled that on March 3, the House of Assembly wrote to the governor requesting him to bring his 2025 appropriation bill to the lawmakers following the judgement of the Supreme Court.

He said: “We were the ones, who immediately after that judgement appealed to the governor to bring his appropriation bill. We acted immediately because we have the interest of the state at heart and didn’t want Rivers people to suffer any harm.

“Despite withholding our entitlements for over a year and demolishing our chambers, we still wanted him to hasten up the presentation in the interest of the progress of Rivers.

“We indicated our intentions in that letter and even gave him a timeframe because of the urgency of the matter. To regularise his appointments, we also urged him during our subsequent sitting to submit the names of his nominees for the positions of commissioners and some boards’ membership for screening and confirmation.

“But, the governor rebuffed our pleas. We sent employees of the Assembly to deliver these resolutions to him. But, as usual, they turned them down at the gate and even brutalized them. We resorted to engaging the services of a courier company.

“But, he still did not heed our call forgetting that there are essential services like hospitals, schools and others to be funded. Our intention was to finish everything about the budget on March 15, so that we could send necessary information and documents to relevant agencies of the government to allow the release of Rivers allocations at the end of March. But, with what he is doing, we don’t know what he wants to achieve.

“How can he turn around to claim that we blocked him from re-presenting his budget? This is the height of insincerity. We even need the budget to be passed because the governor has been owing us our entitlements for more than a year and without the budget, we can’t get our entitlements.

“The governor and his team simply and deliberately acted Wednesday’s drama with a singular motive to tarnish the image of the Assembly. The governor is simply playing to the gallery to whip up unnecessary sentiments. But, it has backfired because the truth has come out”.

Besides, George insisted that the letter the governor claimed that he sent to the Speaker never got to him, adding that it was after the Wednesday’s sitting that the lawmakers saw the letter flying on social media.

He said: “But, even the letter trending on social media was dated March 11. Does it mean that the governor purportedly sent a letter on Tuesday God knows when, and immediately mobilised to the Assembly Quarters on Wednesday morning, claiming he came to present his budget?

“That alone vitiates the claimed purpose. It is procedurally trite that after writing to the Assembly, the governor ought to wait for the letter to be acknowledged by the lawmakers, who will then invite him to appear before them and make his presentation. Governor Fubara ought to know this if he is sincere.

“But, all we know is that this Assembly will continue to uphold the rule of law and will remain committed to promoting the interest of Rivers State. We urge him to do the needful so that Rivers people can breathe. He is toying with the lives and livelihood of Rivers people.

The Minister of Steel Development, Prince Shuaibu Abubakar Audu, has ordered an immediate investigation into the industrial accident that occurred at a steel plant in the Ogijo area of Sagamu Local Government, Ogun State, on Sunday, March 2, 2025.

Prince Audu in a statement signed and made available to newsmen on Wednesday in Abuja, expressed deep sorrow over the incident, which resulted in casualties, and extended condolences to the families of those affected.

“The Ministry of Steel Development wishes to commiserate with the families of the affected persons who may have either lost loved ones or suffered injuries from this accident, particularly the Sagamu Local Government and the Ogun State Government at this difficult time,” Audu said.

He assured that the government would take decisive steps to determine both the immediate and remote causes of the accident, emphasizing that industrial safety must be prioritized to prevent future occurrences.

“The Ministry is currently putting in place effective modalities to ensure the sanitization of the steel industry in Nigeria and shall immediately conduct a thorough investigation. Necessary steps will be taken to ensure that this unfortunate incident does not reoccur,” he stated.

The Minister also called on all stakeholders in the steel sector to collaborate in enhancing workplace safety while pledging the government’s continued support for the industry’s growth.

“We will continue to create an enabling environment for the development of the steel industry in Nigeria to catalyze the industrial development of the nation,” he added.

The tragic accident has reignited discussions on safety compliance in Nigeria’s steel industry, with experts urging stricter enforcement of regulations to protect workers.

Daily Sun

…as four women gives birth to four babies inside IDP at Kangiwa

Kebbi State Governor,Dr. Nasir Idris has promised to the some of the villages burnt by the Lakurawa terrorists as well provided the necessary financial assistance to internally displaced persons, IDPs, in Arewa Local Government Area.

Idris stated this during his sympathy visit to the temporary IDP camp at Kangiwa, headquarters of Arewa Local Government along his Cabinet members.

The Governor explained that he will liaise with the military authorities to establish permanent Army base in the local government for preventive and prompt response to future attacks by the bandits.

He immediately ordered the provision of 100 bags of millet and 100 bags of rice to serve as daily meal for the displaced persons to feed well.

Governor Idris also directed the local government Chairman to immediately slaughter a big cow and continue doing so after every four days to ensuring that the villagers consume enough beef for proper protein intake especially by children.

According to him, “I am also informed that four pregnant women in the camp have given birth to four babies, two boys, two girls”,

“Procure two rams for each baby for naming ceremony, clothing and necessary items for all the nursing mothers”,

“I am here to see the situation on ground, condole and express deep sympathy with you on the painful incident by bandits that led to the loss of lives and injury, I am saddened by the event”,

“The government will assist all displaced persons to relocate back home, we don’t want you to stay at the camp for long”, Comrade Nasir remarked.

The Governor emphasised the importance of neighbouring states to imbibe the dexterity of Kebbi state in combating armed attacks by bandits.

“These criminals are not based in Kebbi but carrying out hit and run operations from our neighbours, our security services are doing their best, we shall sustain the tempo”, the Governor assured.

The Chairman, Arewa Local Government, Alhaji Sani Aliyu Tela, gave detailed explanation about the mode of attack by the suspected Lakurawa invaders.

According to him, “the attack took place around Rafin Tsaka axis, the bandits burned Birnin Debe village killing eight persons, they proceeded to DanMarke and murdered two persons while in Tambo village, they shot dead one person”,

“The bandits further set fire to six different villages but no death was recorded except injury to some of the inhabitants, including a teenage girl who sustained multiple fracture after falling into a ditch”, Tela said.

The Chairman disclosed that a total of 11 persons lost their lives, of whom eight were buried in Kangiwa attended by the SSG who represented the Governor.

“Your Excellency, the suspected Lakurawa bandits are infiltrating into our territory from the neighbouring Republic of Niger, after committing mayhem, they escape back to base in that country”,

“Our security services performed creditably to ward off the attackers, but we need a permanent Army base at Rafin Tsaka to forestall future incursions”,

“We are grateful to you for providing enormous cash support and 50,000 bags of rice to the displaced persons for their welfare”,

“Donations were also received from the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Sen. Atiku Bagudu, who pledged N20 million and 100 bags of grains, Sen. Yahaya ABDULLAHI, Kebbi North, donated 100 bags of rice and N2 million, while others provided rice, wrappers and cash”, the Chairman announced.

An indigene of Birnin Debe, Aliyu Sani recounted that the bandits entered the village during the Asr Prayers after 4 pm, when worshippers were in the Mosque.

“They shot at hay stacked on rooftop which ignited fire and spread, anybody who went out of the Mosque was shot dead, but they spared women, they also burned down the Central Mosque of the town”, Aliyu said.

A female victim, Halima Musa appealed to the Governor to evolve strategies to forestall further invasion of villages by bandits and offer necessary assistance to the displaced persons to feed well and return home.

Daily Sun