The Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Olatunji Alausa, has reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to the growth and development of the Federal University of Medical and Health Sciences, Kwale, Delta State.

The minister gave the assurance during the institution’s maiden matriculation ceremony held on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, at its permanent site in Kwale.

Represented by Mrs. Folashade Boriowo, the minister congratulated the pioneer students on their successful admission and urged them to remain dedicated to the ideals of the university.

In his remarks, the Pro-Chancellor, Dr. Salisu Banye, commended the courage of the pioneer students and encouraged them to take advantage of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) to ease their academic pursuits.

He noted that beneficiaries of the scheme stand a better chance of securing Federal Government jobs after graduation, which would enable them to repay the loans.

Dr. Banye also assured stakeholders that the university would remain focused on its mission and appealed to the Delta State Government to fulfil its promise of providing buses for the institution.

The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Abel Onunu, lauded President Bola Tinubu for his consistent funding of the university since its establishment.

He emphasized the institution’s commitment to producing globally competitive graduates grounded in discipline, excellence, and integrity.

Prof. Onunu also expressed appreciation to former Deputy Senate President, Barr. Augustine Ovie Omo-Agege, for his pivotal role in establishing the university, noting that the institution has brought pride and relief to the Ndokwa people, who contribute significantly to the nation’s economy.

Highlighting the university’s achievements since inception, the Vice-Chancellor listed the successful completion of administrative processes, staff recruitment, resource verification, admission of pioneer students, and commencement of academic activities.

He added that the institution has fostered strong relationships with its host community, attracting support from stakeholders and philanthropists, while ongoing infrastructural development at the permanent site continues to progress steadily.

The matriculation ceremony featured a lecture delivered by Dr. Austin Avuru, Chairman of AA Holdings and Co-founder and pioneer CEO of Platform Petroleum Limited and Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc.

The event was coordinated by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration), Prof. Nekwu Okolugbo, and the Registrar, Mr. Lucky Ohwojeroh Mustapha.

By Enitan Abel Johngold

A seasoned administrator and communications strategist, Mrs Patricia Nkiru Umunna, has emerged as the new Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Committee of Heads of Federal Government Establishments (COHEADS), Delta State chapter.

Mrs Umunna, who currently serves as Deputy Director, Human Resources Management (HRM) at the National Orientation Agency (NOA), was overwhelmingly elected during the committee’s meeting held in Asaba on Tuesday.

Her emergence has been widely applauded by colleagues and stakeholders, who describe her as an astute administrator with a proven track record of excellence in public service. Known for her professionalism, diligence, and interpersonal skills, Mrs Umunna is regarded as a leader who commands both respect and admiration.

A graduate of the University of Benin, she has steadily built a reputation for effective administration and strategic communication within the NOA in Delta State. Observers note that her wealth of experience in human resource management and public engagement uniquely positions her to succeed in her new role.

Pundits within COHEADS expressed confidence in her ability to elevate the image and visibility of the committee, citing her “Midas touch” and results-driven approach to assignments. Many believe her emergence signals a new era of proactive communication and strengthened institutional relationships for the body.

Speaking shortly after her election, Mrs Umunna, who was two-time Welfare Officer and immediate past Ex-officio of COHEADs, expressed gratitude to members for the confidence reposed in her, pledging to deploy her expertise to enhance information dissemination and promote the ideals of COHEADS across the state.

She also emphasized the importance of synergy among federal establishments, noting that effective communication remains key to achieving organizational goals and fostering public trust.

Other officials elected alongside her include President, Engr Kennedy Onyenobi; Vice President, Mrs Darling Chima Ononiwu; Secretary, Mr Felix Ijomah; Assistant Secretary, Ms Odiyoma Lucia; Financial Secretary, Mrs Ogochukwu Anoliefoh; Treasurer, Mrs Ozulumba Eucharia; Legal Adviser, Barr Osita; Welfare Officer, Mrs Nkechi Ilonze; as well as Ex-Officio members, Mr Obasaju Emmanuel and Mr Ikechukwu Ogbu.

With her emergence, expectations are high that Mrs Umunna will bring her wealth of experience, passion, and administrative acumen to bear in projecting the activities and achievements of COHEADS Delta State to greater heights.

The Federal Government has disbursed ₦2.25 billion in venture capital grants to 45 student-led startups selected from across Nigeria’s tertiary institutions under the Student Venture Capital Grant (S-VCG) programme. The beneficiaries emerged from a pool of 65 shortlisted student innovators, who were earlier selected from over 30,000 applicants across more than 400 universities, polytechnics and colleges nationwide. The awards were presented at the UNDP Innovation Hub in Ikoyi, Lagos, marking the culmination of the programme’s first cohort aimed at supporting student entrepreneurs with up to ₦50 million each in equity-free funding to scale their ideas into viable businesses.

The initiative is being implemented by the Federal Ministry of Education, with support from partners including the Bank of Industry (BOI), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and global technology stakeholders. According to the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, the programme represents a major shift in Nigeria’s education policy, repositioning tertiary institutions as centres of innovation, enterprise and economic development rather than just certification hubs.

The 45 winning ventures were selected after completing an intensive venture development bootcamp held from March 26 to March 29, 2026, where the finalists refined their ideas, participated in entrepreneurship workshops and pitched their startups before a panel of industry experts and investors. Final selections were based on the scalability, feasibility and societal impact of each innovation, with many of the projects leveraging technology such as artificial intelligence to solve real-world challenges.

The programme targets full-time students in Nigerian tertiary institutions, particularly those developing solutions in key sectors including technology, agriculture, healthcare and sustainability. By providing funding, incubation support, mentorship and access to digital tools, the S-VCG is designed to help students move from campus ideas to commercially viable enterprises, while building a pipeline of young innovators capable of driving economic diversification.

The initiative aligns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which seeks to harness Nigeria’s youthful population for innovation-driven growth.

The scheme will enable graduates to become job creators rather than job seekers, strengthen Nigeria’s startup ecosystem and position the country as a hub for youth-led innovation and entrepreneurship.

Nigeria’s Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu,  has resigned following months of nationwide electricity failures that triggered widespread public frustration, high cost of living and doing business, political pressure, and calls for accountability across the country.

For several months, Nigeria has faced severe and persistent power outages affecting households, businesses, and public institutions. Electricity generation has reportedly fluctuated between 2,000 and 4,000 megawatts, far below the amount required to serve the country’s population of more than 250 million people.

The unreliable supply disrupted manufacturing, increased operational costs for businesses dependent on diesel generators, touched off inflation and worsened living conditions for millions of citizens. The crisis was widely described as a national emergency undermining economic activity and daily life, and that which entreats nothing less than urgent attention, but the reverse is the case.

As blackouts spread across multiple states, public anger intensified. Civil society groups, opposition figures, and energy experts openly demanded the removal of the power minister, arguing that the government had failed to stabilize the electricity sector.

Pressure on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu mounted steadily, with critics insisting that leadership changes were necessary to restore confidence in Nigeria’s energy policy.

The Committee for the Defence of Human Rights and other advocacy groups rejected Adelabu’s earlier apology over the outages, describing it as insufficient in addressing the depth of the crisis.

It should be noted that before his resignation, Adelabu had issued a public apology to Nigerians, acknowledging the hardship caused by the electricity shortages and citing gas supply constraints and technical challenges as contributing factors.

However, the apology failed to calm public dissatisfaction. The continued instability in power generation and distribution kept pressure on the administration to act decisively.

Facing mounting criticism and the ongoing collapse of electricity reliability, Adelabu ultimately stepped down, stating that his resignation was necessary to allow the government to pursue new leadership and reforms in the sector.

Energy analysts say the resignation highlights deeper structural issues within Nigeria’s power sector, which includes but not limited to weak generation capacity, gas supply shortages to power plants, transmission bottlenecks and financial instability in the electricity market

Experts argue that leadership change alone will not resolve the crisis. Long‑term reforms, infrastructure investment, and improved regulatory coordination will be required to stabilize electricity supply and restore public confidence in Nigeria’s power system.

For millions of Nigerians who have endured months of darkness and rising energy costs, the resignation marks a political turning point—but the real test will be whether meaningful reforms follow.

A security expert, Demeide Master Tony has said that Nigeria’s fiscal recovery, energy security, and political stability are critically dependent on the Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited (TSSNL) contract.

According to him, in the last four years,  Tantita has reduced oil theft by nearly 80%, restored production to 1.8 million barrels per day, created over 10,000 jobs, and delivered environmental recovery. He argued that terminating the contract would dismantle deterrence, destabilize communities, and plunge Nigeria into economic and political crisis.

Demeide advocated for the retention of Tantita’s services to consolidate security of Nigeria’s energy infrastructure so far achieved.

“Tantita must not only be retained but institutionalized as the backbone of Nigeria’s energy security.

“Tantita’s effectiveness is explained through criminological theories validated globally.

“Crime thrives without capable guardians. Tantita introduced “creek intelligence,” making pipelines unsuitable targets. Mexico’s Pemex crisis has shown that theft surges when community surveillance weakened”, he said.

Demeide emphasized that social disorganisation theory has proven that weak institutions foster crime and linked Tantita’s 10,000 jobs to Niger Deltans which positively reorganised various  communities as catalysts for prevailing peace in the region.

According to him, criminals weigh risks and rewards before proceeding on their nefarious adventures. Since taking charge of the security of Nigeria’s oil pipelines, Tantita, Demeide argued, has increased arrest likelihood for pipeline vandals thus making theft irrational.

“Economic deprivation drives illegitimate means, it is for this reason that Tantita reduced strain by offering livelihoods thus reducing pipeline vandalism

“Note too that blocked opportunities breeds aggression.Tantita’s structured employment prevented youths from being mobilized as  political tools by desperate politicians”, the security expert further stressed.

He listed hybrid security model and modus operandi of securing the country’s oil infrastructure to include technology driven surveillance involving long endurance drones and geospatial tracking closed surveillance gaps; grassroots intelligence in which over 10,000 local youths were recruited as “human sensors”;  interAgency collaboration which enabled Tantita to provides intelligence to the Police, NSCDC, DSS,Navy and JTF, ensuring lawful arrests, training and integration involving the training of operatives in intelligence gathering, rapid response, and community engagement.

According to him, the Nigerian Army Resource Centre described Tantita’s model a “panacea for national development”.

Enumerating the gains of Tantita’s surveillance operation on Nigeria’s oil pipelines since commencing operation, Demeide, citing NEITI and NUPRC statistics, disclosed that in 2023 Oil theft dropped by 79% and production rebounded to 1.4–1.5 million bpd.

And in 2024, sustained surveillance pushed production to 1.6 million bpd while in July 2025, production hit 1.8 million bpd, saving Nigeria $18 billion annually.

Other positive impacts of Tantita’s pipeline surveillance services, according to the security expert include, environmental gains- Oil spills fell by 50% in 2024 (NOSDRA), Port Harcourt’s “black soot” disappeared; security stabilization leading to reduction in sea piracy and criminal activities thus boosting investors’ confidence.

“Similarly, in the area Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Tantita has covered gaps in government capacity through CSR, including sustainable Rice Farming Initiative (SDN, Ecosus Pro Nigeria), infrastructures provision to various communities:Solarpowered classrooms, rehabilitated roads, building of police stations, scholarships to indigent students among others”, Demeide said.

The company, he disclosed has also embarked on medical outreach programs in rural communities, carried, mangrove replanting and cleanup of polluted sites, promoted unity among traditional rulers and empowered Niger Delta youths through vocational training in welding, ICT, and marine services.

The security expert warned that ending Tantita’s oil pipeline contract could trigger multidimensional collapse in several areas.

His words: It could bring about security vacuum. For example, if 10,000 trained operatives are displaced, they may revert to bunkering or militancy,  production could fall back below 1 million bpd thus devaluing the Naira, resurgence of ethnic conflicts could once again take the centre stage in the Niger Delta,  unemployed Youths may be mobilized as foot soldiers in 2027 elections, Oil spills may surge again, reversing ecological recovery, investors’ confidence in Nigeria’s oil sector may  collapse leading to International oil companies withdrawing interest and Nigeria could loses credibility as a reliable supplier”

Continuing, he said: “Tantita has proven effective, and the logical path forward is its integration and expansion into a permanent Niger Delta Pipeline Security Commission (NDPSC). A hybrid model should be maintained, where private firms work in  collaboration with legal authority. Alongside this, capacity building and reintegration programs must be expanded to create pathways beyond security, offering youths opportunities in training and development. “Retaining Tantita also serves as a safeguard for political stability, preventing the mobilization of youths during the 2027 elections. Ultimately, retention is not optional, it is a strategic necessity. Tantita must evolve into a permanent guardian of Nigeria’s energy lifeline.

“Tantita has proven beyond doubt that local guardianship works. Terminating the contract would undo hard won gains, destabilize the Niger Delta, and undermine Nigeria’s fiscal recovery.

As Sun Tzu observed in The Art of War:

“Foreknowledge cannot be gotten from ghosts and spirits, nor by just analogy with past events, nor from just calculations. It must be obtained from men who understand the enemy situation.”

Tantita represents that foreknowledge. For Nigeria’s economy to thrive, the guardian must remain at the gate not temporarily, but permanently”

 The National Orientation Agency (NOA) has officially unveiled the CLHEEAN Mobile App, a groundbreaking digital platform designed to transform how citizens interact with government, access information, and participate in national development.

Speaking at the unveiling, the Director-General National Orientation Agency, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, described the launch as a defining moment in Nigeria’s democratic journey, one that goes beyond introducing a digital tool to fundamentally reshaping the relationship between government and the people.
“For too long, we have faced a familiar challenge: citizens who want to be heard, and systems that do not always listen,” the Director-General stated. “Today, we begin closing that gap.”

He emphasised that the CLHEEAN Mobile App introduces a unified, user-friendly platform that empowers Nigerians with direct access to civic education, real-time government information, and interactive engagement tools.
“With an AI-powered voice and chat assistant, multilingual capabilities in Hausa, Yoruba, and Igbo, and seamless feedback channels, governance becomes simple, accessible, and inclusive. Simply put, government is now in your pocket,” the Director General added.

The platform represents a shift toward participatory governance where citizens are not only informed but actively involved in shaping policies and national discourse.

The Director-General further noted that the initiative aligns with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, reinforcing key priorities such as inclusive governance, transparency, and accountability.
“This is more than technology. It is a new way of governing, one that ensures citizens are not just informed, but involved; not just heard, but empowered,” he said.
Highlighting the people-centered nature of the initiative, Issa-Onilu stressed that the app is designed to amplify citizen voices and strengthen trust between government and the public.
“Governance works best when citizens are heard, government listens, and action follows,” the DG emphasised.

Key Features of the CLHEEAN Mobile App include:
* Civic Education – The Explainer Newsletter: Enhancing public understanding of government policies, rights, and civic responsibilities.
* AI Voice & Chat Assistant: Providing instant answers and guidance in major Nigerian languages, making governance more accessible.
* Feedback & Reporting Tools: Allowing citizens to report issues, share ideas, and directly influence government action.
* Engagement Platforms: Including campus debates, quizzes, community forums, and idea submission channels to encourage active participation.
* Real-Time Information & Entertainment: Delivering timely updates, announcements, and engaging content to keep citizens informed and connected.

The NOA called on all Nigerians to download the CLHEEAN App and actively participate in nation-building.
“This is more than a launch, it is a commitment. A bridge. A movement toward a Nigeria where every voice matters,” the Director-General concluded.

The CLHEEAN Mobile App is now available for download on both Apple iOS and Android devices, ensuring that Nigerians across different platforms can easily access and engage with the application.

By Rita Mokobia

The Nigeria Association of Women Journalists, Delta State Chapter, marked the 2026 International Women’s Day with a vibrant and impactful celebration centered on the theme: “Give to Gain… Empower Her Today, Prosper Tomorrow.”

The event held in Asaba brought together women from diverse backgrounds, including media professionals, entrepreneurs, students, civil society groups, and government representatives, all united by a shared commitment to advancing women’s empowerment and sustainable development.

In her keynote address, the Chairperson of NAWOJ Delta State, Mrs Sonia Unobunjo emphasized the importance of investing in women as a pathway to societal growth and prosperity. She noted that empowering women—through education, economic opportunities, and leadership inclusion—creates a ripple effect that benefits families, communities, and the nation at large.
According to her, the theme “Give to Gain” underscores the idea that when society intentionally supports women, the returns are far-reaching, including improved economic stability, better health outcomes, and stronger institutions. She further affirmed that through sacrifice, empowering others brings about progress which entails giving opportunities, supports, mentoring young generations and creating enabling environment where every woman can succeed.

Speaking further, Unobunjo noted that women should not walk on the street because they want a testimony. In her words: “It is not an excuse to embarrass, rough-handle or rape a woman”. She lauded NAWOJ Delta State chapter for their good works.

The guest speaker, CEO Graceville Group of Schools, Engr.Mrs Adebowale Tinuade Okonji-Umuokoro congratulated women on the celebration of the 2026 International Women’s Day. “It is 115 years celebration for the Women’s Day” she says, adding that as women’s celebrates themselves, they are as well celebrating their mothers, assistants, daughters all over the world.

Engr. Mrs. Adebowale says that giving requires hands to be stretched out and receiving also requires hands to be stretched out.

She added that women should give to one another and gain from such view.

As part of the celebration, NAWOJ rolled out several empowerment initiatives targeted at women and young girls. These included:
Cash prizes to the handicapped to support their craft.
Beneficiaries expressed gratitude for the support, describing it as timely and impactful in helping them achieve financial independence and personal growth.

Participants called for stronger policies, increased awareness, and collective action to break down barriers that hinder women’s progress.

The celebration concluded with a renewed call for collaboration among stakeholders—government, private sector, civil society, and individuals—to sustain efforts aimed at empowering women.

The NAWOJ Delta State Chapter reaffirmed its dedication to championing the cause of women, stressing that true progress can only be achieved when women are given the opportunity to thrive.

As the message of the day echoed throughout the event: empower a woman today, and you secure a more prosperous tomorrow for all.