Olu Of Warri Challenges Nigerians Abroad To Always Think About Home

December 30, 2022

The Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse III, has challenged Nigerians living in the cities and in the Diaspora to always remember their roots and do whatever is necessary to give back to their communities to impact their hometowns.

Doing so, the monarch said, would not only give them a sense of pride in their homes, but also make impact that will last for generations to come.

Atuwatse III spoke at the launch of Allison and Oluremi Ayida Foundation at the Habour Point, Victoria Island, Lagos State.

“I was coming to remind the children of our late illustrious son and daughter of how close their father was to home; but I came here to realise that they are already close to home.”

At the event that attracted eminent Nigerians like former Minister of Petroleum, Phillip Asiodu; former Chairman and Managing Director of Nigerian Breweries, Felix Ohiwere; former Minister of Education, Dr Obiageli Ezekwesili; and Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, the monarch urged everyone to always remember that home is always the best.

“I want to urge all who have made success in the big cities not to forget home. Home is where the heart is; do not forget home. Wherever you are, in Lagos, Abuja, the United States or Canada, whatever success you have made, always remember your home and find a way to help.”

On the focus of the foundation, one of the children of Allison and Oluremi Ayida, Mrs Alero Ayida-Otobo, who is also a trustee of the AOA Foundation, noted that the foundation was a fulfilment of the desires of their parents.

“The foundation we are launching today is in honour of our parents, who were amazing individuals. Our father and our mother were not just individuals that were special to us, but there were three things that I would say distinguished them ¬– the love for family, the love for the nation, the love for community and where they came from, Warri.

“Another thing that distinguishes them is their heart of service. They were selfless, generous, kind and did everything excellently. So, love, service and excellence are the three core values of this foundation that we have established in honour of Allison and Oluremi Ayida.

“We have been in existence in the last 10 years, but not as an organisation. We were just doing what our parents told us to do, and that is to be generous. We gave to many ministries, from Friendship Bible Ministry, Redeemed Christian Church of God to Lapiso Zuli. We also gave to schools such as Christ Ambassador in Kaduna.”

Two years ago, the foundation decided to expand, to have greater influence and impact, to become relevant to nation building. It proposed two evergreen projects; one is adopting schools in Warri Kingdom, where the deceased couple hailed from.

“We are going to start with one school in Koko, in the creeks, next year. We are going to renovate and transform the school. The second project is to set up a tennis academy. Those are the two projects we are passionate about. Thereafter, we will be giving out scholarships and doing a lot more.

“We chose the projects because they were important to our parents. My mother, before she died, was already a part of many of these groups and her Will says we should continue to support them, even after her death. She has been dead for 11 years. That was how we started. But the foundation has grown and evolved. Now we are going to be more deliberate, by focusing on projects that are not just ministries, but focus on education, health, wellbeing and focus on tennis as a means of exercise.

“The quickest way to transform an individual, to have significant impact on an individual, is to educate them. Give them quality education and you pull them out of poverty, pull them out of the slums and you then set them on the track to fulfilling their destiny, to become the best they could ever be. Just give a child quality education and see the entire family, the entire household and the entire community transform and progress. That is why in Nigeria we need to focus on education.”

Pele Is Gone But World Will Never Forget Him, Buhari

Greenbarge Reporters

December 30, 2022

President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria has eulogized the world football legend, Pele, whose death was announced yesterday, December 29.

In a condolence message by his spokesman, Malam Garba Shehu, the President described the Brazilian soccer maestro, Edson Arantes do Nascimento, known as Pele as the world’s greatest ever football player.
Buhari recalled that the legend won three World Cups and scored over 1,281 goals, becoming the original football icon in a long career for which he was named the “Player of the Century” in the year 2000.
President Buhari said: “May he rest in peace. He led a good life and made a huge contribution to the development of global football in particular and world sport in general.
“He had an enormous generousity of spirit and humility despite his greatness as a footballer and sportsman. He also built bridges across nations, races and even religions.
“He was a UN Ambassador of goodwill. Pele is gone but the world will never forget him. RIP. “

Buhari’s Visit: Ebira People Complain Of Shutting Out Of Their Paramount King

Greenbarge Reporters

December 30, 2022

Ebira People in Kogi State have protested over what they say was the shutting out of their Paramount ruler, the Ohinoyi of Ebira land, Alhaji Dr. Ado Ibrahim from accessing the visit of President Muhammadu Buhari to Okene yesterday, December 29, where he commissioned some projects.
One of the projects, the Reference Hospital, constructed by the government of governor Yahaya Bello, is just about 10 metres distance across the road, from the Azad palace from where the Ohinoyi oversees the affairs of Ebira land, made up of four local governments.
Sources told Greenbarge Reporters online newspaper and hardcopy magazine today, December 30, that Dr. Ado Ibrahim did not send anybody to represent him in any of the ceremonies.

According to the sources, the Ohinoyi, who was hale and hearty had already set to receive the President in his palace, having laid the Presidential chairs and red carpet, was surprised that the president came and left without visiting him in the palace.
“Worse of all, the Ohinoyi was virtually detained in the palace with his team when he wanted to go out and witness the commissioning of the Reference Hospital, which is a walking distance. Some police vehicles were stationed at the entrances to the palace, blocking any vehicle coming in or going out.”
The sources hinted that the explosion which occurred at the back of the palace, killing three people and injuring one was used as an excuse for the blockage of the entrances to the palace.
“It’s obvious that the President was not properly briefed about the incidence, which had great impact on parts of the palace,” the source said.
Our reporter who visited the palace shortly after the departure of the Presidential confirmed that executive chairs that had been carefully set to receive the president were virtually empty and that the Ohinoyi was seen sitting on his throne discussing with some of his inner caucus.
Particles of broken windows and walls felled by the impact of the explosion scattered on the ground.

Attempts by the Greenbarge Reporters online newspaper team to find out from Chief of Staff to the State governor, Arc. Asuku as to what went wrong failed as he neither picked calls nor responded to WhatsApp messages.
The Ohi of Okengwe, Alhaji Mohammed Tijjani Anage, was presented yesterday as representing the Ohinoyi Ado Ibrahim on behalf of the traditional rulers of the Central Senatorial Zone of the State.
The Ohi of Okengwe had
thanked President Buhari for his support to Governor Yahaya Bello’s administration and for being the first sitting President of Nigeria to visit Kogi State on a working visit.

World Football Legend, Pele, Dies At 82

Greenbarge Reporters

December 29, 2022

World football legend and Brazilian football icon, Pele has died at the age of 82.
Pele, who was former Santos FC star, widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, had been at the Albert Einstein Israelite Hospital in Sao Paulo since 29 November.
A medical report just before Christmas showed that he needed care for cardiac and renal dysfunction, having been battling colon cancer since September 2021.
His daughter, Kely Nascimento paid tribute to her father on Instagram: “We are thanks to you. We love you infinitely. Rest in peace.”
Pele, originally named Edson Arantes do Nascimento, began playing for Santos at the age of 15 and the Brazilian national team a year later, bursting onto the world football scene as a 17-year-old in the 1958 World Cup.
During his international career, he won three World Cups – in 1958, 1962 and 1970 – the only player to achieve this.
His role in Brazil’s third victory, in Mexico in 1970, has gone down in football folklore, as he played a key role in arguably the sport’s greatest-ever international team.
His glittering 20-year career from 1957 to 1977 saw him score 757 goals in 831 games, although Santos claim his tally was closer to 1,000.

How I Rescued Ajaokuta From Legal Entanglements, To Employ 500,000 People – Buhari

Editorial staff

December 29, 2022

President Muhammadu Buhari has painted a picture of how his government successfully rescued Ajaokuta Steel Company in Kogi from legal Entanglements and is ready to commence operations.

He said that when the project comes on stream, it will employ about 500,000 people and generate over $1.6 billion in annual income to the Nigerian economy.

President Buhari, who spoke today, December 29 after commissioning the ultramodern Reference Hospital and Ohinoyi’s palace in Okene, Kogi State said that no other single project holds the key to unlocking the vast potential as much as the Ajaokuta Steel Complex “which we inherited as a long moribund complex strangulating under a tangle of local and international commercial disputes.

“I am glad to report that as we begin to round off in office, we can genuinely say that our administration has rescued Ajaokuta from all legal disabilities and it is now ready for concessioning to a private investor with the right profiles to put it to work for Nigeria in general and Kogi State in particular.

“The process has cost this Federal Government over 400m US Dollars so far, but I consider it money well spent as we move closer to achieving our objective of transforming Kogi State into Nigeria’s iron and steel powerhouse.

“The benefits of getting Ajaokuta Steel Complex working again are numerous. It would provide over 500,000 estimated jobs and more than $1.6 billion in annual income to the Nigerian economy. Nigerians can rest assured that I remain committed to seeing this process to a logical conclusion before the end of my tenure in Office.”

President Buhari added that Kogi State also stands to benefit in diverse ways when the 614 km (384 mile) AKK gas pipeline which traverses the State starts operations next year.

He commended Governor Yahaya Bello “for rising up to the occasion in many sectors especially security. We are proud of him and I encourage the people of Kogi State to continue to support him and his team as they are working hard to ensure peace, security and development in the state.”

Projects commissioned by the President included:

a. The Reference Hospital Okene, which boasts of the first ever hyperbaric treatment chamber in Nigeria and the fleet of ambulances attached to it;

b. The new Ohinoyi’s Palace at Okene;

c. The Ganaja Junction Flyover and interchange at Lokoja;

d. The GYB Model Science Secondary School, Adankolo, Lokoja;

e. The Muhammadu Buhari Square (Civic Centre) at Lokoja and

f. A fleet of high – tech security vehicles to combat crimes and criminalities.

Earlier in his welcome address, the Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello thanked President Buhari for showing leadership and for the various programmes and interventions which had positively impacted on the State and her people.

These, the Governor said, included the Itakpe – Warri Rail Line which he noted, had brought relief to travellers and business owners in the state.

Governor Bello informed President Buhari that the projects inaugurated were in response to his commitment to serve, stating that since his swearing -in on 27th January, 2016, his administration constituted a multi-sectoral committee that went round the nooks and crannies of the State, identifying the needs of the people.

“This document has been our guide,” the Governor stated.

While acknowledging the commitment of President Buhari towards the resuscitation of the Ajaokuta Steel Complex, the Governor thanked the President for his unrelenting interest in the project.

Governor Bello also stated that his administration has a cordial relationship with the traditional institution in the State, adding that the new Ohinoyi’s Palace being commissioned by President Buhari is a testimony to this.

Earlier, the Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, Dr. Ibrahim Ado, represented by the Ohi of Okengwe, Alhaji Mohammed Tijjani Anage, on behalf of the traditional rulers of the Central Senatorial Zone of the State, thanked President Buhari for his support to Governor Yahaya Bello’s administration and for being the first sitting President of Nigeria to visit Kogi State on a working visit.

Buhari Commissions Ultramodern Reference Hospital In Okene, Kogi

Greenbarge Reporters

December 29, 2022

President Muhammadu Buhari has commissioned a multipurpose ultramodern Reference Hospital in Okene, Kogi State.
The newly built hospital, an extension of the age old Combined Hospital, was commissioned by the President today, December 29, with the State Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello. The hospital is almost opposite the Palace of Ohinoyi of Ebira land, Dr. Ado Ibrahim.
The commissioning of the hospital was one of the projects executed by the Yahaya Bello-led administration and commissioned today by the President.
The state government had earlier declared today, Thursday, a public holiday in order to ensure a hitch free reception for president Buhari.
The Reference Hospital has been described as a first class Medical Institution that will re-write the story of medical practice and access to medical facilities in Nigeria.

The hospital will radically change the face of healthcare delivery in Kogi and Nigeria, as many will now have access to excellent medical facilities and services.

The hospital is intended to end medical tourism abroad. What Nigerians travel abroad to access medically are available at the Reference Hospital, Okene. This will also help reduce capital flights abroad.
The Reference Hospital, Okene will serve as Teaching Hospital to the newly established Confluence University of Science and Technology, Osara. It will ensure that Medical Students from the school are top notch.
The state-of-the-art hospital will drastically reduce maternal mortality rate.

The hospital has its own Oxygen Plant to permanently solve the problem of inadequate oxygen in the entire North Central and some parts of South East, South South and South West.
Okene is bordered by Edo and Ondo State. Many of the states around Kogi will depend on the Oxygen Plant at the Reference Hospital, Okene.
Also, the traffic to the medical facilities in the FCT will come down drastically now that same facilities are readily available in Kogi State. People living in some West African countries will find Kogi State closer than Europe and America.
In all, the Kogi State Reference Hospital will address health needs, economic needs and also ensure national, sub-regional and regional integration.
One of the major concerns of medical activists has been how the common man will be able to afford such first class medical services. But Kogi State under governor Yahaya Bello is also planning ahead.
The State Government has launched a Health Insurance Scheme, known as BelloCare.
The State Government has initiated a Bill to establish a Health Insurance Agency.
Today, that Bill has not only been signed into Law, the Governor has ensured a fully functional Health Insurance Agency is fully in operation under the leadership of an Executive Director.
Today, thousands of Kogites and residents have been on board the Health Insurance Scheme.
Many people said that the hospital “is more than a Reference Hospital,” appreciating what Governor Yahaya Bello has done to stir a revolution in the healthcare sector.

3 Die, 1 Survives Explosion In Okene, Hours To Buhari’s Visit

Greenbarge Reporters

December 29, 2022

Three people have been confirmed dead instantly and one other person survived with burns in Okene, Kogi State some hours to the official visit of President Muhammadu Buhari to the area.
The explosion occurred at about 8.45am today, December 29, right in front of the Palace of the Ohinoyi (Paramount ruler) of Ebira land, Dr. Ado Ibrahim, around GRA.
Reports reaching us at Greenbarge Reporters online newspaper and hardcopy magazine, said that one of the dead persons and the injured one were commercial motorcyclists.
The cause of the explosion has not been established as at the time of posting this report.
President Buhari is scheduled to visit Okene, among other places in Kogi State today on the invitation of the State governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, to commission some projects which he had completed.

Late yesterday, December 28, Chairman of Okene Local Government Area, issued a statement restricting vehicular movements for the purpose of Presidential visit.
One of the numerous projects President Buhari is scheduled to commission is the multipurpose, multi billion naira Reference Hospital.

The roads that are blocked are Agasa junction, Okengwe/Obehira junction, Obangede junction at Ogaminana and Check Point at Okene.

Late Obiozor Worked To Unite Nigeria Beyond Geo-Political Consideration – Buhari

Greenbarge Reporters

December 29, 2022

President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed deep sense of loss on the death of Professor George Obiozor, the President General of Ohaneze Ndigbo, worldwide.
In a condolence message today, December 29, Buhari described his death as an immeasurable loss to the country.
He said that Professor Obiozor, who was Nigeria’s Ambassador to the United States, High Commissioner to the Republic of Cyprus, Ambassador to the State of Israel and former Director-General, Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) exemplified leadership skills and values as a thoroughbred diplomat.
Buhari acknowledged the late diplomat’s determination in actively embracing the ideas geared towards uniting Nigeria beyond geo-political considerations.
The President recalled fond memories of meeting Professor Obiozor on several occasions where he displayed endearing sense of patriotism.
The President said that the contributions of the unique leader and strong proponent of peace and a stable polity, who also held other strategic public positions, will never be forgotten.
President Buhari praised the former diplomat who he described as a statesman that commanded great respect among his peers in the academia and foreign policy arena.
Buhari extended heartfelt condolences to Obiozor’s family, the government and people of Imo State as well as Ndigbo, at home and in the Diaspora.
He prayed for the peaceful repose of the soul of the deceased.

When De Club 10 Gathered For AGM In Kogi

Greenbarge Reporters

December 27, 2022

President Leramo and new Secretary, Ochi Momohjimoh

The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the 42 Years old De Noble Club 10, Kogi Central was held yesterday, December 26 in Okene, Kogi State at the residence of the Editor-In-Chief of Greenbarge Reporters online newspaper and hardcopy magazine, Yusuf Ozi Usman, in Nagazi.

The AGM returned the executive members, headed by President Alhaji Abdulrazak Leramo, Director in the Federal Capital Territory Administration, for a second term of two years in office.

Nnamdi Kanu Calls For End To Violence In Southeast, Says Violators’re Criminals

Greenbarge Reporters

December 27, 2022

Leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has called for an end to all the violence in the Southeast.
A statement, yesterday, December 26 by spokesperson for the group, Emma Powerful, quoted Kanu as ordering the Eastern Security Network (ESN) to stop all forms of violence across the Southeast and ensure the region is safe for everybody.
He said the people of the South East must be allowed to enjoy the Christmas season in peace.
“Our leader issued a stern warning to those who are contracted and bought by the criminal believing that he is IPOB member and Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s disciple to foment trouble in the eastern region, to desist from being agents of destabilisation because they cannot succeed. He said anybody causing problems in the region must be dealt with, no matter how high the person’s level may be, anytime, any day.
“Kanu said nobody should disturb or threaten our people this festive season.
“Our enemies’ plans are to destabilise Igbo land using IPOB and ESN’s names as enemies of the Biafra struggle, but they have failed woefully and can’t resurrect again because we have defeated them completely.
“He urged IPOB leadership to ensure that our land is peaceful and ESN operatives should focus on making our land peaceful and crime-free this festive season.
“Mazi Nnamdi Kanu ordered that anybody seen or caught kidnapping, snatching people’s cars or terrorising our people in any way should be dealt with.”

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