Delta Government says it would invest in ranching, renewable energy for agricultural and industrial development in order to create jobs and rejuvenate the state economy.

The State Commissioner for Works (Rural Roads) and Public Information, Mr Charles Aniagwu, stated this while briefing newsmen on the outcome of the State’s machinery recent investment mission to Brazil.

Aniagwu said that the visit unlocked fresh prospects for industrial expansion in the agricultural sector as the state government explores opportunities in investing in ranching.

He said Gov. Sheriff Oborevwori’s administration has already recorded significant gains by opening up all the 25 local government areas with vital infrastructure, thereby creating access to mineral resources, industrial corridors, and potential free trade zones.

The commissioner explained that the Brazil engagement was aimed at showcasing Delta’s investment opportunities while also drawing lessons from Brazil’s agricultural model, especially in ranching.

He stressed that the establishment of ranches in the state would not only boost food production and jobs but also strengthen security by curbing the use of forests as criminal hideouts.

Aniagwu said, “We are pursuing both security and job creation by targeting ranching and other agro-industrial investments.
“Our discussions in Brazil are progressing very well, and we are optimistic about the outcomes.”

He disclosed that the state also held talks with renewable energy firms and other players in the power sector, building on earlier engagements with the Rural Electrification Agency in Abuja.

According to him, the goal is to light up the state, expand industries, and create employment opportunities that will improve living standards.
He said that government’s focus on agriculture and industry was deliberate, given the rising number of graduates from tertiary institutions across the state.

“Our goal is to create a productive economy where our graduates and young women can secure meaningful jobs beyond the limited space in the civil service,” he added.
“This is how we can guarantee both social and fiscal security for our state while raising living standards,” he said.
He reaffirmed that the Oborevwori administration remains committed to the M.O.R.E Agenda, with particular emphasis on infrastructure expansion, energy generation, agriculture, and industrial growth.

The commissioner also said that the state government was in support of the ongoing screening of civil servants, warning that it would not condone falsification of age, abuse of leave of absence, or indecent dressing in the workforce.

According to Aniagwu, many officers have manipulated their official records while some workers have abused their leave of absence.
He added that those who had abused leave of absence by staying abroad for years while still drawing salaries from Delta State’s payroll would be removed, with steps taken to recover funds illegally earned.
Aniagwu also said that the recently re-emphasized dress code for civil servants in the state was not new, adding that government required its workforce to appear decent and corporate.

A former Governor of Rivers, Mr Celestine Omehia, has called for urgent restructuring of Nigeria with a new governance model based on geopolitical or zonal provinces.

Omehia made the call in an interview with in Abuja, while speaking on his new book entitled “Restructuring Nigeria: The Way Forward”.

He said the model, which would replace the existing geopolitical zones, was the centrepiece of the book.

According to him, it would enhance administration, economic power, and recognition compared to the former regional system.

Each province, he explained, would be made up of existing states, which would collectively select a provincial headquarters.

“I mentioned in the book the issue of geopolitical arrangement, different from what we had as regional arrangement.

“That the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria should be named and recognized as provinces, not region.

“For instance, we can name the South-South geopolitical zone as South-South province A or whatever province name that will be given to it, and the states that are already existing in these provinces still remain.

“All of the states in the South-South will be the members of the province. These states will locate where their headquarters will be,’’ he said.

Omehia also proposed abolishing the House of Representatives at the national level, while each province would have “Provincial Legislative Houses”.

The Senate, he said, should be retained.

“Now, the houses of assembly of each of the states will make laws for the states, as it were. The states, members of the province, will now have a provincial legislative house.

“The provincial legislative houses will be made of the number of legislators they think will come from each of the states. It may be maybe 20 each.

“There will be an election to elect these members from these states going into the provincial centre as legislative houses.

“If the members of the House of representatives are qualified and interested in going for national recognition, they will go for the senate.

“Now, at this level, we have a senate only at the national level, and the Senators will be elected from the province, not the states, again,’’ he said.

He said the arrangement would ensure equal representation at the Senate and reduce the cost of elections and governance.

“That way, we now reduce the number of legislative representations at the centre. If it is reduced, economically, it is beneficial to the federal government and to the states.

“In fact, the election into this present national assembly is expensive and would be reduced if we take them from provinces,’’ he said.

Omehia said his book also emphasised constitutional amendments to guarantee separation of powers and the independence of the three arms of government.

He recalled the removal of former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Walter Onnoghen, by a former president as an example of executive interference in the judiciary.

He said such interference would not have been possible if the constitution had provided for equal and independent powers among the arms of government.

“In the book, I suggested that the judiciary should be 100 per cent responsible for the appointment and recognition of the CJN, not by the executive, and not by the legislature.

“They don’t have anything to do with them because they are separate and independent of each other.

“If NJC is empowered to operate on their own, they will be able to nominate or come up with a formula of nominating who becomes their head,’’ he said.

Omehia added that the judiciary, as a separate arm of government, should be able to produce and swear in its own head through a constitutional process.

Mrs Rhoda Dia-Johnson, Project Manager, School Anti-Trafficking Education and Advocacy Project (STEAP), said STEAP is working in five states to prevent further human trafficking in the states.

Dia-Johnson told Newsmen on Monday in Benin that the project was funded by the Netherlands Government and implemented by the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD).

The project manager said they were working in collaboration with the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) to prevent human trafficking among school-aged children.

She stated that ICMPD was working collaboratively in Ogun, Benue, Delta, Enugu and Edo states.

Dia-Johnson pointed out that school-based intervention targets the whole school community and added that students, parents, teachers and the host communities were all included.

The project manager disclosed that ICMPD through STEAP was intervening in 250 selected schools across the five pilot states, adding that 50 schools were selected in each state.

She explained that the benefiting schools were selected from public, private and faith-based schools.

Dia-Johnson further said that to achieve the set goals, the project has started inaugurating School Anti-Trafficking Vanguards for peer-to-peer education on the prevention of human trafficking.

She said STEAP was an integrated approach to human trafficking prevention, working with all relevant stakeholders in the education sector to prevent trafficking among the school-age children.

“This awareness is targeting everyone. We believe the parents can also discuss trafficking issues in their meetings, where they talk about the warning signs, how to identify victims, and where to report suspected cases, among other things.

“These are the information we are giving parents, and we are also working with some civil society organisations to provide communities awareness activities in all the 250 schools,” she said.

Dia-Johnson said ICMPD believes that it was cheaper to prevent human trafficking than to combat and rehabilitate the survivors.

The project manager emphasised they were currently carrying out research on emerging trends in human trafficking to identify their new methods of operation.

“The security challenges in Benue and Enugu states have affected our work progress. Like in Benue, some of the schools we selected early last year for the project are having security issues.

“So we have to change some of these schools and also strategise again with our interventions.

“We are doing one in IDP camps, trying to create awareness because from the report we are receiving, there are a lot of trafficking activities happening in the camps because they are already vulnerable.

“Some of them have a lot of children living with them in the camps. People keep coming to collect the kids, pretending to be relieving them, while in the real sense they are trafficking them,” she said.