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NDDC Chairman harps on collaboration, Renewed Hope Agenda

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• Chairman, NDDC Governing Board, Chiedu Ebie; Managing Director/CEO, Chief Samuel Ogbuku, Ph.D; Executive Director, Finance and Administration, Alabo Hon. Boma Iyaye; Executive Director, Projects, Sir Victor Etim Antai; and Executive Director, Corporate Services, Hon. Ifedayo Abegunde
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…As Minister inaugurates Board

The Chairman of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Mr. Chinedu Ebie, has stressed the need for collaboration with all stakeholders in driving the Renewed Hope Agenda of the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for Nigeria and the Niger Delta region in particular.

Speaking during the inauguration of the NDDC Board at the Conference Room of the Ministry of Niger Delta Development, Mr. Ebie said that the Commission would achieve more when there is collaboration and harmony in the development process.

He stated: “To maintain focus on our development efforts, the Board will honor and collaborate with critical stakeholders in the region. We will execute legacy projects based on detailed needs assessment. Furthermore, we will seek strategic collaborations and partnerships with opinion leaders, community leaders, professionals and development partners to leverage constructive and attainable outlooks.

“Effective communication with key stakeholders is paramount in the discharge of our duties as this will foster trust, restore transparency and promote accountability; all of which are of great importance to the people of the region and Nigeria in general.”

“The Board will stand on the pedestal of Mr. President’s Renewed Hope mantra. We will look back at the vision and history of NDDC’s 23-year existential journey, aligning it with current realities and the objectives of the current administration. This approach will illuminate the yearning needs of the people of the Niger Delta, identify the commission’s challenges, and proffer workable solutions.

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“We acknowledge the genuine endeavors of our predecessors, who, at various times worked towards the development of the Niger Delta region through infrastructure projects and human capital development. Nonetheless, evident gaps still persist, as brought to light during our confirmation hearing at the National Assembly, especially concerning legacy and signature projects. This emphasizes the imperative for additional efforts and reforms centered around the needs of the people.”

In tandem with the Presidency, National Assembly and Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, we will take coordinated steps to come up with plans that will systematically guide our actions and efforts in actualizing our mandate.

“We earnestly seek the support and goodwill of stakeholders and people of the Niger Delta Region to enable us usher in a new era of vitality, hope, peace and sustainable development for the region.

Speaking while inaugurating the Board, the Minister of Niger Delta Development, Engr. Abubakar Momoh warned the new Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission to either perform or get the boot.

This, is as Abubakar also challenged the newly inaugurated board on the need to change the narratives around the commission.

He explained that the current administration has a template to measure performance and any board that fails to measure up will be shown the way out.

He said: “And it is also necessary for you to know that this administration is quite different from others because there is going to be a lot of supervision and monitoring in order for us to deliver.

“Mr. President as you are aware, two weeks ago, myself as a minister and the Permanent Secretary signed performance bond, with Mr. President and the performance bond that we signed with Mr. President, have deliverables that are associated with the eight presidential priorities.

He also said the members of the board would be made to sign performance bond just like the ministers.

This, he however said will be done during a proposed retreat for NDDC board members and management team.

“So it’s very, very important because the President is not joking with this, and from time to time, we are expected to present our reports and there is also a committee that will be set up by Mr. president to monitor the performance of each ministry and the agencies.

“So I think I want this one to be behind your mind so that as you start your work, you know exactly what is expected from you.”

On the need to change the negative perspective about the Commission, Momoh said, ” We are all aware that over time, there have been a lot of complaints about NDDC.

“I want to also use this opportunity to appeal that this time around, we need to change the narratives.

“All those negative statements around the commission let us as much as possible, this time to say well under the presidency of Mr. President, Senator Bola Tinubu and my leadership in the ministry and yourself operating at that level, that all those negative statements about NDDC are changed.

“And what am I saying, there are quite a number of abandoned projects in NDDC, there are quite a number of indebtedness in NDDC.

He further posited that members of the board should take it as a responsibility to develop the region.

“Because you are all from Niger Delta, and the progress of that area is supposed to be your utmost concern,” Momoh said.

Momoh also challenged the board on the need to complete abandoned projects scattered across the nine states that makes up the commission.

He said: “So, I believe by the time you resume work, first of all check around and see such projects and get them completed.”

He also urged the board to look inward, saying that “By the time you start project execution, let us focus on those projects that will give us name.

He also appealed to the new management to offset the debt of the commission to its contractors, especially the local contractors with “very small amount, not more than N30 million”.

“So that’s why we say you need to be advised from the beginning on the need to work in harmony both members of the board and management, you need to work in harmony and make sure that you deliver and let it be record in your name that in your time NDDC was transformed,” he stressed.

He said: “Let me also advise you, you are going to work as a team. Needless to tell you that you need to work in harmony. You must work in harmony. Every person should understand his/her role.”

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Enugu Air Launches New Website

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…moves online services to www.enuguairlines.ng

Enugu Air has announced the launch of its new official website, enuguairlines.ng, as part of efforts to provide passengers and customers with a better, safer and more convenient digital experience.

The airline said the migration to the new website is designed to improve how passengers connect with Enugu Air and access its services online, including flight bookings, schedules and the latest updates.

Announcing the development, the airline said: “We’ve moved! We’re innovating! We’ve migrated to a better, safer and convenient website to connect you to the world.”

Passengers can now access Enugu Air’s online services through its new web address, enuguairlines.ng, which the airline described as its new digital home.

The airline urged passengers and prospective travellers to save the new web address and use it for flight bookings, checking schedules and obtaining the latest information about its operations.

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“Same Enugu Air. New web address,” the airline stated, emphasising that the change represents an improvement in its digital platform while retaining the Enugu Air brand and services.

The airline further encouraged customers to visit, www.enuguairlines.ng for all flight-related information and online services.

It further stated that the old website, enuguairlines•com has been discarded and no longer in use.

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Kidnapped female Police officer found dead in Ebonyi

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A kidnapped female police officer has been found dead in Ebonyi State after a suspected member of a kidnapping syndicate was arrested and led police operatives to the scene where her remains were recovered.

The Nigeria Police Force disclosed this in its state-by-state operational update issued by Force Public Relations Officer
Force Headquarters, Ani Iniedu on Monday, detailing several arrests, rescues and recoveries recorded across the country between September 19 and 20, 2026.

According to the police, the suspect was arrested following a sustained intelligence-led and technology-based investigation into the kidnapping of the female officer.

The suspect reportedly led combined police teams to the crime scene, where the remains of the officer were recovered.

The police said the case is being investigated by the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) in Abakaliki.

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In a separate operation in Adamawa State, police operatives rescued two kidnapped victims from a suspected kidnappers’ hideout in Shako Forest, Toungo Local Government Area.

The operation, carried out on September 20 following actionable intelligence, also led to the recovery of two magazines containing 10 rounds of 7.62×39mm live ammunition.

A National Identification Number (NIN) card, mobile phone, passport and chain were also recovered from the suspected hideout.

In the Federal Capital Territory, police arrested 334 suspects during coordinated raids on criminal hotspots, black spots and uncompleted buildings across several locations.

The operation, conducted on September 19, also resulted in the recovery of various quantities of substances suspected to be illicit drugs.

Meanwhile, police in Anambra State arrested a suspected child trafficker who was allegedly intercepted while travelling with a six-month-old baby boy.

The baby was recovered and handed over to the appropriate authorities for necessary action, according to the police.

In Kaduna State, four suspected members of a kidnapping syndicate were arrested following intelligence-led operations.

Police said the suspects confessed to their alleged involvement in kidnapping and provided information about fleeing accomplices. A locally made Dane gun was recovered.

Another suspected kidnapping syndicate member was arrested at Soba Market in the state. Police said the suspect also confessed and gave information implicating five fleeing accomplices.

In Ogun State, police arrested a suspect linked to a fatal shooting incident in Isara, Remo North Local Government Area.

One single-barrel gun, one live cartridge and one expended shell were recovered during the operation.

In Imo State, a suspect was arrested during a raid on a suspected criminal gathering at Nekede, Owerri West Local Government Area, with police recovering a locally made cut-to-size single-barrel gun.

Police in Ekiti State also arrested two suspects linked to multiple shop-breaking and stealing incidents in Ado-Ekiti and recovered suspected stolen iron rods.

In another operation in Ado-Ekiti, police recovered an abandoned white sack containing a pump-action gun loaded with two live cartridges and a locally made single-barrel gun from a farmland.

In Benue State, police tactical teams, supported by personnel of the Police Mobile Force and military, intervened in a renewed communal conflict at Akpa-Mbakor Community in Tarka Local Government Area.

The security teams dispersed the rampaging youths and restored normalcy in the area, according to the police.

In Oyo State, police arrested a truck driver allegedly involved in a fatal road traffic incident along the Ijebu-Ode/Idi Ayunre Road.

The truck was impounded for further inspection and investigation.

The police said all the cases remain under investigation by the respective State Criminal Investigation Departments.

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UK excludes Nigerian, Ghanaian-trained teachers from teaching qualification list

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Teachers trained in Nigeria and Ghana are no longer eligible to apply for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) in England under the United Kingdom’s overseas-trained teacher application route.

The change took effect on September 9 and means teachers trained in the two West African countries can no longer use the route to obtain QTS, a status recognised by many schools in England.

The UK Department for Education said countries included in the scheme must meet specific requirements to ensure that applicants’ qualifications, professional standing and teaching experience can be properly verified. One of the requirements is that a country must have a national regulator capable of confirming a teacher’s professional status and providing authenticated references.

According to the department, Nigeria and Ghana did not meet the reference-verification requirement.

“Our data shows that more than 70% of applications from teachers in Ghana and Nigeria include work history references that use public email addresses, such as Gmail or Hotmail, rather than a school’s official email domain. This means assessors spend additional time and resources trying to verify information provided in applications,” the department said.

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The UK department said about 90 percent of applications are assessed within 12 months.

India was also removed from the eligible list because it does not have a national regulator capable of confirming teachers’ professional standing.

South Africa is now the only African country remaining on the list of countries whose teachers can use the QTS application route.

The department said the verification process was necessary to ensure that information provided by applicants was genuine and that teachers awarded QTS possessed the required skills and experience to teach in England.

To apply for QTS, overseas-trained teachers must have a valid passport, an undergraduate degree equivalent to a UK bachelor’s degree and professional recognition as a teacher in the country where they trained.

Applicants must also have completed any mandatory induction requirements needed for full teacher registration in their country of qualification.

They are required to demonstrate that they are qualified to teach children aged between five and 16 and have at least nine months of teaching experience gained after qualifying as a teacher.

Applicants must also provide employment references that verify their work history and use an email address linked to the school’s official domain.

Depending on the country where a teacher trained, additional requirements may include qualifications to teach pupils aged between 11 and 16 and a specialism in subjects such as mathematics, science, biology, chemistry, physics, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Mandarin, Russian or Spanish.

However, because teachers in England are employed by individual schools rather than the Department for Education, schools may consider alternative routes into teaching.

The department said teachers who are no longer eligible to use the QTS application service can explore other routes into teaching in England.

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