•As Prof Odu pays tribute to fallen heroes

By Our Correspondent
‎Rivers State governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has urged the good people of Rivers State to remain calm amid the ongoing impeachment process initiated by the State House of Assembly, and trust in God as his administration works to sustain the peace and progress.
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‎Governor Fubara made the call during a special Inter-Denominational Church Service held in commemoration of the 2026 Armed Forces Celebration and Remembrance Day at St. Cyprian’s Anglican Church, Port Harcourt.
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He emphasized that his quietness and calm are solidly from his source, God, who gives him confidence and strength, and indicated that there is no need for panic or agitation when one is anchored on divine authority.
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‎”I know what I have. I know that I have what is supreme and that is God. So I want everyone to be relaxed. What is important is peace for this dear State, and we will get it by the special name of God,” he said.
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‎The Governor assured the people that the central objective of his administration remains the entrenchment of lasting peace across Rivers State, adding that the government is committed to achieving this through faith and responsible leadership.
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‎Siminalayi,Deputy Governor Prof. Ngozi Odu drew attention to the message of the sermon and reminded the congregation that every individual is ultimately judged by the impact they make while alive.
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‎She paid tribute to fallen heroes and heroines, as well as veterans present at the service, describing their sacrifices as invaluable to the nation.
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‎”But I want to solemnly say to all of us that as we have come today to pray for legionnaires, for their wives of the fallen heroes, the husbands of the fallen heroines, please continue to uphold the government of Sir Siminalayi Fubara and my humble self in prayers. Prayers have sustained us so far and we believe that prayers will continue to sustain us in the mighty name of Jesus.”
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‎The sermon, delivered by the Most Reverend Blessing Enyindah, Archbishop of the Niger Delta Province and Bishop of the Ikwerre Diocese, with the theme “Only Remembered by What We Have Done, ” and anchored on Judges 5:1–10.
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‎The Archbishop commended Governor Fubara for his consistent support for the Armed Forces and urged leaders and citizens alike to use their lives to build a legacy of peace, love and service to God and humanity.
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‎He further admonished that those who live a just life, use their position and resources to help others and, be a blessing to the house of God shall be blessed.
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‎”When we serve God with out hearts and light, we shall be remembered. what shall you be remembered for? “, he asked.
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‎The service also had intercessory prayers for the Armed Forces of Nigeria, veterans, and families of fallen heroes, as well as prayers for divine wisdom and guidance for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Governor Siminalayi Fubara, the Rivers State Executive Council, and the nation at large.

By Ignatius Okorocha
It was jubilation galore for parishioners of Christ The king Catholic Church(CKC)Kurudu, as they joined their Catholic Women Organization(CWO) to celebrate the purchase of a brand new Bus.

CKC kurudu CWO brand new Bus

Speaking in an interview with Publisher and Editor-in Chief,Daily Echoes Media, Mr Ignatius Okorocha, President of CWO in CKC kurudu, Mrs Christiana Ijeoma Okwuduba said the purchase of the bus which has been a long time project of the organization was realized by her administration through absolute faith, trust and the infinite mercy of God, the intercession of our Mother Mary and the determination of her Executive to actualize this dream.

According to Mrs Okwuduba,” As we unveiled our Bus today, actually the purchase of this bus is long overdue. My predecessor, the immediate past CWO President kick-started the launching of this Bus in the year 2022 precisely in March that year and after the launching, we had our election in May 2022 and I emerged as the President of our organization.

” I was handed over in June 2022 and at the time of handing over, I was handed over N3million for the purchase of the bus and because St Matthias Azata was with us as a station in CKC kurudu Parish as at the time when we had the launching,we had an agreement that they would be given 10 percent of whatever we had and 10 percent of N3million is N300,000 and we were left with N2.7million. You know as well as I do what 2.7million could buy as at that time.

“So, it looked like we started all over again to mobilize funds for the purchase of the bus but then, this is a project that the CWO of my Parish had embarked upon and we know, that this is a project that will be good for the whole church and we continued to struggle for its realization.

Continuing she said,”We were not given an opportunity to do anything but at the end of each Mothers Day celebration such as the Mothers Day of 2023, we realised about N1million and we added the one million naira to N2.7million already in our savings and it became N3.7million.

“ln 2024 came another Mothers Day celebration, we realised about N1.5million and we added it to the outstanding N3.7million and it rose to about N5.2million if I am not mistaken.

“You know as well as I do, how far N5.2million can go in purchasing a bus. And this year( 2025 )I went to our amiable Parish Priest that God sent to help us bring this project to actualization and told him, “Fr we need a bus” and he asked me how much do you have? I said N5.2million and he started laughing and said N5.2million, what kind of bus do you think that that amount can buy and I said Fr I don’t know, but what I want you to do for us is,…I want you to do one thing for us and he said what? And I said CWO wants to celebrate this year’s Mothers Day in grand style and it is our expectations that from the celebration we will be able to realize enough money to purchase this bus.
He now said, “you have just N5.2million and to buy a bus now you should be looking at N20m,N23m,N25m, N30m and even 40million. So, how much do you intend to realize from this Mothers Day that will aid you to buy a bus. I said Fr, all we need is, give us the windows to do so and then God will help us and he said, Madam CWO whatever you want to do, I am fully in support.

“With this assurance by our Parish Priest, we started planning in January or February precisely and we started planning.We came up with the plan that we will give awards to us and even outsiders that have supported us in the past in one way or the other in which way will enable us realize our aim.

“Well, with this I and my colleagues sent out invitations to our friends,families, those within and outside Nigeria soliciting for help and to the glory of God, we were able to realize over N10million during the Mothers Day of 2025.”

Continuing she said,”And when we noticed that we had realized that much, we were happy and now went back to our Parish Priest and told him our success story and he said where do you go from here.

“He congratulated us and said, okay and we then rallied round and got close to our target and that is where we are today. That is how we were able to purchase a bus for our Parish CWO. Now we are happy, I am exceedingly happy and I know that the whole women of CKC kurudu are happy and the entire parishioners of Kurudu are happy.

“We got more than what most of our members were expecting us to generate for the purchase of the bus, but to the glory of the lord he made it possible. We give all glory and praise to the Almighty God, we also give all the honour to our blessed Mother Mary who has been interceding for us. We thank all those that have contributed in one way or the other to see to the actualization of this project.
We thank in a especial way our amiable Parish Priest, Very Rev Fr Thaddeus Chike Dim and pray God to bless him exceedingly.

“We are proud to declare to the glory of the lord that the value of the bus is about N23million.”

Asking to know the members contributions towards the realization of the bus. She said, “prior to the purchase of the bus, we were levying new members the sum of N2,500 bus levy while the old members have been contributing in no small measures from 2022 till the time I came on board and we resolved that every new member that joins us will pay N2,500 bus levy.

Contiuning she noted that before the purchase of the bus ” we have had rough experiences with hiring of buses on special trips such as Archdiocese special events which have not only cost us fortunes ranging from breakdown of vehicles on the way and other misfortunes but with the purchase of our Parish CWO Bus, our past experiences will be a thing of the past and this bus will attract more new members to our organization.”

By Abdul-Ganiyy Akanbi

A faith-based registered civil society organisation, CSO advocating transparency and effective policies in the Hajj and Umrah sector, the Independent Hajj Reporters, IHR, has called on the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, NAHCON and the State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Boards, SMPWBs to adopt an examination-based and merit-driven process for the appointment of Hajj officials.

In a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Ibrahim Muhammad and released on Tuesday, ,the organisation said the absence of a proper screening and assessment process for selecting Hajj officials at both national and state levels has negatively affected the quality of services rendered to Nigerian pilgrims in Saudi Arabia.

IHR urged state pilgrim boards to resist political pressure and ensure that only tested, trained and competent individuals are selected as Hajj assistants, rather than “transporting political foot soldiers who often create more problems than they solve during the pilgrimage.”

The organisation lamented that some appointed officials, who reportedly enjoyed the same services as pilgrims who paid as much as N8.5 million for the 2025 Hajj, still protested over what they described as inadequate Basic Travelling Allowance, BTA while in Saudi Arabia.

Such conduct, it noted underscores the need for stricter selection measures in this years Hajj.

It warned that the embarrassment witnessed during the 2025 Hajj must not be repeated, noting that Nigeria is among over 162 countries participating in the pilgrimage and that such incidents undermine the country’s image.

Citing global best practices, IHR noted that Pakistan’s Ministry of Religious Affairs conducts competitive examinations through the National Testing Service, NTS, including written tests, interviews and physical assessments, to ensure merit-based selection of Hajj officials.

Similarly, it added that Bangladesh adopts a competency-based selection and training system, with clear criteria, quotas and schedules published annually to guide the process.

The group, therefore, urged NAHCON to introduce a formal screening process through examinations and to require successful candidates to sign undertakings clearly stating their duration of assignment, scope of duties, entitlements and other conditions necessary to support Nigerian pilgrims effectively while in Saudi Arabia.