By David Owei

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Bayelsa State, has described the lavish celebration of the State’s 30th anniversary amid prevailing hunger, poverty and unemployment as a shameful display of insensitivity to the plight of ordinary Bayelsans.

In a statenent by PDP State Publicity Secretary, Hon. Ikaebimo Mark,”While the government rolls out elaborate anniversary festivities, many citizens continue to grapple with severe economic hardship and limited opportunities.

“The Bayelsa Tower Hotel, which has hung over the heart of Yenagoa for 22 years despite the enormous public resources committed to it, has become a monument of disgrace and ridicule to our dear state. The continued neglect of this and several other abandoned projects under the present administration, while huge sums of the state’s commonwealth are expended on lavish celebrations, is a disturbing indication of misplaced priorities and reckless disregard for the prevailing economic hardship confronting Bayelsans.

At 30, Bayelsa deserves more than pomp and pageantry; it deserves accountability, completed projects, jobs, economic opportunities and a government that prioritises the welfare of its people.

“The PDP therefore urges the government to reflect on the real condition of Bayelsans and redirect public resources and attention from extravagant celebrations towards addressing the pressing needs of the people.”

By David Owsx̌

The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Niger Delta Basin Development Authority (NDBDA), Prince Ebitimi Amgbare, has officially launched the NDBDA Waterways Sanitation Corps (NDBDA-WSC) in Bayelsa State as part of activities marking World Rivers Day 2026.

The launch, held at the NDBDA Area Office, Yenagoa, featured a river clean-up exercise at Oxbow Lake, Swali. The global observance, marked in over 100 countries, was celebrated this year under the theme “No Forests, No Rivers, No Water, No Life.”

In his keynote address, Prince Amgbare said the theme resonates deeply with the Niger Delta, describing the people of the region as a people defined by water.

“From the confluence of the Niger and Benue at Lokoja to the creeks of Bayelsa, our rivers are not just waterways; they are our highways, our markets, our farms, our identity. World Rivers Day reminds us that if our rivers die, we die,” he said.

The MD stressed that the Blue Economy does not begin at the Atlantic Ocean, but in the forest, noting that the Niger Delta’s rivers and creeks sustain over 30 million people, including fisherfolk in Brass, Nembe, Sagbama, Southern Ijaw, Ekeremor, Kolokuma/Opokuma, Ogbia and Yenagoa.

He observed that the region’s mangroves, the largest in Africa, filter water, store blue carbon and nurture fisheries, but are now under siege from plastic pollution, crude oil spills, open defecation, illegal dumping, deforestation and water hyacinth invasion.

“The link is simple: No Forests, No Mangroves; No Mangroves, No Rivers; No Rivers, No Fish; No Fish, No Life. If we fail our rivers, we fail our ocean. If we fail our ocean, we fail our economy.”

Aligning the initiative with the IMO World Maritime Day theme for 2026-2027, “From Policy to Practice: Powering Maritime Excellence,” the MD said the NDBDA is moving from policy documents to people on the water.

He announced the launch of the Bayelsa State Chapter of the Waterways Sanitation Corps as a community-based, youth-driven and women-inclusive volunteer initiative established under the Authority’s mandate to manage and develop the water resources of the Niger Delta Basin.

Its vision is to make the Niger Delta waterways the cleanest, safest and most productive in Africa.

At the event, about 100 pioneer Corps members drawn from riverine communities across Bayelsa were inaugurated to serve as eco-guards and River Guardians.

Their mandate includes: Removal of floating plastics, water hyacinth and debris from priority waterways; Enforcement of zero dumping, ending open defecation on waterways, and sensitizing waterfront markets; Planting of mangrove seedlings and bamboo along degraded riverbanks; Serving as River Stewards by collecting data on pollution hotspots, water quality and flood risks; Linking waste to wealth through recycling and conversion of organic waste to compost and fish feed.

Quoting IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez, the MD noted: “When we talk about practice, we are talking about people. This Corps is not just about cleaning waterways; it is about powering people.”

Prince Amgbare called on State Governments to adopt Community River Stewardship bye-laws, on Royal Fathers to declare a monthly “No Dumping on Our River Day,” on private sector operators, particularly oil, gas and shipping companies, to support the Corps through CSR, and on youths to take ownership of their rivers.

“From the creeks of Bayelsa to the beaches of Zanzibar, from Limbe to the Diaspora, the message is one: Everyone can be a river steward,” he said.

In his closing remarks, the Director of Hydrology and Head of Department, Mr. Peace Ebbah, underscored the importance of river clean-up exercises and highlighted the dangers of uncoordinated human activities on marine resources and livelihoods. He assured that the Authority is taking proactive steps to mitigate climate change impacts through reorientation and policy responses.

Speaking with newsmen shortly after the event, the Special Assistant to the MD on Blue Economy and Convener of the Africa Blue Economy Roundtable (ABER), Dr. Piriye Kiyaramo, called on corporate bodies and well-meaning individuals in the Niger Delta to support the newly inaugurated Corps.

Members of the Association of Coastal and Waterways Communities of Nigeria (ACWCN), Bayelsa State Chapter, led by State Chairman, Snr. Comr. Odede Dinikpete Tina, alongside over 50 members, were formally inaugurated into the Corps.

Thanking the MD for the inclusion, she described the inauguration as a milestone in ACWCN’s commitment to protecting waterways and safeguarding coastal communities.

“This inauguration is not just an honour; it is a call to greater responsibility and service to our people and our environment.

By Paul Ezenwa

For years, kidnapping, cult killings and organised crime cast a long shadow over Edo State, keeping families indoors and investors away.

Today, that narrative is shifting as Governor Monday Okpebholo pushes a tougher, coordinated security drive built on joint operations, intelligence and swift justice.

The latest proof came on Tuesday, September 29, when the Edo State Special Criminal Court sentenced four men to death for the June 14 kidnapping of a woman at a vegetable market on Airport Road, Benin City.

Justice Aigbona Terry Momodu convicted Marvellous Isaac, Wisdom Michael, Rufus Emete Michael and Gift Raphael on kidnapping, conspiracy, armed robbery, cultism and illegal possession of firearms after seven prosecution witnesses and documentary evidence.

The judgment showed Edo moving beyond arrests to conviction, a gap that once emboldened criminals to operate with impunity.

That shift was deliberate, as Governor Okpebholo created a Special Criminal Court specifically to fast-track kidnapping and cultism cases and shorten arrest-to-judgment time.

The judicial push is backed by operational pressure, with police, other security agencies and community structures carrying out weekly bush-combing to deny kidnappers forest safe havens.

In August alone, Edo Police arrested 13 suspected kidnappers, rescued nine victims and made other arrests linked to cultism and violent crime.

In September, a distress call triggered a coordinated operation in Illeh forest, Esan West, where three victims were rescued and three suspects arrested, underscoring an intelligence-led approach.

For Okpebholo, security is not an end in itself but the foundation for roads, agriculture, power and investment, linking safety directly to livelihoods.

That link is already paying off, with Skyewise Group’s N9 billion Benin City investment, a proposed 100MW Ologbo power project and a $100 million Presco expansion citing improved governance and security, as Deputy Governor Dennis Idahosa said reforms are creating safer ground for business and farming.

The fight is not over and criminal networks remain active, but Edo is clearly moving from fear to confidence, where families move freely and investors can plan long-term.