From Francis Sadhere, Delta

Delta State Governor, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, has expressed condolences to the Catholic Diocese of Warri and the Christian community over the death of Very Rev. Fr.

Anthony Mario Ozele, Episcopal Vicar of Ughelli Pastoral Region and Parish Priest of Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church, Ughelli.

Fr.

Ozele, aged 60, reportedly died in the early hours of Tuesday, September 15, 2026, following an illness.

In a condolence message contained in a statement issued in Asaba on Wednesday by his Chief Press Secretary, Sir Festus Ahon, Governor Oborevwori described the death of the priest as a painful loss to the Catholic Church, his parishioners and the people of Delta State.

The Governor said Fr. Ozele devoted his life to the service of God and humanity, noting that his contributions to the spiritual and social wellbeing of the people would be remembered.

Oborevwori commiserated with the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Warri, Most Rev. Anthony Ovayero Ewherido, priests, religious leaders and members of the Catholic community over the loss.

He urged the bereaved Catholic faithful to draw strength and comfort from the life of dedicated service lived by the deceased priest.

The Governor also extended his condolences to the immediate family of Fr. Ozele, praying to God to grant them the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.

He prayed for the peaceful repose of the soul of the late priest and comfort for all those affected by his death.

From Sylvia Udegbunam, Enugu

The Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Charles Soludo, has charged public relations practitioners to champion strategic communication as a tool for rebuilding public trust, accountability and excellence in governance.

The Commissioner for Information and Value Reformation, Dr.

Law Mefor, gave the charge on behalf of the governor on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, at the One-Day Hybrid Professional Training organised by the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Anambra State Chapter, with the theme, “Re-inventing Public Trust, Accountability, Professionalism and Excellence in Anambra State: Harnessing Public Relations Best Practices in Government, Corporate and Public Service.”

He emphasised the power of branding and reputation management in politics and governance, noting that in public perception, perception is more potent than reality.

“The resource person talked about branding. In political communication, those of us in politics know that the individual politician is a brand either a good one or a bad one. If you see yourself as a brand, you need to manage it,” he said.

“In social and learning psychology, reality and perception are miles apart, and perception happens to be more important than reality. Who you are, no matter how noble, if the perception out there is that you are a bad person, then you are a bad person. You need to manage your reputation,” he stated.

Mefor observed that some politicians with poor track records thrive because of excellent reputation management, stressing that governance must go beyond information dissemination to strategic communication that drives attitude change and behaviour modification.

“It is not enough to inform, to dump information. You need to communicate strategically so that people begin to ask themselves questions about their governance,” he said.

Citing Anambra’s environmental crisis as an example of attitudinal failure, the commissioner said flooding and erosion were largely man-made, caused by channelling of storm water from homes onto roads and total concreting of compounds without catchment pits or green areas.

He disclosed that his ministry began a joint engagement campaign with the Ministry of Environment on Tuesday, to sensitise citizens on sustainable environmental practices, noting that Governor Soludo deliberately rebranded the Ministry of Information to Ministry of Information and Value Reformation to drive value reorientation and rebranding of the state.

“We need to recreate Anambra, the Paradise for which Anambra was known before, which we lost. Where did we lose our way? How do we retrace our steps so we will not continue to progress in error?” He queried, and appealed to NIPR to join the Soludo administration’s coalition of the willing to rebuild the reputation of old Anambra, describing it as a practical, not theoretical, task.

By Tony Obiechina, Abuja 

The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has extended the deadline for the mandatory online verification and enrolment exercise for eligible federal civil servants to December 31, 2026.

PenCom spoke in a statement on Tuesday that the exercise, which began in February, was initially scheduled to end on July 31.

The commission said the extension followed requests from ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) for additional time to enable eligible employees to complete the online enrolment process.

As at July 2026, PenCom said MDAs had uploaded 62,320 records of active employees and retirees, but only 31,099 employees had successfully completed the enrolment.

The commission said the figures fall short of the estimated 150,000 active federal government employees entitled to accrued pension rights.

“PenCom calls on all eligible employees and Treasury-funded MDAs to take full advantage of the extension and complete the enrolment exercise before the new deadline,” PenCom.

The commission urged eligible employees and treasury-funded MDAs not to delay completion of the exercise before the new deadline.

PenCom said the exercise is aimed at determining the accrued pension rights of eligible employees and establishing the federal government’s outstanding pension liabilities.

“This is essential for determining the Federal Government’s outstanding pension liabilities and making adequate budgetary provisions for their settlement,” the statement reads.

The exercise is being conducted digitally through PenCom’s contributions and bond redemption application (COBRA), which facilitates data capture, validation and processing.

MDAs are required to upload details of eligible employees on the platform, after which the employees are expected to visit their respective pension fund administrators (PFAs) with the required documents to complete enrolment.

Pension desk officers (PDOs), trained by PenCom, are responsible for coordinating the exercise within their organisations and guiding employees through the process.

PenCom said early completion would facilitate the determination of accrued pension rights and enable the necessary funding to be secured from the federal government.

“Amounts would be credited to employees’ Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs) well ahead of retirement — earning investment returns and boosting retirement benefits,” the statement said.

The head of the civil service of the federation, in a circular dated April 27, 2026, directed treasury-funded MDAs to support the exercise and ensure eligible employees complete the one-time enrolment.

PenCom said the exercise addresses pension liabilities inherited from the defined benefit scheme (DBS), which existed before the introduction of the contributory pension scheme (CPS) in 2004.

“Under Section 15(1) of the Pension Reform Act 2014 (PRA 2014), employees who transitioned to the CPS are entitled to accrued pension rights – benefits earned under the DBS,” PenCom said.

The rights comprise pension and gratuity benefits earned from an employee’s date of first appointment up to June 30, 2004.

PenCom said all active employees of federal government treasury-funded MDAs who were in service as of June 30, 2004, are covered by the accrued pension rights provisions.

The commission said the determination of the rights is based on an actuarial valuation process.

PenCom said it would continue to collaborate with MDAs, PFAs and other stakeholders to improve awareness, facilitate participation and ensure eligible employees are properly captured.