NEWS
Azibaola Using Tug-Of-War Game to Preach Climate Change
From Mike Tayese, Yenagoa
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Zeetin Engineering, Barry Azibaola Robert has advocated for re-inclusion of tug-of-war back into Olympic Games.
Azibaola who organized a Tug-of- War game among his kinsmen in Ogbia local government area of Bayelsa State, as part of activities of his Mother-in-Law burial at Kolo Community, said one of the essence of the game is to Foster unity amongst the people of the local government.
Speaking with Newsmen immediately after the game said, though the game has been taken out of Olympics for whatever reasons but not out of sports and can still be harnessed back into the system.
He said, Tug-Of-War is a completely new game especially in Bayelsa, saying maybe in another five years it might become a National event and the national event can be domicile in the state.
“If we are able to bring all the Youths in the country to Bayelsa for this game, you will see the multiplier effect, the ripple effect. People will stay in a hotel, they will feed, they buy all kinds of things and the economy will improve.”
“So forgive us for some of the lapses here and there because it’s the maiden edition. Let’s look forward to a better improvement.”
Speaking further, he also organized the game to preach the message of Climate Change. Saying the local does not understand what climate change is all about except you do practical examples.
“You must use practical examples to tell them and demonstrate what you mean by climate change. Nature is pulling and human beings are also pulling, if we allow human beings to pull through, nature will die and when nature dies all of us will die. So, I want to use a little game to practicalize climate change.”
“When I spoke with the governor about it, he was very happy. If I can partner with the State Government on this kind of thing, maybe the climate change thing would be domicile in BAYELSA. Nobody has thought of this kind of thing where you will use games to attract people and get People’s attention. People don’t just gather and allow you to talk to them unless you bring something on-board.”
“The competition has been taken out of the Olympics but it has not been taken out of sports. The competition is an intent sport especially in places like Canada, all these European countries, they do the competition over and over again.”
“We are looking at the future where we will get people home and abroad, hefty men that will come and do Tug-Of-War with Kolo, Otuasega, Imiringi people. When you make that connection between the people of Africa and most of the International communities, it would no longer be about migration, refugees and others. It is about healthy competition; healthy competition is what the World is talking about climate change. Yes, we can do it as a sport that will be more interesting than the Olympics.”
By David Torough, Abuja
The founders and Senior Pastors of Dunamis International Gospel Centre (DIGC), Dr. Paul and Dr. (Mrs.) Becky Enenche, have successfully trained and empowered 100 individuals in agribusiness as part of their commitment to youth empowerment, entrepreneurship, and economic development.
Dr.
Paul Enenche made the announcement during the church’s Thanksgiving and Testimony Service on Sunday, highlighting the initiative as a strategic effort to promote self-reliance and agricultural productivity.According to the cleric, each beneficiary will be allocated at least one hectare of farmland to commence farming activities upon completion of the training programme.
He further disclosed that the beneficiaries will receive monthly stipends to support them until their agricultural produce is ready for harvest.Dr. Enenche noted that the training and empowerment programme represents a significant investment, with each participant’s training costing approximately ₦500,000.
The beneficiaries, who constitute Batch A of the Entrepreneurship Agribusiness Training Programme, graduated from the C.S.S. Farm and Skills Acquisition Centre located along the Keffi–Abuja Road. The entire programme was fully sponsored by Dr Paul,Dr (Mrs.) Becky Enenche and the church as part of their ongoing efforts to empower individuals with practical skills and sustainable means of livelihood.
The initiative reflects the church’s commitment to transforming lives through both spiritual and socio-economic empowerment.
The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, has reaffirmed the commission’s neutrality ahead of the 2027 general election, saying INEC has no candidate or political party to favour.
In a post obtained from INEC’s X handle on Sunday, Amupitan stated this during a visit to the Emir of Zazzau, Amb.
Ahmed Nuhu Bamalli, as part of the commission’s stakeholder engagement and preparations for the 2027 elections.The visit formed part of activities surrounding INEC’s planned interactive meeting with staff and readiness assessment at the zonal level.
The INEC chairman was accompanied by National Commissioners, the Acting Director-General of the Electoral Institute, his Chief Press Secretary, Chief Technical Assistant, Chief of Staff, Special Aides and other senior officials of the commission.
Amupitan described traditional institutions as important stakeholders in the electoral process because of their influence and reach within communities.
He said elections were fundamentally about the social contract between citizens and those entrusted with public office, stressing that public trust was essential to the success of democracy.
According to him, INEC has commenced preparations early because of the size and complexity of conducting elections across Nigeria.
He said the commission had moved away from last-minute preparations and was testing, auditing and strengthening its operational systems well ahead of the 2027 polls.
Amupitan assured the Emir that INEC remained committed to neutrality, fairness and transparency in the conduct of elections.
“We have no candidates, we have no political party, we have no interest other than the sovereign will of the people of Nigeria,” the INEC chairman said.
He added that the commission would continue engaging traditional institutions and other stakeholders as it intensifies preparations for the 2027 General Election.
The Nigerian Forest Security Service (NFSS), Kano State Command, has deployed personnel to Garko Local Government Area to track and contain dogs suspected to be infected with rabies.
The service said the suspected rabid dog had bitten 18 people in Garko and its environs.
The NFSS State Commander, Abdullahi Al’ameen, disclosed this in a statement signed by the Public Relations Officer of the service, Usman Abdullahi-Umar, on Sunday in Kano.
Al’ameen said: “The command received a distress report at about 2 p.m. that a dog suspected to be rabid has attacked residents in Garko town.
“The dog has so far bitten 11 persons in Garko town before moving to neighbouring communities, including Raba, Kadage, Gurjiya and Dausai.
“It has also attacked and bitten seven additional persons in the affected communities.”
The commander further explained that they had received another report that two more dogs had been infected with rabies in the area.
Al’ameen said personnel of NFSS Garko Division, under the leadership of the Divisional Forest Officer, Auwalu Muhammad, had been deployed to the affected areas to track and contain the infected dogs.
He urged residents of Garko and neighbouring communities to remain vigilant and report sightings of stray or suspected rabid dogs to the nearest NFSS office or other security agencies.
The commander also advised residents who might have been bitten by suspected rabid dogs to seek immediate medical attention.
Al’ameen assured residents that the NFSS would continue to monitor the situation and take necessary measures to prevent further attacks.(NAN)
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