NEWS
Ewhrudjakpo Preaches Service to Humanity at Matthew’s Service of Songs
From Mike Tayese, Yenagoa
The Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo said the best way for any individual to leave behind worthy legacies is to serve humanity well while alive.
Ewhrudjakpo stated this at a service of songs held in honour of late Pa ThankGod Ayibanua Matthew, father of Rear Admiral Daupere Matthew at the DSP Alamieyeseigha Memorial Banquet Hall in Yenagoa, on Wednesday.
The Deputy Governor on Thursday stressed the need for the living to be mindful of how they live their lives to avoid the wrath of both God and man.
He noted that what was most significant at every service of songs “is the opportunity to reflect on what we are going to be remembered for when we have gone.
”He said everything man pursues on earth outside of Christ is vanity, stressing that it is the good works people do that will earn them a place in heaven.
Ewhrudjakpo, who eulogized the late Pa ThankGod Matthew as a good man who impacted society positively in his lifetime, urged his family and the church to protect and sustain the positive legacies of their departed father and brother.
While conveying his condolences to the family, he emphasized the need for them to thank God that the octogenarian did not only live up to 83 years but actually lived a good life.
His words, “We should live a life in which our presence is felt when we’re present, and our absence is felt when we are absent. We can do this when we add value to the people around us and society generally.
“Today, we are feeling the absence of Papa because of the good life he lived.
So the takeaway is this: Let us pick up the good works of Papa, to enable us to live the same positively impactful life.”
In his exhortation titled, “The Death of the Righteous”, the Pastor in charge of Camp-Ground Group of Districts of the Deeper Life Bible Church, Pastor Adewale Akangbe, charged Christians to earnestly desire the death of the righteous to secure their place in eternity in heaven.
Taking his scriptural references from Psalm 116 verse 5, and Numbers chapter 23 verse 10, Pastor Adewale enjoined believers to avoid the error of Balaam who desired the death of the righteous, but lacked the will, courage and determination to fulfill it, and eventually perished with the ungodly.
In his tribute, the chief mourner and first son of the deceased, Rear Admiral Daupere Matthew, described his father as a man of upright bearing, disciplinarian and a devout Christian who reared his children with the fear of the Lord.
Rear Admiral Matthew recalled the encouragement and support his deceased father gave him which enabled him to succeed in both his military career and family life.
He thanked the Deputy Governor, the Air Officer Commanding Mobility Command, Yenagoa, Air Marshall T.O. Yusuf, the Commander of Operations Delta Safe, Rear Admiral J.U. Okeke, the state Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Solomon Aguanana and everyone who took time out to attend the service of songs.
The late Pa ThankGod Ayibanua Matthew, who hailed from Diebu Community in the Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of the state, passed on in May this year at the age of 83, and would be laid to rest this weekend at his hometown Diebu.
NEWS
Customs Intercept Contraband Worth N510.92m in Two Conths
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Federal Operations Unit Zone C, says it intercepted contrabands with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N510.92 million between July 15th and September 15th, 2024.The zone covers the six states in the South-South geopolitical zone and the five states in the Southeast geopolitical zone.
This is contained in a statement signed by Jerry Attah, Public Relations Officer, NCS, Zone C, and made available to journalists on Wednesday. According to the statement, Comptroller Michael Ugbagu, NCS, Zone C, gave the statistics while showcasing the seized contraband to relevant regulatory agencies at the Government Warehouse in Edo.Ugbagu said that the zone also recovered the sum of N25.57 million from demand notices raised based on some infractions noticed, making a cumulative sum of N536.49 million recorded within the months under review.“The DPV was derived from our seized goods, which include 49,699 sachets of various brands of tramadol and 3,350 bottles of various cough syrups with codeine without an NAFDAC number.“1,015 sacks of dry donkey meat and skin, 75 jumbo bales of second-hand clothing, 463 cartons of foreign spaghetti, 269 pieces of used pneumatic tires, and 56 cartons of smuggled foreign tomato paste.“More worrisome is the interception of 49,699 sachets of various brands of tramadol and 3,350 bottles of various cough syrups with codeine without NAFDAC registration numbers.”He noted that the cough syrup with codeine and tramadol without NAFDAC registration numbers, if not intercepted, could have had adverse effects on youths.He added that the items were mostly intercepted along the Ewu-Okada/Benin expressways based on credible intelligence. (NAN)NEWS
APC Forum Decries Deplorable Condition of Federal Roads
The Forum of Stakeholders of the All Progressive Congress (APC) has decried the deplorable condition of some federal roads in Nigeria. Alhaji Saleh Zazzaga, the North-Central Chairman of the forum, said this in an interaction with newsmen on Wednesday in Jos. Zazzaga described some of the federal roads as ”death traps”, particularly those within the north-central region.
He said that some of the deplorable roads in the region include Jos-Akwanga, Makurdi-Oturkpo-Otukpa, Makurdi-Ankpa, and Jos-Saminaka. Other roads that needed urgent attention, he said, included Suleja-Minna, Ejule-Otukpa, Ganawuri-Manchok, Lokoja-Abuja, Lapai-Agaie-Bida, Birnin-Gwari-Bokani-Mokwa, Minna-Zungeru-Tegina-Kontagora. ”Currently, the north-central region has the most deplorable roads and highways in the country. ”These deplorable roads have brought severe hardship on the people and lost lives and property through preventable road traffic crashes. ”We call on President Bola Tinubu to intervene and ensure the rehabilitation of these roads because good roads are vital enablers of development,” he said. The chairman also called on governors of states within the region to reconstruct the dilapidated roads and seek refunds from the federal government. ”Though these are largely federal roads, they are located within states, and the beneficiaries are the people of these states. ”So we call on state governments to reconstruct these roads and seek refunds from the federal government,” he added. (NANNEWS
Yuan Strengthens 7. 087 Against Dollar
The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, strengthened 160 pips to 7.087 against the dollar on Wednesday.This is according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System.In China’s spot foreigners exchange market, the yuan is allowed to rise or fall by two per cent from the central parity rate each trading day.
The central parity rate of the yuan against the dollar is based on a weighted average of prices offered by market makers before the opening of the interbank market each business day. (Xinhua/NAN)