President Bola Tinubu has bagged the Lifetime African Achievement award from the Millennium Excellence Foundation based in Ghana.Tinubu while receiving the award commended patron of the Foundation, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, Asantehene, for the invitation extended to him and the success of the event put together by the Foundation.

The president represented by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Amb. Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, received the award as special guest of honour during the 25th anniversary of the Millennium Excellence Prize, in Kumasi, Ghana. Tinubu said, “I salute the visionaries who have nurtured this institution for a quarter of a century and also celebrate the values of honour, integrity, service, and excellence that underpin its work.“Specifically, the organisers for identifying and celebrating Africa’s shining lights, individuals whose lives and work had lifted the continent and inspired generations.“It is no small achievement to have honoured such illustrious figures as the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Prof. Wole Soyinka, President Cyril Ramaphosa and Dr Mo Ibrahim, among others.”He charged the young generation of Africans to rise with courage towards contributing their quota in making the African continent a more united, peaceful and prosperous one.He emphasised the need for such contribution to be carried out in the area of science, technology, education, governance, entrepreneurship and arts.He further called on Africans to always work closely together in shaping their shared destiny, while urging the event organisers to continue to inspire excellence, uphold values of leadership with service and invest in the youth to foster collaboration across borders.“The award ceremony had from inception in 1988 remained a beacon of inspiration and recognition across the continent.“It’s mission of identifying, celebrating and supporting those who had distinguished themselves in the pursuit of African development resonated deeply with the aspirations of Nigeria and indeed, all African nations,” he added.The event featured presentation of the Lifetime African Achievement Prize to Tinubu, the global intra-African trade excellence in Africa to the President/Chairman, African Export-Import Bank (AFREXIM), Dr Benedict Oramah.Also, Akwa Ibom State Governor, Pastor Umo Eno, received the Lifetime Africa Achievement Prize for Governance and Public Service, the Founder/Chairman, BUA Group, Alhaji AbdulSamad Rabiu, received African Excellence in Business, while Mr Dumo Lulu-Briggs, received African Traditional Leadership and Business Excellence award. (NAN)

From Ene Asuquo, Calabar

Cocoa allottees in Cross River State’s Abonita Government Estate have demanded immediate withdrawal of soldiers allegedly deployed to the area to intimidate and harass them.

The allotees made demand during an interactive session with journalists at the weekend in Calabar

They called on the Chief of Defense Staff Christopher, Gen.

Musa to withdraw the soldiers giving security to a cocoa merchant in the area by name Mbu Liku

The allotees who include, Joseph Ekong, Pastor Duke Njor, Ekuri Boniface, Nic Ntui,Clement Isong-Amba, Pastor Etta Roland among others alleged that  soldiers had on several occasions assaulted and harassed them.

Nic Ntui, who spoke on behalf of allottees, claimed that the soldiers, reportedly accompanying a cocoa merchant Mbu Liku, have been preventing them from accessing their cocoa  plots which they legitimately paid money into coffers of the state government.

Ntui alleged that armed soldiers usually stormed the estate, chasing them away, intimidating them, allowing Mbu Liku to harvest cocoa.

“There’s already an existing ruling in suit No: HM/73/2020. And Dismissal in Suit No:HC/MSC 24/2024. An action by way of prerogative orders of mandamus and prohibition,” Ntui maintained.

Recall that there are ongoing disputes over land ownership and allocation at the Abonita axis of the estate, with court cases pending in various jurisdictions.

The affected farmers pray that the ongoing investigation by the military high command be thorough so that the officers involved in deployment of errant soldiers into the farms can be fished out.

The Abonita Cocoa Estate has been a point of contention, with the Cross River State government facing challenges in managing the estate.

Meanwhile an update by the state security Adviser (SSA), to Cross River state, retired Maj. Gen. Okoi Obono, after his April 12, 2025 visit to Abonita çocoa estate to ascertain the veracity of claims by the allotees stated that soldiers at Achufa, Ajassor Mission and Etomi check points were those used by Mbu Liku to intimidate allottees.

The Security Adviser’s update sighted by our correspondent recommended that officers detailing  troops to Mbu Liku should be re-deployed and warned, and ensure that soldiers attached to Mbu Liku be withdrawn immediately.

A letter from O. N Agbor & Co Legal Practitioners dated April 4, 2015, signed by S.O Ijeoma Esq, also alledged intimidation, arrest and torture of their clients who are allottees at the Cross River cocoa Estate.

The letter addressed to Chief of Defense Staff (CDS) Armed Forces Complex Area 7 Garki- Abuja, urged soldiers to stop aiding Mbu Liku to intimidate their clients who are small holders’ scheme in the cocoa value chain in Cross River State.

From Mike Tayese, Yenagoa

The Bayelsa State Government has reaffirmed its determination to aggressively pursue its housing scheme programme by providing low cost residential homes for her civil servants.Deputy Governor, Sen Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo made this known at the weekend while granting audience to the Bayelsa Chapter of the National Association of Government General Medical and Dental Practitioners (NAGGMDP) in Government House, Yenagoa.

Ewhrudjakpo clarified that the low cost housing scheme which would be run on “Owner-occupier basis” is targeted at enhancing the welfare of workers in the employ of the government. According to the deputy governor, the Senator Douye Diri-led administration has silently declared an emergency on the housing sector to address the shortage of residential and office accommodation confronting civil servants in the state.Ewhrudjakpo assured that the ongoing construction of the 9-storey iconic new secretariat building would be completed in record time not only to tackle the issue of office accommodation but also boost the productivity of the state workforce.He said the government had already mandated the state Housing Authority to directly handle the programme to avoid unnecessary bottlenecks and delays after flagging off the project.The Deputy Governor, however, decried the poor maintenance culture of many civil servants occupying already existing government staff residential quarters in the state and urged them to turn a new leaf.Responding to the issue of funding of residency training for medical doctors, he pointed out that Bayelsa was the only state in the country which had the Residency Law already enacted, and assured the NAGGMDP delegation that the Government would continue to keep faith with the training programme.While assuring the Association of government’s support for its programme to help the physically challenged in the state, Ewhrudjakpo advised them to extend their work of charity to the rural communities to impact the needy there.His words: ‘”This administration is making the issue of housing a major part of our agenda. We want to put it on the front burner as a priority to develop a housing scheme for civil servants. You are also civil servants; so you will also benefit from it.”The Governor has declared a state of emergency on housing. That is why you see that for the first time, we don’t have a ministry of housing. We have decided to put all our energy into the state Housing Authority so that they can actually push that agenda very far.”We are also looking at the issue of rural housing because we don’t want to concentrate on Yenagoa alone. The immediate past administration started it, so we have some pockets of rural houses. But we are going to expand it.”But there is also the need for workers occupying government quarters to keep them neat. If you go to some quarters or barracks, they are the dirtiest places because they don’t take care of the quarters they occupy.”The same thing applies to the civil servant quarters. It is only a few civil servants who have a sense of taste that renovate where they are staying and make it fit to live in.”The leader of the NAGGMDP delegation, Dr. Akpesiri Pearl said the visit was to solicit government’s buy-in and support for the association’s programme to give support for persons living with disabilities.While thanking the Deputy Governor for facilitating the Governor’s approval of the 25 and 35 percent review of CONMESS, Dr. Akpesiri called on the government for the payment of medical residency training for their members, as well as addressing the challenges of staff accommodation, infrastructure decay and lack of facilities at the public hospitals.