From Francis Sadhere, Asaba

No fewer than 6,642 Deltans have applied for recruitment into the Delta State Traffic Management Authority (DESTMA), following the approval of Governor Sheriff Oborevwori for the employment of new officers into the agency.

The Director-General of DESTMA, Hon.

Dr. Benjamin Essien Okiemute, disclosed this in Asaba while commending the governor for approving the recruitment exercise at a time when organisations and economies across the world are adopting downsizing measures.

Okiemute described the approval as evidence of the Oborevwori administration’s commitment to creating employment opportunities and improving the economic wellbeing of residents of the state.

According to him, the recruitment would strengthen DESTMA’s manpower capacity while providing more Deltans with opportunities to secure gainful employment and contribute to the development of the state.

He said, “Only a people-centred Governor would be magnanimous enough to take more Deltans off the streets and engage them gainfully at a time when most parts of the world are thinking of downsizing. This is a testament to the fact that the renewed hope of the MORE Agenda is at work in our state.”

The DESTMA boss said the recruitment process had been designed to ensure fairness, transparency and credibility, noting that applicants were required to register through an online platform.

He explained that the online application system was adopted to provide equal opportunities for qualified Deltans irrespective of their background or location, while reducing unnecessary interference in the process.

Okiemute urged applicants to remain patient as the Authority reviews the applications and prepares for the next stage of the exercise.

He also issued a strong warning against fraudsters who might attempt to exploit desperate job seekers by demanding money or promising to secure employment slots for them.

The Director-General stressed that no individual had been authorised to sell, allocate or influence employment slots on behalf of DESTMA, advising applicants to report anyone making such claims to the appropriate authorities.

He further clarified that only applicants who successfully meet the requirements at the relevant stages of the recruitment exercise would receive SMS notifications containing information about the screening examination.

Okiemute said the exercise was part of efforts to rebrand and reposition DESTMA by recruiting competent personnel capable of delivering effective and professional traffic management services across the state.

He noted that the objective was not merely to increase the number of officers but to recruit disciplined, responsible and capable personnel who understood the responsibilities associated with wearing the DESTMA uniform.

The Director-General thanked the thousands of applicants for their interest in the exercise, saying the high number of applications reflected the confidence Deltans had in DESTMA and the vision of the present administration.

He, however, cautioned applicants against allowing their desire for employment to make them susceptible to fraudulent schemes, reiterating that the recruitment would be conducted strictly on the principles of merit, transparency and due process.

With the application portal now closed, attention has shifted to the screening phase as DESTMA begins the process of selecting candidates who will form part of its new workforce.

From Attah Ede, Makurdi

Benue State Governor, Rev. Fr. Dr. Hyacinth Iormem Alia, has declared the Benue 2035 Economic Transformation, Capital Formation and Prosperity Summit, with a promise to transform the State industrial hub.

The three-day summit, organized by the Benue Investment and Property Company Limited (BIPC) in partnership with Hudson Global, commenced Monday in Makurdi under the theme  From Potential to Prosperity held at Rev.

Father Alia Hall, SEMA, Makurdi, Benue State Capital.

Declaring the summit closed, Governor Alia said Benue possesses the human capacity and abundant resources required to build an economically prosperous state, but stressed that potential must be converted into opportunities, investments, productive activities, jobs and improved living standards.

The Governor said his administration’s responsibility was to create an environment where farmers, businesses and families could thrive through improved security, infrastructure, quality education, healthcare, investment opportunities, productive employment and strong institutions.

Benue State Governor Rev Fr Hyacinth Alia who acknowledged the alignment and solution proffered by the participants, restated that the state has an array of talented, gifted and resilient individuals who can change its fortune.

He particularly lauded the BIPC GMD, describing him as an outstanding citizen that has made great input and impact on the state economy, saying, ‘the state is indebted to you’.

Alia pledged the commitment of his administration to implement the outcome of the summit, positing that the State Economic team will take a critical study of the recommendations with a view to applying it to develop a 30 year plan that will bring out new innovations and ideas that would be approached without anxieties.

Said he, “there are several issues that we have not attended to, that are possible ways the state can grow if looked, half of our anxieties would have been solved. We will walk from potential to actionable plans. There should be sustenance and engagement of the private sector to drive the plans. We must reactivate these efforts and prove ourselves that it is possible to create a new Benue”.

The climax of the event was the signing of the memoranda of Understanding, MOU between Benue Government and the Facilitator Hudson Global Consulting.

Reeling out the key areas, the BIPC Group Managing Director, Dr Raymond Asemakaha said Benue with a population of over 7.3 million people was battling a dysfunctional economy with over 25 percent of arable land underutilized.

He said building pathways from potential to prosperity requires thinking boldly, focus, learn first, build to execute change of lives, adding that job creation, security, power, water and high quality of life should be accorded top priorities.

Asemakaha also said that strategy, solution and implementation is strongly needed to move from vision to execution and ideas to impact.

Oil prices rose past $100 (£74) a barrel on Wednesday after further strikes in the conflict between the US and Iran and continuing Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia.

In back and forth attacks, the US hit five Iranian tankers in reprisal strikes after Tehran targeted one of its warships.

Brent crude – which is the global benchmark for prices – has not been as expensive since the end of July, when a ceasefire between Iran and the US collapsed.

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi movement also attacked oil facilities in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday and have been targeting tankers in the Red Sea.

Brent crude did dip back down to $99.90 a barrel, but any fresh flare-ups in the Middle East could see it pushed higher again.

Tit-for-tat strikes between Iran and the US have escalated in the past week, more than six months after conflict broke out when the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran on 28 February.

Oil prices have fluctuated wildly since the war began, and pressure on the industry has been exacerbated by wider regional instability.

Before the conflict Brent crude had been priced at about $70 (£52) a barrel.

But the war has seen the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which carries 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG).

The rising costs have sparked huge price leaps in petrol around the world for motorists at the pumps.

The US strikes on the five Iranian tankers saw four in the Gulf of Oman linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) hit as well as another near Kharg Island.

Tehran responded by launching missiles at a US base in Jordan – most of which were shot down – and said it attacked two US vessels and eight oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.

The Houthis and Saudi Arabia have also been exchanging strikes since July after their own informal ceasefire unravelled.

On Monday the Houthis accused Saudi Arabia of bombing a prison in al-Hazm and killing 11 people.

Then on Tuesday the Saudi authorities said Houthis had struck civilian and economic sites in the cities of Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jazan and Najran.

The latest round of escalation comes after Iran targeted a US warship with ballistic missiles, which Centcom said were “successfully evaded”. It added that no American troops were harmed during the attacks.

In response, the US said that the five Iranian oil tankers it targeted were “part of a multi-billion-dollar shadow network that funds the IRGC and its regional proxies”.

One of the ships it had struck, the M/T Riesco, sunk in the Gulf of Oman, Centcom later said, posting a video on X of the damaged vessel.

Kharg Island – where one Iranian tanker was attacked in the latest round of US strikes – hosts Iran’s main terminal for exporting oil.

Some 90% of the country’s crude oil passes through the island in the Gulf, transported through pipes from the mainland.

Also on Tuesday, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi movement attacked energy facilities and civilian infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, injuring 73 people, according to Saudi authorities.

The drone and missile attack caused fires at oil facilities and installations that led to a temporary halt in operations, Saudi Arabia’s military and energy ministry said.

When asked by reporters about the latest tit-for-tat strikes between the US and Iran, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday said the situation was “pretty straightforward”.

“Iran continues to try to hit US naval ships. And, for every time they do that or try to do that, they’re going to lose tankers. And I think you’ll see that again today,” Rubio told reporters during a trip in Colombia.

The US strikes on Tuesday came hours after Iran’s Navy claimed it had seized an uncrewed US submarine in the Strait of Hormuz.

US Navy Capt Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson for Centcom, said that the “underwater drone operated by US forces malfunctioned more than a day ago” and was used to survey regional waters “in support of ongoing operations”.

The defective drone was “an older model that neither collected sensitive data nor carried any classified sonar or radar equipment”, he said, adding that US operations in regional waters were ongoing.