[dropcap]C[/dropcap]ommunity Newspaper Publishers under the aegis of Association of Community Newspaper Publishers of Nigeria (ACNPN),Delta State Council has congratulated CP Wale Abass on his appointment as the 21st Commissioner of Police, Delta State Command.
In a statement released and signed by the Chairman of the Association, Comrade Jude Obiemenyego made available to journalists.

According to him, the choice of CP Wale Abass to the exalted position and complex state like Delta did not come as a surprise.

He added, “Rather, it is a move in the right direction and an express indication of putting a round peg in a round hole, owing to his antecedents and record breaking up-beat in all the Police Commands he served before and his short stint as the Deputy Commissioner of Police,SCID Asaba Delta State.

The group said, “With this appointment, there is no doubt that CP Abass is saddled with the responsibility of repositioning the Delta State Police Command in all its ramifications, giving the seeming fall out between the Police and the populace.
Stating further that having followed his track records as a top echelon of the Nigeria Police Force, it is instructive to inform that expectations on him are high to bring his professional expertise to bear on this nouveau saddle.

The group promised that as an association, it will support CP Abass to succeed, as long as he puts in the necessary policy thrusts that will make the Delta State Police Command better than it is at present.

The statement continued: “As the umbrella body of all practicing Community/Grassroots Newspapers Publishers in the State, we wish the CP the best in his new office and as he steps into the next phase of his career.

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, has said only God can stop the President-elect, Bola Tinubu’s swearing-in on May 29.

Keyamo said the All Progressives Congress, APC, has no fear over Tinubu’s swearing in. The Senior Advocate of Nigeria also noted that those who think Tinubu will not be sworn in as President on May 29 for legal reasons are living in a fools paradise.

According to Keyamo: “Why should we exercise any fear? Any opposition member alive now who believes that for some legal reasons Asiwaju will not be inaugurated must be living in fools’ paradise.

“Except there is an Act of God who is Almighty, nothing will stop the inauguration of Asiwaju.

“The opposition should just concentrate on their petitions in court or start preparing for 2027.”

Despite winning the presidential election, there has been speculations surrounding his inauguration.

The Spiritual Head of Soul Revival Outreach in Anambra State, Prophet, Iyke Uzukwu had urged Nigerians to pray for Tinubu as he prepares for his inauguration.

Uzukwu said the president-elect needs prayers to complete his tenure, which is expected to kick off on May 29.

He, however, said the former Lagos Governor would be a successful president, stressing that the president-elect would not be manipulated like the outgoing president, Muhammadu Buhari.

[dropcap]G[/dropcap]overnor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta, on Wednesday affirmed that the state was ready to partner investors in its vast oil and gas deposits as the country grappled with economic turnaround. 

The governor made this known while receiving Delta Special Economic Zone license from Federal Government through Nigerian Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA), in Abuja.

He said that his administration had provided enabling environment, including peace and security, for businesses to thrive, and assured the sustenance of development in the state.

Okowa expressed gratitude to the Federal Government for the special license, and also assured that the state government was prepared to synergise with NEPZA, corporate organizations and groups to achieve the essence of the license.

He commended the management of NEPZA for the support and encouragement toward the realization of the state’s desire to have its resources properly harnessed.

He disclosed that availability of four seaports and two airports, in addition to necessary infrastructure, including good roads network, was a great impetus for businesses to flourish in the state.

In his remarks, Minister of Investment, Commerce and industry, Chief Niyi Adebayo, pledged Federal Government’s support to the development of the special economic zone in Delta.

Adebayo, who was represented by a Deputy Director in the ministry, Mr S.A. Jaja, said that operation of the economic zone would have multiplier-effect on Delta’s and national economy.

Earlier, the Chairman, Steering Committee for Establishment of Delta Special Economic Zone, Mr Festus Agas, had traced the track led to the presentation of the operating license to the state, and commended Governor Okowa for the effort.

Agas, who is Chief of Staff to Okowa, lauded the Federal Government for discerning the potential in Delta and approving the license.

He also commended NEPZA for the collaboration in seeing the “project” through, and sued for sustenance of the synergy.

[dropcap]A[/dropcap]ccording to the latest global ranking, Delta State University is ranked as the 27th best University in Nigeria among the over 200 Universities in the country.

Vice-Chancellor of DELSU, Professor Andy Egwunyenga disclosed this on Wednesday while addressing a Press Conference as part of events leading to the 15th convocation ceremony of the University.

The convocation ceremony which is scheduled to hold on Saturday, 29, 2023, at Campus 3 Abraka will begin at 9am with the commissioning of projects, award of diplomas, first degree and higher degrees as well as award of prizes.

Professor Egwunyenga said, “Further analysis of the ranking showed the University to be the best State University in the South-South and South-Eastern parts of Nigeria. Furthermore, another highly recognized global University ranking body, Webometrics, in their own latest ranking, placed the University as 194th out of 2087 Universities in Africa and 24th out of over 200 universities in Nigeria, based on verified Google Scholar Citations.

“According to the ranking, Delta State University recorded 56,443 citations, beating some highly rated Universities in the United States of America, United Kingdom, France, Sweden, Turkey, Portugal, Canada, and some other more advanced countries. This again is consistent with the Alper-Doger Scientific Index ranking that earlier placed the University as the 27th best in the country and 4th best State-owned University.

“Given the stringent conditions for participating in the global Times Higher Education (THE) ranking of Universities, Delta State University, Abraka got qualified and invited for the first time in January 2023 to submit an entry for the latest and ongoing prestigious THE Ranking. Entry has now been submitted by the University, and the result of the ranking is being awaited. This is indeed a product of the deliberate and strategic leadership acumen of the current administration at repositioning the University into becoming a globally recognized citadel of research, teaching and learning.”

Professor Egwunyenga stated further that given the pace at the University is going in the areas of building capacity through the development of infrastructure for teaching, research, and quality assurance, he is hopeful that in another two to three years DELSU will rank number one among State-owned Universities in Nigeria.

In the area of strengthening academic programmes, he said, DELSU has been able to secure full accreditation for all the forty (40) Programmes presented to National Universities Commission (NUC) in the November/December 2022 Accreditation Exercise.

According to him, “This happens to be the first time since the 31 years of existence of the Delta State University, Abraka, that full accreditation would be returned for forty (40) Programmes in one fell swoop. Now, all eighty (80) Programmes in the University have full NUC accreditation status. No interim accreditation, no denial for any Programme. This again is unprecedented in the history of the University and has only been made possible by the unwavering determination of the University Administration and the entire staff to advance and reposition Delta State University, Abraka, for national and global recognition.

“Most recently, approval was sought and obtained from the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) to raise the University’s Admission Quota for the Bachelor of Medicine & Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) Programme from 75 to 120. This was targeted at reducing the admission pressure that qualified students from Delta and neighbouring States go through in getting admitted to study Medicine and Surgery at Delta State University, Abraka.

“It is worthy of note that the current administration met the admission quota for the MBBS Programme at 50 upon assumption of duty in December 2019. The first increase was from 50 to 75.

He added that the University has obtained approval from the National Universities Commission (NUC) for the commencement of some new Degree Awarding Programmes, namely: Entrepreneurship Studies, Office & Information Management, Biotechnology, Public Administration and Medical Laboratory Science.

The University he said is currently awaiting “the report of NUC’s Resource Verification Exercise for the commencement of the Agriculture Business Management Programme and the Doctor of Pharmacy Programme. The University hitherto only ran the Bachelor of Pharmacy Programme”.

Continuing, the DELSU Vice-Chancellor revealed that this year the Senate of the University also approved the Copyright Policy.

“The Policy is consistent with the Nigerian Copyright Act, 2022 to protect writers’ rights to secure fair compensation and acknowledgement for their creative labours while also establishing restrictions and exceptions to facilitate public access to works of art.

The Delta State University Copyright Policy deals with the issue of Ownership, Publication and External Use and Payment for an academic’s Intellectual Property,” said Egwunyenga.

Other events that will precede the 15th convocation ceremony of Delta State University, Abraka, are as follow: Thursday, April 27, 2023, investiture of Alumni/Award to outstanding alumni and convocation drama; Friday, April 28, 2023, Convocation Lecture and Rehearsals for the Convocation Day.

The programme of events for the convocation will be concluded on Sunday, April 30, 2023, with Founders’ Day Thanksgiving Service at All Saint’s Anglican Chapel, DELSU, site 3.

Felix Ekwu

[dropcap]N[/dropcap]ational Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at working jointly at tackling the menace of drug trafficking in the country.

The MoU aimed at sharing information and strategies that would further strengthen the ongoing war on drug trafficking in the country.

The MoU was signed at the NDLEA headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday by the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Retd) and the Comptroller General of NCS, Col. Hameed Ali (Retd).

In his speech during the signing, Marwa that with the MoU, the two organisations would collaborate at inflicting maximum loss on drug cartels bent on trafficking illicit substances at the detriment of Nigeria and Nigerians.

Marwa expressed his delight at the decision by the two government agencies to document their working relationship in an MoU, even as he listed the huge benefits of such to the country.

He specifically commended Col. Ali for his excellent record of performance as Customs CG and his past years of public service in the Nigerian army especially as military governor of Kaduna state. He said: “I have always known Col. Ali as a patriotic, hardworking and disciplined officer with excellent track record of achievements.”

He added that the MoU is “certainly a benchmark for information and or intelligence sharing. It is also a platform for sharing of operational and administrative experiences with a view to adopting best practices that work. With this united front, there can only be one assurance that the criminal elements in our society will definitely be the losers and I assure you that they will certainly lose big as we come for them to put them where they rightly belong and cripple their crime syndicates.

“While there is no doubt as to the benefits that this MoU will provide to our two services and the nation at large, it is my hope that its successful execution and implementation will provide the necessary impetus for extension to other sister law enforcement agencies (LEAs) operating at our airports, seaports and land borders. On this basis, it is imperative to drive the implementation of the MoU to ensure that its objectives and derivable are achieved.

“Therefore, on behalf of the NDLEA, I assure you of our commitment to this MoU and intend to provide all the necessary support required to drive the implementation process in order to ensure the realization of all accruable benefits. As it is usually said, together we stand and remain undefeatable.”

Marwa while stating the great significance of the MoU, said the document contains a number of innovations that will encourage interpersonal relationship amongst the rank and file as well as at the various levels of command and administration of the two organisations. “It provides for joint training of personnel just as it makes provisions for regular meetings of command officers at various levels of our command structures. These are the meetings of Commanders/Comptrollers of the various relevant formations, at the relevant directorates/departments of the national headquarters and at the highest level of policy making between the Comptroller-General of Customs and my office, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, which is expected to take place at least twice a year.

“The expected outcome of these series of interactions is to foster better understanding of the respective roles and mandates of our two organisations and how they complement one another in a mutually inclusive way. The ultimate objective is to dissolve suspicion, friction and general interagency rivalry that does not do our nation any good in terms of effectively securing the entry and exit points of our dear country. This will provide an effective defence line at our various ports of entry/exit to prevent the influx of offensive materials and substances that undermine our national security, and ensure that our national assets are not smuggled out to undermine our economic progress and stability.”

In his remarks, the Customs boss commended Marwa for initiating the MoU. He said: “This MOU is sending a very strong signal to fighting crime. We believe that coming together shows commitment to saving this nation from drugs and other substances. I want to take this special opportunity to thank my senior for initiating this MOU. I must say something, he is a very committed person. It is not new to us in the uniform to see his strides, for those who have had the opportunity to serve with him. He is a game player and a game changer. When my attention was drawn to this initiative, I knew this was the Marwa trend. I thank him for initiating this event, and creating an avenue for us to synergize and come up with a veritable way for fighting drug abuse in this nation.

“The essence of our being here has been underscored by my brother, but I want to reiterate that our coming together does not send a signal only to our nation but to the international partners, that we are committed to protecting our borders from illicit drugs. We have all along been doing this, finding drugs in the borders, but thank God the sole responsibility has been removed from us, and we had some relief. What we do now is that when we arrest the suspects, we hand them over to the NDLEA, where they will be pursued, investigated, and punished severely. The coming of Marwa has given us confidence that the suspects will be handled accordingly.”

He expressed the commitment of the Nigerian Customs Service to the implementation of the MoU, stating that: “We are indeed very grateful, to have been incorporated in this your thought and want to assure that the entire Customs will be behind this MOU. I want to believe that collaboration will make impact in reducing to the barest minimum the drug menace.”
He said both NDLEA and the Customs must invest in technology to fight the drug menace.”

He added that: “Both of us must ensure we deploy technology as we go into this commitment, to fighting the drug menace. It is the key to success, as methods of concealment are numerous, with other illicit drugs put in pockets, shoes, and edible foods.”

[dropcap]D[/dropcap]e-Zitas World Furniture Company in Asaba, which clocks five(5) years on Tuesday 4th April 2023 marked its anniversary with activities that were memorable and exciting to its consumers and stakeholders.

De-Zitas started its Furniture sales operations as a small company at its Nnebisi road office opposite FMC, Asaba and it has since grown to become a household name in quality furniture sales in Nigeria. Currently, it has branches spread across Nigeria.

Speaking to journalist on the continued success of De-Zitas, the Managing Director/CEO of the company Austin Nwaoboshi explained that De-Zitas has come to make live and living better in Nigeria. He said the company has consistently sales quality home furniture, outdoor furniture, office furniture, kitchen cabinet, sanitary ware and lately massaging machine to demonstrate its commitment to making the lives of its customers better.

In her own response, the Company Manager, Mrs Onoigbo Lizzy said De-Zitas products is now popular among the people of Delta State and Nigeria. Hence, the company is poised to open more world-class showrooms to ensure availability and easy access to its products in Nigeria. She said the company would need more Nigerians on its workforce in the nearest future to cope with the increasing demands for its products.
She stated that the company had since grown, diversifying into various departments such as design, supply, technical services, after-sales services and transportation services.

Describing the buy more and get more at a giveaway price season, the De-Zitas  Marketer , Tina Ese commended the good gesture of the company to delight its consumers by ways of sales discount promo, price slash, special gifts and stakeholders party. She said most companies wait till festive period to compensate loyal consumers, but De-Zitas consistently give back to reward consumers loyalty. She said during this April 2023 anniversary period, some customers enjoyed price slash of between 50 percent and 60 percent on certain furniture items. She therefore encourages customers to visit any of the De-Zitas’s showrooms so as not to miss out on this reward opportunity.