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Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, has handover the Rivers State University (RSU) Campus in Kira, Tai Local Council, to the Federal Government for the inauguration of the newly established Federal University of Environment and Technology (FUET).
The institution was officially created following President Bola Tinubu’s signing of the bill into law on February 3, 2025. During a visit to the Kira campus on Thursday, Fubara, alongside RSU Vice-Chancellor Prof. Nlerum Okogbule, disclosed that the National Security Adviser had asked the state government to provide the facility to help expedite FUET’s commencement.
Fubara mentioned that the newly approved Federal University of Environment and Technology in Ogoniland by Tinubu will operate from the Kira Campus of RSU.
He noted that the existing structures, which have been recently renovated by the RSU management, along with the ample land available, will adequately support and facilitate the onset of educational activities at FUET.
The governor was shown around the campus by VC Okogbule, Tai Council Chairman Matthew Dike, and former VC of RSU, Prof. Barineme Fakae.
In a statement from his Chief Press Secretary, Nelson Chukwudi, Fubara explained that his tour of the campus followed a request from the Office of the National Security Adviser, urging his Office to consider and authorize the use of the campus for the launch of the new federal university.
In a different development, a coalition of women’s groups from the Ogoni ethnic group in Rivers State has issued a strong warning to the Federal Government, threatening to organize a nude protest in the streets of Ogoni if plans for oil extraction in the region proceed.
The women have pledged to take decisive measures to voice their discontent and safeguard their land and environment. Under the banner of the Ogoni Women Coalition for Sustainable Environment, they expressed this sentiment in a statement signed collectively by 15 women’s groups, including MBA Okase Initiative, Eedee Ladies of Tai, and the League of Queens International.
Other groups involved include KEBETKACHE Women Development and Resource Centre, Global Concern Women and Youth Development Initiative, Miikeekor Environmental Development Initiative, Concern Ogoni Daughter, Peoples Advancement Centre, Ogoni Women Coalition for Sustainable Environment, Yerebaneko Women Group Tai, and Ogoni Women Development Initiative.
The women asserted that the Ogoni region is not ready for oil exploration and insisted that they will not permit the resumption of oil activities until their demands are fulfilled. Speaking to the media, Dr. Patience Osaroejiji, a spokesperson for the women’s coalition, remarked that the women of Ogoni are willing to go nude in protest to attract global attention.
