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A first class traditional ruler in Ijaw nation His Royal Highness, Dr. AJ Turner MFR, the Obigbo Mikimiki, Obenaema of Opume, on Saturday, visited the campus of the Celtic Pride Institute of Agricultural Studies Kolo, in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State. The royal father and political leader of Ogbia people was accompanied by his brother, the treasurer of the Bayelsa State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chief Gbalipre Turner, amongst others, the first class traditional ruler and his entourage was received by his political son, Barr. Alabh George Turnah MON, the Group President/CEO of Celtic Pride Group of Companies. The visiting Royal Father took time to inspect ongoing infrastructural works in and around the campus where finishing touches are being perfected ahead of an official commissioning of the institute come November 20th, 2016 as part of activities lined up to commemorate the 59th birthday anniversary of President Goodluck Jonathan, President of the Federal Republic of Nigerian 2010 – 2015. The Royal Father who expressed satisfaction at the level and quality of ongoing infrastructural work, commended the Celtic Pride Group President for the vision of establishing the first private Institute of Agricultural Studies in Bayelsa State, and siting such a multi-billion naira project in his home town of Kolo, pointing out that the coming of the institute will no doubt create the much needed jobs for people of the area especially her youths, afford them the opportunity of acquring basic skill and training in Agro and allied, as well as create easy access to formal and higher education. The visit of the Royal Father is considered a major boost given his place as one of the respected leaders of the ogbia people, and foremost educationist from that part of the world. Facilities inspected, included an Administrative Block Building with 20 offices, and a Conference Hall, a world class science lab, an e-library, 4 digital classrooms fitted with electronic lecture boards, projectors, public address systems and executive desks. Others included the hatchery building, the demonstration factory for food and fish processing and packaging, Fish ponds, storage facility for processed products, staff and students canteen, as well as internal road network.

The Niger Delta has come to be defined by her oil resources and the struggle for a greater share of same, while her richly diverse ecosystem is progressively degraded and her people are left uneducated and poor. Oil however is diminishing in influence and value globally, following the push for more renewables and the discovery of shale oil, which puts the future of the region in jeopardy without an urgent intervention. SING was founded by King A. J. Turner, a businessman, philanthropist and the paramount ruler of Opume Kingdom in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa state. The Foundation was created to give a formal structure to the philanthropic works of the founder who, out of his belief that the human capital is the most important resource for national development, had given scholarships to over 2000 children of his locality as well as building an ICT center and a basic education center. Taking into cognizance the fact that the jobs of the future are going to be more knowledge and ICT based, we must begin to equip the future adults with the right skills and knowledge to be major players therein. The “Code 3 Project”, is the foundation’s intervention towards preparing the children of the Niger Delta to be key players in the emerging fast changing global economic landscape. The project is comprised of 3 components which are: Learn, Innovate and Impact. The project will drive the learning of new skills, which will enable the learners to innovate and impact their communities with the solutions they will create. Furthermore the project will push for modification of educational policies that shift the center of gravity in education towards learning of relevant skills for the 21st century and development of the natural talents of the individual learner. The Code 3 project, which will be launched in May, 2019, will commence with a pilot phase of ICT training, which will expose children in rural communities to programming and mobile applications creation to make them creators of solutions to the challenges of their local communities. It is intended that, through the partnership model that SING will be adopting, about 15 thousand children in the remotest villages of the Niger Delta region will be given the right tools and platforms to fulfill their potentials and compete on an even footing with their urban peers. The project will, in the medium to long-term, create a pool of skilled youth, who clearly see a viable future away from the militancy and other violent crimes that have come to be accepted as the quickest route to success in the Niger Delta. In an emerging world system in which oil plays a less influential role, we must begin to ensure that our youth are equipped to be productively, sustain-ably engaged, and there is no better way to do this than through ICT education. Signed Executive Director SING NIGERIA IDRIS-ETANAMI USMAN

The Paramount ruler of Opume in Ogbia Local government area of Bayelsa State, King A.J Turner has congratulated Governor Henry Seriake Dickson on his re-election as the Governor of Bayelsa state. The first class traditional ruler also congratulated Dickson’s running mate, Rear Admiral John Jonah (Rtd) and the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP on the victory of the party in the poll. By Blessing Obineche