OGU/BOLO LGA MARKS ONE YEAR IN OFFICE WITH SWEEPING DEVELOPMENT REPORT
The administration of Chief Vincent Nemieboka, Esq., Executive Chairman of Ogu/Bolo Local Government Area, has released an account of its first year in office, listing projects and interventions spanning security, education, healthcare, infrastructure, electrification, water supply, youth and women empowerment, and traditional institutions.
Security and Peacebuilding
The council said it had set up and equipped community vigilante groups in Ogu, Bolo and Wakama, working alongside state security agencies and local leaders to curb crime. It also provides funding, accommodation and logistics support to the Police, DSS, FRSC, NSCDC, SIB and Immigration Service.
On the peacebuilding front, the chairman personally mediated disputes in Ogu and Bolo, and - working with the Tai LGA chairman - helped resolve a land dispute between Wakama and Kpogu communities. The council says it is also managing tensions between Ogu and Ekporo communities, and that Ogu/Bolo is now regarded as one of the most peaceful LGAs in the state.
Education featured prominently in the report:
• Charkin Maritime Academy scholarships - 8 indigenes given full scholarships (tuition, uniforms, materials, accommodation, feeding), at a projected cost of ₦75 million over two years.
• Law School grants - ₦1 million awarded annually to each Ogu/Bolo indigene at the Nigerian Law School.
• First-Class graduate awards - ₦1 million yearly to each First-Class graduate of Ogu/Bolo origin.
• ₦16 million education grant distributed to 224 pupils and students through the Liberation Club of Ogu, with plans to extend the scheme to other communities.
• Tertiary bursaries - ₦150,000 per undergraduate, ₦350,000 for Master's students and ₦500,000 for PhD candidates, with verification underway ahead of a September 2026 rollout.
• Back-to-School Programme - a distribution of bags, sandals, notebooks and other learning materials to primary school pupils, to be led by Vice Chairman Dr. Eunice Alabo.
• School renovations - 6 of 10 government-owned primary/secondary schools fully renovated (Ele, Bolo State School, Bolo Town School, State School Ogu, St. Martin's State School Ogu, Chuku-Ama, and the Wakama senior secondary building).
• Teachers' quarters under construction at five schools, with four more school buildings slated for renovation afterward.
• Command Science Secondary School, Ogu fully renovated ahead of its take-off, with 60 solar-powered lighting poles installed.
• An assembly hall/CBT centre is being built at Community Secondary School, Bolo, to host WAEC/GCE exams locally.
Community and Council Infrastructure
The administration reported ongoing rural electrification of Ikpo-Ama, Opu-Ama and Ele (poles and cables installed; grid-connection towers 80% complete), electrification work linking Chuku-Ama and Nemieboka-Ama, and solar streetlights in Iwokiri, Bolo. It has paid ₦91 million in electricity bills to the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company on behalf of communities.
Road and building projects completed include the Nemieboka Community Hall, internal roads in Wakama, Nemieboka, Ele and Opu-Ama, and a footbridge linking Opu-Ama to its health centre. The council is also supporting completion of the parsonage at St. Martin's Anglican Church, Ogu, with similar help planned for churches in Bolo and Wakama.
At council headquarters, work is ongoing on a Guest House, a two-storey Liaison Office/Guest House in Bolo, renovation of the Customary Court in Bolo, new office furniture, a refurbished Legislative Chamber, an ICT centre, and a 150KVA soundproof generator. Buses have also been substantially paid for to serve a mass transport scheme and staff transportation.
A 400-metre drainage system was built at Mission Road, Ogu new layout, alongside regular desilting of drains and bush-clearing along access roads. On water supply, the council installed a 40,000-litre overhead tank in Bolo Town, rehabilitated facilities in Wakama, maintains supply in Ogu Town, and regularly funds diesel for water pumping.
Youth, Women and Livelihood Support
• Stipends of ₦30,000–₦100,000 paid to 1,500 youth beneficiaries.
• 60 youths sponsored for vocational training (welding/fabrication, electrical/electronics, masonry, plumbing) at the Rivers State Vocational Training Centre, at a cost of ₦90 million, with stipends and accommodation provided.
• Support for 65 new seamanship certificate applicants and renewals, at ₦1.5 million per beneficiary.
• 550 market women given ₦150,000 each under the first phase of the Women Economic Empowerment Programme.
• Fishermen supported with canoes, fishing gear and ₦200,000 in direct grants.
• A second empowerment phase is being planned for teachers, persons with disabilities, ex-servicemen, clergy, the elderly and widows.
Two Primary Healthcare Centres, each with staff quarters, are under construction in Ele and Owuogono. The council says it has remitted its 5% monthly healthcare allocation to the state board consistently, disbursing roughly ₦500 million to date, and is partnering with the state to renovate existing facilities.
Other health activities cited include hosting the 2025 World Toilet Day state event, two rounds of Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Week campaigns, a Measles-Rubella vaccination drive, support for a medical outreach with the O.B. Lulu-Briggs Foundation, World Breastfeeding Week activities, and monthly stipends for healthcare workers. A Health Authority Advisory Committee and an HIV Steering Committee have also been inaugurated.
The council has remitted 5% of its monthly allocation to the traditional institution and says the chairman regularly consults chieftaincy leaders. Plans are finalised for reconstruction of an ultra-modern palace for the Amanyanabo of Ogu, expected to be flagged off by the end of October 2026, alongside renovation of the existing palace and furnishing of the new Bolo palace.
The administration described the year as producing a mix of completed and ongoing projects, and said its next phase would focus on finishing ongoing work, sustaining current interventions, and addressing outstanding development needs across the LGA.
Monday 7th September, 2016.
