Author: SouthernVoiceNews

Godwin-Maria Utuedoye is a trained professional journalist. A graduate of Mass Communication from the Delta State University, Abraka, Nigeria. He is a registered practising Journalist with the Nigeria Union of Journalists with over 20 years experience in news reporting. He is interested in Investigative and development Journalism. He lives in Nigeria and focuses more in the Niger-Delta region where oil and gas exploration by government and multinational iol companies has plunged into poverty and environmental degradation for years. He is also a PR Consultant, content creator, broadcast, print Journalist and Publisher. His vast experiences in journalism span over decades of reporting the activities of the untouched areas. He is married with children.

Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, will on Monday, August 18, 2025, officially flag off the Delta State Widows Welfare Scheme, with 10,000 beneficiaries expected to benefit from the initiative. The ceremony, scheduled to hold at the Dome Event Centre, Asaba, will commence at 10:00 a.m. Executive Assistant to the Governor on Social Investment and Coordinator of the scheme, Chief Isioma Okonta, disclosed this in a statement made available to journalists in Asaba on Wednesday. According to Okonta, the programme is part of the Oborevwori administration’s commitment to improving the welfare of widows across the state, providing them with financial support…

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Panic and tension has gripped the Executive Chairman of  Ughelli North Local Government Area , Delta State, Jaro Egbo and the council staff as a combine team of the Nigeria anti-corruption agency,  Economic and Financial Crime Commission EFCC,  Wednesday, stormed the council area for fact findings. The motive behind their visit  was sketchy, but it was revealed that the EFCC officials visited offices of Heads of Departments HODs, while files, cheques booklets signed and other documents were reviewed. While the operation was on, it was gathered that a staff of the council, name withheld narrowly escaped being whisked away by…

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Delta State Governor, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, on Thursday rewarded each member of the five-man Delta contingent that won the 2025 World Basic Schools Debate Championship in Doha, Qatar, with a cash prize of N20 million. The Governor also extended the same N20 million reward to the team’s handlers, describing their victory as a proud moment for the state and a testament to his administration’s commitment to educational excellence. Receiving the champions, their parents, and officials at Government House, Asaba, Governor Oborevwori praised the students for bringing global honour to Delta State and Nigeria. He decorated them with their medals…

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The Federal Government has imposed a seven-year moratorium on the establishment of new Federal Universities, Polytechnics and Colleges of Education, citing the proliferation of underutilised institutions, overstretched resources, and a drop in academic quality. The decision was approved at Wednesday’s Federal Executive Council meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, following a presentation by the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa. FEC, however, approved nine new universities despite the freeze. Briefing State House correspondents after the meeting, Alausa said the challenge in Nigeria’s tertiary education system was no longer access but inefficient duplication, poor infrastructure,…

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Delta State has recorded notable improvements in security, with kidnapping cases dropping sharply in recent months, the Commander of 63 Brigade, Nigerian Army, Brigadier General Abdulmoshood Shonibare, said on Wednesday. Addressing journalists after the Delta State Security Council meeting chaired by Governor Sheriff Oborevwori in Asaba, Shonibare said the session reviewed the state’s security situation since the last ad hoc meeting and found that enhanced coordination among security agencies, traditional rulers, and local government authorities had yielded positive results. “Delta State is calmer than it was a few months ago, and we can all attest to this. The cases of…

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The Asaba Magistrates’ Court has arraigned Pastor Sunday Ogbogho of the Redeemed Christian Church of God for allegedly assaulting a journalist Kenneth Orusi, with tools including a wheel spanner, causing head injuries in an incident that occurred on July 27, 2025, at No. 5 Elder Ediale Street, off Ibusa Road, Asaba. The charge, recorded under Case File No. 367 at the Magistrate Court 4, Asaba, with Mr. Alex Ibe, as the Police Prosecutor, read in open court, accused Ogbogho of committing an offence punishable under Section 355 of the Criminal Code, but the cleric pleaded not guilty. Defence counsel, identified…

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The Delta State Commissioner for Works (Rural Roads) and Public Information, Mr. Charles Aniagwu, has reaffirmed that Governor Sheriff Oborevwori’s administration remains committed to fairness, equity, and balanced development across the state. Speaking at a press conference in Asaba, Aniagwu said the MORE Agenda is being implemented in a manner that impacts every part of Delta State, ensuring that all 25 local government areas, the 10 federal constituencies, and the three senatorial districts benefit from government projects. Aniagwu stated that in the last two years, Governor Oborevwori has demonstrated fairness across all divides in the state, and while citizens have…

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Three years after, the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Monday, ordered the remand of five suspected terrorists who attacked St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo in Ondo State on June 5, 2022, in Department of State Services (DSS) facility. Justice Emeka Nwite, a vacation judge, gave the order after the five suspects were arraigned and pleaded not guilty to the charges filed against them by the Federal Government. The suspects include Idris Omeiza, (25); Al Qasim Idris, (20); Jamiu Abdulmalik, (26); Abdulhaleem Idris, (25) and Momoh Otuho Abubakar, (47). They are 1st to 5th defendants respectively. The terror attack,…

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Tragedy struck on Monday, August 11, 2025, as the new Assistant Coach of Shooting Stars Sports Club, Ibadan, Oyo State, Akin Olowokere, in morning, slumped and died. He was one of the recently appointed coaches of 3SC. As of press time, there were no official reports on what led to his death. However, eyewitnesses told correspondents in Ibadan, the state capital, that “he slumped on the pitch during the team’s Monday morning training session and was rushed to the hospital. “He was, however, confirmed dead at the hospital where he was rushed to.” It was further gathered that the former…

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The Urhobo nation, once a formidable force in Nigeria’s political, economic, and cultural landscape, must now rise to reclaim its lost glory. The time has come for the Urhobo people to reassert their rightful place in the scheme of affairs, both in Delta State and at the national level. For too long, the community has been sidelined, and this decline must be urgently reversed. It is against this backdrop that the Urhobo Digital Editors and Publishers Alliance (UDEPA) emerges as a timely and strategic intervention. The alliance, made up of committed Urhobo media professionals, has resolved to take up the…

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