The Empire Naija

  The South South Development Commission (SSDC) has taken a major step toward positioning the South-South region as a hub for digital innovation, as it moves to strengthen collaboration with the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) to expand youth-focused technology programmes. The Managing Director of SSDC, Ms. Usoro Akpabio, during a courtesy visit to the Director General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, on Tuesday at the Agency’s headquarters in Abuja, said the Commission is determined to unlock the region’s vast digital potential through strategic partnerships. Akpabio noted that the South-South boasts a large, tech-savvy youth population whose potential can be fully harnessed through structured digital skills development, innovation support, and improved access to ICT opportunities. She stressed that collaboration with NITDA would help bridge critical digital skills gaps, open up employment pathways, and stimulate innovation-driven growth across the six...

  The Member representing Itu/Ibiono Ibom Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. (Barr) Ime Bassey Okon, has once again underscored his reputation as a lawmaker deeply committed to education and youth development, following his endorsement of the NANS Entrepreneurial Conference. The endorsement was given on Monday, February 9, 2026, when the leadership of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) paid him a courtesy visit at his office in the National Assembly Complex, Abuja. Discussions at the meeting focused on the growing need to prepare students for life beyond the classroom through practical and entrepreneurial skills. Rep Okon, who is the Deputy Chairman, House Committee on Intergovernmental Affairs, commended the initiative, organised by the Office of the NANS National Treasurer, Comrade Heritage Akan, describing the conference theme, “After School, What’s Next?”, as timely and reflective of the realities confronting young graduates in today’s ...

  The Managing Director of the South South Development Commission (SSDC), Ms. Usoro Akpabio, has emerged as a central figure in the evolving political strategy of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Akwa Ibom State following her engagement with the President of the Senate, Chief (Dr.) Godswill Akpabio, over the adoption of the ARISE With Renewed Hope Initiative for the 2027 general elections. Ms. Akpabio was among leaders of the Initiative who visited the Senate President at his official residence in Abuja, where he was decorated as Grand Patron and formally endorsed the platform as the APC’s recognised structure for coordination, mobilisation, and electoral planning in Akwa Ibom. The Initiative is positioned to drive support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Governor Umo Eno, and Senator Godswill Akpabio, with an emphasis on unity and disciplined grassroots engagement ahead of 2027. During the meeting, Senator Akpabio highlighted Ms. Akpabio’s expanding national role within the ...

  In a direct push to tackle youth unemployment through practical empowerment, the Member representing Itu/Ibiono Ibom Federal Constituency, Rt. Hon. (Barr.) Ime Bassey Okon, has paid the training fees in cash for 20 youths from Ibiono Ibom Local Government Area to undergo long-term skill acquisition programmes. The beneficiaries received the support on Wednesday, February 5, 2026, at the Village Hall, Ikot Usen, Ibiono Ibom LGA, marking the first batch of a constituency-wide skill development initiative designed to equip youths with sustainable, income-generating skills. The skills covered include Auxiliary Nursing, Fashion Designing, Hair Making and Dressing, Patent Medicine Practice, Shoe Making, Hair Styling and Make-up, Carpentry and Joinery, Truck Driving, Plumbing, Automobile Mechanics, Tailoring, Furniture Making, Barbing, as well as trading support for a widow. Presenting the cash support on behalf of the federal lawmaker, the Chairman of the Selection Committee, Mr. Basse...

  By Asuquo Edem  The Chairman of the Akwa Ibom State Internal Revenue Service (AKIRS), Sir Okon Okon, has assured residents that the proposed State tax reform bills before the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly are designed to protect low-income earners, stimulate small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs), and strengthen economic growth, despite concerns and dissenting opinions raised by some stakeholders. Sir Okon gave the assurance on Wednesday during a public hearing on three executive bills organised by the House Committee on Finance and Appropriation. The bills include the Akwa Ibom State Revenue Service and Administration Bill 2025, Akwa Ibom State Taxes and Levies Bill 2025, and the Akwa Ibom State Betting and Lottery Regulatory Agency Bill 2025. Addressing stakeholders, the AKIRS chairman—who is also a member of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms—said the reforms would eliminate multiple taxation, harmonise tax administration across the state, ...

  By Asuquo Edem  As 2027 approaches, political conversations across Akwa Ibom North-East Senatorial District are beginning to shift from speculation to substance. In every democratic cycle, this moment often invites heightened scrutiny of those entrusted with public office—not through rhetoric or sentiment, but through records, results, and verifiable impact. Beyond the rising political noise, one fact remains constant: effective representation is best measured by performance. In legislation, oversight, advocacy, and constituency development, the scorecard of Senator Aniekan Bassey has steadily taken shape over the past years, revealing a pattern of deliberate governance, institutional responsibility, and people-centred interventions across the senatorial district. This feature examines that record—not as a response to personalities or partisan exchanges, but as a factual assessment of representation anchored on evidence. As the next electoral cycle draws nearer, the focus na...

  The Akwa Ibom State Police Command has arrested two suspected members of the Black Axe Confraternity during an intelligence-led operation in Uyo. The arrest was made yesterday, 1st February 2026, at about 4:30 p.m., following credible intelligence that a group of suspected cultists were conducting initiation activities at one  Secondary School, along Oron Road (name withheld) Upon arrival at the scene, the suspects fled on sighting the patrol team, abandoning a red mini-bus with registration number NYA-164XA. After a hot chase, two suspects were apprehended namely:  • Anitie  Isaac (Male)  • Unyime Effiong (Male) Items recovered at the scene include:  • One axe  • One brown calabash  • One bottle of Lord’s alcoholic drink  • Different types of incense  • Coloured handkerchiefs  • One Neo Black Axe (Neo Lord’s Movement of Africa) sticker The suspects and exhibits are currently in police custody and undergoing thorough investigation...