As the world continues to work towards zero hunger, good health, and well-being, the Sterling One Foundation has thrown its weight behind Community Pot, a social impact project focused on tackling infant malnutrition by providing healthy and sustainable diets.

The project, which aims to feed at least 1,000 children every month with healthy and nutritious meals received support from Sterling One Foundation for its February outreach in Ajegunle.

According to statistics, an estimated 2 million Nigerian children suffer from acute malnutrition, which contributes to under-five mortality and stunted growth, ranking the country, second highest in terms of stunted-growth children. Launched in 2022 as an initiative of Whole Eats Africa, a fitness and wellness initiative, and Sterling Bank Plc, Community Pot’s goal is to reduce the cases of malnutrition across Nigerian communities, which often affects the physical and mental abilities of children faced with the challenge.

In discussing the Ajegunle outreach, Oluwakemi Jeje, the founder of Community Pot, revealed that the initiative has identified and targeted communities with malnourished children and devised plans to not only feed them but also train and support them to become healthier.

“We understand the far-reaching effects of malnutrition in children, especially in underserved communities like this one,” she says, “which is why this is more than just an outreach for us, but an investment in the physical and cognitive development of the children here.”

The organisation provides mostly organic protein meals, which have been shown to increase body metabolism and improve overall health. 

While commenting on the impact of the outreach, Sterling One Foundation’s CEO, Olapeju Ibekwe, highlighted the opportunity it provided to interact with some of the children and their parents, and how important that touchpoint and the opportunity for mentorship and guidance it provides, could become throughout their lives.

Community Pot’s key beneficiaries are children between six months to five years old.

The Ondo State House Of Assembly has appealed to the Federal Government, United Nations, World Bank as well as the Niger Delta Development Commission to save the coastal community of Ayetoro from being wiped away by the Atlantic Ocean.

The Ayetoro Community in Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State has been facing the problem of ocean surge which was said to have taken over more than half of the land of the community. Many residents of the community have been rendered homeless as their houses had been swept away by the ocean.

The Assembly urged the FG and the international community to immediately deploy modern technology to rescue Ayetoro and other communities that are being submerged by ocean surges in the local government.

The Assembly made the appeal at the plenary sitting on Thursday after adopting a motion of urgent public importance on the need to save Ayetoro from being wiped off by ocean surge. The appeal was made in a motion moved by the lawmaker representing Ilaje constituency 1, Mr Abayomi Akinruntan.

Akinruntan informed the Assembly that people in the affected communities had lost valuables and property worth billions of naira and were currently displaced from their homes.

The lawmaker said, “It’s a recurring problem and we seek a lasting solution before the entire homes of my people at the constituency in Ilaje Ugbo, the oil-bearing communities in Ondo State are wiped away.

“I feel agencies like NDDC, NEMA and others need to explore with proper study by experts and deploy the same with best and latest technology for a solution to the ocean surge in the Ilaje communities.

“But presently an immediate settlement plan is required for the people of the affected areas aside from the regular relief materials that should be given to them.”

The lawmaker also appealed to the National Emergency Management Agency to speed up the distribution of relief materials to the victims.

Ruling on the motion, the Speaker of the Assembly, Mr Bamidele Oleyelogun, said the Ondo State Government alone could no longer manage the situation at Ayetoro and others, as the surge had now become an annual occurrence and resources consuming, hence the need for intervention of the stakeholders.

Youth leaders from the Niger Delta region on Tuesday applauded Senator Godswill Akpabio for conceiving and implementing projects in line with well-defined vision and strategies.

“The evidence so far is that the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio. is well-informed of what is expected of him and he is rising to the occasion admirably.”

At a meeting in Owerri, the youths commended Akpabio for giving priority to the basic infrastructure like roads, electricity, education, drinking water, health, land reclamation, construction of jetties and canalization.

“Senator Godswill Akpabio is offering permanent solutions to the Niger Delta problems. He is giving succour to the afflicted, building bridges of friendship across the region and giving the people a sense of belonging.”



The youth leaders spoke on the 3 per cent contribution of oil companies from their annual budgets to NDDC, the huge debt owed the commission by International Oil Companies, IOCs, operating in the region, Akpabio’s doggedness and sincerity and the financial resources to meet NDDC recurrent and capital expenditure,



In an address read on behalf of Youth Groups in the Niger Delta by the President, Coalition of Progressive Niger Delta Youths (CPNDY), Mr Chukwuma Nwabueze, the youth leaders praised Akpabio for properly and efficiently managing the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs.

They also applauded the former governor of Akwa Ibom State for galvanising the people into lending full support to the government in the campaign to transform the region.

“Godswill Akpabio’s strategy of development is aimed at breaking the ground for a dynamic growth of the Niger Delta.”



The youths emphasised proper coordination, distribution pattern of projects across the nine states of the region and completion of some abandoned projects.



They cautioned that there was great danger in constituting the NDDC Board



“Our attitude to the call for the constituting of the board for the Niger Delta Development Commission in 2021 is one of extreme caution. We also urge President Muhamadu Buhari not to yield to the temptation of constituting the NDDC Board now.”



The youths also highlighted the on-going East West Road project, the 1050 bed hostel in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, human capital development, skills acquisition centres in all the 9 states of the Niger Delta and the132kv substation in Ondo state, which will supply power to about 5 local governments.


“The good people of the Niger Delta have suffered from the myopic advice of The Ijaw Interest Advocate (IIA). We feel strongly that Mr Musa Saidu is a busy body that chose to cry where there is none. We urge the general public to disregard the lies, rumours peddled by the Izanzan Intellectual Camp, Saidu and other unpatriotic elements.”