The Nation Newspaper

Category: Niger Delta

  • ‘Rivers Legacy awards process will be free, fair’

    Our Reporter

    The Rivers State Economic Advancement Summit Project Director, Mr. Kennedy Odubu, has assured the selection process in the nominations of the Rivers State Legacy Awards will be free and fair.

    Odubu spoke in Port Harcourt, the state capital at the inauguration of the panel of juries headed by Dr. John Opobo.

    He said that nomination into the 2020 Rivers State Legacy Awards has begun with very great turn up by members of the board, adding that the calibre of persons/organisations nominated this year is overwhelming.

    Urging members of the public to take advantage of the process by nominating deserving individuals and organisations for this prestigious award, he reiterated the commitment of Emerging Nigeria, the official facilitators of the award, in ensuring a free and fair selection process.

    READ ALSO: Don’t close low cost schools, Rivers govt urged

    The 2020 Rivers State Legacy Awards will this year be hosted alongside the 2020 Rivers State Economic Advancement Summit which is expected to attract an estimated 1,000 investment stakeholders from within and outside Nigeria.

    The Rivers State Legacy Awards is founded to honour some deserving individuals and organisations who over the years have written their names in the sands of time in Rivers State and contributed in no small measure to the development of the state.

    Opobo said the selection process for recipients for the award will be based on merit and nominees subjected to a voting process by members of the public.

  • Ex-Delta commissioner raises the alarm over proposed conversion of development centre to Appeal Court

    A former Commissioner for Women Affairs in Delta State, Queen Betty Efekodha, has raised the alarm over plans to convert the Mariam Babaginda Women Development Centre built during the administration of former governor Emmanuel Uduaghan to Appeal Court premises.

    According to Efekodha, the building has been roofed and painted only awaiting furnishing before the proposed conversion.

    “I have been looking forward to the day it will be commissioned by Governor Ifeanyi Okowa.

    “This would have gone a long way in improving the lot of women all round as the edifice housed a very big hall plus smaller adjoining halls and different offices for meetings, trainings, seminars, hall of fame and skills acquisitions,” she said.

    The former commissioner, in a statement, explained the centre also plays host to national and international women programs and events.

    She added that the importance of the women centre could not be over-emphasised.

    READ ALSO: FG reverses suspension of DG National Women Development Centre

    “More so, it was named after an illustrious daughter of Delta State, who made women to be seen and also heard through her Better Life Programme.

    “It is definitely a big plus to women development. I have deliberately brought it to this platform so that we women of Delta State can appeal to the governor to let our centre be.

    “In as much as the Court of Appeal is necessary and I appreciate the Governor for it, robbing Peter to pay Paul is not the best.

    “I therefore appeal to my National President and State Chairman to please look into it. If possible, a delegation can see our Governor,” she said.

  • A vote for NNDC Interim Management Committee

    By Ejiro Jomafuvwe

    Henry Kissinger, a renowned former US Diplomat, said that the success of any government is its ability to bring about new realities.

    When President Buhari, in his quest for a new beginning, ordered a forensic audit into the activities of NDDC from inception to date, little did political influencers in the region imagine it would come to fruition.

    When he took a further step by directing the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs to inaugurate an Interim Management Committee to create the enabling environment for the audit, they broke the secure locks of hades and unleashed ancient demons to invade television houses and game newspaper columnists with vile propaganda.

    There is nothing as powerful as self-interest of political god fathers in the Niger Delta Region. The insularity of high positions has shielded them from the problems of the common man which are basically existential.

    They have betrayed the people, shared their common patrimony generally and particularly in NDDC being an interventionist agency. The time to give account has suddenly arrived like an unforeseen hurricane and they are unprepared.

    As it has dawned on them that we now live in a world where our digital foot and fingerprints follow money trails in a very exponential manner, they have gone into panic mode and are openly engaging in reverse logic under many aliases to the consternation of the Nigerian public.

    Even their interpretation of events leading to the setting up of the Interim Management Committee has been somewhere on the spectrum from “incomplete” to “inaccurate”.

    It is a shame that these people who fawn in the presence of the President have gone to great lengths to recruit front men who are dim and impermeable to reason to wantonly disparage what is clearly a simple executive action meant to improve an embarrassingly ineffective agency. It is a pity that they do not have sufficient sense and taste not to mistrust the President.

    For the people of Niger Delta Region, our trust in his judgment is marrow deep because he has demonstrated that he is on the side of the people not special interest. Nothing can kill our enthusiasm for the new direction the President has envisioned for NDDC.

    These oppressors of the masses of Niger Delta who are opposed to the audit have been speaking through their puppets with manufactured warmth and smile of concealed avarice trying to cajole us to reason with their unreason.

    Of all Satan’s forms of trickery and deceit, the very greatest is persuading man that he did not exist. There is no need reiterating that NDDC under the underhand control of the buccaneer political god fathers was synonymous with heist.

    A hawk with a song is a hawk no matter how it pretends to be a songbird. They are just afraid of the consequences of their illegal and ruinous takeover of the Commission not that they are remorseful nor have they learnt anything.

    They are incapable of any good and cannot change any more than a zebra can change its stripes. They are answerable only to the mammon gods of their pockets and must be resisted at all costs. The Committee must be allowed to work and the audit must proceed as ordered.

    Our Governors requested the audit and are happy that a Committee has been inaugurated to manage the affairs of NDDC in the interim. Our people have been asking for the audit and now that it is about to begin, we support it.

    The vast majority of Niger Delta people also support that the Committee prepares the ground for the audit, work with the auditors until they finish their work, liaise with the auditors to lay down proper and clear ground rules for the conduct of affairs of the Commission before handing over to a new board that would start its work on a clean slate.

    This is the minimum we expect from our loving President. Those who are opposed to this do not represent us. They cannot pretend to serve us without us. As the South Africans say: nothing about us without us.

    The immediate take-over of the Commission by the new board they are proposing does not represent the wishes of the people. It is a “sugar coated Satan Sandwich” If you lift the bun you will not like what you see. Their parochial agenda has long been exposed.

    It is very satisfying that the Committee under the leadership of Dr Joi. Gbene Nunieh is already inspiring confidence and hope. It is a settled fact that her competence, confidence, fearlessness and excellence which naturally recommended her for the job is glaring.

    A leader of quiet determination with skills and capacity to build a team, she has remained calm, talking less and taking tough decisions. As a result of the Committee’s work, Nigerians now know that a serving Senator is managing about 300 contracts out of which 120 have been fully paid for and 87 of them are awaiting payments. The Committee has stopped the monthly payment of N1bn (One Billion Naira Only) Consultancy Fees for a job the Commission is duly equipped to do.

    Under her watch, high sense of duty and values are returning to the Commission. She has confirmed that more than 55 contractors have gone back to site in just one week. An even larger number of contractors have indicated their willingness in wrting to return to work once the rain subsides towards the end of November because of the peculiar and  challenging terrain of the region.

    The potential for job creation when most of the abandoned projects are reactivated is best imagined. She asked all the young men that hang around the Commission to go back to their communities where they would be properly engaged and they complied because they trust her.

    She has stated that resources saved from reckless and wasteful expenditures would be diverted to providing mono pumps to give people in the rural areas drinking water which they severely lack.

    The Committee to our delight is liaising with member State Governments to ensure that our children study in proper classrooms, taught by teachers who have been properly taught themselves. The members being high achieving individuals understand that our children must be prepared to compete and succeed in the new world economy. They are critically analyzing the health and infrastructural policies of the Commission to ensure that no oil producing community is left out or behind.

    The region is blessed with abundant human and material resources but its potentials have largely remained what they are, just potentials. In the midst of abundance, the region has remained stagnated with majority of its people living in pitiable conditions and abject deprivation.

    The lands of the geese that lay the golden eggs are now viewed as wastelands because an agency such as NDDC which was established to support State Governments drive developments in the region has been strangulated by the activities of confused and extremely corrupt elites with limited sense of purpose.

    The elites lacking strong and viable base in production, turned it into its primary instrument for primitive accumulation of wealth and would stop at nothing to let the status quo remain.

    It is refreshing that the Commission through the Acting Managing Director is insisting that it begins to give hope to the hopeless, strength to the weak, job to the unemployed, good health to the sick, upliftment to the downtrodden, education to the illiterate, sustainable living to the poor, access roads and waterways to the forgotten people of the hinterlands and pride to the region.

    She is urging the leaders in the region to let the power of love for our people overpower/overcome our love for power over our people. This is absolutely amazing.

    This agency which suffered from the syndrome of fatal procrastination that sealed its fate and put it on the path of perfidy is experiencing fresh air of good deeds.

    We worry that the antics of moochers and men with insatiable greed who drove it to near collapse if left unchecked and unrebuked may slow down this onward march to a new dawn of limitless opportunities.

    The President should not let it happen. It’s a thing of joy for us as Niger Delta people that the Commission in under the supervision of the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs headed by our son who is known for his unmatched culture of excellence and delivery of what he proposes.

    We challenge the Minister and members of the Committee not to be undaunted, not to give up or give in because the destiny of millions of our people are in their hands as agents of change.

    We cannot afford to make our future look like our past. They must blaze a path that would ultimately illuminate new pathways and they would forever remain in the favour of a grateful region.

    Ejiro Jomafuvwe, a public affairs commentator writes from Sapele, Delta State on behalf of NIGER DELTA DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES.

  • ‘Why Amnesty programme must be sustained’

    Mrs. Enetimi Evah popularly known as the Royal Mother is the CEO of Ezonebu Training Centre Lagos.

    The consultant to Presidential Amnesty Programme speaks on why the scheme must be sustained and dispelled rumour of her arrest by the Economic Financial and crimes commission (EFCC). Excerpts:

    How did you go suddenly from training 50 delegates of the Presidential Amnesty Programme to 137 trainees?

    First of all, I am from Ekogbene under Burutu Local Government area, in Delta State. I have been a consultant to the federal government, under the Presidential Amnesty program for eight years plus. In the last eight years, I have worked with three of the Special Assistants.  My work with ex-militants began during President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.

    Best delegate in Fashion 2016/17

    I began with 50 delegates (agitators) and the focus of the training then was on entrepreneurship. The duration of the training was four months. The training helped the delegates develop their entrepreneurial skills and equip them with skills to transform their lives significantly.

    My first training was a huge success and I was so fulfilled to contribute to the lives of ex-militants. The delegates left the training centre with hope and joy and above all skills to better their livelihood.

    Practical work by delegates

    I dropped my report for the previous training and I was awarded another contract with more delegates than the previous training. My delegates became shop owners, employing other youths in the Niger- Delta region. This brought hope to the region as the purpose for the creation of the programme was seen to be achieved in my centre.

    Our training centre in Lagos is well equipped with the best resources in fashion designing, leather works (shoes and bag manufacturing) and ICT equipment and well trained facilitators, with a capacity of 250 delegates.

    Professor Charles Dokubo inspecting the delegates class work during the flag up

    At the time professor Charles Dokubo resumed office, we had already achieved more than 60 percent success rate in our delegates trained, meaning 60 percent of the delegates that attended our Training Institution are already self-made and  employers in their various communities.

    Presentation of cash awards to best delegates during the Graduation Ceremony at Eko hotel Lagos

    I don’t want to brag but we are one of the best training contractors this Programme has.  To this end, our success stories and capacity and passion in changing lives have contributed to the number of delegates we receive each year, so it is normal for the Office of the Presidential Amnesty Programme to increase the number of delegates given to us due to our excellent records and our capacity to train the ex-agitators.

    Representative of the Vice president presenting the Empowerment park’s

    How impactful has the training been?

    First of all, without this amnesty programme, I am sure a lot of tension would have been going on in the Niger Delta now.

    And that is why one must appreciate and thank the President Buhari administration for retaining the programme. This programme has really helped in shaping lives. It has helped to bring out the best in some of these delegates. Some of them have become employers of labour. The dignity of labour is already inculcated in them.

    Presentation of certificate

    They are all scattered in and around in Lagos, Ondo, Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta States doing wonderfully well. But for this programme, the peace the region is enjoying would have become bloody.

    137 of the delegates trained in my centre in June, 2019 graduated. Out of them, over 115 have already been empowered by the Presidential Amnesty Office, which is the instant empowerment after the graduation ceremony.

    Distribution of Empowerment items to delegates in various states

    Among the delegate is a lady, Miebi Foko, who graduated in fashion designing in the last batch. She is in Bayelsa State. She called to say she has employed four apprentices and didn’t know she could make the kind of sales she’s making. There are others, Otuma, in Ekeremo, Prince, Emelapor, Tony, so many, they’re all doing well.

    So, why were you arrested by the EFCC?

    Arrested by EFCC? That is the most ridiculous story I have heard this year.  How can I be arrested when I have not committed any offence? I render services to the government with a duly registered Training Institution company. I have never been arrested, invited or called by any law enforcement agencies before and now.

    You can only be arrested when you have been convicted of a crime. We are into Human Capacity Development, which is not a crime. Those stories were made up by people who don’t like the fact that we impact lives positively through the Presidential Amnesty Programme. It’s just beer parlor story, all tissue of lies.

  • Retraction

    Our attention has been drawn to the story published on The Nation online platform titled Channel TV sacks reporter, cameraman over unprofessional conducts at Rivers.

    We have since discovered that the story was not true in all material facts as reported.

    We hereby retract the story and apologise to Channel Television for any embarrassment and inconveniences caused by the publication.

    Editor

  • Kits for 100 pupils in Delta community 

    Indigent parents and pupils in Onicha Ugbo, a Delta State community on Saturday received school kits and other education materials which were donated by a non-profit group Anioma Youth Network for Development (AYND).

    The group, which was founded by Odita Sunday, a journalist, has, since 2017, embarked on Back-to-School projects where items such as school bags, books, uniforms and other stationery are provided to indigent and orphaned children to boost their drive for education.

    Funded by savings from the Odita’s monthly income and goodwill from some of his trusted friends, he, at this year’s event held at Amed Hotel Event Centre, Onicha Ugbo said the project was dear to his heart because it was a dream he nursed since he was a child.

    According to him, one does not have to be a millionaire to lend a hand of care to the needy, adding that giving to the less privileged people must be done with a determined heart.

    “A total of 112 pupils of primary and secondary schools that are within the bracket of the less privileged people bracket benefited from the AYND back-to-school initiative in 2017. They received school bags, mathematical sets, note books, literature in English books and other learning materials.

    “Last year, 111 beneficiaries similarly received school materials as the new academic session was about to begin. Two widows also received N25,000.

    “This time around, no fewer than 100 students and pupils from Onicha Ugbo, Issele-Uku, Ubulu-Uku, Obior, Asaba, Igbodo communities shared in the school materials made available.

    “The programme was strategically planned to take place at a time when primary and secondary schools in the country would be resuming for a new academic session. It is a period parents are usually under pressure to pay school fees and buy all the necessary materials for their children and wards.

    “It is our little way of demonstrating our passion and commitment to humanity. I am not driven by any political intentions or monetary gains but rather by the passion to be my brother’s and sister’s keeper through this onerous task of trying to lend a helping hand to our less privileged ones,” he said.

    Speaking at the event, the monarch of Onicha Ugbo His Royal Majesty (HRM) Agbogidi Victor Chukwumalieze recalled how difficult it was for less privileged children of his generation to access western education due to poverty and lack of help.

    He explained that less privileged children in contemporary times were luckier than his generation as kind-hearted people such as the AYND founder were ready to render some helping hands which was not the case in his days.

    He advised the children to leverage on the opportunity offered them and shun vices that were ravaging the country.

  • 200 benefit from skills acquisition programme

    Over 200 Ijaw youths gathered at the Izon House in Yenagoa recently. They comprised mostly women who were there to begin a training programme organised by the Ijaw Youths Council (IYC), Central Zone, led by Mr. Kennedy Olorogun.

    They considered the gesture by the IYC as unique, as it was the first time in the history of the IYC, its leadership had undertaken what they described as a life-changing cause. Olorogun, who recently emerged the chairman of the zonal IYC, shot himself into the limelight when he led the youth to picket telecommunication companies operating in Bayelsa State over unresolved issues bordering on empowerment and lack of inclusion of those indigenous to the Bayelsa for contract awards.

    He further led his executive members to the office of the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHDC) following the perpetual darkness in the state and warned the firm against incurring the wrath of the youth. His intervention has led to improved electricity supply, especially to the state capital.

    Residents view the recent initiation of skill acquisition by the IYC as a demonstration of the new leadership’s desire to change the negative narrative against the council. Olorogun said the 200 youths would undergo training in five skills during the first phase of the programme, adding that the second phase would take off immediately.

    Olorogun further said the training was initiated to correct an impression that Ijaw youths were lazy and unwilling to earn a living through hard work. But he said the youth had so far proved that they were not lazy but were simply victims of lack of opportunities.

    Olorogun said: “Our people have been blackmailed. They always say we are very lazy and that we only beg money. They say we don’t want to learn anything at all. But since my emergence as the Chairman of IYC, I have seen the passion of our youths to learn skills.

    “People came to me and told me they were willing to learn something. So, I met with my executive officers and we decided to float skills acquisition programme. We decided to start with the training of 200 people.

    “The first day we made our intention public and invited people to apply, we thought we won’t get up to 100 people. But over 500 people besieged the Ijaw House to collect forms. Right now we are under pressure to increase the number to more than 200. That is why I said we would come up with the second phase.”

    Olorogun noted that the initiative was part of his leadership’s efforts to engage the youth meaningfully and divert their attention from crimes and prostitution. He argued that crimes were on the increase because many youths in the state were idle.

    “Most criminal activities are committed by idle minds. We are going to engage the 200 people selected for this programme for three months and within the three months; you will see that they will redirect their thinking and energy to positive things. Imagine that we are able to complete phases two and three, it will help in reducing crimes drastically in our society”, he said.

    Olorogun said his leadership was still making public appeals for funding. He said they decided to contribute money to start the programme. He added that most of his executive members made financial contributions from their personal purses to actualise the dreams of the programme.

    Nevertheless, he called on multinationals, telecommunication companies, philanthropists and others to support the programme. He said projects that would empower the youth and create employment opportunities should attract the attention of responsible firms and wealthy individuals.

    He said: “We have been blackmailed that our people are not ready to be trained. But with what we have done, we have demonstrated that our people are ready for it. So, we are calling on the companies and individuals to come to the aid of the IYC. We want to actualise the objectives of this programme and we want to do more to empower our youths. So, we need all the supports we can get”.

    Olorogun said the IYC engaged five trainers and facilitators to teach the youth all the five areas of skills selected by the IYC. But he said the number of skills would be increased to include making of perfume, soap, shoes and hairdressing.

    He said: “The beneficiaries should know we are doing this through pains. We taxed ourselves to do this. So, we don’t expect them to let us down. We will be monitoring them because I have already set up a committee to monitor their seriousness towards the various programmes they applied for. We won’t tolerate laziness and lack of seriousness”.

    Some of the beneficiaries, who applied to be trained in catering and decoration, tying of gele and computer commended the IYC for the initiative and confirmed that the training was free. They also promised to make good use of the opportunity.

    One of the beneficiaries, Ogadi Abraham said: “I got the information through the social media, I got interested and I decided to apply. It is free. So, I came and they gave me the form and today I’m here for orientation.

    “I want to thank the central zone IYC and the team entirely for giving us this opportunity. I have been involved with IYC activities, but this one is so peculiar and special I want to thank them for giving us, the less-privileged, who have no opportunity for white collar jobs, this platform to acquire skills so that we can do things for ourselves. That’s the reason I’m here.

    “I believe that this will help to tackle crime because crimes result from unemployment, lack of skills, service and IYC has come up with this kind of opportunity involving many youths and women.

    “I’m here to learn computer. If I acquire the knowledge, I will not be waiting for the next person to give me money. I can design posters for politicians during elections. I can design website and do programming for which they will pay me and I will use the proceeds to sustain myself and my family.”

  • Lawmaker seeks reconstruction of Warri-Sapele-Benin Expressway

    The Federal Government has been urged to direct the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) to reconstruct failed sections of the Warri-Sapele-Benin Expressway in Delta State.

    The lawmaker representing Sapele, Okpe and Uvwie Federal Constituency in the National Assembly, Hon. Efe Afe, made the call on Sunday while he was stuck in the traffic jam caused by the deplorable state of the Adeje community section of the highway.

    He emphasised that hoodlums have seized the opportunity to attack unsuspecting road users at the bad spots.

    The lawmaker particularly stated that the road should not be patched, but reconstructed urgently.

    He explained that the road needed a total overhaul because of the heavy-duty trucks which ply it on daily basis, adding that Delta, an oil-bearing state which connects the Southsouth states to other regions of Nigeria, does not deserve such dilapidated road.

    He said: “Patching the failed portion of the Warri-Sapele-Benin Expressway would not help matters as diesel, petrol and other petroleum products-laden heavy trucks regularly pass through the busy road.”

    He further revealed that the poor state of the road has crippled economic activities of his constituents.

    “People travelling from Lagos to Warri and its environs spend more time on the road; motorists spend more money to buy fuel due to the deplorable conditions of the road. The Federal Government needs to intervene to alleviate the sufferings of motorists and commuters,” Afe said.

    He, however, expressed gratitude to the Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa for his administration’s efforts to rehabilitate the expressway in the past.

  • Furore over demolished mosque in Rivers

    The Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike and the Muslim faithful are at daggers drawn over the demolition of a mosque in Port Harcourt, reports Southsouth Bureau Chief, BISI OLANIYI.

    The demolition of a Central Mosque in Trans-Amadi Industrial Layout, Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, has drawn the ire of the Muslim faithful against Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike. The Muslim faithful described the act as a premeditated one which smacked of religious intolerance.

    The Imam of the demolished mosque Alhaji Haroon Muhammed revealed that, on August 20 this year, officials of the Rivers State Ministry of Urban Development and Physical Planning came to the site accompanied by policemen and pulled down the structures. He added that the officials gave non-compliance to Rivers State government’s approved building plan as reason for the demolition of the mosque.

    In the circumstances, the Muslims in Rivers State have called on President Muhammadu Buhari to intervene in the matter. They also called on members of the National Assembly and other critical stakeholders to condemn the demolition of the mosque.

    The demolished mosque was said to have the capacity for 10,000 worshippers, even as the Muslim faithful maintain that the demolition of the mosque has presented a difficult situation for the worshippers who are handicapped in terms of having alternative worship centre.

    The Imam of the mosque said: “In the whole of Port Harcourt, this is the most populated mosque. Muslims all over the world can see what has happened to a mosque that was duly approved by the Rivers State government.

    “The government of Rivers State had harassed us three times without any formal notice. First was on July 29, 2019; again on August 16 and lastly on August 20.

    “Today, we are denied a place of worship. We do not want to foment any trouble with the officials of Rivers State government. We want the whole world to help us beg the Governor of Rivers State to have a change of heart for us to have a place of worship, because the Trans-Amadi Central Mosque is the only mosque serving the whole of Trans-Amadi.

    “Members of all the armed forces, the agencies, the police, army, members of staff of oil companies and government officials who are Muslims have only the demolished mosque to worship in. We acquired the place. We did not encroach on the land, neither did we grab it. We bought the land and it was duly approved by the Rivers State government. But today, we do not know what has happened.

    “We are begging Governor Wike in the name of Allah, the Lord of the universe, who made him the governor to please leave the small place for us to worship in.”

    Imam Muhammed also revealed that the plight of Muslims worshipping at the Trans-Amadi Central Mosque began 10 years ago, when the building was first demolished during the administration of Wike’s predecessor, Rotimi Amaechi, the Minister for Transportation.

    Imam Muhammed further stated that the earlier demolition led to a lawsuit, in which the worshippers became victorious six years ago, stressing that armed with the court judgment, the Muslims returned to the site, thereby committing huge sums of money to the project.

    While also speaking on the demolished mosque, the Chief Imam of Mile One, Diobu Central Mosque in Port Harcourt, Murtala Sulaiman Abdulsalam, who is also the Khalifah Tijaniyah Rivers State, called for dialogue, urging the Muslims to remain calm and peaceful.

    Governor Wike, however, described as unfortunate, the alleged false information being circulated that his administration demolished a mosque in Port Harcourt, claiming that the false report was planted by mischief makers to create disaffection.

    Addressing some reporters at the mosque’s location on Biambo Street, off School Road by Mami Market Junction, near Rainbow Estate on August 26, Governor Wike claimed that there was no mosque at the site, insisting that nothing was demolished.

    Wike said: “I received calls from many prominent Nigerians on the fake news being circulated online. I have come here with reporters and you can see there was no mosque here.

    “It is most unfortunate that fickle-minded people will claim that a mosque was demolished at this place, when no mosque existed here. The story was concocted by mischief makers to score cheap points.”

    He also stated that some people started erecting illegal foundation on the disputed land, claiming that they had no approval to embark on any construction work.

    He said: “They came here to erect illegal structure. There was no approval from the Rivers State government for any structure to be erected here.

    “The people who began the foundation had already dragged the Rivers State government to court on the disputed land.  The Rivers State government won the case. What they attempted to do was to start the illegal construction, to tie the hands of the Rivers State government.”

    Wike also admonished members of the Muslim community in Rivers State not to allow themselves to be used by politicians to peddle false stories against his administration.

    He stated that many mosques constructed on the approval of the state government exist across Port Harcourt and other major towns in Rivers State, without his administration demolishing them.

    He said: “The Rivers State government gave them (Muslims) notice not to do anything on the land, but they went ahead with the illegal foundation and the relevant agency stopped them.

    “Why would we want to bring down any mosque, when there are other mosques across Rivers State? What is the special interest on this one?”

    The Director-General of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside, has called on Muslims in Rivers State to remain calm and embrace peace over their demolished mosque.

    He also urged members of the Muslim community in Rivers State to seek all avenues to resolve contending issues with the Wike’s administration.

    Peterside noted that Rivers State is open and free for all religions, tribe, and background.

    The NIMASA chief stated that Rivers State has always been home to all Nigerians and it is not surprising that there has never been any religious crisis in the history of the state.

    Peterside said: “I want to plead with my Muslim brothers and sisters to explore all options for a peaceful resolution. Rivers people are very accommodating, loving and caring. We have many Rivers people who are also Muslims.

    “I want to plead that we do not fan the embers of discord. I have many Muslim friends in Rivers State and other parts of Nigeria. We will continue to remain friends. We should not allow religion to divide us at any point. Rivers is home for all.”

    The NIMASA chief also called on Governor Wike to immediately open channel of dialogue with the Muslim community in Rivers State in order to resolve all grey areas.

    The Governor of Kano State, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje declared that his administration would drag Wike to court over the said demolition.

    Ganduje, through his Chief Press Secretary, Abba Anwar, described the mosque demolition as shocking, vowing to contest the demolition with appropriate authorities for redress.

    Ganduje said: “Kano State is known for peaceful co-existence among Muslims and Christians. We should therefore improve on that and remain calm and peaceful. People should live peacefully with one another.”

    Wike’s Special Assistant on Electronic Media, Simeon Nwakaudu, however, stated that it beats his imagination that Kano Ganduje didn’t verify issues before issuing a statement.

    The warring parties should embrace dialogue and give peace a chance in the Niger Delta state.

  • Delta community protests ‘abandoned’ road project

    Those indigenous to Asaba-Ase community in Ndokwa East Local Government Area of Delta State have staged a peaceful protest over the alleged abandonment of the 7km Asaba-Ase/Abari Road linking Ndokwa East, Isoko South and Patani local government areas.

    Ase is a coastal community on the shores of the Ase River, off River Niger in Ndokwa North.

    Ase River derives its name from Ase Town.

    Ase is an idyllic countryside with a spectacular and breathtaking natural beach, evergreen rain-forest vegetation rich in flora and fauna which overhangs the Ase Creek.

    It shares common boundaries with Ibedeni, Onyah, Aviara, Uzere, Patani (all in Delta State) and Trofani (in Bayelsa State).

    During the colonial era, Ase served as the commercial and administrative headquarters for the colonial administrators. Relics of colonial presence still dot the landscape. John Holt and the United African Company (UAC) are some of the companies that had trade offices and warehouses in Ase.

    The town is made up of descendants from Ndokwa speakers who have inter-married with the Isoko and Ijaw over the years.

    The protesters alleged that the road project (a major artery) had been abandoned for over one year ago.

    The scene was charged as women, youths and the elderly, singing solidarity songs trooped out to demand a return of the contractor to site.

    Many placards-carrying protesters decried the neglect and disruption of social life occasioned by the bad road.

    Placards with inscriptions such as “Asaba-Ase is suffering for lack of road”, ‘The Road Master come to our aid” “Our road have been abandoned” and “Senator Nwaboshi, Ossai, Osanebi, Okowa, Buhari, please come and help us Asaba -Ase people’’, dotted huge crowd of protesting residents.

    The residents lamented that farm produce could not get to the cities due to the deplorable nature of the road.

    Speaking during the protest, President-General of the community, Anabogu Nosike Godfrey said: “My people in Asaba-Ase community have been suffering because of the bad road. We have had this problem before 2012 and subsequent government has been coming to say they have been doing this road but thank God Ekuweme (Governor Okowa) you came to office. You awarded contract for this road three times to people but the unfortunate part of it is, the contract was awarded to people without names, signpost or whatever and when they came, the drainage we were managing before, they crushed it and the internal roads were destroyed.”

    Continuing, he said: “Since the award of contract for the 7km Asaba-Ase/Abari Road by you over a year ago, nothing has been done. We are begging you Ekuweme to come to our aid. We dropped our written letter with the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Works in Asaba about this road and nobody has come to verify our complaint.

    “The road from Uzere in Isoko South Local Government Area to Asaba-Ase was destroyed by the 2012 floods. When the community cried out, by the special grace of God, intervention came through the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) which worked on it.

    But last year’s flood disaster destroyed the road and nothing has been done since despite our cries and series of written letters to the concerned authorities.”

    He further added: “Governor Okowa, we know what you can do. Kindly help us and call FERMA on the Uzere /Asaba-Ase Road and prevail on the contractor handling the Asaba-Ase/ Abari Road back to site to resume construction on the abandoned road in the area to give us a sense of belonging.

    “We are also experiencing ecological problem here; erosion is affecting us seriously and if urgent measures are not taken, Asaba-Ase will be wiped out from the face of the earth. We need help or else Asaba-Ase which is the gateway to other coastal communities in Bayelsa, Rivers, Anambra and other states, will be cut off from the state.”

    Mr. Anagbogu said the road constructed in the late 1980s during General Ibrahim Babangida’s regime, was annually washed off by flood.

    Anagbogu expressed sadness that residents’ commitment to President Buhari’s call to agriculture had been defeated by their inability to move their produce out for higher economic gain, thereby rendering the local farmers hopeless and helpless.

    According to him, the President advised Nigerians to go back to farming which we complied with. But the state of the road has rendered us helpless.

    His words: “The condition we are experiencing is terrible because the place is extremely bad and any moment from now, as the flood is coming, we will not know the state we belong to; Delta, Bayelsa or Rivers.

    “Our only occupation is farming and if there are no roads to market our goods, then we are in danger. We are part of Delta State and we also want to feel the presence of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, Senator Peter Nwaoboshi, Ossai Ossai and Friday Osanebi and government in Asaba-Ase. We are peace-loving people hence this peaceful protest. We are begging government to come to our aid,” he said.

    Mrs. Queen Obodoagu lamented the poor patronage of their farm produce because of the bad nature of the roads.

    She said: “Customers are no longer coming to buy our goods because of the bad nature of Asaba-Ase Road and for that reason our goods from the farm are getting bad on daily basis because nobody is coming to buy or trade market with us.”

    But, in a swift reaction, Delta State Commissioner of Works, James Augoye debunked the insinuation that the road project has been abandoned. He said this while briefing reporters in Asaba, the state capital.

    His words: “We appeal to the community, especially the demonstrators, to bear with us as the contractor will mobilise fully to site as soon as the rains subside.”