The Nation Newspaper

Category: Niger Delta

  • How to curb restiveness in the Niger Delta, by Boroh

    How to curb restiveness in the Niger Delta, by Boroh

    The Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta and Co-ordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Brig-Gen. Paul Boroh, in this paper delivered participants of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), lays bare the poverty in the Niger Delta and the role the PAP has played in reducing it. Excerpts:

    The Niger Delta region has benefitted from Federal Government investment of over $40 Billion, over the last 10 years.  Through a variety of Federal and State Government interventions (schemes and programmes), skills acquisition has been a key tool of government to work towards reducing high levels of poverty in the region.

    The PAP has currently trained 13,571 delegates and with 712 delegates that are currently in-training in a variety of vocational skills. Also, the PAP has graduated 1,230 in various fields of education and currently has 3,057 students in various universities across the globe still studying.  These acquired skills and education have given a total of 18,570 delegates (in education and vocation both graduated and in-training/studying) the opportunities to access sustainable livelihood.  Delegates access to entrepreneurial activities that have earned them on the average, income higher than the minimum wage in Nigeria.  The Programme has therefore been a tool for poverty reduction in the region, given the level of socio-economic improvement of the delegates in terms of education, access to employment as well as access to empowerment in a variety of business areas.

    The results of the survey of 232 delegates have demonstrated the assumption that skills acquisition has a positive impact on poverty reduction.  However, other factors like income (monthly stipend, monthly salary, monthly personal drawings from profit) received by delegates, are also critical.    The acquired skills need to therefore lead to a form of income, through employment or self-employment. Actual poverty reduction also depends on the level of income secured in the employment of micro-business, as the 2016 ILO report on decent jobs highlights. (World, Employment Social Outlook 2016: Transforming Jobs to End Poverty”, International Labour Organization, 2016).

    Many of the surveyed delegates who were empowered with entrepreneurial skills and starter pack items to start-up businesses, have been able to grow their businesses with a good profit margin and these businesses may soon be able to create more jobs in the region thus, having multiplier effects on other households and families. Also, a significant percentage of the skilled, employed and empowered delegates are females and majority of the delegates are married and have dependents under them. This implies that the training, employment and empowerment have multiplier effects on the households and families of the delegates.   Also, a significant percentage of the surveyed delegates become car and house owners within the short period of training, employment and empowerment. Those who had been trained and empowered in business, clearly showed that they have benefitted the most from the PAP.

    The indicators and findings of the survey of the delegates therefore show that the PAP has the socio-economic potentials to continue to improve the wellbeing of the citizens in the region and in the country at large.     Nevertheless, a significant percentage of delegates are yet to be trained and many more still need to be employed or empowered.   This challenge has the potential to reduce the success level of the programme and the capacity of the programme in reducing poverty in the region, if not addressed.

     

    RECOMMENDATIONS

    The following recommendations are proffered to serve as policy interventions for the Federal Government’s Intervention in the Niger Delta:

    • There should be a review of the Niger Delta Regional Development Plan and a renewed cohesive and comprehensive approach should be adopted with regards to investment in the Niger Delta Region by the all stakeholders, including Government and private companies.
    • The various government agencies in the Niger Delta must be strengthened in a way and manner that they can effectively institute transformation in the region. Each of these levels of government agencies must continue to strive to contribute its own quota to the poverty reduction in the Region through training and skills acquisition and empowerment.
    • Skills acquisition interventions must be accompanied with fully-funded job creation and micro business entrepreneurship programmes at federal and state levels.
    • In line with the transparency of President Muhammadu Buhari Administration and to ensure peace in the region, all stakeholders within the Niger Delta region need to be continuously engaged and involved in the monitoring of implementation of these government interventions.
    • The Framework for PAP should be strengthened by increasing the capacity of the Programme to accommodate and give support to all delegates. This could be through private organisations and encourage public-private partnership to increase the scope of service delivery of the Programme and also to attract more funds and support for efficiency and effectiveness. This would enable the empowerment of more businesses that will further create job opportunities in the region.
    • Agencies charged with responsibility for the provision of infrastructure in the Niger Delta region, need a clear sense of direction and to be seen to deliver timely results, to enable the development of a more conducive business environment in the Region.
    • Environmental concerns in the Region should go beyond rhetoric. Action should be taken on zero tolerance for gas flaring, and such other factors which degrade the environment of the Niger Delta during oil exploitation. A multi-sectoral approach is required for cleaning of the region to solve the environmental problem and security problem. Public sector cooperation and synergy becomes imperative.
    • The political matrix upon which the regional economy can develop is very important. Therefore, it is necessary to nurture a transparent democratic process which respects the sovereign will of the people as expressed through their votes and consultative channels that allow unrestricted media attention, as well as the development of a political leadership that is accountable.
    • Skill acquisition packages for Niger Deltans promise a better future for both the local population and the companies if well managed. Upon the completion of their training and education in oil related skills, the companies should ensure that they are recruited and engaged in the oil industry by a quota system.
    • To sustain poverty reduction in the region, it is important that government continues to find a platform for round table discussions with the inhabitants of the Niger Delta as much as possible to reduce agitation in the region.
    • Collaboration among the security arrangements in the region comprising the Police, private and community-based security organisations is critical to lasting Peace in the region.
    • Finally, Government policies must be sustainable and modified only to suit the need of the populace particularly in the Niger Delta. Policies and programmes of the government must be time relevant and consistent with change in administration for positive results and lasting peace in Niger Delta region.

  • Otuoke’s faded glory

    The Presidential glamour of Otuoke, a community in Ogbia Local Government Area, Bayelsa State, has disappeared. The condition of the roads to the community has no presidential vestige. Judging by the roads, it seems the immediate past President Goodluck Jonathan never hails from Otuoke.

    The road from Azikoro Village through Otuokpoti, yearned for presidential touch, but former President Jonathan turned the other way preferring rather to jet in and out of his community on either a presidential aircraft or a chartered flight.

    In fact, the road is in a terrible state of disrepair. Many portions have failed. The other access road to Jonathan’s village through Elebele axis is even worse. The potholes have become a gulf. The recent flood that affected some communities in the state further dilapidated the roads.

    Surprisingly, colonial bridges, a lineal and narrow bridge constructed with steel, still dot the road to Otuoke and other communities in Ogbia. The bridges which can’t accommodate two vehicles simultaneously are death trap.

    Perhaps, the only respite for the roads is the absence of heavy traffic of exotic presidential vehicles which once plied them without sympathy to their rough surfaces. The vehicles and most times long siren-blasting convoys have no longer come.

    Indeed, heavyweights, politically-exposed persons and wealthy individuals who were regular visitors to Otuoke, may have forgotten the roads to the village. Otuoke is no longer attractive. It has since shed its glory with the exit of Jonathan as the President of the country. In its place has risen the town of Daura, the community of the incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari in Katsina State.

    Therefore, the breeze of affluence and grandeur no longer blows in Otuoke. The excitement and enthusiasm that usually enveloped the village has since ebbed. Otuoke now lives in mixed feelings of regrets, melancholy and appreciation.

    It mourns the ouster of Jonathan but at the same time rejoices in its historical significance of being the first Niger Delta community to produce the President of the country. Even though it boasts of no significant achievements in terms of infrastructure and development, it derives joy from the fact that the history is indelible.

    Otuoke waxes in unfulfilled expectations. Apart from the roads, which were not constructed with the influence of Jonathan, kinsmen of the former President who were awarded contracts to develop the community, abandoned the projects. The bridges were not constructed. Otuoke like many communities in Ogbia local government area has been in darkness without electricity for over two years.

    So, from the entrance, one could see the difference between Otuoke when Jonathan was the President and the present condition of the community. Security is no longer tight. It used to be in the “days of the king”.

    Both entrances to Otuoke were hitherto manned by soldiers, who mounted checkpoints to stop free movements of vehicles and visitors into the community. In fact, before visitors were allowed into the community, they were frisked by the soldiers. But now, the soldiers are no longer there and entering Otuoke is as easy as entering every other community.

    When Jonathan was the President, there were two military Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) stationed at two strategic areas in Otuoke. One of them was placed at the entrance to the multi-million dollar Jonathan’s palatial courtyard while the other was stationed at the entrance to the hotel owned in the community by Patience, the wife of Jonathan.

    But now the APCs have gone back, perhaps, to the army barracks where they came from. All the vestiges of the military have disappeared from the community.

    At that time, Otuoke witnessed influx of dignitaries who either attended ceremonies to appease the President or ran different errands on the orders of Jonathan. So, the town boomed almost everyday.

    The presence of such wealthy and high-profile government officials stimulated the economy of Otuoke. When ceremonies held like the periods Jonathan buried his relations and gave out his daughter’s hand in marriage, Otuoke was electrified. Residents made brisk businesses.

    Many people relocated from Yenagoa, the state capital, to Otuoke to open business ventures. New businesses such as boutiques, restaurants, hotels and pubs flourished.

    But after Jonathan’s administration, the big men no longer come to Otuoke. Ceremonies are scarce and many businesses have closed shop. Some have relocated their ventures back to Yenagoa and other cities. Hotels are lacking patronage.

    “Things have really changed in Otuoke. We are missing the years we ruled this country. We have lost all our privileges”, a resident who identified himself as Joseph said.

    “If you ever visited Otuoke when Jonathan was the President, you can see the difference now. Everywhere is dry. Those big men who used to come are not coming again. Our community is no longer important”, he said.

    A lady, Franca, who closed her restaurant said she was no longer making profit. “Things were different when Jonathan was the President. But since he left, his community is now very boring. I am no longer making profit because the attractions that brought me here are no longer there”, she said.

    One of the kinsmen of the President, Ricki, said they missed the days of Jonathan’s Presidency. He said the negative impact of Jonathan’s exit on Otuoke would be greatly felt during the Yuletide.

    He said: “People achieved a lot in the community during Jonathan’s Presidency. Each Yuletide was a real celebration because gift items were flying from one place to another. Each home had bags of rice not only in Otuoke but in the entire Ogbia.

    “In Yuletide, food items have never been a problem to us. But it is difficult now. We can’t see a half bag of rice. Jonathan and his men were feeding many people, but these people are now are hungry.

    “We can’t even buy anything because of the cost of things. It is now a mess. Everything has changed. He no longer comes home because they are chasing him upon and down. We miss the President and all the good things coming to us”.

    He said Otuoke would never be the same with the exit of Jonathan. He confirmed that businesses were in low ebb adding that many of them had closed shop. He said hotels were the worst hit as they lacked patronage.

    “Nothing is happening now. It is like a stagnant water. Nothing is happening. The projects awarded are no longer working. Contractors have abandoned sites because they have not been mobilised.

    “Each time our son visited population of wealthy people used to follow him, but everything has changed in Otuoke and other places. Most of the hotels are empty”, he said.

    Perhaps, one of the abandoned projects that shows the ephemeral nature of power is helipad, which was under construction was being prepared for the landing needs of Jonathan in the community. But since his exit, the helipad had been abandoned with the project site covered by vegetation and trees.

    But Otuoke will remain grateful to Jonathan for siting a federal university, the Federal University, Otuoke, in the community. The community also has a well-equipped cottage hospital operated by the Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa.

     

  • Troops ransack Bayelsa creeks in Exercise Eagle Eye

    Troops ransack Bayelsa creeks in Exercise Eagle Eye

    It started with the Nigerian Army’s Operation Crocodile Smile. It later led to the Exercise Eagle Eye (EEE). Gradually, with various operations, the military is having mastery of the creeks in the Niger Delta region.

    The creeks were hitherto a fortress to hoodlums, sea robbers, pirates, oil thieves and kidnappers. The criminals reigned supreme as they felt secured and protected within the mangroves.

    They were the lords of the jungle. After each hit, they quickly maneuvered the waterways and rivulets with their fast-moving speedboats to seek protection from their hideouts and most times left security operatives in utter confusion.

    But now, things are changing following various operations launched recently by the military. The armed forces have taken their time to identify flash points, hideouts and red spots along the waterways and creeks. Impregnable creeks are now accessible.

    Such knowledge was deployed recently by the Nigerian Navy during its special operations tagged, Exercise Eagle Eye. The navy stormed all the creeks in their general areas of Niger Delta. Their armed vessels cruised along the waterways restoring confidence among dwellers of fishing camps, coastal communities and travelers.

    Between Thursday and Saturday that the operation lasted, the sea and rivers were calm. Maritime terrorists went into hiding. In fact, the Navy took control of their familiar terrain. In Bayelsa State, a sophisticatedly armed team of the Navy started the operational voyage from the Government House jetty, Yenagoa.

    The team comprised energetic and motivated special force, the Flaming Warriors. They were deployed for the operations from Lagos and Abuja. They were strong, versatile in weapon handling and brave. They were fearless and brutal during operations.

    They demonstrated the highest level of patriotism and were willing to pay the supreme price defending the country. When asked not to join a particular operation because of some logistics constraints, their visages immediately spotted sadness. In fact, they were ever ready to storm the creeks and smoke out disturbers of peace.

    The Bayelsa EEE was led by an amiable and professional officer, Commodore Habib Usman. He commands the Nigerian Naval Ship (NNS), Soroh, whose operational headquarters is domiciled in Yenagoa under the Central Naval Command (CNC). Some senior officers such as Director Doctrine, Naval Doctrine and Assessment Centre, Commodore Vincent Okeke were on ground to monitor the exercise.

    One of the busiest component of CNC, the Forward Operational Base (FOB), Formoso, located in Egweama, Brass Island, led the charge. The Commander, FOB, Formoso, Capt. Mayowa Olukoya, led the field operations. One of the field operations showed the sacrifices of the naval personnel to keep the Niger Delta safe.

    The time was 12midnight. The troops in Formoso got a hint that some notorious hoodlums terrorizing coastal communities and merchants along the Brass-Nembe axis were building a camp at a place called Masunkiri creek, some kilometers away from Formoso.

    After formulating and preparing their strategies, the special force and other operatives marched to the jetty. The senior officers sprang on their feet to monitor deployment. Olukoya engaged his men, motivated them and led them to a gunboat.

    Some of them were masked, while others robbed their faces with black mud. Their voices roared with military renditions. They, however, prayed in Christian and Islamic ways committing their lives to the supreme being before proceeding for the operation.

    One of the operatives who spoke in confidence described night operations as a constant feature of the navy in Formoso. He gave insight into the Masunkiri operation.

    He said: “We got information that some notorious militants have set up a camp at Masunkiri. We are going to storm the camp. We will destroy it, arrest suspects and recover arms. The information was brought to us by some locals.”

    The revelation that people residing in communities in the Niger Delta brought the information to the navy got some civilians among the soldiers thinking. This is an indication that communities in the region are tired of militants’ activities. They desire peace and want an end to violence and war.

    So, the operation started. The operatives stormed the camp. And as expected the hoodlums were laying ambush for commercial boats to attack merchants. They fell to the bait thrown to them by the navy. But after realising they miscalculated, they opened fire at the naval gunboat. Their firepower was child’s play.

    They tried to escape and in the process threw some of their weapons, a pump action rifle, an AK47 rifle and a walkie talkie radio into the water, perhaps, to conceal evidence. The naval force fired the outboard engine of their boat and disabled it. They were arrested and brought to Formoso.

    Indeed, it was a successful operation and the troops were excited at their spoils. Some of the apprehended gang members broke their oath of secrecy and confessed to the crimes. They admitted that they were behind some attacks on traders and residents of communities along the waterways. But others were adamant.

    The hoodlums gave their names as Lucky Abraham, Enatimi Peter, Gift Monday and Felix Nathan. They further said they were working for one militant, identified as Thomas. They confessed throwing some of their weapons such as a pump action rifle, AK47 rifle and a radio walkie talkie into the river when they were being pursued by the navy.

    They were paraded and kept in naval custody for further interrogation. The team left Brass on Friday morning and headed for Akassa, a far-flung community at the brinks of the Atlantic Ocean. They went there on assessment tour of a naval houseboat. At the Akassa houseboat, the capability of the navy to respond to emergency situations was tested through military drills and simulative operations. The houseboat was assumed to be under attack by hoodlums and a team of naval troops were sent to rescue the boat, hostages and apprehend the criminals.

    It was like a scene in a typical counter-terrorism movie. The rescue team displayed high-level of professionalism to the admiration of the senior officers who monitored the simulation. No bullet was fired but the team successfully rescued the boat, the hostages and arrested the suspects. They were applauded by some civilians.

    The same exercise was repeated at the Ezetu naval houseboat, which was about four hours of speed ride from Akassa houseboat. The naval team criss-crossed most of the communities at the creeks of Southern Ijaw Local Government Area such as Oloigbiri, Ondewari, Okpotuari and Gbarain before berthing at Ezetu, which is the last community in the council.

    There was something significant about the location of the naval houseboats in Bayelsa creeks. The houseboats at Akassa and Ezetu were strategically located in areas described as chokepoints.

    A chokepoint was explained as the only passage where a vessel can enter and leave any part of the country. Any vessel entering the creeks of the Niger Delta through Bayelsa must pass through that point and must be sighted by the navy because of the presence of the houseboat.

    Therefore, no vessel can sneak into the creeks without being noticed by the troops. Such passages that lead to the Atlantic Ocean are found in Akassa and Ezetu. Little wonder, the houseboats were sited there.

    Explaining the operations, Usman, described the Exercise Eagle Eye as the annual sea inspection operation by the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok Ekwe-Ibas. He said the exercise was aimed at enhancing maritime security in Nigerian territorial waters.

    Usman said: “The exercise is part of the Chief of Naval Staff annual event. It started on December 1. The first phase was the riverine operations involving Ondo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Cross River states. What you have witnessed in Bayelsa is the team covering the state.

    “The objective of the exercise is to assess the operational capability of the Naval forces on ground. During the operation, a number of arrests were made, a number of militant camps have been razed and a number of illegal refineries have also been destroyed.

    “This is all part of the ongoing efforts to rid the riverine areas of the Niger Delta of all forms of illegalities so that economic activities can thrive.”

    He implored the Niger Delta youths to embrace peace, seek legitimate businesses and shun all forms of illegalities.

     

     

     

     

     

  • For Effiom, for Mohammed

    For Effiom, for Mohammed

    His surname is a prophet’s first name. Her first name is the feminine version of a popular Biblical name. Alkali Mohammed was a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) and is the face of those who died in the war called election in Rivers last Saturday. His orderly whose head was severed alongside his has become a footnote as a result of class tyranny.  We know not his name, neither his face.

    Josephine Effiom could not cheat death when it came calling at the Reigners Bible Church Int’l Inc, near the Government House, Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital.  This polytechnic student, a friend said, “was one of the first three brilliant chaps in my class”. Her seat at the polytechnic lecture theatre is now vacant, a sad reminder to her course mates that a brilliant soul had been wasted.

    Mohammed and Effiom’s ordeals tell tales of how low we have come as a nation. Both would have been alive if ours is not a society that shares so much with Charly Boy Show where anything can happen.

    Effiom is the face of a tragedy in a place where fear should have been the last thing on anyone’s mind. It was in the house of God, Reigners Bible Church Int’l Inc. The founder of the church was to have his ordination as a bishop. He is not a small fry. So, the church was jam-packed. Akwa Ibom State Governor Udom Emmanuel came with some of his commissioners and aides. Some of the commissioners are new in the State Executive Council. They were sworn-in December 1.

    Thirty minutes into the governor’s arrival hell literally came down. No thanks to human error, the church’s iron pillars gave way and the blue roofs came thumping down. Of course on people! And Effiom died. And many others too. An account even said someone was cut into two by the iron pillars. A policeman who reportedly saved the governor is now six feet below. And some others broke their necks, their limbs and their back. The founder of the church, Pastor Akan Weeks, had his leg broken.

    As typical of our nation, no one appears sure of how many people died. The day after, we saw figures as high as 160 in the media. It was attributed to the Chief Medical Director of the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, who later denied it. Police gave the figure as 29. Governor Emmanuel said only 23 died. And no one is willing to give the names of the dead.

    Commissioner for Health Dr.  Dominic Ukpong said 26 people died in the unfortunate incident. His words: “Death toll now 26. Patients in the hospitals are168. Total out patients are 50. Total deaths 26. Nine hospitals have the following patients. UUTH, 28 patients; Ibom Specialist Hospital Uyo, 70 patients; Sifon Clinic, 9 patients; Lifecare Clinic, 24 patients; Premiers Clinic, 9 patients; St Lukes Hospital, 22 patients; Gateway Medical Centre, 2 patients; Uwah Mfon Clinic, 1 patient. First Line Clinic, 1 patient. Alma Clinic and Surgery, 2 patients.”

    Thanks to Effiom’s classmates who revealed her identity, she would have died anonymously! Now, she is the face of the Uyo tragedy that should not have been.

    This tragedy has turned the University of Uyo Teaching hospital (UUTH), Anua General Hospital, Life Care Hospital and the Ibom Specialist Hospital into Mecca of some sort. In these hospitals, those who defeated death are receiving treatment to heal their broken necks, arms, back and heads. Tears from families of those recuperating now rent the air in these hospitals. The story at the mortuary sections of these hospitals is grimmer. Coming to terms with the tragedy is a task that is defying many for now.

    For students of the University of Uyo and the Uyo City Polytechnic, which are believed to have been worst hit by the disaster, reality looks like dream.

    Emmanuel’s men who crawled out of death’s hole have interesting testimonies to share. His Chief Press Secretary, Ekerette Udoh, said an iron rod nearly cut his neck, but eventually hit him on the back. The cap of his left knee is broken and pains still travel all over his body.

    The commissioner for Information, Charles Udoh who joined the State Executive Council only some one week earlier, thought he was watching a movie when the pillars started coming down. He was on his way out of the church to catch a flight when tragedy struck. He would have been out but protocol demanded that he told the governor before vanishing from the church hall. It was this protocol-induced task he was accomplishing when death almost took him away like Effiom and the others whose true figures and names we may never know. He had to run here and there to prevent the iron pillars from turning him to a candidate for the mortuary.

    Nollywood actor Ekere Nkanga, who had acted almost all roles imaginable, was humbled when he had to wade through bodies to safety.

    “Shortly after the governor and his entourage and the bishops took their seats, the next thing I heard was the bang from the falling iron. By the time the iron came down, I noticed that people from the safe areas were  running to the centre, where I was sitting,” he said, adding:  “I hid under some people. A few seconds later, as I was trying to get up, the body of a man cut into two and fell on me. There were other corpses on me. I looked out for my brother but I couldn’t find him. Later, I found my phone. I called the Chairman, Uyo Local Government Area, to mobilise rescue officials to the venue.”

    He managed not to have a direct impact with falling rods, but by that Saturday evening he discovered his neck was broken.

    “The impact of diving must have been responsible for my broken neck,” he said.

    Now he wears a neck collar and is under observation in the hospital. Effiom and others would have gladly given testimonies if Nkanga’s fate had befallen them.

    The governor has set up a panel to probe the disaster that could have claimed his life. Pastor Weeks believes it is the devil fighting back and he has urged Christians to unite and not see it as his battle alone. But we must give unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and give unto God what is God’s. The fleeing contractor must account for this tragedy, which the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) has said was caused by shoddiness. Only then will we not continue to waste brilliant minds like Effiom.

    For Mohammed, his orderly and other policemen, their nation gave them an assignment. On the face value, the assignment looks simple: provide security during the legislative rerun election in Rivers. But Rivers is like no other state. This assignment that is simple and routine in other places is similar to going to war in dear Rivers, where commissions of inquiries have established that politicians outsourced killing of their opponents and their supporters.

    Before Mohammed, many a policeman had gone. Many a soldier was killed. Mohammed and his orderly met the waterloo at Ujju community near Omoku in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers. The agents of death waylaid the DSP and his junior colleagues from the Mobile Police Unit 48. After the hoodlums took off the duo’s heads, they snatched their patrol vehicle and weapons. Three policemen escaped, but five are still “missing in action”.

    Some people have ‘justified’ these men’s fate by saying it was a reprisal attack because the police were terrorising the people to give advantage to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the rerun legislative election. Governor Nyesom Wike accused some policemen of killing three Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members in Bodo-Ogoni in Gokana Local Government Area and Tai-Ogoni Local Government Area. Soldiers, he said, were involved in ballot box snatching, illegal escort of politicians, arrest and detention of voters. The army has denied the allegations.

    Even if Mohammed and others broke any law, jungle justice is also a crime. It is akin to replacing ringworm with leprosy.

    My final take: In the Effiom and Mohammed stories, we see a society where values have collapsed, where everything is falling apart and where money makes man.

    Effiom wanted education. So, she went to school. She wanted salvation; so, she went to church but someone’s greed and thoughtlessness made the iron pillars come down on her and killed her and her dreams. Mohammed was policing and some thought he was not policing well and taking his head was their solution to what they considered a malaise. What a people!

  • ‘No contract on Akwa Ibom-Cross River axis of East West Road’

    ‘No contract on Akwa Ibom-Cross River axis of East West Road’

    Pastor Usani Uguru Usani is the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs. He spoke with some reporters in Calabar recently. NICHOLAS KALU was there.

    What did you meet on ground and what your priority as you took over the ministry?

    Putting things in proper perspective became our first responsibility, which so far is beginning to shape. It was just a situation before where people thought that, the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs was a platform for collecting and sharing and then insistent agitations that would suggest further sharing. There can be no better way to describe that and that was why we had more 420 billion disbursed in the Ministry and the rate of project completion was just 12 per cent. So much of waste.

    It was just nothing other than the conception that we had ascribed to ourselves of violent agitations or settlement at the detriment of the intentions of the setting up of the ministry. This is what I met. What we are trying to do is to reward contractors who have been diligent. Those who have shown due diligence in execution to be encouraged by being mobilized further to return to site. And those who are in liability against their resource mobilization to be requested or advised to return to site until they get to the levels of project execution that is commensurate with what they have gained financially.

    What is the situation of the East-West Road?

    Maybe you also need a good understanding of the history of the East West Road. It was first awarded in 2006. So today it is one decade of a project that is not complete yet has so much social and economic importance to the region. It is awarded in sections 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. All the other sections are in progress of work except section 5, being the one linking Akwa Ibom from Oron to Calabar in Cross River State. Several segments of the East West Road are at various stages of execution. But obviously not at the same level. But section 5 has not started at all. But one thing I know is that the Section 5 which is till in my view at the level of award has been encumbered with certain procedural considerations. When the contract was awarded, it was awarded in US Dollars. Also the earlier design made suggested that of the complex bridge to link Oron and Calabar, the award carried only first phase of the contract with a partial commencement of the second phase and that means if it had started or even if it had been completed, you will never know when the second phase would awarded as to having a complete project.

    Besides, one discovers that the nature of the design was going to affect the social conditions of the two communities, Calabar and Oron because the end route in Calabar was going to empty at the roundabout at Watt Market. So if you imagine traffic to the state from the road to empty in the city centre, it means some days people would not even move from one point for hours and it was a great defect. Consider even the fact of having to pass through Egerton, where you begin to negotiate compensation, which could take one or two years before some people will agree to quit their locations and so on. So we held a confab inviting Akwa Ibom and Cross River State Government and community leaders in both states, and former technical consultants who designed the road and other consultants to run commentaries on their designs. At the end of it, we put together all our ministry engineers and engineers from the ministry of works in both states to go and work out alterative which they did and eventually all of them agreed. By the new agreed design, the road is coming out at Adiabo and it would pass through some communities in Odukpani including Creek Town, which is longer in distance, but lesser in cost. But to suggest that we would go ahead and implement that contract denominated in US Dollars would mean that at the unstable exchange rate, the contract would be open-ended. So at any given time, Nigerians would not know the naira equivalent spent on the contract which is why I felt we must do a thorough thing once and for all, because as it were, if they started or even if they were going to start on that condition, it would mean that until the end of the contract, nobody would ever know how much worth it would mean. Thank God we have got alternative designs. We have also got the contractor who signed in to do the job. We invited him to come and see the reality, quote according to what this component design entails. That is the state at which we are. We invited them because, we do not want anybody to insinuate that it is because we want to change contractors for ulterior motives that is why we are disagreeing with the first things they did. But if they fail to do that, we must be more interested in the welfare of our people and the economy of our country than patronizing people just on the basis of being contractors. So we hope that we get the response very soon. We are having the president also to give his view on that. Once that is done, we would go ahead to the next phase of signing a proper contract. For me there has been no contract on that matter because I don’t see how a sovereign nation with its own monetary and fiscal policies will be denominating its contract awards in foreign currency when all the components are locally sourced including labour. For me that is fraud.

    What would you say you have achieved since took over?

    Our achievement in the ministry is trying to shape the ministry and giving a new value orientation to the people is quite important. When we said we were going to carry out a technical audit of all the projects it was vehemently resisted by all those you can guess to be concerned. But with determination we did and it has shown that we have been unfair to ourselves in terms of the resource application vis-à-vis the outcomes. In a region that cries for development, because of the peculiar circumstances we find that the average period for completion of a particular project is 5 years inspite of the nature of the project and yet we have only 12 per cent project completion rate and 8 per cent impact. Of course all these analyses we applied standard global performance indices and you see that the only projects that have been completed have been by us within the one year. Whereas in the past there has been a façade of attempts to commission projects that were not completed at all.

    To Nigerians it may look meaningless, but without a good foundation there cannot be an established structure. Like I said the other works that are physical are continuing. We are applying our funds to them. But we have within period done something. The action plan of the ministry is being revisited and reviewed. We have also in collaboration with the UNDP done a baseline survey and we have got their report which was presented for ratification. When it is ratified it therefore means it will be ready for submission at any level for to secure assistance. Again, the process of our procurement or anything to be done in the ministry is getting a new lease and of course, you will expect that with all we are trying to initiate, our administration would remain unpopular as long as we are doing what we are trying to do. The reason is because they are those who don’t see anything good in what we are doing. But I believe that by the time we finish they will be happier.

    How about the issue of insecurity and violence in the region?

    To address the issue of insecurity and violence in the region, one needs to ask the first question, what is their reason? I have always been a crusader of the fact that the rate of disuse of the environment in the region demands specific, peculiar, special attention. However beyond that point, I am also aware that not much attention since the time of oil exploitation has been given to the region. But we thank God within the last one decade government started to look in that direction. In which case our rational action should have been to wait and see how government progresses with us, not just this administration. But instead to find unprovoked violence is what evoked curiosity in our minds to ask why. And our findings in these questions suggest more sinister motives than just lack of development in the region.

    So I think what is happening in our region in this violence perspective is a hurt to ourselves and we may not survive it beyond a certain time.

    There are people who feel the president has not been fair to the Niger Delta?

    Even those who are saying the president is not doing well enough in their hearts know that they are not telling the truth. Because inspite of the UNEP report of Ogoni clean up, who has ever initiated action if not this president? And inspite of the fact that the amnesty programme was supposed to terminate in December 2015, did this administration not extend it? It is one of the major programmes the president has even attempted to give express approval for money to be drawn from special accounts to fund. So by what means should anyone suggest that the administration of the president in particular is not fair to the Niger Delta region. By my special access to what is going on, a lot of what goes on is about 2019. They are determined that this administration must fail. According to such persons, these administration must not be allowed to have money, to function so that they will be voted out in 2019. And the sponsors are big. If they hear this they will want to crucify me, but I own it up because I know. I am not speculating.

     

  • Five militant camps, four illegal refineries crippled as naval chief storms Niger Delta

    Five militant camps, four illegal refineries crippled as naval chief storms Niger Delta

    The activities of the rampaging youths at sea have constantly put the men of the Nigerian Navy on their toes. One key way the Navy has battled these youths who are oil thieves and bunkerers is the Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS) annual sea inspection  meant to test the capability of the command’s equipment and officers to combat sea criminals.

    The CNS, Vice Admiral Ibok Eteh Ibas, last weekend during the operation codenamed: “Exercise Eagle Eye”, sailed on NNS Centenary to 70 nautical miles away from the Federal Ocean Terminal (FOT) jetty in Onne Rivers State, to Agbami Oil Field, operated by Chevron Nigeria Limited to see things for himself. The oil and gas platform is said to be one of the major strongholds of the nation’s economy.

    The sea inspection was flagged off by the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Abayomi Olonisakin. The activities began December 1, in Delta State, where the first phase was launched to kick start the programme which lasted two days before the sea inspection was flagged off, Saturday and was brought to a close Monday.

    Gen.  Olonisakin lauded the efforts of the Navy to adequately secure the Nation’s waterways for national and economic development despite inadequate funding, and said the need for their encouragement for more effective presence at sea could not be over-emphasized.

    The activitiesof the participating formations at sea include, firing and Visit, Board, Search and Seize (VBSS); this was meant to demonstrate how men of the Nigerian Navy enforce the takeover of any vessel on sea when intelligence reveals it is conveying contraband goods.

    In his assessment of the trip, Vice Admiral Ibas expressed satisfaction on the naval equipment at sea and what he saw his officers do at sea, and promised to work on the weaknesses noticed, for better, more efficient and effective protection of Nigerian facilities off-shore.

    “This is going to be a continuous exercise. For the last 48 hours which you (the media) participated in, you have seen the need for the Navy to maintain presence at sea, you have seen the Nigerian critical oil and gas infrastructure(Agbami oil field), at sea which need to be protected. We have also used that opportunity of being at sea to evaluate the readiness of the various platforms that took part in the exercise that were conducted and different demonstrations.

    “We been able to note what short comings that we have, all these will be put together as we go back to the headquarters to ensure that they are corrected. Assessing the overall exercise, I can say we’ve been able to achieve the main objectives for which the exercise was put in place,” he said.

    Presenting the score card of his formation during the two-day shallow water raiding exercise, the Officer in Tactical Command/ Commander Task Group 16.3, (OTC/CTG 16.3), planning team, Rear Admiral Muhammad Garba, said five militant camps, four illegal refineries and five suspects were arrested and equipment, weapons recovered in Delta and Bonny in Rivers state.

    Garba gave the names of the suspects arrested in Bonny as Solomon (Bayelsa), Jordan Ade, Mark Sunday, Solomon Ichem (Rivers), and Bisong (Akwa Ibom).

    Two other suspects arrested on the cutting channels waterways while conveying two different badges suspected to containing stolen petroleum substance during the first phase of the exercise were also handed over to the operatives of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) for further investigations and possible prosecution.

    The Navy reiterated the resolve of the CNS to stop all forms of criminal activities, especially oil theft and sea robbery/ piracy as well as hostage and ransom taking in the country’s waterways, and warned daring criminals to revisit their decisions and steer clear the Nigerian sea or face the wrath of the Navy and the law.

    Receiving the suspects on behalf of the Executive Chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, the Head, South-South zone, Ishaq Salihu assured that the operative would ensure that justice was done in the matter and fair hearing given to the suspects.

    Rear Admiral Garba said: “After mapping out the expected area of coverage by the OTC, Exercise Eagle Eye tactical team, we discovered that we will need to cover a sea area of 39,600 square nautical miles and a coast line of 220 nautical miles, extending seawalls to 180 nautical miles, within the targeted coordinates.

    “The mandate given was to conduct maritime operation in order to ensure a secure maritime environment, including preventing planned attack on Agbani Flushing Platform Storage Offloading (FPSO), NNHPs in the swamp area of the Niger Delta, Oil and Gas installations and infrastructures and against shipping, not later than December 5, 2016.”

    He continued:  “Five suspects were arrested and pumping machines recovered in Delta, seven boats destroyed and five militant camps were also raided. At FOB Bonny, four illegal refineries sited at Ijokiri, five boats laden with products suspected to be crude and another boat loaded with drums of illegal Diesel (A G O), 12 tanks loaded with illegal refined A G O and six tanks loaded with products suspected to be crude oil, three pumping machines and two Yamaha outboard engines were recovered, while five suspects were arrested.

    “Also within the first two days of the exercise, four suspected sea robbers were also arrested and weapon reportedly recovered from them, among several other achievements, which included raiding of more militant camps and destruction/impounding of boats, petroleum products suspected to be properties of the criminal suspects at FOB Bonny, Rivers state, while two Navy ships were on constant patrol on Brass Bayelsa and Rivers entrance to Agip facility in the period.”

    He expressed shock at the daring, unrelenting spirit of the militants noting that the kind of communication gargets found at the camp in Bonny could equal that of any military camp, but assured that the military is always steps ahead of them and their strategies.

    “Let me inform you also that the militant camp raided at FOB Omoso was almost like a military base; this is because the equipment found in there were things that can be used not only for tactical operation, but for operational reading; this is because the radio sets we recovered there were not just radio sets for listening they could also use it for transmitting,” Garba observed.

    The representative of the Nigerian Air Force in the Exercise Eagle Eye planning and execution, Comdr. S. Zakari, expressed satisfaction at the work of the Navy and confirmed that all programmes and activities carried out at sea were in accordance with the mapped out plans.

    The Chairman, Senate Committee on Navy, Isah Hamma Misau, hailed the Navy for curbing criminal activities on the sea.

    He said: “I want to really appreciate the Nigerian Navy for this laudable initiative. The National assembly will continue to support the Nigerian Navy because we have seen what you are doing and we are proud of you.”

  • As Rivers people vote again

    As Rivers people vote again

    In those days—those days of innocence —life began and ended with going to school in Agege and going on holidays in Epe and basking in the grand-motherly alms of Iya Alate. No worries at all. Worrying was beyond the purview of my office as a child. Eating fresh fish, savouring Ikokore, eja yoyo (yoyo fish) and all those Ijebu niceties must have created in me the impression that life was meant only for good things.

    It meant little that people were dying because my brain was not developed enough to grasp its essence. Other evils of the time were just too much for my childish brain to decipher.

    But the innocence disappeared with time. From secondary school days, it started being clear to me that life did not begin and end with schooling and holidaying.

    Journalism — which makes minding other people’s business my business — finally cleared my brain of any fog. It opened me to the reality of the world we live in: this wicked world where rat race has robbed many of their humanity.

    How does one begin to explain a situation where men with blood in their veins will storm a home in Rivers State and kill the father, the mother and a son? They were not done: they cut off the father’s head and went away with it. In another instance, they clubbed a fellow human being to a state of coma and set him ablaze. There have been instances where they had no time for such time wasting and they simply just pumped hot lead into their victims, thus ending dreams and shattering hopes.

    When I see man’s cruelty to man such as these, I long for those days when life began and ended with schooling and being cuddled by Iya Alate.

    The other day in dear Rivers State, some 25 people were killed one after the other. Some of them were lucky to have their heads still intact; some were not that lucky. The heartless men who killed them severed their heads and went away with them. To renew their money-making rituals? To show evidence of job well done to their patrons? Questions upon questions have dominated my mind since then and I long for those days when life began and ended with schooling and holidaying in my dear Epe Alaro.

    Were these blood-thirsty men not cowards, I would have sought them out and interviewed them. I would have asked them if they have children. I would have asked them if they have blood flowing in their veins. I would have asked them if they were born of women. I would have asked them if they have conscience— that open wound which can only be healed by the truth. I would not have forgotten to ask them if they are paid for the nasty services they are rendering.

    I certainly would not have forgotten to seek some vital clarifications: Were their victims rival cultists who fell to superior power? Or were the victims taken out because of their political leanings in order to scare others from following their path? I would have confirmed from them if it is true that the All Progressives Congress (APC) is appropriating all dead bodies in Rivers State just for cheap political mileage.

    But here I am with no one to answer my questions and I long for those days when life began and ended with schooling in Agege and holidaying in Epe in the grand-motherly alms of Iya Alate.

    I have further worries and questions, which will help reduce my longing for those days of innocence when I cared less. I will share those worries and ask those questions hoping that in this social media age someone will hide under anonymity and provide me all I need.

    Is life really worth all these killings? We are killing ourselves because of tomorrow forgetting that tomorrow is not ours. Tomorrow belongs to God. It is today that is somehow ours.

    Death can take us away before tomorrow, which we are trying to secure by beheading fellow human beings. We can be taken away through auto crashes. We can be taken away by cardiac arrest. We can be taken away through heart failure. We can be taken away by simply missing a step and not living to tell the story. Why then are we cruel to ourselves because of tomorrow when all we are supposed to do is to treat today well so that our tomorrow can be better?

    The killings in Rivers have made me wonder what happens in the hereafter. Where do killers go when they die? If I judge by my understanding of the Bible, the answer is simple: hell. What happens to them there? Are they flogged regularly? Do they meet one-on-one with their victims? Questions and questions and questions and I long for those days when life began and ended with schooling in Agege and holidaying in Epe in the grand-motherly alms of Iya Alate.

    The killings in Omoku have brought back the memory of the Adubes. On April 3, last year, men without brains stormed their home in Omoku and killed Christopher Adube and three of his children. They also killed the family driver and a family friend who was in the home when they came, dressed like soldiers, that evening. The bullets they pumped into 15-year-old Paul Adube’s leg have ensured he is wheel-chair bound. The hot lead they released unto Ogechi Adube’s legs have also seen rods inserted into her bones and because of this, she cannot fold her legs. You can imagine the pains of walking around with legs that feel like wood or stone.

    Of the 12 children Adube had with his two wives, three were killed with him; two were left practically crippled and the others now live with shattered dreams. They are not sure of where the next meal will come from. Their father’s sin, I am made to understand, was his affiliation with the APC. His children’s sin was being born by him. The evil men applied the Law of Moses forgetting that the coming of our lord Jesus Christ marked the end of that law, which encouraged taking out the father’s sin on the son or daughter.

    The report of the Rivers Commission of Inquiry headed by the Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, said a monthly average of 19 killings occurred in the state between November 2014 and April 2015.

    The Commission noted that of the 97 allegations of killings it received, 94 of them occurred between November 15, 2014, and April 11, last year.

    This report, Odinkalu said, reaffirms that no state or country should allow a repeat of such violence in the name of politics. It also shows how and why Rivers State and Nigeria must end impunity for political violence.

    He added: “The evidence suggests a significant incidence of internal displacement resulted from political violence in many parts of Rivers State.

    “The Commission of Inquiry also received evidence which strongly suggested that sexual violence was part of the arsenal of political violence in some areas.

    “We met some of their survivors. There were children orphaned. The youngest we met was 9 months old when his father was killed in his presence. He was still breastfeeding.

    “We met young widows of political violence, as well as grand-mothers who had to bury their grand-sons killed in violence. Their stories deserve to be told and heard. They deserve justice as well as political leaders and security agencies that will protect their best interests.”

    The justice Odinkalu spoke about has not been served, just as political leaders and security agencies are still scampering for answers on how to protect the people. Those who suffer for this failure are the people. And going by recent media reports, over 30 people have been killed this year alone.

    For the APC, the recent killings are because of tomorrow’s re-run polls ordered by the Court of Appeal into the House of Assembly and National Assembly. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says the APC is at its propaganda best again. And I long to get one of the killers to clear the air on why they are killing and beheading people. And in the absence of an answer, I long for those days when life began and ended with schooling in Agege and holidaying in Epe in the grand-motherly alms of Iya Alate; those days of innocence when my brain lacked the capacity to understand this evil of gargantuan proportion.

    My final take: Tomorrow is not worth killing and beheading people for. Tomorrow does not belong to us. Let’s not appropriate to ourselves what belongs to He who when he says yes nobody can say no. Only when we understand this simple fact will we appreciate that we may not live to see the tomorrow that we are killing to secure.

    • This article was first published in March under the title “Because of tomorrow”. It is reproduced because of tomorrow’s Rivers rerun as a food for thought to all players in the political space of this dear state.
  • How to win war against pipelines vandalism

    How to win war against pipelines vandalism

    Total Exploration and Production (E&P) Nigeria Limited is always at the forefront of the fight against pipeline vandalism and bombing of other facilities of oil companies in the crude oil and gas-rich Niger Delta.

    The oil giant again exhibited leadership in the oil industry, when it organised in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, an awareness workshop on campaign against vandalism, with the theme: “Environmental Safety Awareness on the Danger of Vandalism of Pipelines/Oil and Gas Facilities,” for youths from the oil giant’s host communities in Rivers State.

    One of the benefiting youths, Bright Green, who is the President of Pipelines Committee of Rumuekpe in Emohua Local Government Area of Rivers state, in his remarks, called on other youths to avoid vandalising the facilities of oil companies.

    Green admonished the management of Total oil firm to be holding the workshop quarterly, for the young ones and other Niger Deltans to learn more about the evils of vandalism.

    A resource person, Dr. Emma Ogueri, while also speaking, urged Niger Delta youths to have positive identity for themselves, especially by acquiring qualitative education or having skills through learning trades.

    Ogueri said: “Do not fold your arms and allow some youths to vandalise facilities of oil companies in your communities. Our environment is our common heritage, we must protect it.

    “Our future generation depends on the present generation. Support healthy living. Vandalism is over-action in action. Let us dialogue. No gain, neither dividend nor payback in vandalism. Just stop it.”

    Another resource person, Bently George, noted that crude oil from vandalised pipelines would go into the water table, which he said would become dangerous to human health, stressing that vandalism would lead to environmental degradation and pollution.

    The Deputy General Manager (DGM), Community Affairs and Development of Total E&P Nigeria Limited, James Urho, in his welcome address, stated that strangers would not vandalise oil companies’ facilities in Niger Delta communities.

    He urged people of the crude oil and gas-rich communities not to relent in scaring and reporting vandals within and around facilities of multinationals in their areas.

    Urho’s remarks came barely 24 hours after President Muhammadu Buhari declared in Abuja that people without expertise would not be able to travel 70 kilometres offshore in the Niger Delta to bomb pipelines of oil companies.

    The Total’s DGM, while addressing the no fewer than 300 youths, including women, pointed out that the existing Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the oil giant and its stakeholders must be respected, for peaceful coexistence.

    He said: “The issue of vandalism of oil and gas facilities in the Niger Delta has been of great concern, not only to the companies, but most importantly to the Federal Republic of Nigeria. This is because hydrocarbon and its products are the main source of revenue towards the growth of Nigerian economy.

    “The campaign against vandalism should be adjudged as very crucial at this point, when Nigerians are battling with economic recession. Vandalism of facilities in our local environment has affected our means of livelihood, while destroying the ecosystem.

    “The effects of vandalism are enormous. Apart from damage to the environment, there could be instant death of the vandals from pressure effect.”

    Urho also revealed that there had recently been incidents of vandalism of oil and gas facilities in some of Total’s operational areas, which he said had caused serious environmental damage and in most cases affected socio-economic strengths of the various communities, while urging people of Niger Delta communities to say no to vandalism.

    End will definitely come to vandalism of the facilities of multinationals in the Niger Delta by militants and other restive youths, when the people of the various communities cooperate with the oil firms, security agencies and other stakeholders, to halt the menace and not to be collaborating with the saboteurs for pecuniary benefits. A word is enough for the wise.

  • I am still in shock, says first teacher to become Perm Sec in Edo

    I am still in shock, says first teacher to become Perm Sec in Edo

    Before Friday, November 11, Mrs. Obosamwinye Obazee was the Head of Edo State School of the Blind. She was then a level 15 officer. It was the last working day of  Adams Oshiomhole as governor and just like other citizens of the state and teachers, Mrs. Obazee prayed for the incoming administration to provide better welfare package for teachers.

    Unknown to her, Oshiomhole had already provided a package for her. Mrs. Obazee was about going home after making sure the students have left school when she got a strange call from the Edo Government House congratulating her on her new appointment as a Permanent Secretary.

    Her first response was, ‘this is a wrong number’ but the caller impressed on her to come to the Government House immediately for swearing in. She called her husband to accompany her to Government House to ascertain whether the call was genuine and to her surprise, they were ushered into the exco chambers.

    Mrs. Obazee was among the four Permanent Secretaries Oshiomhole appointed before leaving office. The announcement of the appointment was a surprise to all the beneficiaries.

    Others appointed were the Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Mr. Kadiri Bashiru, Mr Anthony Okungbowa of the state Ministry of Justice and Mr. Y. A Imoudu, Chairman, Association of Secondary School Principals.

    They were all between level 14 and 15 in the civil service.

    Speaking at the swearing-in of the four Permanent Secretaries few hours to the end of his tenure, Oshiomhole said he made the appointments to prove that progress in the civil should not be determined by how many years spent but the quality of time devoted to work.

    On the appointment of 46 years old Anthony Okungbowa, the former governor said he worked diligently to ensure the state cases scaled through at the court of law.

    According to Oshiomhole, “I felt this young man should be encouraged. In the face of scarce resources, he made sure our cases were prosecuted. I want other young civil servants to emulate you and work hard. I like stubborn people. You were hardworking and loyal.”

    To the head teacher, Oshiomhole said he wanted to use her to demonstrate that a classroom teacher is not inferior to others in the state employment.

    His words: “I know many of you are shocked by this appointment. It was not based on lobby but to inspire other teachers. I hope your elevation will attract more people to the teaching profession.”

    Speaking on behalf of the new Permanent Secretaries, Kadiri said he was preparing to go to mosque for prayers when somebody called to congratulate him.

    “We must pay you back by gratitude and hardwork. We are yet to come out of the shock about this appointment.”

    At a meeting with the new governor, Godwin Obaseki, Mrs. Obazee said she never dreamt of sitting at a  State Executive Meeting.

    She said the appointment shocked her husband and that she was yet to believe that the promotion was a reality.

  • NDDC: Does Ekere’s morning tells the day?

    NDDC: Does Ekere’s morning tells the day?

    The mandate of the Niger Delta Development Commission is overwhelming, daunting and challenging…This report highlights the course its new helmsman, Nsima Ekere, is charting to tackle the challenges.

    Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Managing Director, Nsima Ekere’s expose on the state of finances of the commission and its operation in the last twenty years, clearly shows how daunting the task of fulfilling the mandate of the commission has been.

    Ekere had said, after an extra-ordinary meeting of the board shortly after its inauguration, “We have liabilities that run into well over a trillion naira. We will look at the projects that have given rise to this liability. Then, we will vet them and see which projects we can go ahead with and those we will discontinue because some of these projects were even not properly awarded in the first place.

    “By the time we carry out the auditing, it will help us. Then of course, the audit will enable us to bring NDDC back to its core mandate. We will work along these lines that we have highlighted and make sure that we make some remarkable difference in the lives of the people of the Niger Delta.”

    Other informed sources say the commission is owing contractors over N300 billion.The same sources also say the percentage of job completion hovered around 25 percent and only moved to 41 percent last year

    With this in mind, Ekere, said that henceforth the Commission would ensure that all payments to contractors were tied to bank guarantees. He warned: “We will hold the banks accountable.”

    The MD further stated: “Most of the NDDC advance payments that have been made were based on bank guarantees. What that means is that the bank is guaranteeing the performance of the contractor. So, the first thing we will do will be to go after these banks that guaranteed projects that have failed. We will demand that they give us back our money where the work done doesn’t justify the money that was paid.”

    Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, SAN, chairman of the board also regretted that the public images of NDDC had suffered because of the procedures adopted by its procurement unit in the past. “The Commission has not had the most edifying of public images and that is because the procurement processes were opaque,” he said.

    The NDDC Chairman stated that a transparent process would help the Commission to get all its outstanding funds. He said: “We will persuade those who are in arrears to pay and one of the easiest ways of getting them to pay is by ensuring that our processes were transparent. The moment they see a certain level of transparency, it will encourage them to live up to their obligations to the Commission. When the processes are opaque, people will hold back.”

    Giving reasons for the extra-ordinary board meeting, Senator Ndoma-Egba explained that management could only implement policies approved by the board and since they had just taken over, it was necessary to quickly put policies on ground to enable management take off.

    Senator Ndoma-Egba restated his position that the new NDDC board and management would be driven by a regional vision. “If you recall, at the inauguration and handing over ceremonies, I said very clearly, that we will not be competing with local governments because ours is a regional mandate. We have to stick to that regional mandate by spreading development across the region.”

    Beyond the procurement process and projects fine tuning, Ekere has also stated the commitment of the Governing Board and Management to fashion a new path for the sustainable development of the Niger Delta region.

    Ekere spoke on the day the new Board, took over the reins of the interventionist agency at the NDDC headquarters.

    He said the new NDDC will operate a 4-R Initiative, as a strategic roadmap for development, adding that “this would involve restructuring the balance sheet, reforming the governance protocols, restoring the Commission’s core mandate and reaffirming its commitment to doing what was right and proper.”

    The NDDC boss reaffirmed the need for cooperation in the Niger Delta, stating: “We will work to promote cooperation, collaboration and synergy among stakeholders, such as state and local governments, oil and gas companies, donor agencies, civil society organizations, community-based organizations and other traditional institutions, in order to make regional development a shared vision and common aspiration.

    “We would have to do things differently to improve the transparency of our processes, leverage technology to increase accountability and efficiency, consult stakeholders frequently, engage proactively and be creative about the programmes that we design, to uplift the people and the region.”

    Ekere said the focus of the Commission would be on intervention programmes that would deliver real measurable developmental outcomes for the region and its citizens.

    “Five priorities of NDDC,” he said, “will be to focus on regional development and integration; ecological management and health awareness; stakeholder engagement and work with development partners and NGOs; human capital development and fostering youth engagement as well as developing the non-oil sector to attract new industries.”

    Ekere commended the deep interest shown by  President Muhammadu Buhari in changing the Niger Delta narrative. “The recent engagements with leaders and stakeholders of the region, the inauguration of a new Board, the transfer of oversight responsibility over the Commission to the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs and the Lagos-Calabar rail link project. These are significant actions that are bound to impact the region positively,” Ekere said.

    He noted that the new board was starting at a critical time for the region and the country, highlighting reduced revenues resulting from the combined effect of decline in global oil prices and the crippling economic sabotage of Nigeria’s oil production activities.

    According to him, “NDDC needs to look to innovative and more efficient ways of doing things. We need to find new partners to help execute our mandate for the Niger Delta; strengthen existing relationships to ensure that all stakeholders are working towards common goals and promote the peace that is necessary for the development of the region.”

    At the same function,the Chairman of the board, Senator Ndoma-Egba, remarked that the NDDC was the first to get a full board under the current administration of the All Progressive Congress, APC, saying, for this reason, the NDDC should be guided by the principles of change being espoused by the Federal Government.

    He said: “Things will be done differently because circumstance have changed. The economy is now more challenging and when the times are changing you must get more innovative. We must cut excesses. So, we must be leaner. Our books must be cleaned up. Our projects must be properly supervised and processes, must be audited. Our finances must be audited so that we are lean and efficient.

    “The times are different and we must change with the times. We must be creative and more efficient. I will chose the part of history that brought change. I will not be part of the group that would want to remain with the status quo.”

    Senator Ndoma-Egba assured that the Commission would design programmes and projects to engage the young men and women of the region to ensure that they were gainfully employed, stating: “We will teach them how to fish.”

    He regretted that the NDDC is perceived in some quarters as a contract awarding factory. “We must rebrand. We mush refocus. We are determined to change the story in the NDDC,” he declared.

    For the board, it is not all talk. Ekere has started walking the talk by visiting priority projects.

    At the site of one of them, the 12-floor permanent headquarters of the Commission in Port Harcourt, Ekere said the building will be ready for inauguration by President Muhammadu Buhari before the end of next year.

    Leading the Executive Director Projects, Engr. Samuel Adiogbe, the Executive Director Finance and Administration, Mr. Mene Derek and other directors of the Commission around the building, Ekere said that the Commission would set up a taskforce to be headed by the Executive Director Projects to ensure that the project was completed before the target date, adding that he would like to have the privilege of inviting Mr. President to inaugurate the new building.

    The NDDC Chief Executive Officer frowned at a situation where the Commission’s projects were unduly delayed. He said: “I think it is sad that a project that started 20 years ago is yet to be completed and we are still talking about site inspection. A child that was born when this building started is almost through with university education by now. So, it’s very sad that we are inspecting a project 20 years after commencement. We will look at what the issues are, including contractor’s capacity to deliver on this project.

    “This project must be completed on time and I will not condone non-performance by our contractors.”

    Ekere remarked that the completion rate of NDDC projects all over the region was not very encouraging. “I remember that shortly after our appointment, I met with some International funding partners and other stakeholders and everybody seem to be very concerned about the state of abandoned projects in the region,” he said.

    The MD said that the Commission was already carrying out “a couple of audits because we need to agree on the way forward in terms of prioritizing the projects.” He said that it was important to determine the projects that the Commission could afford to complete, depending on the ones that have the highest impact on communities.

    Ekere declared: “I don’t believe that there is any sense in starting a thousand projects and completing only one. So we will check the number of new projects and then concentrate on completing on-going ones. We want to complete our projects.”

    The NDDC boss said that henceforth all projects being executed by the Commission would be covered by bank guarantees. “Our legal department will prepare agreement performance guarantees and further payments for projects will be guided by such agreements,” he said.

    The NDDC Executive Director Finance and Administration, noted that the contractor did not manage the financial resources available to him well. He stated that more than 90 per cent of the funds had been released by the Commission.

    The NDDC Head of Project Monitoring Services,  Felix Aomreore, said the headquarters complex, which was initiated by the defunct Oil Minerals Producing Area Development Commission, OMPADEC, was initially conceived to be 14 floors.

    He said that from the assessment of his directorate, the project had achieved 60 per cent completion. He explained that the headquarters complex would include other ancillary facilities such as a medical centre, car park, restaurant, bank, among others.

    The project coordinator, Felix Darko, assured the NDDC directors that they were working according to schedule and set standards. He said that the contractors involved in the project were determined to complete the multi-storey building on time.

    He said that all the service equipment for the main building was already on the site waiting for installation. Other electrical equipment such as lifts and escalators are also on ground.

    Ekere has also visited state offices like Cross River State, where he reiterated the commitment of the current board and management of the commission to improve the lives of the peoples of the Niger Delta area.

    “The current NDDC board remains committed to all stakeholders in the Niger Delta area through our dedication to ensuring that the original mandate of the NDDC is effectively and properly implemented,” he said.

    Stakeholders are happy with the new board’s body language. Coordinating Secretary, Partners for Peace and Progress in the Niger Delta, Nkeneke Efo, says the group is mobilising youths of the region to support the new management to ensure “there is an atmosphere of peace and tranquility throughout the region for the management and board to concentrate on the delivery of its core mandate, that of improving the lives and situations of the people and communities of the region”

    Efo said the group believes the new team is serious in its duties.

    “The new team is a serious one, they started work almost immediately. As new managing director, Obong Nsima Ekere had the luxurious opportunity to take a two weeks break in the name of studying files. But what did he do? He started work immediately. By his speeches, there is excitement and expectations that he will set the commission on a new path that will see the mandate of the commission fulfilled”