The Nation Newspaper

Category: Niger Delta

  • Way out of Niger Delta crisis, by activist

    Way out of Niger Delta crisis, by activist

    Alban Paulinus  is the President Voice of Community and Environmental Rights Initiatives. He spoke with Precious Dikewoha.

    Some militants in the Niger Delta have vowed to sustain agitation and frustrate the effort of the present administration to develop the region, do you think they are in a right direction  

    They are only ignorant of their action against their people and environment, for a long time now we have being interfacing with militants in the region and giving them enough encouragement that would make them a better person in the region. One thing is clear,   agitation is on faces, we have agitation in the non-violence approach, we also have arms struggle agitation and personally, I don’t think the region    can achieve our aims of agitation through the barrels of guns.  What I want to believe is that in the develop countries you can achieve your purpose without your environment being destroyed and without people losing their lives. We should be reasonable to say no, we are tired of this economic sabotage called Niger Delta agitation. Therefore, I will want my fellow Niger Deltans, the agitators to look at the unborn generation and the future of our people. Because if we intend to channel our agitations in terms of arms struggle, then, we will not have a region tomorrow and we would be using our hands to kill ourselves.

    Is your organisation in support of the dialogue system between the Federal Government and the militant groups in the region?

    There are certain things we have disagreed with the dialogue system. If we must dialogue, it must not be an ethnic dialogue, we must decentralise this system of dialogue. And the inability to think right about the dialogue has resulted to more agitation groups in the region. You cannot say that you are dialoguing with Niger Delta when you are only speaking with Urhobo, you cannot say you are dialoguing with Niger Delta when you are only speaking with the Ijaws and you cannot say that you are dialoguing with Niger Delta when some people in Akwa-Ibom state are not involved. We cannot continue in the same way of dialogue.  If we must dialogue, everyone must be involved as stakeholders; we must ensure that all the ethnic nationalities in the Niger Delta are being carried along. We must not continue with only one set of people to represent us in the dialogue table. To be frank we cannot be talking of only Edwin Clark when we want to dialogue with Niger Delta people. This time around Clark cannot represent us, we have people like Dr Shehu Mallami Ma’aji and the rest of them. These are people who have showed commitment on how to interface with the community and the youths in the region. They are trained on how to retrieve arms in the region. Nothing stops Niger Delta man to be on the negotiating table but we must for once bring in those with requisite experience of the peculiar issue in Niger Delta. All we are saying is that we cannot continue to use the same old method, in 2009, 2011. And if we want to use the same method that means after 2016, another form of agitation will spring out. Because we are using the same method and we cannot have a different result.

     Is this agitation not sentimental and regionalise considering that during President Jonathan’s tenure the north was allegedly accused of staging the same agitation

    If it is true, then it is bad and detrimental to national unity. But this is the time to learn from the activities of the Boko Haram  at the North East.  Like many people believe  at the initial stage that  the Boko Haram issue  was to disturb the government of Good luck Jonathan which Is the same  thing our youths are doing  today  to fight against the Government of President Muhamadu Buhari . But I don’t think it is good to tow the same line because it is the people that will suffer.  The Niger Delta region being discussed is not just a region for only the armed men. There are Elites, Traditional Rulers, youths, less privileged and a whole range of people who want their voices to be heard.   Must it be through arms? , I say NO, we should be able to channel our agitation in an approach that will be non-violent in nature.  And I’m calling on my fellow brothers in the Niger Delta to desist from destroying our environment. The president has launched  what we call the “Change Begins With You”  and I want to tell you that charity begins at home ,If  we  had the opportunity of producing the President and those issues in the region are still there , then  we should look inward within ourselves and give President Buhari a chance to develop the region.

  • Fed Govt distributes sports equipment to 41 Bayelsa schools

    The Federal Government appears poised to drive grassroots sports development in the Niger Delta region. The government believes that besides oil, the region has other abundant natural and human resources.

    The government recently demonstrated its commitment to develop hidden sports talents in the region. Through the National Lottery Trust Fund (NLTF), the Federal Government distributed branded world-class sports equipment to primary schools selected in some states of the region.

    The distribution is an interventionist programme of the Federal Government through the lottery trust fund to promote grassroots sports development and improve the country’s future performances in sports.

    Sports materials in different areas of Athletics, volleyball, basketball, football, handball, badminton, table tennis, judo and taekwondo, were presented to head teachers of the selected schools.

    Among the 2000 schools selected to benefit from the distribution, 41 schools were chosen from Bayelsa State. The schools received their shares of sports materials from the NLTF in a brief ceremony held in Yenagoa.

    It was an exciting moment. The Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Heineken Lokpobiri, was the Special Guest of Honour for the event.

    Permanent Secretary, Special Duties, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Phylis Nwokedi represented the Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal.

    Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer (CEO), NLTF, Habu Gumel; NLTF’s Zonal Coordinator, South-South Alhaji Adamu Rabiu, traditional rulers and representatives of the state government were also present.

    Gumel in his address said for 41 schools to have been selected from Bayelsa out of the 2000 schools across the country, was a cause for celebration. He asked the schools to put the equipment to good use and to protect them from thieves.

    Addressing the benefitting schools, he said: “While urging you to put the equipment t good use in the schools and ensure their security, I must sound a word of warning.

    “You must ensure the safekeeping of these equipment so that they do not get stolen as we have already alerted security agencies to apprehend any culprit who diverts these federal government intervention materials”.

    Referring to Lokpobiri as a prominent and highly respected son of Bayelsa, Gumel thanked him for finding time out of his busy schedule to attend the engagements.

    In his opening remarks, the Zonal Coordinator, South-South, NLTF, Alhaji Adamu Rabiu, highlighted the essence of the programme.

    He said: “This intervention is to promote grassroots sports development in the country with the specific objectives of enhancing the capacity of the nation to grow and expand her talent-base by securing the interest and involvement of our children of primary schools in sporting activities.

    “The programme is expected to improve the nation’s future performance in sports at all levels by harnessing the potential of our young talents and nurture their transition to world-class athletes, sports men and women,

    “It calls for celebration especially for us in the zone and indeed for the good people of Bayelsa State as it is seen as an impetus to change the fortunes of our youths in sports and transform their social wellbeing for the better”.

    He said the lottery trust fund was determined to see to the successful implementation of the programme. He said a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation system had been put in place to track the sporting equipment.

    “The fact that the Federal Government has chosen Bayelsa as one of the few states in the Federation to commission and present this equipment is enough evidence that the state is held in high esteem by the federal government.

    “I make bold to state that the lottery is working and is poised to change the lives of everyday Nigerian citizen. We pray this intervention programme and many others in the pipeline will continue to remain sustainable for the benefits of all Nigerians”, he said.

    Also speaking, Lokpobiri, said Buhari was desirous of and committed to the development of all parts of the country including the Niger Delta.

    Lokpobiri appealed to other tiers of government to complement the efforts of the Federal Government in all areas of development including sports.

    He said Buhari’s desire for grassroots sports development and ensuring children acquire the best of talents was the reason behind the distribution of the sports items.

    He said: “That is why of the 2000 schools that are benefitting from this distribution of sports equipment which was flagged off by the Vice-President, 41 schools from Bayelsa have benefitted.

    Speaking at the event, the Executive Secretary, State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Walton Liverpool, described the gesture as the first in the history of basic education in the state.

    He said the schools would make use of the equipment to achieve the objectives of the programme. He, however played the Oliver Twist and appealed to the federal government to do more to the schools.

  • Rivers politics and glorification of gangsterism

    There is a tragi-comedy going on in the country, especially among the political class.

    A villain is always playing the part of the victim, shouting himself hoarse of a plot, from imaginary enemies, to undermine his or her office.

    Pitiably, this malaise is now rearing its ugly head in our dear state, Rivers.

    Not that Riverians thought the administration of Governor Nyesom Wike would do anything to alleviate their suffering but they didn’t know the situation would be so bad as we have it today.

    There is a popular saying that some people will leave leprosy unattended to and be looking for ringworm medicine.

    This saying is apt to the maladministration going on in the state.

    Recently, an article by a paid writer took on the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in the April 2015 election, Dr. Dakuku Adol Peterside.

    Among others, the writer accused Peterside of meddling in the affairs of the state government.

    He also advised Peterside, the Director-General (D-G) of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), to wait till 2019 before challenging Wike.

    Honestly, there is nothing sane Nigerians will not see or read in this country.

    If the truth must be told, it is not Wike’s megaphone that will tell Peterside if he is interested in the 2019 governorship race or not.

    The writer also criticised Peterside’s statement at the Rivers APC East Zonal mega rally held in Okehi, Etche, ahead of the rescheduled Rivers rerun poll that Riverians are tired of the Wike administration.

    But Peterside was only saying the obvious because people are really tired of Wike and his administration. With due respect, the governor is behaving like ‘a dictator’, sacking and suspending commissioners at will, dissolving councils when he feels like.

    And describing Peterside as a bad loser was the height of insensitivity about political and economic happenings in our state.

    Of course, everybody knows what happened during the governorship election in Rivers last year.

    The question to ask Wike is: Must you rule by force?

    Today, the ‘gangsterism’ in Rivers State is unprecedented.

    The number of those killed for political reasons, the latest being the popular Port Harcourt lawyer and activist, Ken Atsuete, is unprecendented in the annals of the state.

    It is not an exaggeration to declare that Rivers is already a theatre of war.

    Election that should have been conducted has to be postponed by INEC again because of insecurity.

    This is a governor that openly boasted that electoral officers should write their Wills if they are coming to the state to conduct election.

    By saying that Peterside’s statement ‘is capable of overheating the Rivers State polity’, the writer must be told that it is not Peterside that is overheating the state. Wike has already done that.

    Rivers is now known in the country as ‘one week, one trouble’.

    That is why Peterside, a Christian, must follow what is in the biblical book of Isaiah 58:1 which says: ‘Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgressions’

    Nobody is safe again and they want Peterside to keep quiet and not tell Riverians and Nigerians when Wike errs? Arrant nonsense.

    What they don’t know is that Peterside is not waging war. He knows that Rivers is strategic to the economic well being of the country and when the governor is doing everything to undermine the economic potential and security of the country, he must be called to order.

    Since Wike took over on May 29, 2015, it has been one crisis after the other in our dear state.

    From the sublime to the ridiculous, Wike has done everything possible to undermine democratic institutions in our oil-bearing state.

    Despite the fact that tenures of Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) and Rivers State Judicial Commission (RSJC) are guaranteed by law, the first thing he did was to announce their dissolution. And, pitiably, a few hack writers defended this action, telling some gullible Nigerians that as governor, he has the power to dissolve any constitutional body.

    To the governor, anything goes as long as he has his ways.

    To summarise, Wike has not fulfilled his electoral promises. He has not solved social problems. Investors are running from the state because of the level of insecurity.

    At the Okehi, Etche rally, Peterside raised some posers to the governor entitled ’10 important questions Wike must provide answers to Rivers people’.

    Today, Rivers has become the number one kidnapping state in Nigeria. Rivers people cannot be deceived by lies and propaganda, no matter how well-crafted.

    An end to this malfeasance is near. Under Wike, Rivers is not working. And Peterside will not stop talking.

    • Brown sent this piece from Port Harcourt
  • Ofurumapepe wins Udom’s U-20 football tournament

    Ofurumapepe wins Udom’s U-20 football tournament

    Ofurumapepe in Ijaw language means, the great white shark. The shark is strong and rugged. It remains afloat and never swallowed by the tempestuous sea. The Governor of Bayelsa State, Mr. Seriake Dickson, adopted it as his sobriquet when he sought a reelection. He emerged victorious.

    In the same spirits, when Bayelsa State was invited recently to participate in an Under-20 football tournament sponsored by the Akwa Ibom State Governor, Emmanuel Udom, a new team assembled to represent Bayelsa decided to name itself after Dickson’s sobriquet, Ofurumapepe.

    There was something spectacular about the Ofurumapepe football team. The team was solely sponsored by Dickson’s Special Adviser on Youths, Ibarakumo Otobo. Otobo took it as his personal project. He did not wait for funding from the government. In fact, his passion to empower the youths and develop their talents compelled him to found the team.

    Again, the team was brought together after rigorous screenings. Youths from all the local government areas, indigenes and non-indigenes residing in the state were given an opportunity to compete for shirts. The best among them were selected to form the Ofurumapepe.

    The result was resounding. They played fantastic football similar to the ‘tiki-taka’ soccer of known clubs like Barcelona FC and Arsenal FC. Indeed, they thrashed all their opponents losing only their first game because of late arrival. Niger Delta Report gathered that at Uyo, where the tournament was held, Ofurumapepe was a spectacle.

    Among the 18 teams including teams representing Delta, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Edo, Kano, and Akwa Ibom states, Ofurumapepe made Bayelsa proud by emerging as the winner of the Governor Udom Under-20 Football Tournament. They brought the cup home.

    The Coach of the team, Mr. Gwegwe Ada, said the feat would not have been possible without Ototo. He said the special adviser took full responsibility of all the expenses incurred by the team.

    Ada said: “If it is not for him, I don’t think this trophy will be here. He footed all the bills. He had shown love to the youths of Bayelsa. One individual came to the rescue to sponsor a team to represent the state. It is a welcome development.

    “We named the team after the governor’s title, Ofurumapepe. The governor answered Ofurumapepe and won his election. We decided to answer the name. We went and we conquered. We promise that we will continue to make Bayelsa state proud”.

    He said the team had been selected to represent Nigeria in international football tournament and appealed to Dickson to support the team to ensure brighter future for the youths.

    “We are appealing to individuals, multinational companies to come and support us. We know the crime rates in the society, cultism, sea piracy. We can take the boys out of the streets through grass root sports development”, he said.

    In his remarks, Ototo said he was proud of the achievements of the team. He said persons who kept evading responsibilities by saying there was no money in Dickson’s government were ungrateful.

    He said: “We are all salary earners. So what do people do with their salaries? I passed through a lot of difficulties. Some people even discouraged me not to engage in it. They told me that in football you only spend money and don’t get returns especially in Nigeria.

    “But I told them that I was not doing it in order to benefit but I want the youths to benefit. I made a vow that if I assume any good position in government, I will do my best to ensure that the youths of the state are taken to the permanent site.

    “I am happy that Bayelsa has become champions. The opportunity given to the players to showcase their talents and skills is the key factor. I want to advise all the coaches in the state and the management board of the sports council, whenever you are making selections, ensure that the right persons are selected.

    “You cannot select people who are not qualified because of the positions of their brothers. I have brothers who are footballers but they are not in the team. I ensured that qualified people were selected and you look at the outcome”.

    He described the team as one of the best teams in football. He said he spent five days in Uyo to pep up the players and relate with them. He said the programme was in line with his personal project, Operation Leave the Streets.

    He added: “This is one of the best team I have ever seen in this town because their ball possession was exceptional. I never knew the state could produce a team of this nature. I am a grass root person. I spent five days in Uyo to be with the them and to encourage them.

    “I want the youths to leave the streets because when they are out of the streets, we will find no reason to bring military men to come and secure our states. Our state will be secured. Our leadership should engage in these things.

    “You don’t just condemn them. Have you asked yourself a question, how many persons have you used your position to take out of the streets. You are condemning militants but what have you done to help them.

    “I want to use this opportunity to appeal to the youths of Bayelsa to shun violence. All vices should be kept in the dark and we should come to the open to pursue real life”.

  • When UNIPORT pulled out four ‘Iroko trees’

    When UNIPORT pulled out four ‘Iroko trees’

    The atmosphere in the Senate Chambers of the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) during the 6th Valedictory Senate Session to pull out four of its Professors was great.

    The four dons are: Chukwunonye Ojinnakam a Professor of Chemistry; Michael Oti, a Professor of Petroleum Geology; Samuel Maduagwu, a Professor of Educational Management and Planning and Augustine Onyeozu, a Professor of Adult Education and Community Development.

    These dons felt fulfilled to be bowing out of the system they had served for more than two decades each.

    However, despite this feeling of satisfaction, it was obvious that the Professors were actually going to miss the camaraderie of the colleagues they were leaving behind and their students.

    This perhaps might be why Ojinnaka declared in an interview with reporters that “I will miss my students and laboratory”?.

    Ojinnaka explained that he had a wonderful time with the students he taught during his 37 years of meritorious services to the university. One of his students is now the Deputy Vice Chancellor (academic), Prof Hakeem Fawehinmi.

    The Professor of Chemistry also explained that the laboratory meant much to him because “I set up the university’s Instrument Laboratory- a Centre where they can analyse chemicals from industries and analysis of students’ chemical materials”?.

    ?Speaking on behalf of his three other retiring colleagues while rounding off the valedictory session, Ojinnaka said the event was a proof that the university valued their services.

    While recalling how UNIPORT started from Choba Park before getting to its present location in Abuja Park, he pointed out that the school has gone through many changes because of the efforts of its former Vice Chancellors,  especially Prof Nimi Briggs.

    The Vice Chancellor (VC) of UNIPORT, Prof Ndowa Lale, noted that “the retirement of a Professor is a direct equivalent of the uprooting of the great Iroko tree by a tempestuous wind” because the making of a professor is a rigorous process.

    Lale also said the four Professors who are retiring because they have clocked 70 years of age “took the academia by storm and left a memorable impression behind”?.

    The VC said the four Professors “forged a formidable research team that made a difference in the lives of their students” adding that they were among the best the country could offer the world because they wore their professorial titles with pride and a determination to bequeath a better society.

    Lale said Ojinnaka, who was born June 6, 1946,

    arrived UNIPORT on September 1, 1979 when the Department of Chemistry was in dire need of his expertise because at that time the academia wanted the best and had no place for mediocrity.

    The VC also said when Ojinnaka’s appointment as a Professor in the Department of Pure and Industrial Chemistry in the Faculty of Science ended on June 6, 2011, he was offered Contract Appointment “to enable him to continue with his admirable mentorship of the younger generation of academics”.

    Some of Ojinnaka’s stellar achievements in the university, the VC said, is the supervision of the first Ph.D candidate in the Department of Chemistry. He added that “he has practically lived his life in the laboratory, where he dedicated himself to searching for the active principles in plant species”.

    Lale also said: “Ojinnaka was the originator and mentor of the University’s Central Instruments Laboratory as we know today”, which now has a dedicated building.

    The VC said Oti, who was born August 27, 1946, joined UNIPORT in February 1980, and that the Professor of Petroleum Geology from the word go “stood out as a man with a mission and a determination to chart a new course in his area of specialisation” and he actually succeeded in playing the lead role in the establishment of the Department of Geology in the Faculty of Science of the university.

    The VC also said the university owes Oti immense gratitude for the quality service he rendered in 36 years of unbroken commitment to teaching, research and community service which he carried out with refined and unimpeachable integrity.

    He added that when Oti was drafted into organising the Nigeria Universities Games Association (NUGA 2004), he pulled off a very successful game that made headlines.

    “As Chairman of the university’s Sports Council in 1986, he successfully laid the foundation for the 1988 NUGA Games”, Lale said, pointing out that Oti’s training in the best German educational tradition prepared him to face life in Nigeria.

    Maduagwu, who was born August 6, 1946,  joined the university in 1988 and served for 28 years in diverse positions, proving “all through his glorious career that some people are actually made for the academia”?.

    The VC also said that Maduagwu turned the Department of Management around with his wealth of experience in educational administration.

    Lale described Maduagwu as the type who “minded his own business and did not have the appetite to gang against anybody in the performance of his duty” and was an authentic scholar who touched his students in a special way.

    Turning his attention to Onyeozu, another academic giant, who was born February 3, 1946, Lale said the Professor of Adult Education and Community Development joined the university as an administrator and rose through the ranks to become a Principal Assistant Registrar. It was from there that he converted to the academic cadre in 1995 where he assumed duty as Lecturer 1 after the completion of his doctorate degree in 1993.

    Lale also said Onyeozu being a pioneer staff of the university rendered quality administrative leadership that added great value to the successful take off of the institution.

    He said: “His sacrifices in the Faculty of Education contributed immensely to the reputation of the Department of Adult and Non-Formal Education.”

    Two emeritus Professors of the university: the former VC, Prof Nimi Briggs and Prof Samuel Okiwelu, who were present at the occasion, also commended the retirees and welcomed them to the club of over 70s.

  • Roads in Akwa Ibom roar back to life as NDDC comes to the rescue

    Roads in Akwa Ibom roar back to life as NDDC comes to the rescue

    After years of neglect, nine roads in very bad shapes in Akwa Ibom State are gradually getting a new lease of life courtesy of emergency repairs by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

    Ukana Offot Street in the heart of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State is a major link road between two all important dualised roads, Aka Road and Abak Road. On the road are major commercial, residential buildings and two major federal government institutions, the National Examination Council (NECO), and the Federal Science and Technical College. The emergency management warehouse of the office of the deputy governor is also situated on the road.

    For years, the connection of the major parts of the road has been a signpost for describing a bad road: abandoned; pot hole-filled; neglected; impassable; flooded; deplorable.

    Thanks to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), the road will soon be a signpost for every good thing a road should be: good, passable, asphalted, good drains.

    Work is ongoing on the road as part of the commission’s emergency repairs and intervention of roads across the regions. Other roads across the state on the  list for repairs are Clement Isong Street, Uyo; School Road and environs, Uyo; Enwang-Ibaka Road, Mbo Local Government Area; Udoh Street, Uyo; Uko-Eshiet street and environs, Uyo, Ibiaku-Ishiet-Adiaha Road, Uruan and  Enen Ekpene Road, Eket and portions of the Calabar-Itu highway.

    At Ukana Offot, Managing Director of GOP Ltd, contractors handling the repairs, Mr. Brownson Udoh, says the work is going on smoothly.He said “we have just finished creating drains with cache pits for a distance of over 500 metres. We have also dressed the shoulders, poured stone base and priming is going on.”

    By next week, Mr. Brownson said the company will pour asphalt on about a distance of 750meters fromAka Road junction to Silas Udo junction.

    Residents of the area are elated. Some of them who spoke to this reporter said they are grateful to the NDDC for the job done on the road. “For many years, we have been crying over this road.  Even when the last administration had what it called operation fill pot holes in the state, Ukana Offot was not considered. From little pot holes, it grew into a major problem.  We could not pass to Abak Road. We had to be trekking through adjourning street to get to Abak Road. We also suffered high transportation costs. No keke or taxi wanted to come here even from Aka Road which was also bad, we are grateful that we have been remembered”, Anietie Udofia, a resident of the street said.

    Another resident, Imaobong Effiong who attends one ofthe major churches on the road, the Assemblies of God Church, said “at a point, going to church for evening programme was a problem.You will trek for a long distance to get to Abak Road end. At some times, hoodlumsstarted taking advantage of people by attacking them around the golden Palace Hotel end. We had to be trekking through other linking streets around there, we very very happy that NDDC is constructing the road”.

    A NECO  Staff who spoke on the condition of anonymity  said  their joy knew no bounds when the road was being marked by  workers of  GOP Ltd. “We were surprised because roads were being constructed and repaired all over the state in the last ten years  but here, we passed through hell  going to work and back.  We had to trek through other streets like NEPA Line, Port Harcourt Street and others in this environment to get to work and back. We are very happy that NDDC has done this”.

    On School Road, work is also ongoing and residents are as well excited.  Some students of the University of Uyo living in the environment gathered in a group when one of them was asked what he thought of the repair work. It became a cacophony of voices as they tried to outwit each other to make comment: “Tell NDDC they have done well”, “Please extend it to Urua Ekpa”. (Urua Ekpa is a major road that links Itu Road and Ikpa Road where the town campus of the University of Uyo is situated and is in a deplorable state). “We are happy”, “More roads please”,   “Now we can move out”.

    The contractor on the site believesthe work will be finished on schedule. Same goes for Ibiaku-Eshiet-Adiadia Road which hosts a major sea food market in the state, the Adiadia market.  Market women who trade in fish and crayfish said the NDDC has done well by remembering the roads for repairs. “We suffered high transportation costs because of the bad nature of the road.   This always affected our own price when we sell the items in the open market.  Now, with this road, the cost of transportation will be down. So, we are happy that NDDC is doing well”, Mrs. Enobong Inyang, a trader said.

    The Calabar-Itu Highway is the major road linking Cross River State to other South-South, South-Eastern and South-Western States in Nigeria.  A large portion of it is in Akwa Ibom State.  For many years also, the road has been in a deplorable condition.Recently though, it has moved from deplorable to impassable. Cars hardly arrived at their destination as they get stucked in the road. Trucks fall at will, at bad spots, blocking the roads and making transporters and commuters suffer huge losses.

    For some months, nobody could enter Calabar through the road. Thanks to NDDC also, repair works has started on the road. This was after Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, Acting Managing Director of the NDDC, paid an on-the-spot visit to the road.  Shocked by the deplorable nature of the road, she ordered an immediate deployment of a contractor to carry out repairs in major portion of the road.  A visit to the road reveals that her directives have been adhered to. Base Engineering Ltd., one of the contractors has fully mobilized to site and is working on some failed portion of the road. One of the major failed portions worked on in the Akwa Ibom end is just before the Itu bridge head.

    Commuters and drivers are happy. One of the drivers Efa Archibong, told this reporter that the intervention by NDDC, though long overdue, was welcomed. He commended the NDDC, saying “If other agencies can be like this, most of our roads would have been fixed”. A commuter, Iboro Udobia said though the emergency repairs were good, the road needs a complete re-construction.  “The emergency repair is good and Icommend the NDDC for this but what this particular road needs is a complete re-construction from Calabar to Aba. It should be 8-Lane and toll gates marked out on the road. We will pay. The road is too important for the socio-economic life of the old Eastern Region”,   he said.

    Speaking to this reporter the Special Assistant to the Acting Managing Director of the NDDC, Mr. Bekee Anyalewechi, said “the intervention was in fulfillment of one of the core mandates of the NDDC – that of conception, planning and implementation of projects and programmes for sustainable development of the Niger Delta area in the field of transportation, including roads, jetties and waterways.”

    He said the acting Managing Director, Mrs. Semenitari “has changed fully well the public perception of NDDC as non-performing and wasteful. She has committed resources to only areas that are beneficial to people of the region. These emergency repair projects all over the region are one of those areas. From the feedback we are getting, the people are happy and it gives the acting MD satisfaction that one of the mandates of the commission is being fulfilled.”

  • The fakery of a fortune teller

    The Sun published an opinion article by Robert Obioha, titled “Peterside and APC Fantasy” on September 2, 2016. Reading this article, one can easily adduce that a paid piper plays no tune except that called by his employer.

    Otherwise, how does one explain the blatant disregard for issues raised by Hon. Dakuku Peterside, flagbearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2015 Rivers State gubernatorial elections? Or a poignant lack of discourse in the article of critical issues bordering on the economy and security of Rivers State? Let’s even forego the fact that Robert’s pocket has been lined and for a minute, pretend that he seeks the best interest of Rivers state and her people. What were the issues raised by Dakuku in the statement that sent the camp of the Governor Nyesom Wike and the PDP scampering?

    Peterside had in the statement said that “I have a message for you all; the end has come. Rivers people cannot be deceived by lies and propaganda, no matter how well crafted. Which government has borrowed more money under one year than all previous governments from 1967 to date put together? Which government withdrew nearly 400 undergraduates sent on scholarship abroad by ex-Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi to different countries? Which government deceitfully wanted to take credit for projects conceived and delivered by the Amaechi’s government?”

    Robert should have at least stay on course and dwelt on disproving them. He would have shown the errors in Dr. Dakuku’s “verbiage” as he succinctly puts it, and brought forth numbers to indicate how prudent the administration of Governor Wike was. This would have been quickly followed with showers of praise on the present administration to highlight how previous administrations were spendthrifts compared to the present one.

    If the above was so much of an arduous task, an easier one would have been getting soundbites from a few of the over 400 undergraduates on scholarship in different parts of the world. These would have served as testaments of the administration’s irrefutable belief in education as an enabler of modern society.

    And if he really just wanted to choose the easiest path, he would have attached pictures as evidence of projects conceived and executed by this administration. At least, he would have proven that Dr. Dakuku’s statements that most, if not all, of the projects commissioned by this administration, are expensive makeovers of the projects of previous administrations.

    So, because there were really no evidences to the contrary, Robert chose the least honorable path in writing his article, by referring readers to statements ascribed to the Governor’s media aide. If the entire body of evidence of the article rests in unquoted statements and unproven facts, what then is the point? It comes down to nothing better than a lousy opinion.

    I guess it’s time to stop pretending and just call Robert what he is; a pen mercenary often available to do the bidding of the highest bidder. He has a well-documented antecedent, predicting a landslide for the Goodluck Ebele Jonathan (GEJ) administration at the 2015 presidential polls, in the face of contrarian evidence.

    The decision by the Governor Wike camp to contract Robert Obioha to write such slur is also indicative of the many errors of the administration. A simple google check on the character of Robert Obioha would have uncovered his misfit for the purpose. He has a short stint of writing articles that criticise the present APC administration, bereft of constructive criticism, and turning out no better than a child throwing tantrums. It’s almost as if Robert keeps trying to pacify the ghost of his past for the fakery of his fortune telling in predicting a landslide at the polls for the GEJ administration.

    How will the people of Rivers trust the Governor Wike administration if it can’t even get simple things right such as selecting a brilliant and non-partisan character for her propaganda. And that, Mr. Obioha, is the crux of Dr. Dakuku’s statement, “an administration that loses the trust of its people will come to an end, sooner than later”.

    • Okogbule writes from Port Harcourt
  • Fed Govt advised on jobs, infrastructure in the Niger Delta

    Fed Govt advised on jobs, infrastructure in the Niger Delta

    Rivers/Bayelsa Community Council in Lagos has held a reception for youths who just graduated from the Nigerian Railway Institute, Yaba, Lagos.

    At a reception organised in their honour and investiture of new executives of the council and formal presentation of skills acquisition scholarships to  students, the chairman of the council in Lagos, Mr Bob Igoni, said it takes a lot to see the graduating students pass out of the institute to enable them have something doing with their time and talents.

    Joseph Evah, a human rights activist, said all the promises made by the Sani Abacha government when Bayelsa was created were not fulfilled, not even by former President Goodluck Jonathan, who is an indigene of the state.

    “There is need to accomplish the dualisation of the East/West Road to the Mid-West; the only route that links other parts of the country and create more road for the coastal areas for the whole region of the Niger Delta; and to address issues of marginalisation of indigenes of the state at federal level for employment.”

    The group urged the Muhammadu Buhari government to address these issues.

    A former president of the council, Mrs Daba Obioha, said the society has existed long enough to begin to care for certain needs of the youths so that they can work hard to keep the flag flying.

    A fellow at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, Lagos,  Prof Charles Dokubo, advised President Buhari to strive hard to bring Nigeria to its past glory, adding that Nigerians are going through hard times.

    “ I haven’t seen this type since I was born. Everything everywhere is crumbling due to economic hardship”, he said.

    Mrs Timebi Koripamo Agary said the railway work force was reduced drastically to enable the corporation pay salaries of workers as at when due.

  • Why we honoured Mbu, by Cross River youths

    Why we honoured Mbu, by Cross River youths

    He is not the first senior police officer nor security personnel to have retired from service in Etung Local Government Area (LGA) of Cross River State. There are several of them but we chose to honour Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) Joseph Mbu (rtd) because of his selfless contributions to the growth and development of our people.

    Those were the words of the Chairman, Nigerian Youth Congress (NYC) Etung chapter, Praise Eju, whose members held a reception in honour of Mbu for a meritorious 31 years of service to the nation through the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).

    The youth had heard that the retired AIG was planning to have his thanksgiving mass at Mary, Mother of PerpetualHelp Catholic Church in his village, Abia on September 4, and decided to fix their planned reception for him on Saturday, September 3, at Etung Council headquarters in Effraya.

    Eju who extolled Mbu for being courageous and upright, stated that they chose to honour him so that young people will emulate him in their various fields of endeavour.

    “Our decision to honour him was borne out of passion. I have never met him face to face until today (Saturday). I have been watching him on television and also keeping track of his activities as a public servant. We investigated him and we are proud that he was a fine policeman. He was incorruptible and fearless.

    “Aside his role at the national stage, AIG Mbu, we discovered has helped alot of people back home. There are so many orphaned and indigent students he has trained. Without him, most of them wouldn’t have achieved anything meaningful in life. He has empowered people from his community and always strives to make them better.

    “Is he the richest man in Etung or Abia? No! There are so many richer than him but his generosity and love for his people can’t be marched. So, that was why we believed that he’s a Prophet who deserves honour in his home town. By celebrating him, we are challenging young people from our state who find themselves in position of authority to be upright so that when they leave the office, they too can be celebrated. If they don’t do well and bring disgrace to our LGA or State, we shall stone them,” said Eju.

    At the events were former Military Administrator of Kwara State, Col. P.A.M Ogar (rtd); former Secretary to the State Government  (SSG) David Achang; Local Government Area chairman, Inok Kuti; Ambassador Obase Okongor; Chairman old Ikom Local Government Area, Dr. Egbe Ayuk, and former chairman, State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) Joe Ebam.

    Inok said the local government was proud to have Mbu as their son.

    “We are proud of him. He is a courageous person. He has the typical spiriit of an Etung man in him, which is doggedness, courage and excellence. My advice to younger people is that there is just no easy way to success. It is commitment, persistence, courage, and believing in that which you want. I will like the young ones to emulate his character,” he said.

  • New tourism cities coming in Cross River

    The Cross River State government has concluded plans to develop new tourism cities as part of efforts to improve the revenue profile of the state.

    Commissioner for New Cities Development George Ekpungu  disclosed this on Wednesday in Calabar during a meeting with Community Relations Officers (CRO’s) from the 18 local government areas of the state.

    He said that the new cities, which would be built with modern day facilities, would attract more tourists into the state for business and leisure.

    According to him, Calasvegas city will be built in the Southern Senatorial District, Centicot in the Central Senatorial District and Nostradam in the Northern Senatorial District of the state.

    The commissioner said the ministry had concluded arrangements for the take-off of the new cities, adding that the state governor, Ben Ayade would soon announce the date for the groundbreaking.

    “As a state, we want to open new tourism cities in the three senatorial districts of the state. These cities would help to boost the state revenue profile by attracting tourists and investors into the state.

    “These cities would also have the requisite tourism content. Gov. Ayade is so passionate about developing the state for economic growth and we must support him,’’ he said.

    He called on all indigenes of the state to support the laudable projects of the state governor, saying that the proposed deep sea port and the super highway projects would be beneficial to the state and country if completed.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the objective of the meeting was to enlighten the CRO’s on government programmes and policies in the state.

    Mr Vincent Obi-Dibang, the Special Assistant to Ayade on Community Relations, urged the CRO’s to be the change agents in their communities.

    Obi-Dibang charged them to always work with security agencies in their locality with a view to averting communal clashes between worrying communities.

    Mr Egbe Edogi, the CRO from Abi Local Government Area, appealed to the state government to provide office accommodation and official vehicles for them to ease their work.

    Other CRO’s who spoke at the meeting, lauded the state governor for the prompt payment of salaries of civil servants in the state.