The Nation Newspaper

Category: Niger Delta

  • 161, 000 live in open-defecation-free communities in Cross River

    No fewer than 161, 000 people are now living in open-defecation-free communities in Cross River, four years after the implementation of the Rural Sanitation and Hygiene Promotion in Nigeria Programme (RUSHPIN).

    Mr Nanpet Chuktu, the Programme Manager, Concern Universal, the implementing agency for RUSHPIN programme, disclosed this on Thursday at a workshop on Budget and Advocacy for Sanitation Task Group in Calabar.

    RUSHPIN is an initiative of the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and the Global Sanitation Fund (GSF), the grant giving body of the UN Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council.

    Chuktu said that this was achieved through the programme’s Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) approach, which targets behavioural change for increased access to sanitation and hygiene.

    He said that the programme, which started in 2012, was also aimed at strengthening political commitment in all tiers of government to improve allocation for promoting sanitation and hygiene.

    The programme manager said that there was the need for all states to domesticate the Open-Defecation-Free Roadmap which had been signed by the National Council for Water Resources.

    This step, Chuktu said, would go a long way to meet the target of ending open defecation by 2025 and meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.

    Also speaking, Mr Gabe Odu, the Commissioner for Water Resources in Cross River, said that the state would continue to support the lofty ideas targeted at developing the rural areas.

    According to him, rural development is paramount to socio-economic development of any nation.

    Odu said that sanitation and hygiene promotion in rural areas had impacted on foods, wellbeing, health, finance and education.

    “Rural development is paramount to socio-economic development; any programme with the sole aim of boosting the sector will be supported in all spheres.

    “Sanitation and hygiene in rural areas is important; if cholera or dysentery breaks out in these places, it will affect the farms, children, foods and water,” he said.

    In her remarks, Ms Ebele Okeke, the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Ambassador, said that development and wellbeing of any nation would be in jeopardy without potable water supply, basic sanitation and good hygiene.

    Okeke, represented by Mrs Joy Ejiga, called on all tiers of government to scale up access to WASH in the country.

    She also called for strengthened collaboration from all stakeholders to advocate for increased budgetary allocation toward meeting the SDGs goal No. 6 by 2030.

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that in June 2014, Nigeria benefitted from the Global Sanitation Fund (GSF)’s $5million to meet the sanitation and hygiene challenges in Benue and Cross River.

    The innovation sees international funding matched by national, regional and local funding, setting a framework for replication to achieve the national target of ending open defecation in Nigeria by 2025.

    Also, the Cross River State Commissioner for Water Resources, Mr Gabe Odu, said on Wednesday that the provision of potable water was a top priority of the state government.

    Speaking on the sidelines of the ongoing advocacy visit of the Rural Sanitation and Hygiene Promotion in Nigeria (RUSHPIN), in Calabar, Odu said the administration had realised that water was of paramount importance to development.

    He said that more than 60 per cent of the state’s inhabitants had access to potable water.

    Odu said that Nigeria could reduce its child mortality rate by improving access to Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH).

    He said that it was saddening that 80 per cent of rural communities practised open defecation and lacked access to potable water, saying that they consumed water from unsafe sources, leading to illnesses and deaths.

    The commissioner said the RUSHPIN programme had supported the state in adopting good hygiene practices, saying it would be scaled up through speedy provision of counterpart funds.

    Odu said about 150,000 under-five children died annually from poor sanitation and hygiene, saying the trend needed to be reversed.

    He stressed the need for all tiers of the government to improve allocation of appropriate resources for scaling up sanitation and hygiene.

    “Approximately 90 per cent of diarrhoea prevalence is directly attributed to poor quality WASH.

    “Sanitation coverage actually decreased from 37 per cent in 1990 to 28 per cent in 2012 and 100 million Nigerians, roughly two in three persons, have no access to sanitation.

    “Meanwhile, more than half of all rural water points are dysfunctional, In June 2014, Nigeria benefitted from the Global Sanitation Fund to the tune of five million dollars to meet the sanitation and hygiene challenges in Benue and Cross River states.

    The RUSHPIN is an initiative of the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and the Global Sanitation Fund, the grant giving body of the UN Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council.

    The innovation sees international funding matched by national, regional and local funding, setting a framework for replication to achieve the national target of ending open defecation in Nigeria by 2025.

    A Swedish firm, Greenland Resources, said that it would establish a pulp mill that would generate employment for over 14, 000 Nigerians in Cross River.

    The president of the firm, Mr Torbjorn Johansson, made the disclosure on Wednesday in Calabar when he led a Management team of the firm on a courtesy visit to Gov. Ben Ayade.

    He said the pulp mill would increase the country’s exports, adding that it would also generate 1.5 million tonnes yearly.

    Johansson said that the firm needed land to establish the pulp mill.

    He said that the establishment of the mill would not have any adverse effect on the state’s eco-system.

    Johansson said that the choice of the state was as a result of its peaceful atmosphere and unprecedented security.

    According to him, this country has a big population, great workforce and the security in Cross River is the best.

    “We have been travelling round the world to find a place to site the industry and we were very close to giving up but the Swedish Embassy in Nigeria advised us to come to Calabar; so we are here,’’ he said.

    Johansson said bio fuel, viscos, bio plastic products as well as raw materials for carbon fibre, could be produced in the pulp mill frame.

    He further said the finished products of the mill would be directed to international and domestic paper manufacturers.

    Johansson said that the firm would source its finances from investment and commercial banks, adding that negotiations were ongoing with other investors in this regard.

    Responding, the governor assured the investors that his administration would support the execution of the project.

    He said creating more than 14,000 jobs would be a huge relief for his government.

    “We will do all we can as a government to support you.

    “We are excited about your project. I know what comes out of this.

    “14,000 jobs is a huge relief for me as a government because 14,000 mean 1.4 million people feeding from 14,000, given the African brotherhood and love for each other.

    “We are ready to fast-track the documentation process to ensure that you get the facilities you are seeking for,’’ Ayade said.

    He urged the relevant commissioners to ensure necessary support for the speedy commencement of the project.

  • Contractor tackles firm over N8.5m debt

    Contractor tackles firm over N8.5m debt

    As the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Philipino International Services, Phillip Ajero, being owed by SLOK Marine/Shipping Nigeria Limited? Ajero runs Philipino, a firm based in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital. According to him, his firm in 2008 entered into agreement with SLOK Marine to supply food items and offshore oil valued at N8. 515 million to their offshore vessels. The job was allegedly executed and confirmed by the company, but payment was not made.

    According to Ajero, while the debt lingered, the SLOK reportedly  terminated the contract without informing him or paying the outstanding debt and awarded the contract nto another person.

    He said efforts to recover the amount from the company  have failed. Not even legal intervention by way of court judgment he got against the company in 2013, that by the Chairman of the Company, Orji Uzor Kalu, and that of the former Governor of Abia state and Hon. Marcus Kalu, the former Chief of staff Abia State Government House, have been able to get the money released, instead what he has continued to receive from the company and their associates including the Police are barrage of attacks and threat to his.

    Speaking during a visit to the zonal office of The Nation  in Port Harcourt, he presented a petition by his lawyers, E.E. Amadi Esq. and Tonye G. Wokoma Esq. of Ebere Amadi and Co. and G. O Tamuno and Co. It was addressed to the Inspector General of Police (IGP), who directed Zone six Calabar to investigate through the state commissioner of Police.

    Part of the petitions to the IGP by Barr. Wokoma reads: “Sir, kindly recall that our client (Ajero), reportedly a matter to the state CID, Port Harcourt for which the suspects Eze Sahara, Ike, Joe, the Purchasing Manager of SLOK company were invited and arrested. Shortly after their release, they inflicted another attack on our client on November 10, 2014.

    “Our client returned to the State CID in Port Harcourt and reported same. While the Police were in search for them, officers from zone 6, calabar came to arrest our client on December 4, 2014 on account of the suspects’ complain against our client giving false information to the Police.

    “He was however released after one week, since then, his life has come under the unabated calls of threat and intimidation from officers in zone 6, calabar.”

    He called on acting IGP Ibrahim Idris Kpotum and the AIG Zone six Calabar, Abubakar Mafara Idris and the  Commissioner of Police, Francis Bolaji Odesanya to invoke his files, get the suspects re-arrested, including Mr. Abbound, investigate the matter and prosecute them in accordance with the law and to serve as deterrent to others.

    He also called on the Chairman of SLOK Group of Companies, former Governor Kalu to prevail on the management of SLOK Marine to pay him his money in accordance with the judgement given by Hon. Justice W. A. Chechey of the Rivers state High court, on March 25, 2013, to enable him start life afresh.

    Efforts to get the company’s full reactions on the issues raised were frustrated. Several calls to the mobile telephone of the company’s Legal Adviser, Abubueze Uzo-kalu were not answered, but that was after two successful interactions.

    But the copy of the judgement delivered in the favour of the contractor by the state High court, presided over by Justice Chechey in suit number, PHC/623/2013, dated March 25, 2013 between Philip Ajero (Claimant), and SLOK NIGRIA LIMITED (Defendant), entitled Judgement Order: read, “Upon reading the affidavit of Philip Ajero, adult, male Christian, citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, of number 115  Ogbum-nu-abali road, Port Harcourt, sworn to and filed at the High Court registry, Port Harcourt on the March 25, 2013 and after hearing Mr. O. V. Frank-Briggs of the counsel for the claimant in support urging to the court to enter judgement in favour of the claimant; it is ordered as follows:

    “That judgement be and is entered in favour of the claimant in the sum of N8, 515, 000.00 (Eight million, Five hundred and Fifteen Thousand Naira.

    “That cost in favour of the claimant be fixed in the sum of N100, 0000.00 (One Hundred Thousand Naira).

    “That interest shall run on the judgement sum of N8, 515,000 and cost of N100, 0000 i.e N8, 615, 000.000 at the rate of 10% per annum until it is paid up.

    “Given at Port Harcourt, under the seal of the court and the hand of the Presiding Judge, this day May 21, 2013.” The document stated.

    It was signed by the Director of Litigation, Mina H.H. Jumbo (J.P).

    Uzokalu admitted knowing the contractor and the issues raised, but feigned no knowledge of the alleged attacks on his life, but promised to meet with the management and then get back to her.

    He however called back and demanded for the reporter’s e-mail address to turn in the company’s reactions, but all to no avail despite obliging him with his request. Calls and text messages to him phone thereafter were not answered or returned as at the time of filing in this report.

    The contractor said he is afraid of losing his life over a contract he did for the company with his money, but vowed to recover to his money from the company no matter what.

    He called on the IGP, AIG and the CP to prevail on the SLOK Marine to pay him his contract sum, the cost awarded to them by the court, as well as the more than three years interest accruing from the contract sum.

  • The GO’s coronation

    The GO’s coronation

    Any moment from now, the General Overseer (GO), Holy Aruosa Cathedral, Benin City, Edo State will take his seat. The police earlier in the week gave a hint to that effect when they declared that his coronation would be adequately policed.

    Another hint that the ceremony will soon take place is the facelift being given to the Usama Palace on  Siluko Road. The lawns in this palace, which was the first site of the Oba’s palace before it was moved to its present location by Oba Ewedo in the 13th century, are being mowed.

    The coronation rites are to be performed there.

    The new Oba is expected to spend seven days there before passing through Isekhere back to the main palace.

    The over 500-year-old cathedral, which is located on Akpakpava Road, Benin City, after some break, will witness a GO dishing out the gospel, but not according to the Bible.

    The GO will also double as the Oba of Benin, the great kingdom with rich history behind it. As a boy, a picture of the kingdom had a space in my head. It was that of a kingdom so great that mystery could pass as its other name. I heard all kinds of dos and don’ts about this vast land where Oba Ovomramwen Nogbaisi made history. I heard of facts that wore attires of myths. Or were they myths that wore the robes of facts?

    Now, as an adult, this great kingdom of sculptors and painters, of intellectuals and administrators is one that we all will never fully comprehend. Its mystery seems to be its power. When it is Benin, there are things you dare not say or write. You just content yourself with hush-hush gist about this kingdom and its people, whose history has given birth to cinematic thrillers, such as Invasion 1897 and Iyore.

    The late Ola Rotimi could not resist the delight that Benin history was and still is that he penned the irresistible drama known as Ovomramwen Nogbaisi.

    If you are in doubt about the greatness of Benin kingdom, take a trip to the British Museum. There you will discover that its most-prized artworks were stolen from Benin and displayed with braggadocio. I like the scene in Lancelot Oduwa-Imasuen’s Invasion 1897 where the lead character who had invaded the museum and took an artwork defended himself in court by saying he could not have stolen the item because it belonged to his forefathers and by extension him.

    The man of history is His Royal Highness Edaiken N’Uselu Eheneden. He has been in and out of the sacred groves tooling for the task ahead. Now, he is out and ready to start from where his great father left.

    The Secretary to the Edo State Government, Prof Julius Omozuanvbo Ihonvbere, said: “It is hereby notified for general information that in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 19 (1) of the Traditional Rulers and Chiefs Law, 1979 (as amended) and by virtue of all other laws enabling it in that behalf, the Executive Council of the Edo State Government of Nigeria has approved the appointment of His Royal Highness Edaiken N’Uselu, Crown Prince Eheneden Erediauwa as the Oba of Benin, with effect from 29th day of April, 2016.”

    Really, the government’s announcement was a formality. It was clear to even the blind long ago that His Royal Highness Edaiken N’Uselu Eheneden Erediauwa was destined to be king. Now, his time is here.

    The mystery and complexity of the Benin mores could be gleaned from the statement of the then Crown Prince when Governor Adams Oshiomhole paid him a visit following the announcement of his father’s death. He said he was probably the first crown prince in the history of Benin Kingdom that was so close to his father.

    Before he said that the story out there was that he was not supposed to see eye to eye with his father being the heir apparent. Judging from his statement, that used to be the situation. Modernity seems to have softened things a bit. So close was he to his father, who many of us thought was not supposed to see him face-to-face, that both knew each other’s ways.

    “It’s really an emotional moment for me and everybody virtually knows how close I was to my father. The elders here know how close I was to my father, and I am probably known as the first crown prince in the history of Benin Kingdom that has been so close to his father,” the incoming Oba of Benin and GO of Holy Aruosa Cathedral said.

    He continued: “It’s been said far and wide that the Oba’s eldest son doesn’t see his father, they don’t meet each other, that they are far apart. So, he knew my ways and I knew his ways. So, I can beat my chest and say I understand certain inner workings of the mind of my dear father.”

    Oshiomhole’s speech on the visit bore glimpses of the greatness of the kingdom and the late Oba Erediauwa, whose death he described as shattering.

    He said: “We are all shattered by this very sad news. In my formal tribute, I have already made a statement that represents my evaluation of the life and times of our Royal Majesty. But in all of that, we know that kings will come, kings will transit, but our joy even in the midst of this grief is that we are fortunate; indeed very fortunate that in spite of the vacuum left by the departure of His Royal Majesty, we have in your Royal Highness a true royal Crown Prince that has already gone through all the rigours of life, and sufficiently travelled and held sensitive diplomatic positions in most strategic countries.

    “For people like me who have had the very rare privilege of interacting very closely with your Royal Highness over the years, I believe that His Royal Majesty has prepared a Crown Prince that, as tradition prescribes, has what it takes to fill the big royal shoes that His Majesty left behind. That for us gives us the confidence that the robust tradition, the national respect and international recognition and the way in which His Royal Majesty carried the office, that it will be sustained and built upon by your Royal Highness.

    “So, your Royal Highness, I commiserate with you, I commiserate with the royal family, and indeed the great people of Benin Kingdom and the great people of Edo State. Like I said in 2006, during my first visit, my very limited knowledge of our State is that Edo is not an artificial word. So, Edo is not an artificial creation. We are not named after a river or after an event. It’s an ethnic category, and His Royal Majesty is the father, the paramount ruler of every Edo sons and daughters, and so it shall be forever and ever. May our ancestors stand by you at this hour and guide us through all the processes.”?

    His Royal Highness Edaiken N’Uselu Eheneden Erediauwa is inheriting a great history. With his new status, the Oba, who is also known as Omo N’Oba, is the traditional ruler of the Edo people. He is also the head of the historic Eweka dynasty of the Great Benin Empire.

    Until Oba Eweka I, the headship of Benin Empire was not known as Oba. All that changed with the great Oba Eweka, who is believed to have reigned between 1180 and 1300. This great kingdom was raped by the British in 1897 when it launched an imperialist expedition. It deposed and exiled Oba Ovonramwen to Calabar, now the capital of Cross River State. It took control of the area to establish the British colony of Nigeria. He died in 1914. He never returned to his throne.

    What got the British angry and led to the expedition was the defeat of a British invasion force which violated Benin territory in 1896. It consisted of both indigenous soldiers and British officers, and is still remembered by the Edos with horror today. Under the pretext of covering for the cost of the expedition, the Benin royal art was stolen and auctioned off by the British.

    The mystery of the Benin makes it unclear what its relationship with Ile Ife and the Yoruba was. There is no agreement about the place or otherwise of Oduduwa, Oranmiyan and Igodomigodo in the history of this amazing empire.

    My final take: As the Oba is coronated, Benin’s light will not dim. The Oba will lead this great people well and years from now, we will look back and say His Royal Highness Eheneden Erediauwa is a monarch with a difference. Long may you reign.

    • Part of this piece first appeared on this space on May 27.
  • Tears of Rivers waterfronts settlers

    Tears of Rivers waterfronts settlers

    These are not the best of times for waterfronts settlers in Rivers State. Precious Dikewoha examines the unending woes of this set of people

    It was a warning they took serious. Quit your waterfront settlement in seven days or have them demolish, said the Rivers State government. It explained that this was necessary  to rid the state of criminality.

    Some waterfronts have been demolished already while others are expected to be demolished before the recent protest which made Governor Nyesom Wike to call for calm.

    Waterfront settlement under threat for demolition include  Awgu , Afikpo/Awkuzu , Soku,  Elechi Phase I, Abba, Timber, Elechi Phase II, Nanka, Echue, Urualla, Akokwa, Obiodansor, Ojike, Egede and Anozie Water waterfront

    One of the landlords, Elder Belema Amakiri, 92, said every government that came to power had always tried to demolish the waterfronts.

    He noted that Rivers State government in the past, under the leadership of Dr. Peter Odili for eight years allegedly deceived and displaced the people of Rainbow Town waterfront in Port Harcourt.

    He said Rainbow Town was demolished under the pretext of reconstructing and building low-cost housing for the evicted residents, only for the plots of land to be allocated to the rich and powerful in Nigeria, including top officials of Rivers State government.

    Elder Amakiri said:  “Both previous and present government had always carried out demolition  without regard to several International Human Rights Covenants like the Habitat Agenda Commitment and  Nigeria is  signatory to it. It is just that when its concern the poor nobody wants to talk about the law or respect the law. We don’t need to remind government  that there is an existing court order, the state government ought to provide alternative accommodation before the demolition, as recommended by international human rights conventions.

    “Now, how many of these governors have provided an alternative solution or the design of what they intend to build at the waterfront? But it is all about politics.   Dr. Peter Odili deceived and displaced the people of Rainbow Town in Port Harcourt and the land was shared among his political friends. This was under the pretext of reconstructing and building low-cost housing for the evicted resident.”

    Former Governor Celestine  Omehia also ran into heavy political storms with ethnic stakeholders while trying to demolish waterfront settlements,  especially Okrika indigenes, who have  for years claimed to be the aboriginal owners of the waterfront parts of Port Harcourt.

    According to Elder Amakiri,  “ The Politics of waterfront demolition didn’t start today but every governor always try to use his own description and initiative otherwise it may consume them.    Just as most riverine Rivers people wanted the demolition to be halted, most upland commentators urged Omehia to proceed. The Supreme Court removed him from office in November 2007. And the waterfront settlers celebrated; the area already demolished were rebuild in original waterfront jungle way.”

    When  Mr. Rotimi Amaechi came into power  as the governor of Rivers State, there was a temporary respite as he announced that he was staying action on the demolitions. There were widespread jubilations in all the waterfronts because apart from the ethnic claims to ownership and despite its subhuman living conditions, these are the only parts of the oil city where the downtrodden could afford to rent accommodation.

    Many of the inhabitants are seafarers and fishermen who will be cut off from their livelihood if moved. Shortly after his inauguration, Amaechi announced that the waterfronts would no longer be demolished.  A few months later, the governor reversed his pronouncement by declaring that security reports, which confirmed the waterfronts as dens of criminals, prompted him to opt for the demolition, in line with his administration’s urban renewal programme.

    Amaechi admitted having earlier informed Rivers’ people that the waterfronts would not be demolished, but that he decided to take his time to study the situation on the ground, before making up his mind on the sensitive matter. Amaechi also said the Justice Kayode Esho-led Truth and Reconciliation Panel, of which an Okrika person was a member, also recommended the demolition of the waterfronts to check criminal activities.

    He disclosed that there were a lot of arms and ammunition at the waterfronts and that when the areas would be demolished, the army, navy, air-force and riot police personnel would be involved to prevent resistance.

    Another landlord, Mr  Livy Ofurum who escaped arrest during the last protest in Port Harcourt, said Amaechi’s decision on waterfront demolition was not harsh because he gave them enough time and also negotiated with the landlords which led to compensation.

    Ofurum said: “The Amaechi government plan is a little bit different. According to what he told us   the sum of N850million was set aside as bonus for commercial rates to homeowners in the enclaves to seek and acquire choice property in any part of the city. The former  Rivers State Director of the National Orientation Agency and  secretary of a government committee that conducted enumeration in the waterfronts, Chief Andy Nweye, told us as then that  each of the owners of structures in the Bundu and Njemanze Waterfronts  was offered nearly N30 million to encourage them to move out to enable government bulldozers to move in.”

    At a recent protest which was mainly engaged by children and women,  the waterfront settlers described Wike’s action  as  unfair and inhuman treatment. They said before the decision was taken to mobilise for protest the association chairman and few of them went to Government House to see the Commissioner for Urban and Rural Development but they were told that the man was not on seat.

    Mr. Stephen Igoni, one of the landlords who went to the office of the Commissioner to discuss with him, said when they could  not see the commissioner they decided to see the permanent secretary, Ministry of Urban Development who insisted that they should try to see the commissioner before embarking on the protest.

    He said: “Three of our leaders have been arrested and over 27 people wounded, this is very bad. We voted for this government. My family personally voted for him, look at how he is paying us today. We are members of PDP but today the same man doesn’t want to listen to us.”

    Some of the right groups which joined the protest last week include Social Action, Nigerian Slum /Informal Settlement Federation, Justice and empowerment Initiative (JEI) Collaborative Media Advocacy Platform (CMAP) and Stakeholders Democratic Network (SDN).

    At a joint news conference in Port Harcourt over the forceful eviction of waterfront settlers, the groups condemned the Rivers State government action to evict the waterfront settlers without a due process.

    The groups said should the government proceed with its threats, an estimated 60,000 persons will be rendered homeless and driven into poverty by loss of livelihoods and other hardships associated with homelessness and displacement

    They said: “We, the undersigned communities and members of civil society, decry this unlawful and callous threat and call for the Rivers State Government to seriously reconsider its plans before it takes irreversible action that violates the fundamental human rights of 60,000 innocent persons and undermines the security and long-term development goals of all residents of Port Harcourt.

    “Yet, the reality is that the demolitions being carried out are not targeted at actual criminals ; instead, they are a pretext for evicting thousands of innocent children, women, men, and elderly persons who are employed in legitimate businesses through which they eke out their modest livings.”

  • A befitting home for Rivers NDDC

    A befitting home for Rivers NDDC

    After years of operating from a rented apartment, the Rivers State office of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) now has a befitting home, writes Bisi Olaniyi, Port Harcourt

    Former President Olusegun Obasanjo established the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) 16 years ago to ensure sustainable development of the crude oil and gas-rich region.

    NDDC is to improve on the performance and activities of the defunct Oil Mineral Producing Areas Development Commission (OMPADEC).

    The Federal Government’s interventionist agency (NDDC) is also to facilitate the rapid, even and sustainable development of the Niger Delta into a region that is economically prosperous, socially stable, ecologically regenerative and politically peaceful, thereby offering lasting solutions to socio-economic difficulties of the Niger Delta.

    The commission took off from rented apartments in the old Government Reservation Area (GRA) in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, before it moved to No. 167, Aba Road, an eight-storey building that belonged to the late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha, before it was taken over by the Rivers government and the commission being its tenant.

    The interventionist agency is still building its permanent corporate headquarters on Eastern Bypass in Port Harcourt, while the construction work started many years ago, with so much work still to be done at the site by the road side.

    NDDC also started operating from rented apartments in the nine offices in the Niger Delta states of Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, Ondo, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Abia and Imo.

    The magnificent and befitting Rivers State office of NDDC, located at No. 125, Olu Obasanjo Road, Port Harcourt, which was inaugurated on July 12, is the first state office of the commission to be completed and inaugurated, and has changed the skyline of Port Harcourt in a good way.

    The Acting Managing Director of NDDC, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, who cut the tape to inaugurate the imposing edifice, said it was an indication of the vision of President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure real transformation of the Niger Delta and other parts of Nigeria.

    Mrs. Semenitari, a former Rivers Commissioner for Information and Communications, who was appointed as NDDC’s helmsman by President Buhari in December 2015, called for unity and peace, in order to move the Niger Delta forward.

    She said: “We believe that our core mandate, which is to facilitate sustainable development in the Niger Delta region, is to take development to our communities and improve the living conditions of our people.

    “To achieve this, it remains the vision of the NDDC to take development to the people, through projects and initiatives that would have direct positive impact in their lives and help boost traditional livelihoods.

    “To achieve this, we must strengthen our state offices, by providing a befitting edifice that encourages professional conduct, hard work and commitment to duties, as well as decentralising operations.

    “That is why the completion and commissioning of the Rivers State office is very important. We are making a statement about how important our communities are and how we must do the best we can to serve them.”

    The old site of the Rivers state office of NDDC was demolished in March 2014, while work commenced on the new building on May 1, 2014, with the project planned to be completed within nine months.

    In October 2014, within six months of commencement of work, about 80 per cent of builders’ work had been achieved, but the project lost traction in 2015, with the speed of work drastically reduced, due to delayed payments to the contractors by NDDC, occasioned by funding challenge.

    To avoid any hitch during the inauguration of the Rivers state office, with state-of-the-art facilities, the acting managing director of NDDC and some top officials of the commission, on July 11, embarked on pre-inauguration inspection.

    While speaking at the site, she disclosed that the built-to-purpose complex was the first to be completed, as part of efforts to strengthen the presence of the commission in all its mandate states.

    According to Mrs. Semenitari, it was a big relief for NDDC to be able to move into its own property, after sixteen years of working from rented offices.

    She said: “It is very gratifying, as it is one of the things we always wanted to do. Now, we will no longer be chased around by landlords. So, even when we do not have money, we know that at least we can enter into our office space and sleep well. This is why it is such a good feat for us as a commission.

    “Of course, more importantly is the fact that it is a purpose-built structure and our staff will be able to work in a better environment and also deliver better services to the people of the Niger Delta, especially in Rivers State that owns the state office.”

    The CNN award-winning journalist also assured that NDDC would try to ensure that the other state offices across the region were constructed as quickly as possible, for the comfort of staff in the offices, stressing that the new Rivers office would be a model for the other state offices, but with some modifications.

    Mrs. Semenitari revealed that with the Rivers state office of the commission completed; work on the permanent corporate headquarters of NDDC in Port Harcourt would be stepped up.

    She said: “We are going to speed that (work at the permanent corporate headquarters of NDDC) up a bit. It’s been a little slower than we would like, but that has been for several reasons. However, we are going to speed up the process there and we expect that very soon, we should also move into our own property at the headquarters.”

    Taking the NDDC boss round the new Rivers state office, the Acting Director, Project Monitoring and Supervision of the commission, Felix Aomuore, an engineer, revealed that the building is on four floors, with ample space for offices and a basement floor for archiving and car park.

    He said the new building had provisions for many facilities, including a large reception hall, conference/multi-purpose hall for 250 people, staff canteen, sick bay and offices for drivers on the ground floor.

    Aomuore noted that the Rivers state office would accommodate about 120 staff, with unique office suites for the State Representative and the Director of the state office, stressing that provisions were made for some head office directorates, such as Commercial and Industrial Development; Agriculture and Fisheries, Youth, Women and Sports.

    The project consultant, Michael Ukpeh, an architect, pointed out that Close Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras had been installed to capture activities on all corridors within the imposing edifice and activities on the immediate vicinity of the building, with a control point at the security office.

    Ukpeh noted that besides the two staircases, the building also had an elevator for ease of vertical circulation, with the entry and exit facilitated for the physically challenged, in compliance with the requirements of the National Building Code for public buildings, while the cooling system is centrally coordinated on floor-by-floor controls.

    The project consultant discloses that an internal courtyard complements the large exterior windows to provide ample day lighting in the offices and cross ventilation in case of power failure at the purpose-built office.

    On the inauguration day (July 12), the Governor of Rivers state, Nyesom Wike; Mrs. Semenitari; the monarch of Port Harcourt City (Eze Epara Rebisi XII), His Majesty Victor Nnanna Woluchem II and others described the new Rivers office of NDDC as a step in the right direction.

    Wike, who was represented by his Special Adviser on NDDC Matters, Aribitonye Okiri, stated that his administration had not been playing politics with development, making him to be at the elaborate inauguration.

    The Rivers governor, who is a former Minister of State for Education, noted that jobs meant for indigenes of the state, especially persons on Levels 1 to 6, should be given to people of the host communities, to ensure peace.

    While also speaking, the monarch stated that the edifice was the first state office to be inaugurated in the nine states of the Niger Delta, which he said was not by accident, but considering the peaceful nature of the people of the state.

    The royal father noted that the area had not been experiencing youth restiveness or cultism, stressing that the only weapon the people had was negotiation, while lauding President Muhammadu Buhari for the right choice of Mrs. Semenitari as NDDC’s acting managing director, describing her as very hardworking, courageous, disciplined, fearless and of integrity.

    The inauguration was also attended by Rivers Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Mrs. Helen Amakiri, and an Assistant Commissioner for Police in Rivers state, Presley Dode.

    In her address, after cutting the tape to inaugurate the building, Mrs. Semenitari said the edifice was designed and completed with the staff members in mind, stressing that it was indeed, workers’ delight.

    The Director of Rivers state office of NDDC, Benson Udo-Asubop, said the building  would enhance the productivity of the workers.

    Udo-Asubop also lauded Mrs. Semenitari for her zeal and commitment to transforming the Niger Delta, in line with the vision of President Buhari and for believing in the abilities of NDDC’s workers at the Rivers state office to ensure service delivery and greater performance.

     

  • Electricity firm seeks mass action against energy theft 

    The Port-Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHEDC) is one of the 11 distribution companies licensed to operate in Nigeria. But the firm does not derive joy operating within its jurisdiction of Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom, Cross River and Rivers State.

    Ordinarily, one expects a company that renders services to 440,000 residential, commercial, industrial and street lighting customers to have a robust balance sheet. But PHEDC is not smiling to the bank despite having such customer base.

    Its operational profit has been seriously hampered by energy theft. In fact, the statistics reeled out by the company in a forum it recently organised in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, showed that the PHEDC is operating at a huge loss. Such losses according to the firm is the reason behind its inability to effectively buy and distribute megawatts of electricity to its real customers.

    Present at the forum were the Chairman, Board of Directors, PHEDC, Chief Amalate Turner,  represented by the Special Adviser to Bayelsa Governor on Energy, Mr. Francis Ekio;  Manager, Corporate Communications Department,  John Onyi; Head, Glory City Main Integrated Business Centre, Mrs Ngozi Manafa, among others.

    A presentation by a member of the company’s Legal Department, Mr. Ephraim Munachiso showed that the company loses over N233million representing over 7million kilowatts of energy to electricity theft every month. Yearly the company incurs a loss of N3bn to the menace.

    Munachiso further posited that 10 per cent of prepaid customers had never vended since they were connected while the Technical, Commercial and Collection (ATC &C) losses of the company is as high as 60 per cent monthly representing 30megawatts or N2bn average monthly losses.

    Defining ATC & C, he said: “The most critical challenge facing the distribution sector is how to reduce the technical, commercial and collection (ATC & C) Losses.

    “Unfortunately, the Aggregate Technical, Commercial and Coll ection losses is what is used in assessing the health status of anys utility company like PHED. The lower the value of ATC & C, the healthier the utility company is considered to be.

    “Technical  distribution losse s are electrical losses arising from the transformation of electrical energy into heat energy as it flows and transmitted through conductors to any of the DISCO’s”.

    On commercial losses, he said they are revenue losses arising from electricity theft, poor b illing practices, inaccurate c ustomer database, wrong tariff classification and  unbilled energy. He defined collection losses as simply revenue losses arising from discos’ inability to collect revenues for energy billed to known customers.

    He said two years after privatisation, PHED was still grappling with very high losses caused by poor collection and revenue shortfall, network infrastructure challenges and grid energy insufficiency and instability.

    He identified common types of electricity theft as hooking or direct tapping, meter bypass and illegal connections. But he said the law frowns on electricity theft saying it is classifying as stealing under the Criminal Code Act Section 400.

    He said civilians are empowered by the Police Act to arrest anybody seen to be committing energy theft. According to him currently, PHEDC is prosecuting 13 different criminal cases emanating from energy theft within its network. He named key players to the theft as staff sabotage, casuals and electricians.

    Munachiso lamented that the company incurs its major loss at the Yenagoa district adding that most people living in Bayelsa State do not pay their bills. He said it is not profitable to operate in the state.

    Speaking on the matter, Turner further explained that the poor power supply especially in Bayelsa is because consumers were not paying their bills.

    On stealing and vandalism of PHEDC equipment, he urged the perpetrators to desist from such act, saying the menace had far reaching implications for power supply.

    Turner said the Bayelsa State Government was coming out with a law to punish anybody who engaged in unwholesome practices such as vandalism, tapping of light, meter manipulation,  among others.

    He also urged the public to report any errant officials of the PHEDC, challenging the customers not to be docile.

    A safety manager with the company, Mr. Gabriel Egede,  urged customers to be safety conscious and avoid engaging in unwholesome activities as such could lead to loss of lives.

    He said no fewer than 557 fatalities had been recorded in the last four years because of vandalism,  illegal connection and tempering with electricity equipment. He said it was dangerous for people to engage in the practice of erecting structures under high tension wires.

  • Udom prudent with Akwa Ibom resources, says Udoh

    Udom prudent with Akwa Ibom resources, says Udoh

    Mr. Ekerete Udoh is the Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to Akwa Ibom Governor Udom Emmanuel. In this interview with  Kazeem Ibrahym, he speaks on the efforts being made by the governor to diversify the economic base of the state away from oil and what the people should expect from the administration in terms of infrastructural development. 

    You had an interesting career in journalism. Can you tell us about it?

    I have been in journalism for about 31 years.  I pioneered a genre in Nigerian Journalism in 1985 called Romance and Society. I became possibly one of the youngest columnists in any national newspaper. That was the Sunday Times which as at that time was the highest selling weekly in Nigeria under the editorship of Chike Okafor. I started writing a column called ‘Stories that touched the heart’. A year later I was invited to join Concord and that column ran in Concord for almost 10 years. Sometimes in 1989 I got invited by a very good friend of mine who today is the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachukwu. He asked me to come join him to set up a magazine called Hints. The Hints magazine was by far in the 90s the most successful, popular and profitable magazine in this country.

    Dr. Ibe Kachukwu was the publisher and I was the editor. I have written columns in practically in every national newspaper in this country. I don’t think there is anyone that I have not contributed or written columns. Until about a year and half ago, I was a columnist with This Day. I wrote that column for five years. It is called Diaspora Perspectives which was like a bridge across the Atlantic.

    In late 1996 I left for United States. I decided to pursue other things. Of course, I updated my skills because in life you have to constantly update your skills. Even if you had a bachelor somewhere else you still needed to update your skills. Journalism, being what it is, I have never left the media.

    I set up a newspaper in New York which was called the Diaspora Style and it became, without sounding immodest, the most powerful newspaper that dealt with issues concerning the African Diaspora community. We ended up being media partner to the Obama campaign because in United States there is what we called the ethnic media. In the USA, I think there are about conservatively 10 to 15 million Africans who went to USA, became citizens and they are all part of the United States.  My magazine was targeted at that particular audience and there is no political party whether Democratic or Republican that will not reach out to any solid constituent because 15 million people can swing an election.

    What party did you have affiliation with in the U.S.?

    I am a registered Democrat and my sympathies are for the Democratic Party. In spite of the fact that I lived in the United States, I was not disconnected from Nigeria. I was always coming to Nigeria. At a point in time, people didn’t know whether I was living in America or not. I was always here and I bought into the vision of former Governor Godswill Akpabio. I did a lot of media relations for that government, particularly from the Diaspora angle. I was the media consultant for four years.

    At what point did you finally return home?

    When the financial services expert Mr. Udom Emmanuel was appointed the Secretary to State Government and the speculation started making the rounds that he was likely going to be the next governor of Akwa Ibom State,  I said to myself the time had come for me to come back home fully and finally to be a part of what I believed was going to be a mass movement of people with ideas, people that are going to think outside the box. The governor and I are from the same part of the world. We are from the same community and I felt it is a thing of joy that an astute manager of resources was going to be the governor of Akwa Ibom.

    So, I came back late 2013 and when the then SSG Mr. Udom Emmanuel put himself in the ring, I joined the campaign as a Director of Media and Publicity. We crisscrossed the entire 31 Local Government Areas of the state. Thank God the good people of Akwa Ibom saw certain qualities that would move this state forward in him and they entrusted their fate in Mr. Udom Emmanuel. At the end of the successful election, the governor was kind enough to believe that I could add a little bit of value and invited me to his media team as the Senior Special Assistant on Media/Chief Press Secretary to the Governor. So far, it has been a wonderful ride.

    Do you think Governor Udom Emmanuel is fulfilling some of his campaign promises to Akwa Ibom people?

    Absolutely so; the governor came in with a five-point agenda. The major part which was based on industrialisation, the governor has done that part with enthusing zeal. Shortly after he was sworn in, Governor Udom Emmanuel set up technical committee on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) headed by Mr. Gabriel Ukpe as the Chairman and others. They have signed numerous Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs). The governor is of the opinion that you have to diversify. Why we are where we are today is because our leaders in the past refused to diversify because of the monies from oil. The governor is of the opinion that you cannot run an economy that is based on one product.

    The governor has done a lot in agriculture. If you look at what is going on in the country, even payment of salaries of workers is a huge problem to some state governments. Governor Udom Emmanuel has done so well in the sense that Akwa Ibom is one state in the country where salaries of workers are not being owed by the government. He has achieved that by deploying his skills as a financial services expert. He has also maintained some of what the immediate past governor started like the free and compulsory education. Kids under one to five years are still given free medical care. The aged and pregnant women are also given free medical attention.

    There is a new turn in governance.  He has done over 250 km of roads in the state. A lot of places that were affected by flood water, the governor has addressed that and made it motorable. The governor is also embarking on a lot of capital projects. The governor deserved to be commended and applauded.

    How would the governor eradicate poverty in the short run since those industries are for long term period?

    I am sure you have been following the governor’s activities. The small scale loans the governor is giving to farmers and market women. That is still ongoing. That is a vital area that can immediately impact the lives of the people. Akwa Ibom is one of the few states that have given small scale loans to people across the board.

    Pensioners of Local Government recently protested over unpaid gratuities while the state government claimed it does not owe the pensioners. Why?

    The governor came out to address the world that he does not owe any worker. It is just the machination of certain elements that still do not want to believe that the 2015 election is a settled affair and some of those elements still believe that the more they agitate for certain things that would never be may be the more they would draw some mileage out of it. The state government has nothing to do with payment of salaries and pension of local government workers.

    Are you now saying the protest was politically motivated?

    Absolutely so, I will not mention the name of any political party but the protest is orchestrated by certain elements.

    We also heard that the governor has banned protest across the state, how true is that?

    Another lie from the pit of hell. Another manufactured subterfuge. The governor wouldn’t say that. We are living in a democratic environment where you have the freedom and right to agitate for certain needs. What the governor said was if you are being used by certain element to cause public disaffection and that it is illegal assemblage, then you have broken the law. You know we cannot live in a chaotic society where anybody can wake up in the morning and begin to block the road.

    For you to protest there must be police permit. That was not done. It was just a rented crowd of certain elements and the governor as the chief security officer of the state said he won’t allow people to cause public disaffection. So, the governor didn’t say that he is banning protest but illegal protest is what the governor is against. I don’t think there is any government in the world that will fold its arms and watch people cause public disaffection.

  • Amaechi as giant transporter

    Transportation has always involved the movement of people, goods and services from one part of the country to the other. The need for transportation to human existence is inevitable and unavoidable, because, it is the wheel of progress from which all other sectors of the economy revolve.

    The transportation sector in every society plays a crucial role for the rapid development of such society such that man in his scale of life preference identifies transport as key.

    For leaders of nations, to think development in their countries is to first and foremost think of an effective transportation system for her citizenry.

    Again, for the success story of any nation transportation system to be told the technical knowhow/manpower is key. The personnel who manages and oversees the day to day running of the business must be knowledgeable and have the requisite experience to deliver.

    To this end therefore, one must as a matter of fact salute the Commander in Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces, President Muhammadu  Buhari (GCFR) for appointing His Excellency Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi as the Honorable Minister of Transportation .

    Amaechi’s appointment to head the ministry is borne out of credibility and experience to confront challenges that will trigger solutions capable of improving the lots of Nigerian masses. As the former governor of Rivers State for eight years and former Speaker of the same State House of Assembly for eight years it was clearly obvious that Amaechi will drive the needed change that is expected in the transportation ministry.

    Having realised the enormity of his task after been sworn-in by the President, Amaechi swung into action .Among some of the moves taken were the preliminary inspection of the Abuja/Kaduna rail project, inspection of the Port Harcourt International Airport, Partnering with local and international bodies for the development of the ministry among others.

    These lofty dreams and aspirations of Amaechi will no doubt key into the change mantra of the present administration of President Muhammadu Buhari at the centre.

    Today, eight months down the lane, these lofty dreams and aspiration of Amaechi have not only brought hope to the common Nigerian people it has also produced result oriented projects like the Abuja/Kaduna rail project ,the ongoing reconstruction work at the Port Harcourt and Abuja international Airports will soon, also be commissioned for smooth operations etc.

    The former Flagg-Off of the Abuja/Kaduna rail project that was done on Tuesday 26th July, 2016 by President Muhammadu Buhari is an eloquent testimony that Amaechi and his team are on the right path not only to bring about a monumental change but also to fulfill those promises made by his party, The All Progressives Congress (APC) to Nigerians.

    Although, the rail project was not started by the Buhari administration it would be important to consider that he who finishes the race needs to be crowned the champion.

    The Abuja/Kaduna rail that has been Flagged- Off for use will among other things create employment for job seekers, improve effective transportation system .When this and other rail projects are completed and put to use  it will bring back the dead hope of rail system in the land.

    At the flag-off of the rail project, Amaechi acknowledged the privileged giving him to serve .Amaechi said,  “Your Excellency, let me not take for granted the privilege afforded me by you (President Buhari) and the position that I occupy and fail to welcome you and this distinguished audience of Nigerians and envoys of other countries to celebrate the inauguration of the first and historic standard gauge railway in west Africa”.

    “Today, as we gather here we recall that the contract for Lagos to Kano railways was awarded by President Olusegun Obasanjo, partially executed by President Goodluck Jonathan and completed by President Muhammadu Buhari. The tracks were commissioned by President Jonathan”.

    “Under the directives of President Buhari, the stations, the signaling, the communications and part of the tracks were completed by his administration. The locomotive and coaches arrived in May, and between June and July, we had commenced trial runs. We conveyed over 500 passengers per trip twice per day for a month and two weeks, free of charge”.

    Expectedly, the minister’s vision will not only encourage private sector participation it would among other things  bring about the desired turn around in the development of seaports coastal states with the capacity to handle modern shipping, usher in effective upgrade of the rail system with a view to restoring its lost relevance . The minister is the hope of building a new, reformed and economically driven transportation system in Nigeria.

    Projects like the rail system and many others will in no distance time be delivered by Amaechi in the nearest future considering his zeal to perform.  When this is done Nigerians and the International community would benefit from the gesture as it would ease locomotion of people from one place to the other including goods and services to other parts of the country.Commodities will become cheaper and affordable to the ordinary Nigerians and life will become worthwhile for all mankind.

    However, despite the on-going development in the transportation sector, the Federal Government should as a matter of necessity have the political will to forge ahead which will eventually propel development strategy to better the lots of Nigerians.

    The government should also consider creating a prominent role for Nigerian sea ports within the ECOWAS community, encourage private sector participation, and promote the enabling legal framework for private sector participation in several projects including air, road and port.

    Meanwhile, if the commitment shown by Amaechi and his team is replicated by all the ministers in their various ministries, life will become good for all and sundry and government itself will be happy that her people are happy.

     

  • Edo 2016: And the winner is…

    Edo 2016: And the winner is…

    The race for the Edo State Government House is won and lost already. I am not about to tell you who the winner is, but I will narrow it down enough for you to attempt some guess.

    By the records of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), there are several candidates for the September 10 election. Political parties that can hardly raise N10 million have fielded candidates. Many of these candidates the people have never heard of before. Their pedigree is unknown to anyone other than their immediate family members and close circle of friends. And may be their concubines, for those of them who play ‘away match’.

    I hear a number of them do not know their left from their right. Yet they want to govern a state that has had the benefit of being governed by the likes of the late Ambrose Alli and Dr Sam Ogbemudia. I hear some of them have no idea of where the state is coming from, not to talk of where it is going. I hear not a few of them are convinced within themselves that they are just in the race to make some noise and not some sense.

    But in the midst of the crowd swarming around the honey that the Edo Government House is, two candidates stand out and only a miracle will see a situation where the Returning Officer will announce any other person as the successor to Governor Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole.

    I believe these two candidates—Godwin Obaseki of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) — are conscious of the fact that the race is for either of them to win. A close watch of their campaigns shows clearly that they see each other as a threat to getting the keys to the Government House. The words and actions of Oshiomhole also show that he considers Ize-Iyamu some threat to his dream of handing over to his beloved Obaseki.  Forget the occasional bravado, the comrade is not just dancing and jumping on the stage from one constituency to the other for nothing. He is also not giving traders ‘grant’ for nothing.

    Obaseki has abused no other candidate except Ize-Iyamu, who also has not wasted his time trading insults with any other person than the man credited with being the egg-head behind Oshiomhole’s economic team.

    History has been thrown in the boxing ring. We have been reminded that Obaseki’s great grand-father betrayed the Oba of Benin— and by extension the Benin kingodm— when he accepted to be the sole administrator of the kingdom after the British invasion. So, Edo people are being told that someone from such lineage should not be supported to rule Edo. At a point, a film by Lancelot Oduwa-Imasuen on the history of Benin kingdom was even circulated to show to the people that the so-called act of betrayal is not the figment of anyone’s imagination.

    The exciting Edo race has also seen Africa’s richest man Alhaji Aliko Dangote being punched. Those doing this believe he is backing Obaseki. They have asked him to leave Edo alone. They say they do not want a governor who will be hopping in and out of Dangote’s private jet.

    Ize-Iyamu has told us Obaseki is a “typical green horn”, who should be rejected in the September 10 election because Oshiomhole can easily manipulate him. He has described our dear Osho baba as a Pseudo Comrade, whose candidate should be rejected for subjecting the people to untold hardship in the past seven and a half years. He has also described Obaseki as Oshiomhole’s puppet. He has challenged the outgoing governor and Obaseki to explain how they allegedly depleted the state’s treasury.

    We have been told by Edo PDP chairman Chief Dan Orbih that the governor spent N11.6 million to “buy drinks” for President Muhammadu Buhari; he wondered how Buhari, a Muslim, could be bought alcohol.

    The insults have not been one-sided. We have been told Ize-Iyamu served in the administration of Chief Lucky Igbinedion and was part of the rot of that era. We have also been told that Ize-Iyamu was a cultist in his days at the University of Benin (UNIBEN). His membership of the Pyrate Confraternity co-founded by the respected Prof Wole Soyinka, who by the way is a great friend of Oshiomhole, is now being interpreted to mean he was a member of a dreaded secret cult. Are they afraid he will suck the blood of Edo people? Or, are they just being plan mischievous like Donald Trump?

    His explanation that Pyrate or Seadogs was not (and is still not) a secret cult as it was well-known to the authorities of the universities where it operated has not stopped his traducers from continuing to repeat the allegation. To buttress their point, they refer to the fact that he was expelled from UNIBEN at some point after an acid attack on a student. He has given his explanations, but still the allegation keeps being thrown in the mix.

    Aside the cultism issue, we have also been told that Ize-Iyamu has answers to give to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) about some financial malfeasance.

    But Ize-Iyamu is selling himself as the experienced one. He has been chief of staff and secretary to the state government (SSG). For these, he believes he had piloted the engine of governance and needs no induction course to swing into action from day one.

    One fact that has also shown clearly in this race is that for Ize-Iyamu and his party, the real enemy goes beyond Obaseki. They see Oshiomhole as the one that must be cut to size. The pastor-turned-politician has told us what an ingrate he considers Oshiomhole. He has told us how he made Oshiomhole governor— a claim the comrade has gleefully denied. Both men used to be pals. There may be some exaggerations here and there but the fact that Ize-Iyamu played a key part in the emergence of the former Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President as Edo State governor is not that hidden. Whatever role he played, I also don’t believe is akin to claiming to have made him governor. Haba! But whether or not we believe him, Ize-Iamu has refused to drop this line of thought.

    He said: “Edo people should forgive me for being one of those in the forefront that brought Mr. Oshiomhole to be the governor of the state. We now know who he is. Therefore, in the coming elections, Edo people should not repeat the mistake of the past. When I remember how we brought in Oshiomhole to contest the 2007 governorship election, I weep because we brought in a bad thing.”

    Until they fell apart, I suspect, over the issue of who governs the state next, Ize-Iyamu was a member of the APC. He left when he felt he stood no chance of picking the party’s ticket to realise his ambition of calling the shots in Edo Government House. But Ize-Iyamu sees my point of view as inaccurate, as he claims his reasons for the defection have to do with the non-construction of the road leading to his community and the failure to tackle the erosion menace in the area, as promised by Oshiomhole when he left the PDP for the APC.

    My final take: The implication of the roforofo fight for the Edo Government House is that the campaigns have been less about issues but abuses and trading of insults. The people want to know what to expect from their next governor. But whatever incline they are being given into this has been over-shadowed by the attacks.

  • Arsonists’ raze Ekpan traditional head’s palace

    Arsonists’ raze Ekpan traditional head’s palace

    The protracted crisis rocking Ekpan Community in Uvwie Local Government area of Delta State assumed a dangerous twist on Thursday morning when the palace of the embattled Unuevworo (traditional head), Chief Newton Agbofodoh, was set ablaze by yet unidentified arsonists.

    The Unuevworo is in detention following his arrest about a month ago for sundry crimes, which his associates wave off as vendetta and political power play aimed at securing the council for the ruling PDP in the 2019 election.

    His palatial home adjoining the palace in Ekpan, which is just hundreds of meters from the Ekpan Police Station, was set ablaze at about 1am by armed youths who seized the building.

    His family members alleged that the assailants prevented neighbours from putting out the fire, adding that the police failed to stop the attack, even though the scene was a shouting distance from the station.

    His son, Mr Darlington Newton Agbofodoh, in an exclusive telephone chat with our reporter, said the attack on the palace was led by an aide to Governor Okowa (names withheld) and other members of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) in the council.

    Delta Command Police Public Relations Officer, Celestina Kalu, who confirmed the fire incident, said the matter was being investigated, adding that it was too early to say if it was arson or accident.

    “I got the report about fire incident at Ekpan, but the matter is being investigated at this time.”

    Nevertheless, the victim’s son (Darlington), insisted that the attack was carried out by his father’s foes in connivance with security operatives.

    He said, “Some people called around 1am that some people are surrounding my father’s house. Someone (who) was inside the house called to tell us.”

    He said that the eyewitness, identified as Mr Wilson Amaju, reported the matter at the state.

    While denouncing the act as purely political, he alleged that the masterminds had threatened to burn the house shortly after the arrest of his father; he said he didn’t expect the police to arrest anybody.

    “After they arrested my dad, a week later they (masterminds) went to the house to pack the property inside the house.  They scattered the property. When they were doing that they said they would come back and burn down the house that they are not through with him.

    “Finally they went there last night and burn the house. We know the people that burnt the house. They are the ones that laid allegations against him that made them to arrest him. They are connected to the Delta state government.

    “The police in Delta state are not doing their job; they are being paid not to arrest these persons. There have been a lot of things (happening) in this community and they (police) have not done anything about any.

    “We are tired because we are being oppressed for no just reason and nobody is doing anything. We may be forced to cry to the Federal Government. They are beating people, mothers and children. They are raping women and girls and yet there seems to be nothing from the police and no action from government,” Darlington lamented in an emotion-laden voice.

    Chief Agbofodoh prior to his arrest had being having a running battle with the State Government official over the running of the local government council over the deposition of the elected chairman of the council, Chief Henry Baro.

    Baro his Agbofodoh’s cousin.

    Meanwhile, the attack and razing of the palace on Thursday have raised fresh concern about peace and security in the area; residents who spoke with our reporter expressed fears of more attacks.

    “This is a vicious circle; some persons who are close to the government are today using their powers and ‘immunity’ to attack the other, just like some have done in the past. Tomorrow, we do not know what is going to happen.

    “Now people sleep with one eye open because there is bound to be some form of reprisal attacks,” the source, who asked not to be named, said.