The Nation Newspaper

Category: Niger Delta

  • ONELGA killings: How 25 victims were murdered, beheaded

    Families and eye-witnesses relive the terrifying moments 25 persons were slaughtered like animals at Ogba/ Ndoni /Egbema Local Government Area of Rivers State (ONELGA). Precious Dikewoha reports

    A WEEK after the killing of their loved ones by yet-to-be identified gunmen suspected to be cult members in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers State, relatives of the victims are still groaning.

    The relatives gave emotional accounts of how their kinsmen were murdered by the gunmen, who invaded their homes. They also painted a grisly account of how 10 heads of the 25 victims, reported to have been killed by the assailants, were chopped off and taken away. The relatives were helpless.

    Last week’s invasion was not the first of such in ONELGA as residents had a similar encounter in the run-up to the 2015 general elections when 15 persons were killed by gunmen.  It was in the same ONELGA that 12 persons, including Chief Christopher Adube and his family, were murdered in a day.

    The Nation reporter was among the few journalists in the entourage of a Joint Military Taskforce (JTF) that visited the affected area in the state on a fact-finding- mission. The reporter had encounters with families of the victims.

    The atmosphere was not only tense; it was engulfed in fear and anxiety. Some of the residents, who saw the reporters, were afraid. Many residents had fled their homes for fear of unknown when the JTM team arrived in the community on Monday.

    Some parents have buried the remains of their children and ward, whose heads have been severed. Others took the remains to the mortuary.

    The Nation observed that none of those buried, or awaiting burial, has been accorded a befitting and formal burial rite.

    Ajie, one of the affected families on 5, Ndoni Stree lost two of its leading lights – Nwondo and Ahiakwu Ajie. Their father is late.

    Their uncle, Elder Benedict Ajie, narrated how his late brother’s two sons did not do anything incriminating to warrant the treatment meted out to them.

    Recounting what transpired on the fateful day, Elder Ajie said: “The gunmen entered our compound by 9: 30pm on that day and started shooting and everybody that was outside ran away.

    “It was after we stopped hearing gunshot that we came out from hiding to check what happened. Only for us to see the bodies of my late brother’s children in the pool of their blood and there was nothing we could do.  Then, later, we saw some people crying on the other side of the street.  It was then we discovered that a total of eight young men had been murdered on our street alone.

    “The worst thing is that we did not see any police officer until when the gunmen had wreaked their havoc and left the scene. I don’t know those who are behind this evil act but I know that those who are doing this are not bigger than the government. If actually the government is protecting the lives of the people, then they should help us end this bloody act.”

    On Elder Samuel Street, where two siblings were reportedly beheaded on house No.4, there was nobody to talk to. The main gate to their house was locked outside.

    But, a neigbour, who pleaded for anonymity for security reasons, told reporters that one of beheaded victims was preparing for his Junior Secondary School (JSS III) examination.

    According to the source, the gunmen allegedly scaled the fence into the compound before they forced their way into the living room, where they shot and beheaded their victims.

    They went away with the heads of the two victims. The neighbour said the offence committed by the victims to warrant their gruesome murder was unknown.

    At Uge’s family house on 19 Ume-Imegi Street, the cold attitude of residents showed they were yet to recover from the shock.

    The head of the family, Mr. Martins Uge, who lost his son and two tenants, said he has never witnessed the kind of brutal killing that he saw on that fateful day.

    According to him, the assailants gained access into victims’ room through the ceiling.

    “They killed six young men on this street before they entered my house through the roof. They ransacked everywhere and broke into my son’s (Elechukwu Uge) house and killed him.

    “They also forced themselves into the rooms of my two tenants, Anthony Okara, a driver with Agip Company and Emeka John.  When they finished their operation, they shot at my daughter on their way out but she survived it. My son was 31 years old, he was shot inside his room. The two tenants were dragged outside. They did not only kill them but cut off their heads.”

    Two other brothers, Eze and Okechukwu Nzeh were dragged outside their Omueyike Street home and murdered before their aged mother. Their heads were however not severed.

    Eze and Okechukwu’s mother, Mrs. Blessing Nzeh, who was seen being consoled by some women in the area when reporters visited on Monday, said the death of her two sons had turned her to walking corps.

    Her words: “We had just finished our night meal when we had gunshots. They came with all kind of weapons. The next thing I had was a loud bang on my door. They entered and dragged my two sons outside. I was shouting, pleading with them to have mercy. But my pleas did not make any sense to them. In my presence, they shot my two sons and confirmed they were dead before they left. Then I told one of them to please kill me because there is no need for me to remain alive.”

    The grave of 42-year-old Mr. Emaka Ohiakwu, in front of House 13, Omuchikere Street, was conspicuous. His widow, Mrs. Helen, who was still crying reporters visited the family, said she was not around when the gunmen killed her husband.

    She said: “I was not around but I got a call that my husband has been murdered by unknown gunmen.  And when I rushed back home, I saw his lifeless body that was the only thing I can say.

    “I don’t know those who murdered my husband. We have been married for the past 20 years and there was not any trace that he was a cultist or that he was involved in any shady deal.”

    In spite of the escort provided by JTF members, some reporters were afraid. They believed that the longer they stay in the community, the higher the risk of their being attacked.

    The reporters ended their investigation on Innocent Mazi Street, where Bishop Eleanya Ugoji lost his wife and to the assailants.

    The cleric, who identified his young brother’s name as Ikpela Ugoji, claimed no fewer than 25 persons were brutally killed by the raiders.

    He said: “After the devilish operation, we discovered that 25 souls were murdered and 10 of them got their heads cut off. My younger brother and his wife were also murdered. But, one thing that I know is that even if human beings will set the evil killers free, God will make them to account for those innocent bloods wasted.”

    As the reporters rushed into their vehicle, they sighted a elderly man – John Awe – who was very moody. He gave his own account of the incident.

    Awe said: “They killed about 25 people. It was a battle between the two strongest cult groups in the area.  Despite security presence and security checking points mounted on major junctions in the area, the killers operated freely without interception or obstruction.

    For the past two years,  rival cult members have taken over some villages in the area. You can see me sitting here, four of my cousins were among the victims and two were beheaded by the gunmen who made away with their heads.”

    But, uniformed and plain-clothed security operatives have moved in to secure the community.

    The Public Relations Officer (PRO) of Rivers State Police Command, Ahmad Muhammad, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), confirmed the development.

    He said: “The incident is reasonably believed to be a battle of supremacy between rival cult groups in the town. As it is now, the situation is under control as more anti-riot policemen have been drafted to reinforce the existing security in the town.

    “The command has made some arrests and those arrested have been undergoing interrogation at the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID).”

  • 59- year-old land dispute claims over 10 lives, 100 houses in Akwa Ibom

    59- year-old land dispute claims over 10 lives, 100 houses in Akwa Ibom

    •Community begs Emmanuel to intervene

    A community in Ibiono Ibom Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State is on the edge as another farming season looms – no thanks to a 59-year-old land dispute which has resulted in the death of over 10 people and the destruction of 100 houses.

    The people have cried out to Governor Udom Emmanuel to save their souls. Things are not good between the people of Ekimbok community of Ibiono Ibom and their neighbours, Ikot Mbuk Idoro village, also in Ibiono Ibom Local Government.

    •Another house affected by the crisis
    •Another house affected by the crisis

    The most recent attack, which occurred last year, affected 1,278 people from Ekimbok. It affected  267 men, 385 women and 626 children with most of them stilled displaced and taking refuge in neighbouring villages.

    The spokesman of  Ekimbok village,  Mr Emmanuel Jacob Akra, said his village and Ikot Mbuk Idoro were living peacefully, inter -marrying, sharing in each other’s festivals and having a lot in common until 1957 a land dispute broke out. Akra said the Ikot Mbuk Idoro people questioned the traditional land boundaries that had existed between the two communities and felt offended in the development projects embarked upon by the Ekimbok village, which had established a palm plantation which was subsidised by the Eastern Region Government in 1956.

    “Trusting in their numerical strength, Ikot Mbuk Idoro village filed a suit No. C/55/57 at the Ono Customary Court against Ekimbok Village in 1957 claiming the four parcels of  land namely: Edeng,Ndon Ete mi, Nsaoso and Ikot Andem, all situating at Ekimbok,” he said.

    Akra said the Customary Court delivered judgment in their (Ekimbok) favour but the other party was not satisfied. “

    Ikot Mbuk  Idoro appealed against the judgment to the Magistrate Court in 1972, but failed. They appealed again to the High Court in Uyo in  1976 and finally appealed to the Court of Appeal in Enugu in 1982. In all, judgments were delivered in favour of Ekimbok village.

    The Ekimbok people said, after losing in all  the courts cases they brought against them which lasted 25 years, between 1957 and 1982, the Ikot Mbuk Idoro people now resorted to hostilities against the Ekimbok Village.

    “Ikot Mbuk Idoro Village joined by 24 other Villages of the Idoro Clan resorted to very serious hostilities on us ( Ekimbok Village),” Akra explained as he presented documents to back up his claims.

    The Ekimbok people said they are tired.

    The Ekimbok spokesman, who was a former Village Council Chairman, said the first war between their village and Ikot Mbuk Idoro supported by the other 24 group of villages of Idoro people, broke out in December 1986 when their people were ambushed by the Ikot Mbuk and their other 24 Idoro group of villages when their ( Ekimbok) people went to a section of the land which is part of the land judgment was  given in their favour.

    He said: “ On July 24, 1987, Idoro people and their supporters invaded Ekimbok again, terrorised the people taken unawares, killed many people, wounded many, burnt down several houses, destroyed property and farm lands with crops and looted a lot of our property and chased the unarmed people of Ekimbok out of their village and occupied it for three days.

    Another member of the Village Council, Mr Edet Udoakpan,  urged the government to implement the recommendations of the White Paper which was submitted in 1995.

    “ Please implement the white paper recommendations, pays us compensation and take over the whole disputed land for state purpose. It is better than for the land to remain and these Idoro people  and their fighters destroy all our people,” they pleaded.

    Sources close to the Ikot Mbuk Idoro people faulted the accounts of the Ekimbok people.  They said there was no iota of truth in the claim that they were behind arsons and murder. They promise to thoroughly respond to the issues raised by the Ekimbok people soon.

  • Strides, challenges of Otuoke varsity VC

    One major concern of Prof. Mobolaji Aluko, the Vice-Chancellor, of the Federal University in Otuoke, the community of former President Goodluck Jonathan in Ogbia Local Government Area, Bayelsa State, is the status of the university’s programmes.

    Aluko is the pioneer vice-chancellor of the institution, which started operation in 2011. The American-trained professor took over the leadership of the newly-established ivory tower on February 16, 2011.

    In fact, he took over the university when there was nothing on ground. But his minder’s touch, experience and exposure have built the institution to an enviable height especially when juxtaposed with other universities established the same time.

    Students’ population has increased; staff statistics is excellent; academic infrastructure has improved and there has been a friendly relationship between the university and its host community despite some challenges. With the standard of learning and character established by Aluko, the university will in no distant time become one of the top ranking ivory towers in the country.

    But Aluko is still worried. He is disturbed by the status of programmes offered in the university. Because the institution is new, all its courses as at last year were yet to be accredited. An accreditation panel visited the university late last year.

    Aluko said the school went through accreditation for 12 of its programmes. “And my hope, my aim and ambition is either to have full accreditation or to have  at least 80 to 90%of our programmes accredited preferably 100%.

    “But sometimes when you don’t have full accreditation it’s equally an opportunity to improve on  those things they have not given you to gain accreditation for,” he said.

    In social sciences, the university runs six programmes such as Accounting and Finance; English and Communication Studies, Economics and Development Studies, Political Science, History, Sociology and Anthropology. Aluko has also developed six programmes in sciences such as Chemistry, Micro-biology, Computer Science, Physics Mathematics and Statistics.

    All of the courses are undergoing accreditation at the same time. The professor said: “This is really like a university accreditation. In some other universities, sometimes it will be certain programmes, but in a new university like this, where none of them have been accredited, it is serious.”

    Indeed, it is a big challenge for Aluko because this is the first time the programmes are undergoing accreditation.

    Undoubtedly, Aluko worked very hard to achieve the standard of student ratio, staff mix,  facilities, classrooms and laboratories, library, safety and security and campus cleanliness, among other requirements needed for accreditation.

    On the relationship between the university and its host community, Aluko described it as testing. He acknowledged that the community made tremendous sacrifice including raising money to erect eight start-up buildings.

    He, however, said the community has unlimited expectations from the university, which he said sometimes were beyond  the institution.

    “We are a federal university and not a community university, not Bayelsa university, not a Niger Delta university. We are a federal university and also part of international community.”

    On the issues of finance, Aluko said: “Finance has been the major challenge here. We were lucky that we had N1.5billion  take-off fund that other universities did not have and that was what we used to provide facelift in this place.

    “But overhead has been a challenge because we have never gotten more than N6million  which is inadequate. We don’t have electricity here since August 2014.

    “So we generally run on generator. We have 13 diesel generators for a total of 1.95 megawatts and 8 transformers for a total of 2.55megawatts. We spend N2million monthly on generator.”

  • I earn millions of naira on my leather designs, says cobbler

    I earn millions of naira on my leather designs, says cobbler

    For 44-year-old shoemaker, Ojobo Felix, shoe making isa passion. His love for the vocation started  when as a boy of five he watched  his father mending shoes in his small cobbler shop in Warri,Delta State.

    But fate thrust him into leadership position assuming full control of the shoe making business when his father passed on in 2003.

    Today with over 39 years  cognate experience in leather works, Ojobo has transformed  the shoe making business from its humble beginnings to a dominant player in the local scene.

    Ojobo, along with the sixteen other trainees,  are beneficiaries  of   a strategic partnership  agreement entered in 2014 by the Delta State government with United Nations Industrial Development organisation (UNIDO) in the area of  entrepreneurship and skills acquisition .

    UNIDO is a specialised agency of United Nations that provide technical services to government to ensure an inclusive and sustainable industrial growth.

    The UN team led by Mr. Phillipe Scholtes, Managing Director,Programmes Development and Techincal Cooperations Division visited the Delta State Entrepreneurship and Leather works/shoes Factory,Issele-Uku,Aniocha North L.G.A. to facilitate the early take-off of the shoe and leather works manufacturing centre.

    In June 2014, Ojobo along with others benefitted  from a one month  government sponsored imternship training in leather works at the Mondetelle Academy ,Milan ,Italy, and these eighteen trainers  have elected to put at the disposal of young Delltans their expertise in leatherworks making.

    These first set of trainers under  the guidance of UNIDO experts will further  under go training and ultimately  impart knowledge to budding entrepreneurs either on-site or in clusters established across the State

    While awaiting the full take-off of the entrepreneurship/shoemaking centre,Ojobo has formed cluster  groups in the Warri area with over sixteen persons having  undergone shoemaking  training since his return from his internship programme in Italy.

    “I have trained sixteen people and four have graduated and set up their own shoemaking business. These ex-trainees are doing very well and are giving me stiff competition. We have eight persons as staff but when we have large orders to make seminar bags , party bags and take-away packs ,Asho-ebi shoes we engage eight more persons on partime basis,” he said.

    The Entrepreneurship Centre/ Shoemaking factory at advanced stage of  completion boasts leatherworks/shoemaking factory, Ethnic Clothing (Akwoacha) ,Jewelry/Milnery etc.

    It  has as its objectives the provision of job opportunities for Deltans, training institute for value addition in production, processing and packaging of different products.

    Also, it is to provide consultancy service as part of its revenue generation strategies, affiliate with various national and international institutions and receive students on intership placement.

    According to Ojobo, his  desire to impart knowledge to the youths  is a way of  giving back to society ,adding that the leatherworks industry has  huge potentials  that earn the country foreign exchange.

    Ojobo admits that his internship programme  has  impacted positively on his  shoe making business, adding  that it  has opened his eyes to other sources of income  including his designing which are  either been patented or sold outright.

    According to him the quality of his products have improved following their internship programme, adding that he has adopted modern techiniques to leather works making.

    He said: “Our trip to Milan  opened our eyes to the finer aspects of  finishing, quality control, branding . There is a big difference,  because when we got to Milan they made us know that though leather is the basic material we need to incorporate our local fabrics into your products so that it will speak about your culture,so when we came back we started introducing local fabrics ,both prints and hard fabrics so you find out that the full attire including the bags, shoes, caps are blended with our local fabrics

    Aside, Ojobo says he has branched into shoe designing which has turned into a veritable source of income.

    His words:  “ My leather work designs earn me a lot of money  internationally  as I have patented many of my designs and even sold more.”

    Ojobo is so enamoured of his vocation that he has taken to mentoring young interested  persons in his neigbourhood shoe making skills, adding that he was hopeful such skills would take youths off crime.

     

  • Rivers: Lest we forget (1)

    Rivers: Lest we forget (1)

    Since the Supreme Court judgment on Rivers State governorship tussle was delivered, the victor, Governor Nyesom Wike, and his men have been in expansive mood. Who wouldn’t be? Victory is sweet.

    On the judgment day, the governor sounded like there was no victor and no vanquished. But it did not last long. In no time, we are told that every January 27 is now a public holiday. The victor said it would be used to mark the anniversary of the day the Supreme Court saved Rivers State from the hands of manipulators. We have also been told that the Wise Men who sat at the tribunal and the Court of Appeal were incompetent. We have been told all kinds of things.

    As I hear these comments, I ask myself if the international observers, including the American embassy, security agencies, reporters and local observers were blind when they reported that what took place in Rivers State last year was no election but a sham. I have also asked myself: does the fact that the apex court said nay to the quest to have the election nullified really mean all we were told by these observers were lies? I have come to the conclusion that it cannot be so. The apex court was just not convinced about the evidence provided. It promises to explain why it took this decision today. The ways of the law are complex.

    And lest we forget, I have decided to revisit the past. This does not affect the fact that I have accepted the position of the apex court and will accord Wike the respect the office deserves. To do otherwise will be promoting anarchy. After all, the oracle has spoken! Obey we must.

    The madness in Rivers started like joke. Peaceful procession became an offence. The police usually descended on peaceful protesters with tear gas canisters depending on their political leaning. When it became glaring that there was favouritism, all forms of procession were banned.

    At the height of the governorship and presidential race, it was one killing after the other. There were cases when more than two members of the same families were killed. In one fell swoop, over 90 suspected cultists were apprehended. You need to see the guns that were seized from them and you will be sorry for Rivers and Nigeria. Those guns should not be in the hands of civilians. They are the types needed to rid the Northeast of Boko Haram.

    The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) observed in a report that politicians outsourced the punishment of their opponents through fatal deaths to cultists.

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) daily traded blames over the killing of the innocent in Rivers. Both bandy figures of casualties on their side. But, to the best of my knowledge, the APC seems to have lost more people to the madness in Rivers. Its rallies in Okrika and other parts of the state were attacked. A policeman was killed in the Okrika incident and many left with broken heads and jaws. A reporter with Channels Television, Charles Eruka, was stabbed for daring to report the Okrika rally that some forces were bent on not allowing for reasons best known to them.

    When the general elections eventually came, observers—local and international— screamed that they were fraud. The media shouted. Almost everybody, except members of the PDP, was alarmed.

    What went down as presidential, National Assembly, governorship and House of Assembly elections in dear Rivers got the people talking, screaming and shouting. The international observers and their local counterparts said so in their reports. The media reflected as much in their coverage.

    The Governorship Tribunal, which sat in Abuja for fear of its members being attacked by those who turned the state to theatre of war (apologies to the Supreme Court), said it was convinced that there was no proper election in the state. It thus nullified the victory of Wike. The other tribunals, in some shades, also confirmed that democracy was cheated in the House of Assembly and National Assembly elections.

    The Appeal Court sealed the coffin on the process that produced almost all the members of the National Assembly. This tidal wave has wiped away the men selected for the people. On March 19, the people will queue again and have the opportunity to choose their true leaders. I have no problem with PDP winning but winning crookedly is what I detest and will detest forever.

    The daylight robbery that took place in the name of polls saw parties that did not even participate in the elections being allotted figures on the result sheets. The thieves were so much in a hurry that they forgot to put the books in good shape. They left trails.

    When the Court of Appeal ruled on the governorship tussle, Prof. Itsay Sagay declared: “Everybody knew that Wike was not elected. Wike got into power through a brutal manner and I have never seen such brutal approach to power except through a coup. What Wike did was a bloody civilian coup, what he did was a big embarrassment to this country and if he had gotten away with it, I tell you that would have been the end to any type of free and fair elections in the South South.”

    He is disappointed and waiting for the reasons to be given today.. While he is waiting, the Transition Monitoring Group (TMG) is not. Here is its verdict: “As the foremost election observation coalition in the country, we see the Supreme Court judgments as clear cut attempts at legalising electoral robberies. These judgments, particularly on Rivers and Akwa Ibom States, have merely given judicial imprimatur to the damaging mind set of rapacious politicians who would stop at nothing in their bid to subvert the will of the people.”

    The group, which was involved in the monitoring of elections in the two states in the statement by its Chairman, Ibrahim Zikirullahi, added: “For us, it is absolutely shocking that the Supreme Court has decided to act as if it exists in another planet. The TMG is perturbed by the strange legal reasoning that has informed the blank cheque that the court has given to election riggers.

    “We make bold to say that while the legal premise behind these judgments is best known to the apex court, the open reward for electoral impunity does not resonate with the Nigerian people.

    “As the foremost election observation coalition in the country, we see the Supreme Court judgments as clear cut attempts at legalising electoral robberies.

    “What these judgments have effectively done is to ridicule Nigeria in the eyes of the international community, while diminishing our country’s stature in the comity of lovers of democracy around the world.

    “Painfully, the biggest losers are the ordinary people in the states who have been denied their democratic choices on account of the violence and impunity that characterised the polls in those states.

    “In the end, what the Supreme Court has succeeded in doing is to spit on the graves of all those innocent Nigerians who lost their lives as a result of the activities of those hell bent on subverting the will of the people.”

    He added that beyond the justice of the Supreme Court; there is the justice of the Almighty and in “due course, those who wilfully killed and maimed in the desperate bid to capture power, would be held to account.”

    What still pains me is the violence in those elections. Because of this, many are now homeless. Many are now fatherless; many are widows; and many are on wheel chairs, with pellets of bullets lodged in their bones.  Dreams have died and aspirations doomed.

     

  • Oshiomhole’s 26 roads excite Ikpoba/Okha residents

    Oshiomhole’s 26 roads excite Ikpoba/Okha residents

    Emotions ran high among residents of Erediauwa Street and environs, located off Upper Sokponba enclave of Ikpoba-

    •One of the roads now ready for use
    •One of the roads now ready for use

    Local Government Area of Edo Sate, when officials of the Edo State government  inspected 26 road projects in the area.

    Erediauwa Street is a bye-pass into Upper Sokponba and Sapele roads in Benin City, the state capital. The roads was initially constructed by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) but it collapsed after six months due to lack of drainage system.

    The heavy flooding associated with the collapse of the road forced many residents in the area to abandon their buildings. For many years, landlords who choose to remain in the area were always afraid of the rainy season.

    Today, their story has changed. Excited residents told Niger Delta Report that they now live in a Government Reservation Area and are now enjoying dividends of democracy. This is due to the intervention by the government in reconstructing the Erediauwa Road and 25 adjoining streets. The roads total about 10 kilometers and they are being provided with side drains and walkways.

    Roads already asphalted among the 26 roads are Obayuwana, Odiase, Osarenren and Ogieva.

    It was against this backdrop of joy and excitement that old people led the young and children out of their houses into the streets to pray for Governor Oshiomhole. They were not aware that the governor was not among the monitoring team led by John Mayaki, a Senior Special Assistant to Oshiomhole on Media. The elders said they wanted to appreciate the governor for bringing succor to them.

    A 98-year woman who first ran out of her house to begin offering prayers for the Oshiomhole administration  said they were happy that help had finally come to them.

    •Madam Grace
    •Madam Grace

    The nonagenarian, who gave her name as Grace said she has lived in the area for over 50 years and didn’t believe she would be alive to see tarred road in front of her house.

    A retired lecturer, Sunday Igun, expressed joy over the road construction.

    Sunday said many tenants packed out of their houses when the roads were bad and he used to grade the road.

    He said, “They are doing a great work here. We are happy. What Oshiomhole is doing pleased us.”

    Elder Robert Agbontean, aged 75 said it was the first time he was witnessing democracy in practical terms.

    He said they now live in GRA adding, “I have not seen democracy working practically. It is now we are enjoying democracy. We thank Oshiomhole for these roads. We enjoy Oshiomhole government well. As Oshiomhole did this for, God will give him all he wants. The road was impassable. There were holes every where and flooding.”

    •Dr. Okun
    •Dr. Okun

    Dr. Femi Okun, who is also a cleric, said the flooding they used to experience in area has disappeared.

    To Sunday Eugene, a Keke operator,  the state government should speedily complete the Erediauwa road so that life would be easy for them.

    He said he no longer took his Keke for repairs as was the case last year when he had to wade through flood.

    “The roads are now fine and beautiful. We are now enjoying life. Many roads are being worked on here. My Keke does not break down again.”

    Mayaki explained that the flood water would be channelled to a nearby moat which he said has already been dredged.

    He said trees and grass would be planted in the moat to make it a green area for flood water to easily be absolved.

    According to him,  “We can see evidently that work is ongoing at Erediauwa road,  Second East Circular and in other parts of Benin City. We need to appreciate the state government under Adams Oshiomhole for its effort. We encourage the people to appreciate government effort at buildings roads in spite of dwindling resources. Erediauwa road and other streets being constructed will boost commercial activities in the area.”

     

  • Beyond Edo 2016 primaries

    Beyond Edo 2016 primaries

    It is time for change,we need our own system. The past has taught us what we must inevitably do today and tomorrow. We must work for a new order’’-Quoted in Nowinta’s book; 2009:Where We Are (page 104).

     

    Even the blind,the deaf and the imbecile know perfectly well that sooner than later a new sheriff (Governor) will be elected in Edo State this year, and the lucky chap will be sworn in on November 12,2016

    This is because the way some politicians in the dominant two political parties (Peoples Democratic Party,PDP and the All Progressives Congress, APC)  are conducting their affairs as if there will be no life after the party primaries or Governorship election.

    The other day I received a text message from one of the governorship aspirants during the yuletide celebrations in December 2015 wishing me and my family the best of Christmas season, and a wonderful New Year.

    I laughed loud and long as soon as I saw the goodwill message because I knew down deep in my mind that the guy who sent the message to me did not mean what he wished me. That particular governorship aspirant is a hard guy, uncaring,selfish and self centred;he is somebody with a jaundiced reputation in town, who does not care a hoot about his next neighbour. But because he is desperate to get noticed he had to familiarise himself with the electorate  by hook or crook.

    Is it the ‘war’ game that has started on the internet via face book,wasapp or what have you,where fellow citizens have gone gaga trying to outsmart one another in projecting their choice candidate?

    Some governorship aspirants have equally gone reckless and mean in trying to showcase themselves to the public via the social media. Given what we have seen during the party primaries in Delta,where Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan, former governor, of  the Peoples Democratic Party,(PDP) failed miserably to impose his much cherished ‘candidate’, on members of his party,while Senator Ifeanyi Okowa surprisingly shot himself up to gigantic reckoning,anything can happen during party primaries in Edo State this year

    The implication of any aspirant trying to ride through the back of some influential party stalwarts or jump the fence of transparency in order to snatch party flag is most likely to back fire during the forth coming party primaries in Edo State.

    The reasons for this is not far fetch!  Edo State of today is not the one of 1999 or 2007. The people have been made to under go some hard tutorials in the process of making their choice for the battle to win the highest political trophy in the land.

    I don’t think the the good people of Edo State have forgotten the sad fact that the political godfathers had an empire to keep and protect in Edo State; and that a freely organised people was the direct antithesis of the evil idea of empire and a colony.

    The tragic fact then was that the downtrodden masses of Edo State were not given needed space to adequately promote and project their interest. That largely contributed to the level of rot and decay which Edo State sank into in April 2007.

    Therefore,Edo people were consoled by the fact that Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, the former indefatigable president of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) indicated his interest to wrestle political power from the godfathers,their cohorts, acolytes and foot soldiers.

    As a result of these historical facts the party primaries must be such that nothing but the best candidate should be allowed to emerge via transparent, open, orderly and credible process.This is important because Edo State must never be allowed to slide back to pre-Oshiomhole days. Hope we have not forgotten what befell the All Progressives Party (APC) in Bayelsa State? Certainly Timiprey Sylva was not the best guy  that ran that governorship election! What happened? He lost woefully.

    Beyond the forth coming  party primaries in Edo State governorship election 2016, a strong, experienced, matured, independent minded, intellectually tested, pragmatic and people oriented, focused guy must be fielded before the electorate in Edo State.

    Party leaders and rank and file members that will make the list of delegates during the primaries of the dominant two political parties must never allowed themselves to be bought hook, line and sinker by any selfish and parochial money bags.

    The good people of Edo State deserve no less, because it will be simply tragic if a wrong candidate emerges as Governor on November 12th 2016, given what the state went through in eight years between 1999 and 2007.

    Engineer Chris Ogiemwonyi to me has the character and qualities that Edo State needs in the forth coming governorship election.

    • Nowinta wrote Where We Are-A Call For Democratic Revolution in Nigeria.

     

  • I will ensure justice in Cross River, says Attorney-General

    The Cross River State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Joe Ushie, has promised to ensure that justice is served to all.

    In an interaction in his office in Calabar, Abang said he was in the state to render service.

    He said: “I have great plans for the ministry and for the growth of the profession in general. There is a lot to be done. The governor trusted me to give justice, andjustice I would give.

    “I want to provide an enabling legal environment for the legislature and executive and judiciary to work and the beneficiaries of this would be of course the common man. That is my vision. There a lot of innovations I am brining to the table. I have sent a team to understudy the judiciary in Lagos. I want to set up the office of a public defender and a citizen’s mediation centre, which would be removed from the Ministry of Justice.

    “Domestic issues, landlord issues, truancy and so on would be dealt with here. All these issues that should not take people to court, they can go there and ensure that we have lawyers there who would render these services to the public free of charge because we realize that it is not everybody that has money to hire lawyers. So as part of the governor’s contribution to the people of Cross River State, they give you the go ahead to establish that office, so the public can go there and ventilate their rights and wrongs, especially for those who cannot hire lawyers.”

    He said he met a ministry with a lot of potentials which with proper motivation would ensure over the best that it can.

  • Rep, NACA float medical outreach in Bayelsa

    The recent medical outreach of Douye Diri, a member representing Yenagoa, Kolokuma/Opokuma, Federal Constituency in the National Assembly was viewed by residents of Yenagoa, the state capital, as timely.

    It came at a time when most people in Bayelsa State were suffering and dying in silence for lack of money caused by dwindling oil revenue. Many residents even found it difficult to treat ordinary malaria. But amid the plight, Diri, landed in Yenagoa with a free medical programme.

    The federal lawmaker entered into partnership with the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) and the office of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to fix the health challenges of his constituents.

    The medical team consisting of over 10 trained doctors and nurses, had a primary assignment of providing  free test and counseling for HIV/AIDS, malaria, hepatitis, diabetes and screening for tuberculosis.

    The team also carried out deworming of children. Residents were also given the opportunity to check their weight index and blood sugar levels. The team also doled out quality drugs to persons diagnosed of diseases.

    So all road led to the primary school at Akempli. Residents trooped to the temporary structures erected for the outreach to seek medical help. The programme lasted for about three days.

    An official of NACA, Dr. Rosemary Adu, said the outreach was designed to provide free medical outreach to 5000 Bayelsans. She said the programme which was initiated by Diri was within NACA’s mandate of enabling people to know their HIV statuses.

    She said willing adults were tested of HIV while minors underwent the same process through the consent of their parents and guardians. She said: “They can either accept or turn it down. They were counseled on the reason why they should have HIV testing and then the test was done. If an adult like a parent comes with the children, we sought their permission to test the children.

    “We provided them with free medical services. We had blood pressure check, blood sugar estimation, body mass index determination meaning that we would take people’s weight and height  and then based on the findings, we would calculate  their weight against their height and see if they were overweight or underweight.

    “We had instrument for malaria testing. If a person complained of symptoms that was suggestive of malaria that patient would be referred to have a malaria test done and if it was positive the person would be sent back to a doctor who would prescribe and give the malaria drugs.”

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • APC chieftain lifts Ikwerre indigenes

    APC chieftain lifts Ikwerre indigenes

    The crowd that besieged the venue of Hon. Azubuike  Chikere Wajoku free medical outreach. It was done under the Azubyke Initiative for Good Governance (AIFGG).

    The four-day free medical service, which took place last weekend at the headquarters of Ikwerre Youth Movement (IYM) in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State, defied the sentiment of political affiliation.  Residents of the 14 communities in the local government who are supporters of different political parties trooped into the venue to get free medical service.

    Dr. Pepple Iyalla, one of the doctors who came from United States  of America, said due to the love the organiser had for his people he decided to mobilise them to assist in the programme. He described the free medical outreach as a laudable programme to assist the residents of the area.

    Iyalla said the organiser “provided the drugs to carter for the health need of his people. He was able to get doctors from outside the country to work for him. The medical team provided a conducive environment to ensure that everyone who came to the venue were examined and treated. Some of the treatment provided include malaria, typhoid, high blood pressure, checking of sugar level, eye examination, pains and other problem presented.”

    Some of the beneficiaries, who spoke to Niger Delta Report, revealed that the health centres at their various communities had no drug to take care of them and some with drugs charged exorbitantly. They noted that due to the issue of kidnapping and cult related activities so many doctors had fled out of the area leaving inexperience nurses to manage the area.

    Mr. Michael Ndubisi, one of the beneficiaries, said he was grateful to be treated and counseled by the medical team who provided drugs that would serve him for two weeks.

    “I am one of the supporters of the People Democratic Party (PDP). One thing most of us are happy today is that the initiator of this medical outreach, who is a chieftain of All Progressive Congress (APC), did not only make the service free, he also makes it available to everybody in spite of their political affiliation.”

    Another beneficiary, Mrs. Monica Obiajuru, said the doctor told her that she was very lucky that she came for the checkup.

    “The doctor said if I didn’t to come today it would have been something else due to the level of my high blood pressure. Tell me how high blood pressure will not kill us when the youths in my community have been making us to live with anxiety and fear over cult-related activities in the area.”

    The Director-General,   Azubyke Initiative for Good Governance, Gibson Elendu, who was supervising the programme, said: “This is an initiative of a man who loves his people.”

    The initiator of the programme, Hon. Azubuike Wanjok, said Ikwerre people and Rivers State deserve more than what they are getting from the present administration.