The Nation Newspaper

Category: Niger Delta

‘How I succeeded as Edo council boss’

The first female chairman of Ovia North East Local Government, Hon Lucy Omagbon, has attributed her achievements to prudent management of resources as well as adequate utilization of SURE-P funds.

Hon Omagbon said she saved the N7.9m monthly SURE-P fund for about six months and used the savings to purchase 10 buses for the operation of Ovia North East Line.

Besides the SURE-P funds, Omagbon said she shored up IGR from every nooks and crannies of the locality because she inherited a deficit of N25m at a time several council chairmen collected between N300m to N700m saved by Governor Adams Oshiomhole during the transition period.

Speaking to newsmen after the inauguration of a six block of classroom and an ultra modern office complex, Hon Omagbon said the bold and difficult decisions she took saw a total transformation of the local government.

Parts of the decision were the transfer of unwanted teachers from the local government and sacking of some workers who were illegally employed.

She said buses in the fleet have been increased to 19 and the proceeds were used to pay salaries of junior workers.

Explaining why she built a gigantic council secretariat, Omagbon stated that many staff were loitering around the secretariat due to lack of office space.

She said her desire to made a change in the council was not to be called a looter after leaving office.

According to her, “You choose what people will call you. If you want to be call a looter, share the money and if you want to be remembered well, work for the people. Our success was a collective effort between myself, the civil servants and the councillors. We met a deficit and it was a strong challenge for us. While other chairmen met huge sums of money, we met a deficit of N25m.”

“That became a source of challenge. We set up an Economic Team and started going about to raise our IGR from the nooks and crannies of the local government. We had many teachers and we cried out because we were determined on the number of teachers we needed.”

“The SURE-P Fund of N7.9m was not touched. We left it for about six months and we used it to purchase ten buses with which we started a transport line. Those 10 buses worked and we increased the fleet to 19 buses. We are not owing any bank in respect of those vehicles. The money they are working now helped us to do other things. Sometimes it help us to pay salaries of junior workers.”

“We built this complex out of the desire and yearnings of the staff. I met staff loitering around. There were no offices. There is no accommodation for political office holders.

We opted to do something and did not allow the initial difficult to deter us.”

January 22, 2016
Government versus government

I still don’t get it. It might take me a while to. Or at some point, I will just learn to live with this unchangeable fact. It is all about time. Time at times is not our friend. One moment it is all about you, the next moment you are out of reckoning. For this, I say time is wicked. If it were a man I would have said it is a bad man and a flirt ever swinging here and there. If it were a woman, I would have labelled it a prostitute jumping from one bed to the other. It is like a knife. Your fate depends on which side you are holding.

High Chief Government Ekpemupolo must have realised this bad nature of time by now. Yesterday was his. Today is showing him the flipside of life. How time changes! Now, a god is about to be demystified. How cruel; how unfair.

For God’s sake, this is Tompolo we are talking about. He has been named in a N34b scam at the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA). For this, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) invited him for a chat. He spurned the opportunity. The agency decided to go ahead with his arraignment alongside NIMASA ex-Director-General Patrick Akpobolokemi. The court ordered him to appear. He has not. Instead, he issued a statement justifying his refusal to honour EFCC’s invite and failure to keep a date in court.

The tales he had to tell sounds like these: He is no signatory to any of the accounts of the companies involved in the scam. EFCC’s lawyer Festus Keyamo and ex-Bayelsa Governor Timpire Sylva are setting him up.

Keyamo, he said, was after him because he refused to buy some property he introduced him to in Lagos and Abuja. Sylva, he claimed, was bitter because he refused to support his bid to become the Chairman of the Presidential Amnesty Programme.

His hands, he vowed, were clean and as such Buhari should just get the EFCC to apply the break in his trial for alleged money laundering and corruption.

The fact that Tompolo is even explaining himself is an insult to this man. Tompolo never had to convince anybody about his actions. He simply acted and moved on.

Tompolo was favoured. He was some sort of god. He ran a government of his own. Like many so-called ex-militant leaders, Tompolo became an overnight billionaire. He claims he deserves it for his contributions to stopping the militancy that was raging in the Niger Delta. He graciously handed over his guns, got his lieutenants to hand in their arsenals too and the country was better for it. Some say he even did the great sacrifice of turning in his Izon charms too. He must have been expecting a national honour for his sacrifices until the table turned.

I am still in shock that Tompolo, the big man who answers Government as his first name, is being tossed around like this by Ibrahim Magu, the man they call General at the EFCC. Who was Magu when Tompolo was the Government? How many bullets can Magu’s tiny frame take? If only the Izon charms were still at his service, this Magu go don hear wehn. How dare he challenge Government? This Magu get liver o!

•Magu

On the other hand, someone says Tompolo needs to be careful because the difference between Magu’s name and Magun is the letter ‘n’– suggesting that you do not toy with him. Magun is a charm in Yorubaland, which a suspicious husband laces his wife with and any man who ‘climbs’ her ascends the mortality cloud. Magun, when trasliterated, means ‘don’t climb’.

On a more serious note, I will always remember an event which showed the influence Tompolo wielded under Jonathan. Reporters from various media organisations had gone in search of news somewhere in Ogidigben, Delta State. On their way back to Warri, the heartbeat of the state, they were seized. For writing ‘nonsense’, they were detained. The men who arrested them claimed to have discovered guns or a gun in the boat that bore them. Our dear Shola O’Neil and Bolaji Ogundele were two of those held captive by the agents of this man of yesterday.

They were after humiliation handed over to the Navy as criminals. Yet, the militants who handed over the reporters to the naval men for alleged gun-running were also bearing arms, which I doubt they had licences for. The navy could not query them on this; yet, it willingly detained men who had, over the years, contributed through their pens to the nation. This was a sign of the time. The leader of the illegally armed men was untouchable. The Navy dared not query him.

This was in late 2014. The man in power at the centre was Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. He lost re-election last May and a new sheriff named Muhammadu Buhari is in town. The men who seized the offending reporters were loyalists of Tompolo.

Events of the last few weeks seem to suggest that this man, who sacrificed his guns for our oil to flow well, is being taken for granted by the men in power now who feel he has allowed his overnight wealth get into his head.

A day or so after the court ordered Tompolo to appear before it to defend himself in the case against him, oil pipelines went up in flames in Delta State. Oil giant Chevron is in a deep pit as a result of the attacks. The country’s economy, which is in coma, is bound to feel the effect of these attacks. If they continue, the country is in trouble. No wonder, the security agencies are up and about to curb such attacks.

Tompolo, I must add, has dissociated himself from the attacks. It would have amounted to a treasonable felony if he had said something else. He would have clearly declared a war against the Federal Government and we all can imagine what the new sheriff in town would have done.

Some say the excuses given by this overnight billionaire for shunning the EFCC and refusing to obey the law are laughable. They are also damn right condescending, they say. Only in Nigeria, they also add, can a man whose claim to popularity is linked to taking arms against our economic well-being be walking freely after defying the law. But he sure will have his days in court, they insist.

I have heard some people complain that Tompolo may be afraid of being arrested and detained indefinitely. Those who share this opinion point at the arrest and re-arrest of Akpobolokemi and Sambo Dasuki to buttress their point. Thank God they did not remind us that if not for the role of the like of Tompolo the Niger Delta will still be boiling and the dwindling oil cash would have dwindled further.

My final take: While I will be the last person to support the government keeping an accused illegally after the court has given him bail and he has met the conditions, I will also be the last to support the nonsense Tompolo is doing. He is not greater than Nigeria and can only run but cannot hide. He will take his place in the dock soon. The Federal Government of Nigeria is sure bigger than this Government of militants.

January 22, 2016
Developers seek solutions to Bayelsa housing problems

Back of affordable and decent accommodation has remained one of the major headaches of living in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State. Residential houses are scarce and the ones available are expensive and almost beyond the reach of many inhabitants.

A standard two-bedroom flat goes for between N450,000 to N550,000. A good self-content apartment is priced between N180,000 to N200,000 while a bedroom flat goes for about N250,000. So, most people are forced to live in slums under excruciating environmental conditions.

Such slums located at different parts of the capital city, even close to the Government House, Onopa, are congested neighbourhoods. People erect and live in mud houses with their families.

In fact, the problem is compounded by lack of deliberate plans by the state government to engage in housing projects. Also, wealthy politicians known to have amassed wealth in government, instead of building residential estates, prefer erecting hotels.

But private developers seem to have come to the rescue. One of the developers, Orlum Nigeria Limited (ONL) has embarked on a project of encouraging people living in the state to build and own their houses. Recently, the company entered into an agreement with the Otuasega, a community close to Yenagoa, to acquire large parcel of land, map it and sell to interested builders in affordable prices.

The company signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the community to develop and sell the parcel of land situated at Ekuraba/Obo-olo bush within Ogbia Local Government Area of the state. The company recently mowed down the forest with its earth-moving equipment to access roads to the area.

Speaking to Niger Delta Report, the Chief Executive Officer, (ONL), Mr. Teknikio Clarkson, said the company adopted a strategy of providing good housing with quality environment to residents.

He said: “To us sometimes the work is really challenging, the challnges we face is that we source for funds, invest and we are also stakeholders so that we will feel the pain and participte with the people and then come up with development measures that would make us achieve an aim of quality enviroment and quality living.

“It takes a lot of convincing, resources for is to get there. Everything that is done must be done according to accuraccy. If you are not patient enough you will end up not even achieving anything but thank God we have been able to make a mark.

He assured people intending to acquire plots of land in the area of security on their investment. He said the company operated within the bounds of the law. He said the firm was founded with the principles of integrity and justice.

“We stand on truth and justice. So, we are assuring eveyone who invest in us that you can invest and go home and sleep. We secure your investment so you dont run a loss. So we are assuring everyone to come and invest with us”, he said.

Reacting to the development, an elder from the community who identified himself as Pastor Ogar, praised the company for initiating a gesture to develop the rural community. He said the roads being mapped out in the area would help to open up the rural dwelling.

January 22, 2016
Joy for Rivers NPA ex-workers after years of waiting for entitlements

IN spite of age, they protested not minding the rain or sun. All they were interested in was how the management of the Nigeria Port Authority (NPA) would recognise them as full pensioners of the company.

Last weekend they celebrated the success of their struggle after the NPA management heard their call.

•Dikewoha (centre) receiving the gift.

They were due for retirement between 2006-2007 but were disengaged as a result of the Port reform. The management of the NPA sacked them without entitlement. And they were not absorbed as pensioners of the company. That was the beginning of their struggle. They made several peaceful moves to regain their rights but their efforts failed.

Their struggle started in 2009. Some of their colleagues who started the fight did not make it to the harvest time. Many people died because of frustration and suffering after many years of waiting for their entitlements.

In September 2013, the disengaged workers were at the Port Harcourt office of Vintage Press Limited, publisher of The Nation and Sporting life. They pleaded with the company to assist them fight the battle. Two days after, the pensioners organised what many described as mother of all protests blocking the main entrance of the Port Harcourt office of the NPA. It took the NPA management more than two days to calm the angry protesters.

The Nation reported the protest and that was the beginning of negotiation to recognise them as pensioners. Today the storm is over; they are now full pensioners of NPA and they have started receiving their pension monthly.

At a thanksgiving party organised by the pensioners in Port Harcourt to appreciate God and to honour those who contributed for the success of the struggle, the leader of the group, Comrade Chris Nnamene presented a gift to this reporter for his contributions to the struggle. He described The Nation as the “Newspaper for the helpless and the voiceless Nigerians”.

Nnamene, who recounted how the fight started, said they were very happy the way The Nation reported their stories during their struggle.

He said: “After we were disengaged by our erstwhile employer in 2006 and 2007 as a result of the Federal Government port reform policy, as humans we became helpless. Hence we started to seek for God’s guidance and our dogged fight to regain our statutory rights. After more than seven years of struggle, then came the total reversal and eventually introduced the great surprise that gave us life, special significance and hope.

“The victory wouldn’t have been possible without the contribution of the media and human right organisations. But among the media men who assisted us two people did exceptional report, not only that, they also stood by us to ensure justice. Today we are here to honour and to celebrate the contribution of Mr. Precious Dikewoha of The Nation and Mr. Baridam Sika of Radio Rivers for their sacrifices in this great struggle. Today I make bold to say that your invaluable support and sacrifices will forever remain indelible in our minds. May our heavenly father continue to bless the work of your hand?

“ To my contemporaries, I appreciate your understanding and patience. I have always advised that in the face of our struggle, hunger and frustration we must at all time conduct ourselves with honour and dignity knowing fully well that our God is not asleep and that we were fighting a just cause. Today, we celebrate the victory after eight years of struggle. The battle was won but we must fight on until we get all that belongs to us. It is my wish to inform you that this ceremony wouldn’t have been possible without the frantic efforts made by the ad hoc planning committee.”

Mr. Anthony Mbachu, one of the reinstated NPA pensioners, said: “From 2008 when the struggle started we know what we have gone through. Over eighty people have died but God used the present Managing Director (MD) of Nigeria Port Authority to listen to our plight. We feel unhappy that those who started with us in this struggle died on the way. But we are glad that their next of kins have started receiving alert and we believe that all of them will get alert soon.”

January 22, 2016
Rivers’ season of defections, revelations
George Santayana, the famous Spanish philosopher and poet, writing on the lessons of history in Madrid in 1863, noted that “those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it”.

Evidently, there is a sturdy correlation between those immortal lines and political developments in Rivers State today. To every student of history, Rivers State and the gale of defections and revelations at the moment capture the real meaning of Santayana’s well known and all-time quote.

For me, the real tragedy for Chief Nyesom Wike and his motley crowd of receding supporters is that they have learnt and remembered nothing, despite their long years in politics. Again, like most philosophers, Santayana shows us how fickle and forgetful the human memory can be in moments of great crisis. Are we not once again travelling a familiar but absolutely avoidable road?

But there is an interesting twist to the goings-on in our dear state.

For some of us who have followed Rivers State politics over the years, we knew Wike’s cookie would surely crumble. The only novelty however is the unfolding speed with which former members of the PDP are defecting to the APC.

Unlike the past, these PDP defectors are now filling the gaps for us and re-enforcing with their horrible tales, the violent and dishonourable activities of the former r uling party in Rivers State before, during and after last year’s general elections.

Part of the revelations of these APC returnees centre on high-handedness, intimidation, threats and even death sentence, just like Wike’s death wish late last year to officials of the Independent

National Electoral Commission, INEC and people of Rivers State.

Resorting to threats, not only to election umpires but also to his people in a democracy showed how decrepit our society had become. In an age when reason and compromise guide political process, I am horrified with the embarrassing absence of civility and moderation in the words of the occupier of an exalted office like that of a governor. Sadly Wike, in his characteristic manner chose to live below the expectation of his high office.

Unfortunately, this death threat from a governor already has consequences. It appears to be giving rise to objectionable conducts by some people who are emboldened by such pronouncement. Today, armed robbery, kidnapping and other forms of criminality have continued unabated in our state. But this death threat, I must emphasize, is a national security matter and I hope those saddled with the responsibility of securing Nigeria are watching.

Lately, I have also been reviewing comments by our brothers and sisters who are rejoining us in APC after many months of fierce political disagreement and acrimony. Some of them were Wike’s former aides and close associates but there is a common thread that runs through their stories. Their complaints are essentially that of exclusion, intimidation and threats.

But I am not surprised. A leopard can never change its spots. The good news however is that the stories of the returnees, horrible as they are, inspire. Their awful accounts and experiences have further strengthened our resolve and determination to change our state for good by electing those who are prepared for leadership. Critical also is the fact that these defections are helping to deflate PDP’s contrived popularity and bloated ego.

I know Rivers State will rebound, just like Nigeria and we can see the signs. It is heart-warming that members of other political parties across our state can now gather without fear of PDP’s harassment and intimidation. A few days ago, I read the touching story of how APCmembers in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area celebrated their first meeting that did record any form of attack in many years.

As a party, what the APC wants is freedom. There can never be a fair political contest in an atmosphere of fear. In the last couple of years, we bore the brunt of state sponsored violence and terrorism, a situation that came to an unparalleled crescendo during the March and April elections. But today, we are better, bigger and ready to effect the needed change. I congratulate the returnees for their heroism and patriotism. I also commend our leaders for their magnanimity in keeping the gate of our great party wide open.
- Jumbo, a public affairs analyst is also a member of the APC.
January 22, 2016
Market Square opens in Yenagoa

A new shopping experience capable of giving big supermarkets operating in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, a run for their money, has opened for business.

Named Marketsquare, the shopping outfit designed like Shoprite, was inaugurated on Wednesday by the state Governor and Governor-elect, Mr. Seriake Dickson.

As the name implies, Marketsquare, is a comprehensive shopping facility, a one-stop market that gives customers opportunities to buy everything they need including foodstuffs in affordable prices. It is located along Mbiama-Yenagoa road, opposite NNPC filling station, Yenagoa.

It is a departmental store which combines goods with fast food and African dishes. It was with fanfare that the store was opened. Customers were already trooping out in their numbers to patronize the store describing it as unique.

“I find everything here of quality and affordable. Since I came to Yenagoa, I have never bought quality bead less than N350, the type you buy between N200 and N250 in other cities like Lagos. But Marketsquare has such bread for N250 when other stores and bakeries sell between N350 and N450”, an elated customer, Preye Jonson said.

She added: “Besides bread, cooking items like tomatoes, meat and other groceries are hygienically preserved and they look very healthy unlike what you get in the open market where you battle with flies, dirty environment and heaps of dustbin. So, it is a good thing that has happened to us”.

The Market Square was founded by BBV Marketplace Limited as a world-class, modern supermarket. Its unveiling was attended by business leaders from all works of life. Dickson was represented by his Commissioner, Trade and Investment, Mr. Kemela Okara.

The governor who formally opened the store, said it would improve the wealth and economy of the state. He said it would further create empowerment by providing viable employment opportunities to indigenes. He described the founder of the square as the type of investor the state was looking for.

Okara said: “The roll-out of Marketsquare is consistent with the company’s commitment to make shopping an experience to look forward to always.

“As we declare open this shop, it will integrate into Bayelsa State a new setting of experience; a new level of making certain a very wonderful experience for all not only in Yenagoa but in the whole of state.

“On behalf of the governor and the state we say thank you because you are the profile of investors that we would want to see in the state. You came here, you started this, you acquired land for this project, you built everything and only asked us to come for the opening ceremony.

“Now this is the kind of investors that will move forward the poster child investment. We want to collaborate with you assist you in any way we can to ensure that you can even go and replicate this in other parts of the state and beyond.”

He said though people always looked forward to buying quality products, they also prefer prices of such items to be competitive. He said with competitive prices, quality products and parking spaces, Marketsquare would expand its frontiers.

Also, the Managing Director of BBV Marketplace Limited, Mr. Ebele Enunwa, described the store as an indigenous retail and consumer merchandise outfit whose journey started two years ago with the concept of providing a modern and affordable shopping experience and more convenient means of accessing the everyday needs of the people.

He said: “Because you and your family deserve nothing but the best, we have carefully identified manufacturers and business partners with whom the best prices have been negotiated.

“So, when you shop at Marketsquare, you can be sure to get the best quality and price. We are also inviting manufacturers from all over the country to partner with us to bring their products to the people.”

“Marketsquare is established to provide every Nigerian regardless of class, age or status, with the best of groceries, wines, fresh bakes, household gadgets, baby items, fresh fruits and vegetables, frozen products and everything you can think of buying in the market or any world-class modern supermarket and groceries convenience store.

“It is our desire that Nigerian families enjoy every minute of their shopping time with less hassles so they’re happier and this is what Market Square represents. We have redefined market shopping in this clime and taken it to a whole new level”.

Enunwa said it was the first of its kind in Bayelsa and announced that similar markets were currently being developed and would open soon in other parts of the country with two more planned for Port Harcourt city within the year and several others for other cities around the country.

“This is in line with meeting the lifestyle needs of the growing middle class populace that have come to whole-heartedly embrace modern supermarket shopping models”, he said.

He charged people to expect nothing but the best in terms of quality of products, service, ambience and other features that make shopping a great experience.

“The company is currently in discussions with developers around the country who are interested in building malls for Marketsquare to anchor. This will speed up the expansion drive of the brand and ensure the company can get a store closer to every Nigerian in a relatively short time”, he said.

January 22, 2016
NACA ready to check further spread of HIV/AIDS

The National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) has pledged the readiness of the Federal Government to adopt stringent measures in order to check the spread of HIV/AIDS in every part of the country.

Director General of the Agency, Prof. Tom Idoko gave the assurance during the flag-off ceremony of a free medical outreach made possible by the Federal Government at Edor and Ikom Town in Ikom Local Government Area of Cross River State.

The Director General who was represented by Dr. Miriam Ezekwe lauded stakeholders for their commitment toward the target of “zero new infection” and sued for synergy amongst levels of Government for effective coordination.

Flagging off the exercise, the Chairman of Ikom Local Government, Cross River State, Pastor Ayimba Ayimba expressed appreciation to the Federal Government for the choice of Ikom for the programme and assured of maximum cooperation for it expansion around the entire Local Government Area.

Speaking, the Paramount Ruler of Ikom, His Royal Majesty Ntol Dr. Emang Peter Eku noted with delight the renewed zeal directed to combat the spread of HIV/ADS and other health issues and promised to mobilize the traditional institution to join the campaign.

The free medical outreach which lasted for four days featured health talks, blood pressure and temperature checks, weight and height measurement, HIV counseling and testing, malaria test, deworming of children and blood sugar test, free consultation, drugs gift items and mosquito nets.

January 22, 2016
Good news for Gbaramatu kingdom from London

A London court has accepted a N99.9 billion judgment obtained against the Presidency, the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and the Commander of the Delta Joint Task Force, Major General Sarkin Yarkin Bello (now retired) by the people of Gbaramatu communities of Delta State.

Mr. Justice of Holroyde of the Queen’s Bench Division of the Royal High Court of Justice England and Wales, in a judgment last Monday, ordered that the judgment delivered in December 2013 by Justice Ibrahim Buba of the Federal High Court, Asaba, in which N99.9 was awarded as damages against the defendants, be registered in England solely against Maj. Gen. Bello.

The London court declined to register the judgment against the President and the AGF, citing the principle of state’s sovereignty.

By the London court’s decision, the judgment creditors – people of Gbaramatu communities of Delta State – are now at liberty to apply for an order freezing Maj. Gen. Bello’s accounts wherever they could be traced globally.

The judgment creditors had on June 22, 2009 sued the President, the AGF and Maj. Gen. Bello before the Federal High Court, Asaba, alleging that the Task Force led by Bello descended on the communities on May 5, 2009 killing, maiming innocent residents while properties worth billions of naira were equally destroyed.

In his judgment, Justice Buba upheld the plaintiffs’ claims and held that “the bombardment of the plaintiffs’ communities in the Gbaramatu Kingdom of Warri South West Local Government Area? of Delta by the Defendants resulting in the demolition/destruction of houses, household furniture/wares, boats, canoes, domestic animals and displacement of members of the communities is in violation of section 217 (2)(c) of the 1999 constitution and is therefore unconstitutional.

“That the sum of N49 billion is awarded in favour of the plaintiffs as special damages against the defendants jointly severally.

“That the sum of N50 billion is also awarded as aggravated and punitive damages against the defendants jointly and severally for the unlawful bombardment and sacking of the plaintiffs’ communities which resulted in wanton destruction of their houses, household furniture and other wares, their domestic animals, canoes, boats, sacred places, artefacts, etc and which resulted in total displacement of members of the communities for minimum of three months from 15th May 2009, the effect of which was that members of the communities were living in the swampy mangrove forests in subhuman conditions while others were in a concentration camp and suffered loss of income, disease, and mental torture and the education of their children of school age was disrupted.”

Before applying to the Queen Bench Division High Court of Justice in London to register the judgment, the communities wrote twice to the then Attorney General of the Federation, Mohammed Adoke (SAN), asking the Federal Government to comply with the judgment.

Two years after the judgment was delivered, the government neither complied with it nor challenged it on appeal.

The people of the kingdom are eagerly awaiting what will happen next after this judgment has been registered by the London court.

Will it lead to the money that will be frozen in the ex-JTF chief’s accounts being transferred to them? Time will certainly tell.

January 22, 2016
‘The trouble with Delta EPZ project’

Chief Sandys Omadeli Uvoh is a former Chairman of the Ugborodo Community Trust in Delta State and member of the $16b EPZ Interface committee. In this interview with Southsouth Regional Editor SHOLA O’NEIL, the 75-year old community leader speaks on the problem in the community and the alleged “unholy plan” by the EPZ committee to assume the leadership of Ugborodo Community Trust, warning that the move could create a fresh crisis in the community.

What is the situation with the Escravos EPZ Project, it seems to have been abandoned?

There is nothing different. Ours is to provide the enabling environment for the project, it is the Federal Government that will drive it and we cannot force them. Our role is to bring peace to the area; that is the highest contribution Ugborodo community can do.

Why has Ugborodo not developed in spite of its abundant resources over these years?

Ugborodo is like Nigeria, in that it is rich, but grossly underdeveloped. In the 90s we got it right, but those that came after us truncated the democracy in Ugborodo. Before I came in as chairman, there was no structure and we did our best to make sure that there is structure. We made our presence known to the oil companies and government that we are the landlords. But those who were benefiting benefiting from the old order secretly truncated the system.

They started saying, ‘these people are not doing well; you cannot use force and you cannot do this or that’ but they helped the oil companies to truncate the process. So if you watch from that time till now it is the same people; garbage in, garbage out. Tomorrow they will put this structure in place while some say no.

With all sense of responsibility, I don’t care about whatever anybody will say, one thing I know about Ugborodo is that anything good they never appreciated it. People may say Thomas Eritoyomi’s government is corrupt but come to look at it again, it was almost like my government if not better in the sense that it empowered so many Ugborodo indigenes. Those who never thought of driving cars had their own cars and built houses. But people will not see it that way, rather they will say this man is a thief, the man is this, the man is that. They started the so-called freedom fight.

What was the fight about?

They fought for some MoUs but in the actual sense, they thought that (David) Tonwe was the messiah and at the end of the day they come back to square one. That is why I said Ugborodo is like Nigeria. In the first republic, people said those people are corrupt and they will give one reason or the other to overthrow the government. Then at the end of the day another set of military officers will come up to say these people are corrupt and they will be kicked out. If Ugborodo gets it right, other communities in Itsekiri will fall in place

What is the way out of the deadlock?

The way forward as far as I am concerned is the committee set up by the late Pa Tsebi, the then only surviving member of the registered trustee. It was rejected by both Thomas Ereyitomi and David Tonwe sides. It should be allowed to function for a period because it is more or less neutral. If there is any adjustment to be made or any names to be added, it should be done. That is the only neutral committee for now and that is why you see that both sides have rejected it.

There are moves to make the EPZ Interface Committee, which you are member, to become the organ and trust of the community…

(…cuts in) That is a selfish and self-serving suggestion. That idea is mooted by some people (group) who want to be in control of the affairs of Ugborodo. It is a one-sided affair and from all indications they have been able to muzzle one of the oldest and well-respected elderly in the community to buy into that idea. If that happens, the fight will be worse than what it was before.

The EPZ Committee is a child of circumstance; it was drawn from the warring groups. The community was appointed by the government and not by the community. So, indirectly, they are not responsible to the community but to the government which set it up. I am a member of the committee and a senior citizen of Ugborodo, yet I don’t know what is happening there. For instance, what transpired between the community and NNPC, I don’t know. Many other leaders do not know. I am not saying they should report to me, but it is expected that whatever they discussed with NNPC should be reported to other members.

Even the land acquisition, the agreement they signed with the Federal Government, the Chairman and Secretary made themselves trustees, along with the Eghare-Aja and Olaja-Orori, without recourse to the committee. I feel that is a fraud and up till now we have not seen the agreement. I was away when it was signed, but I asked other members if it was discussed in the meeting for them to go and sign the agreement and make themselves trustees. There are a lot of issues with that committee that makes it impossible for it to transit.

The committee should be dissolved to allow the community appoints people who will report to it to man the EPZ committee. I am a member of the committee, but I am against its transition and if this is allowed, the younger generation of Ugborodo should know that they have mortgaged their future. What have we (committee) achieved that we should be rewarded with running Ugborodo affairs?

Let’s go back to the circumstance of the committee, it is an interface, peace committee and it was set up to make peace. Instead of making the peace, we are promoting strife because some of us don’t want to leave office and we don’t want the crisis to end. We could not even achieve our primary objective of peace.

On the late Pa Tsebi’s committee and peace meeting convened by Pa Ayomike.

The Tsebi committee was given one year to enable the community come up with a constitution that successive committees will use to run the affairs of the place. But now the community has no constitution.

Ayomike has done well by that peace meeting because it brought unity during the Olu’s burial. But the same people angling for the transition are making contacts and efforts. There are pressures from high place for support of the transition. But my appeal is that those people, who are being contacted, if they have the interests of Ugborodo and Itsekiri at heart, should not encourage the transition. I can tell you that 75percent of members of the committee knows its dissolution is the end of their relevance so their support is selfish. That is why I am advising everybody, supporters of Ugborodo and those in high places of authority, not to support it.

Any committee setup by government or those who think they are the sole authority cannot bring peace because the fight will still be there. I am saying this as an elder, who is a major stakeholder and the need to avoid another round of crisis and fighting. There are people who feel that they must be in charge when setting up any structure that will administer Ugborodo and without them it must collapse. That was how they collapsed my administration and the last administration because it was not favourable to them.

I was a chairman in Ugborodo, if you say I was corrupt, come out and tell us what happened to N203 million. Who administered it? It is the same group of people who are now saying EPZ Committee should transit.

January 15, 2016
Association lifts psychiatric patients in Calabar

Patients of the Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital in Calabar felt a sense of belonging as the Senior Staff Association of the hospital donated several items to them.

Items donated to them included foodstuff, provisions and toiletries among others.

The Chairman of the Association, Comrade Ken Bassey, said they thought it wise that the patients be made to feel loved and wanted, especially in the Christmas and New Year season.

His words: “What we displayed was service to humanity. We thought it wise as a union that it is not only about agitating for our welfare for our members, but also there should be a paradigm shift to also reaching out to members of the society especially the less privileged.

“We presented gifts to our patients. Our clients because we benefitted so much from the system and we also thought it wise to give back to the system. There is a popular dictum that charity begins at home, so we thought it wise to start with our inmates. We are using this opportunity to call on well meaning Nigerians to join us in this gesture

“A healthy nation is a wealthy nation and the government should know that and take the issue of health seriously because it is very key. We should be well funded and for the staff that provide the healthcare service, there should be a very conducive environment and people should be trained to handle this cases so that at the end of the day we would have results that the government is looking out for.”

Bassey urged that government pay more attention to mental health institutions.

Consultant neuropsychiatrist, Dr Olutokin Michael, said it was unfortunate people in the society did not reckon with their patients. He said people do not want to associate with them and they are often stigmatized.

“We have to give them a sense of belonging and we use this opportunity to tell them we love them and that they are important persons too,” he said.

Acting Head of Administration of the hospital, Mrs Arit Uweh, thanked the association for the gesture.

“We thank you for the time and love. We are happy that you thought it wise to make them happy. Not just to think about yourselves but also to touch other people’s lives,” she said.

Head of Nursing Services, Mrs Ekanem Ekpo Otu, said most times people give to the less privileged in the society but never think of patients of the psychiatric hospital.

She said, “Thank you for thinking of our patients. I thank the association for placing our patients first. Thank you for the love and God bless and replenish you. The items would be useful and would go a long way to take care of the patients.”

Servicom Officer in the hospital, Mr Okon Asuquo, lauded the gesture, saying it has never happened in the history of the hospital.

He urged that it be emulated by others.

January 15, 2016