The Nation Newspaper

Category: Niger Delta

  • Ibori, Uduaghan, Okowa and Delta’s N0.64tr debt

    Ibori, Uduaghan, Okowa and Delta’s N0.64tr debt

    Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa last weekend stunned the state when he announced that his predecessor and former boss, Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan, left a whopping N637 billion debts in various forms.

    •Okowa
    •Okowa

    Okowa told members of the Delta State House of Assembly, most of whom were part of the past 5th Assembly, that his administration inherited a debt profile of N637.22 billion.

    According to Prince Victor Efeizomor, the governor’s Press Secretary, “ Giving a breakdown of the debt profile, Okowa disclosed that N98.62 billion is as a result of Revenue Bond and indebtedness to commercial banks, while outstanding contractual obligations stood at N538, 601,962,421.50.”

    By that revelation, Delta state vaulted to the top ‘States in Debt’ table. From the figure, which is yet to be disputed by the former governor, the state’s debt profile is higher than that of Lagos and a few others combined.

    More worrying for citizens of the state, is the disclosure by Oghenejabor Ikimi of the Centre for the Vulnerable and Underprivileged, who posited that that the state owed over N1 trillion to creditors. Ikimi cited a report by the transition committee in arriving at the figure.

    He said, “Though we are not oblivious of the fact that the actual debt burden of the State is well over a trillion naira as revealed in the transition committee report submitted to the incumbent Governor, we wonder why the State Governor has settled for the above sum of N636 billion.

    “We therefore call on the incumbent Governor for the avoidance of doubt to immediately publish the full extract of his transition committee report in the above regard as the above subject, such as the debt profile of the State cannot be traded for politics as same is not a PDP family affair or an Ibori Political family affair. “

    Ikimi’s parting shot was pregnant and in consonance with feelings of a section of the state, particularly the opposition All Progressive Congress, that the incumbent governor cannot extricate himself from the political merry ground that plunged the state into the chasm of debt. Besides being the Secretary to the Government during Uduaghan’s first tenure, Okowa was a serial commissioner under the eight-year two tenures of Governor James Ibori and therefore a partaker by association, at least.

    The ‘Debt Statement’ was also silent on how much of the debt went into the prosecution of the 2015 election both for Okowa and the state’s People’s Democratic Party candidates in the various positions. It was gathered that his Campaign Organization presented a whopping bill of N3.5billion to then Governor Uduaghan to enable it succeed at the polls. Although it could not be ascertained how the fund was sourced, a source close to the party leadership and the former governor disclosed that the budget was funded thoroughly without a review.

    Our source said, “Just weeks to the governorship election, N3bn had been released to the committee and I am sure the N500m balance was also released.”.

    It was against the above background that the APC in the state accused Okowa of being part of the cabal that plunged the state into that depth in the pit of debt.

    APC’s Media Adviser in Delta state, Dr Martins Mukoro, in a press release slammed Okowa for shedding ‘crocodile tears’ urging the people of the state not to get carried away by the subterfuge.

    Mukoro said Okowa’s lamentation was merely to prepare the minds of Deltans for another jamboree in the debt market, adding that he represented the misrule that had bedeviled the state in the hands of the PDP over the past 16 years.

     

    •Uduaghan
    •Uduaghan

    “From Gov Okowa’s days as Commissioner under Gov Ibori to his days as the Secretary to the Government under Gov Uduaghan that accumulated these debts , he has no moral excuse to attempt to distance himself as if he was an on-looker or bystander while the state was being wrecked!

    “Gov Okowa was not an onlooker but a key participant and a major co-conspirator in wrecking the finances and Economy of Delta State and he is in no position to rescue Delta from the mess created by him and the past PDP Administrations.”

  • What my experience in Agbor taught me about unemployment

    What my experience in Agbor taught me about unemployment

    Your organisation once held a programme in Agbor. What did it tell you about unemployment in the country?

    My first outing some years ago in Agbor, my home town, in Delta State was very revealing. I experienced firsthand the challenges of unemployed and unemployable graduates who were at a loss about how to begin life.

     

    What exactly is the mission IETA?

     

    The mission of IETA is to re-engineer small and micro enterprise value chain. Over the years, we have provided platforms for young people to express themselves and we are encouraged by the feedback we receive. I think to a large extent, we derive our strength from the fact that we have assisted some young people in discovering themselves and they have moved on with their lives.

    At the core of our mission is our belief that the solution to unemployment is entrepreneurship and this is captured in three perspectives: concept, capacity and capital.

    Entrepreneurship will not thrive outside these three things and we make this known people who pass through us. The truth is that most people believe that what you need first to do business and succeed is money. This is absolutely incorrect because there is more to entrepreneurship than funding. What this simply means is that in starting up a business you need an idea of what you want to do which forms your concept. Afterwards, you need to build your capacity which may require further education in the form of training or even coming to us at IETA where we mentor people. What follows next is capital which may come in the form of loan or assistance.

    Could you share you experiences particularly with regard to young entrepreneurs that pass through you?

     

    First, my understanding is that young people in tertiary institutions tend to believe that certificates are meal tickets to a good life. Over time, this belief has been proved wrong. But the most revealing experience I have had is that young graduates who come to us lack the necessary tools for life outside school.  Most of them had gone through school believing that one job or the other awaits them somewhere. But the truth is that there is no job anywhere, you can either create job or remain jobless. However, we have also discovered that some graduates believe that some jobs are beneath them so they look down on certain jobs. Part of our mentoring process is to let these idealistic young people know that there is dignity in labour; no job is beneath anybody who is willing to work. But more important, we have also discovered that many people have passion for entrepreneurship if only they have the right environment.

    Apart from the youth who are obviously high on your agenda, who again can likely benefit from your programmes?

    Entrepreneurship is not only for the young or those who are unemployed, it is for everybody. For instance, we have seen retirees who blew their gratuity in a matter of weeks and lived a miserable life afterwards. This is unacceptable in a thinking society. At IETA, our focus is human capital development, so who ever you are irrespective of age, sex or status, there is always a gap for entrepreneurial development. Take for instance, the public servant, part of our problem in public service today is insincerity and lack of patriotism. We know the damage corruption has done to our society today which has made nonsense of our efforts to build a great nation. This is why civics and ethics are taught in detail to those who pass through our programmes.

    How can Nigeria as a nation create more entrepreneurs and also address the issue of unemployment which is now global matter?

     

    As a nation, our biggest resource is our size. This is why practically anything sells here, from tooth picks, tissue papers and fabrics to phones, electrical appliances, drugs and even food items. In creating more entrepreneurs in Nigeria, we must therefore not lose sight of the fact that we must have up and running infrastructure, friendly government policies, eco business environment and enriched curriculum that would include robust vocational training. Ultimately, our desire is to get Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria my alma mater to establish a school of entrepreneurship which will serve as our pilot project.

  • Mbiama… Motorists’ nightmare on East-West Highway

    Mbiama… Motorists’ nightmare on East-West Highway

    Commercial bus/taxi drivers, travellers and users of the Benin – Warri – Port Harcourt axis of the East West Highway dread Tuesdays: The second working day of any week is not a good time to ply the busy highway and certainly not when you have to pass through the Mbiama Junction either to or from Port Harcourt or any other part of the Niger Delta.

    •Mbiama traders
    •Mbiama traders

    Commercial bus drivers know that Tuesday is a market day in the border town between Rivers and Bayelsa states and the traders from within and outside the area bring in their goods, from foodstuffs to household items, vegetable to cocoyam, potato and poultry products, to sell. Consumers also besiege the market in search of irresistible deals. So, Tuesday is a very busy day in Mbiama and traders come prepared; they have the six other days of the week to gird their loins for the hectic day.

    Unfortunately, like their counterparts in other parts of the region, the traders at the market are averse to merely trading in their makeshift stalls and shops on the roadsides. They relish the chance of taking over the road for at least 12 hours or more, once, every week. Their temporal ownership of the Federal highway however creates nightmare for motorists and travellers.

    Despite being only partially completed, travelling on the busy highway has improved tremendously over the past year with the completion of work on several hitherto notorious portions of the road and bridges such as the Umeh Junction in Delta State, Zarama and Sagbama areas of Bayelsa and others.

    Consequently, a journey from Warri to Port Harcourt now takes just a little over two hours on any given day of the week, except on a Tuesday, when it could take up to two hours to meander from the notorious Yenagoa Junction to the Mbiama Bridge across the Urashi River, due to the activities of traders, who defy all moral and safety logics to spread their wares on the road. Their actions narrow the available track to barely half, which buses, trailers, tankers and other road users have to sluice through.

    The travails of road users are further compounded by the deplorable state of that portion of the road, especially during the rainy season. Strangely, after working on the road to Yenagoa Junction, Setraco, the construction firm handling the project, skipped the areas around the market and continued working after the Mbiama Bridge.

    “It is like Setraco has ceded this part of the road to the traders and the people of Mbiama and left us to our fate,” a frustrated traveler who told our reporter that he had been at the notorious spot for over one hour, said to no one.

    Meanwhile, even the section of the road around the market that had been graded by the construction firm in preparation for tarring is also taken over by traders on Tuesday, thereby pushing motorists to the very worse section of the road.

    “The rainy season is usually worse because when it rains, like it did today (Tuesday, June 23), it is usually more difficult to move on the road because everywhere becomes marshy and dirty. The traders, in their desire to avoid the muddy poodles near the road usually encroach more into the road and take up space that we could pass through.

    “Also, due to the nature of this bad portion of the road, it is usually very difficult to know the bad spot, except of course, if you are a regularly user of the road like us (commercial driver) due to the flooding on the road. Even if you know the bad portion, you only have the luxury of avoiding the bad portion when there is alternative because it is when you have space that you can choose where to go through and where to avoid. Sometimes you just run into it and hope for the best,” a commercial driver with Agofure Motors, one of the prominent transporters on the route told our reporter.

    Beyond the menace of traders, treacherous road, motorists also face the rage of wheelbarrows and motorcyclist, who usually enjoy a field day every Thursday. These two service providers, in their desperation to outdo their competitors, move about with careless abandon and mostly run at breakneck speed through any crevice and opening in the airtight traffic jam.

    “Today is our own Christmas,” Ekon, one of the wheelbarrow-pushers told Niger Delta Report with a sardonic smile. “We don’t have oil wells; we are not politicians this is our own business and on a day like this we have to make as much money as possible to survive through the next six days.”

  • Edo community where poor, helpless kids get food

    It is meal time at a camp run by the International Christian Centre for Mission. Children dressed in tattered clothes lined their plates on the ground for the food to be served. After meal is served, the children sat in clusters while some took to under trees to savour the food containing bits of fish.

    Welcome to Uhogua, host community for the camp now housing 1,300 supposedly homeless individuals including children. Among residents in the camp are victims displaced by the Boko Haram attacks in Borno State.

    Inside the camp is a school attended by the children in their rags-like clothing. It is on an expansive land and some of the wooden structures are being replaced with block buildings. Many of the children looked sickly.

    The classrooms provided for teaching are untidy and small. Many of the children stay outside and learn from the window.

    According to the camp founder, Solomon Folorunsho, there were 400 persons being cared for at the camp before another 900 were brought in from the North East.

    He explained, “This centre is a place for mission work and discipleship and also to care for children who are in need from different parts of Nigeria. We ?have been in existence since 1992, catering for children from different villages who have been abused, oppressed and are orphans in the society.

    “We had about 400 children before we saw the need of children in the North East, whose parents were killed. Some of them ran to the mountains where they ate sand, stones and leaves. And there were some who started dying of malnutrition disease.”

    However, statements from some of the children who spoke to our reporter countered claims by Pastor Solomon. They said they were not orphans and that their parents are alive and living in Nigeria.

    One claimed that his father was told that Pastor Solomon was catering for children’s education and well-being which was why his father brought him there.

    John Wani said, “They tell my father that Pastor Solomon want to help children. They told my father to bring me. My parents are in Maiduguri, they are not doing anything.

    To Matthias who said he hails from Borgu, “My father is in Abuja. I came here to school.”

    A girl who gave her name as Martha said she hails from Kebbi State and that her village was not attacked by Boko Haram.

    “I came here for somethings like food, water and school. My parents are in Kebbi. I left because of school. My village was not attacked by Boko Haram.”

    Two little girls who were seen eating under a flower said they were four siblings in the camp.

    According to one of them, “I am five years old. I am in nursery two. My father is in Maiduguri.”

    John who hails from Maiduguri said, “I come to school here. Nothing happens.”

    David from Chibok said he left because of Boko Haram killings. “My parents are in Chibok. I come because of school.”

    On his part, David Moses said his relatives are in a camp in Taraba State but that they hail from Gworza. “I was in school when Boko Haram attacked our village. We are three in this camp. Seven of my siblings are in Taraba. I hear that Pastor want to help those who are not in school. That is why I am here.”

    To Pastor Solomon, “Some of them ran to Cameroon and I started getting phone calls there that we from the South here should help to rescue these children, as they were just wandering in the streets. That was what prompted us to set up a committee of pastors who located the children and brought them together to verify their identity.”

    “We have orphans and vulnerable children from other parts of Nigeria. I am a Christian. I grew up as a sick child and was a punching bag. I am a Nigerian and cannot fold my hands to see people suffering. We felt as Christians, we should do our little bits.”

    On how he relates with children who are Moslems, Pastor Solomon said he does not know whether there are any Moslems among the children.

    He said he has 89 support staff at the camp who are on pay roll.

    Several groups and individuals have started donating items to support the children.

    Several groups and individuals have started donating items to support the children.

    A former official of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Mr. Greg Abonoga volunteered one of his daughters to help teach morals aspect to the children.

    Mr. Greg joined the children on Sunday service and played music for them.

  • Group to Buhari: stop Amnesty stipends

    The Centre for Peace and Environmental Justice (CEPEJ), a Non-Governmental Organisation, has advised President Muhammadu Buhari to send all ex-militants and beneficiaries of the Amnesty Programme to a farm settlement where they would be useful to the nation and themselves.

    The group warned that doling out largesse to the former armed agitators and pampering them with political appointments and lucrative contract were dangerous to the economic wellbeing of the country and creating wrong role models for Niger Delta youths.

    CEPEJ CEO Comrade Sheriff Mulade said: “The Amnesty Programme is a Greek gift; we advise President Muhammadu Buhari to tackle head-on the fundamental issues of deprivation in the region as the only way to engender lasting peace in the region.

    “We canvass the adoption of strategic action plans for the massive development of the region, since the present efforts by the Niger Delta Ministry and Niger Delta Development Commission are nothing to write home about.

    “On the December deadline set by the Federal Government to phase out the programme, CEPEJ wants the President to carefully study it with a view to adopting effective and more pragmatic methods in discharging its functions.

    “We suggest that the ex-militants should be involved in mechanised farming, rather than dishing out stipends to them at end of every month without doing anything.

    “Beside, we implore the Federal Government to create employment opportunities for those who are undergoing training in various fields under the programme to give them a sense of belonging.”

    Mulade also called on the President to ensure that only credible persons from the region are appointed as Minister of Niger Delta Ministry and to other intervention agencies, such as the Amnesty Programme and the Niger Delta Development Commission.

    He said CEPEJ was not unaware of intense pressure being mounted on the President Buhari by vested interests and stakeholders who are lobbying for the nomination of their “candidates” into the strategic ministry and agencies.

    Mulade advised the President not to be swayed by sentiments and such pressure by bowing to the gambits of the lobbyists and their agents, but he should take decisions that would benefit the people and his administration.

    He said CEPEJ believed that only the appointment of grassroots persons with a grasp of the issues and problems of the oil bearing region into the various offices could bring the much needed impact and dividends to the communities.

    Mulade warned against the appointment of ex-militants and offering of such positions as political patronage as it could provoke and incite their ilk to take on arms against the state, because they would think that it is rewarding to be violent.

    He said: “We believe that appointing a thoroughbred to oversee the affairs of the amnesty office will go a long way to reshaping the programme and making it more result-oriented.”

  • Emotional farewell in Port Harcourt as Deputy Comptroller Umar bows out of NIS

    Emotional farewell in Port Harcourt as Deputy Comptroller Umar bows out of NIS

    Last Friday was a day to say goodbye for Alhaji Umar Ningi, a Deputy Comptroller, who retired from Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS).

    He fought back tears as he appreciated officers and friends who gathered to celebrate his exit from the service.

    Ningi said: “It is not about retiring but how I am going to miss you, especially your attitudes towards me which have made me to feel so much important today; you have surprised me.”

    Ningi, who was in charge of Human Resource Management at the Rivers State Immigration Command from 2014 till his retirement, said his relationship with his colleagues everywhere he was posted had always stood him out.

    “I joined the service in 1980 as an Assistant Superintendent.  I am very strong and healthy today even as I am retiring. To show you that I am very strong, the last time I traveled from Port Harcourt to Gombe State, I drove myself and I got to my state, Gombe, a very long journey by 5pm. There is nothing I cannot do as far as I am concerned. That is why I am very happy that God has given me good health.

    “I have served in 11 states out of 36, including the Federal Capital. I am delighted that in all the areas I served, I tried my best to ensure that I delivered. Sometimes the success comes with the help of intelligent officers that worked around me. That is why in Port Harcourt command, when I took over things was in shambles, but I told myself that it was time to put things in a right perspective and that is what I did and I am proud that officers can appreciate it even as I leave the service.

    “I am going to miss all the officers that worked with me, including the Comptroller of Rivers Command, who showed so much love and encouragement to me and other officers working under him.  I will continue to be grateful to God and all of those who have made my task easy while in service which led to so many results we have achieved.”

    The Comptroller, Rivers State immigration command, Mr Mike Longe, a lawyer, said Umar had paid his dues in the service as a diligent officer. He said Umar would be missed by his colleagues and the entire command.

    “Umar is an officer that was posted to work with me here, and I find in him a complete officer and gentle man. He is somebody who is humble and ready to learn to improve situation.  He is a level-headed gentle man. To a very large extent, he is very eager to not only get assignment but to get it done.  In fact, I must say that he is a born leader; he is an embodiment of what we think officers should do, especially in this era where things don’t go the way one expects them to go. But I know coming to this command he imparted greatly, especially in the human resource management where he was in change. As you see him, he is very strong retiring and not tired. I know that God will prepare a table before him.

    “I will say officers should follow his footstep and not see retirement as something negative; he went about his work diligently and calmly. If it is an era where people would be re-appointed on contract I think I will recommend Alhaji Umar to be re-absorbed with contract because he has those sterling qualities. If you see him, you would not know that he is the husband of a Permanent Secretary in his state.”

  • IYC leader bags award, raises fresh concerns on Niger Delta

    IYC leader bags award, raises fresh concerns on Niger Delta

    The executive members of the Niger Delta Youth Forum (NYF) were in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State recently. They came all the way from Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. Led by their President, Mr. Emmanuel Goodhead, the leaders were on a mission to honour the President of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Worldwide, Mr. Udens Eradiri. They came to bestow on Eradiri an award of excellence for his leadership qualities.

    Indeed, Eradiri has distinguished himself as a young, vibrant and proactive leader of the Ijaw race. In the history of IYC leadership, Eradiri has made a difference. He has refocused the council and repositioned it to actualise the dreams of its founding fathers as encapsulated in the Kaiama Declaration.

    Goodhead said: “We have been following your track records of achievements. It is for your quality leadership lifestyle. We have even following your strides in ensuring the development of youths in the region.

    “We have come to appreciate you for toeing the path of founding fathers of the Niger Delta struggle. You are one of the charismatic personalities in the region that have made things easier for the youths. Keep up your good work. You have taught us how to cross our Is and dot out Ts.”

    But Eradiri said he was receiving the awards with mixed feelings. He attributed the successes of his leadership on the cooperation of the Ijaw youths. He dedicated the award to them. He further used the occasion to comment on current issues bothering the region.

    Topping the list of his concerns is the current condition of the Amnesty Office. The IYC boss urged President Muhammadu Buhari to reactivate the office by quckly appointing a Coordinator for the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP). He asked the President to separate the office of the Presidential Adviser on Niger Delta from that of PAP’s coordinator.

    He added: “The programme is dear to us. It is building the capacity of our people. There are a lot of Niger Delta people scattered around the world and they are receiving qualitative education in various countries of the world.

    “So, leaving the office vacant is a problem. We know what we are doing in trying to manage our youths in order not to carry out activities that will draw the attention of government because we may not know the repercussions that will come. But the truth is that you cannot leave that office vacant.

    “Our people have not been paid for close to two months now. This style may lead to breakdown of law and order in the region. Therefore, we urge Buhari to quickly appoint a Coordinator of PAP This is because the office of the Special Adviser on Niger Delta is different from the coordinator of the amnesty programme.

    “In the past, the two offices are one, that is why it is being political. The office of the SA to the President on Niger Delta is political but the coordinator of the amnesty programme is not supposed to be political.

    “So, Buhari should demarcate that office, share it and let there be PAP coordinated by someone who understands the process while they can play politics with whoever that will advise him on amnesty programme.

    “I think if he quickly does that, it will reduce the pressure some of us are carrying in terms of trying to maintain the orderly conduct of Ijaw youths in the region.”

    He further lamented the travails of over 6,000 Niger Delta students on amnesty scholarship of the Federal Government in some universities abroad following the vacancy in the office.

    He said the management of the universities had started delisting the students because of the failure of the Federal Government to pay their fees. He urged Buhari to intervene to save the students and the country from embarrassment.

    He said the students’ problem was worsened by the vacuum in the Presidential Amnesty Programme office because of absence of an administrator for the programme. He said the programme was no longer functional following the absence of an administrator and urged the President to either fill the vacuum in the amnesty office or invoke his executive powers to save the students.

    He said there was intense pressure on him to maintain the peace in the region because stipends for ex-agitators had not been paid for two months. He stressed that they had been appealing to them to give Buhari an opportunity to run government.

    He said: “I want to use this opportunity to call on the Niger Delta leaders, well-meaning Nigerians and President Muhammadu Buhari to the fact that the cause of the vacuum in the presidential amnesty programme is as a result of the change in leadership.

    “It has begun to tell on the lives of our young ones that are undergoing university training as a result of the amnesty programme in various countries – America, United Kingdom, London, South Africa and other African countries where we have young Nigerians.

    “These young Nigerians who are undergoing education and training scattered round the world, because of the bureaucratic nature of the programme, the funding used to be month by month, most of the upkeep of the students is usually on a monthly basis.

    “But for two months now, the students have not been paid; the financial obligations to the institutions have not been met because the Federal Government is to do that on a monthly basis and so we have the shocking news that some of the institutions have started delisting some of the students studying there.

    “As for the UK, we know that rents are paid monthly and when the stipends are paid, these students also pay their rent. As I speak to you a lot of them now are being thrown out of their accommodation; they are all on the streets.”

    “We have been doing that with just the word of mouth and the goodwill we enjoy as leaders. But when government fails to do their own part, then very unfortunately, we will not be able to maintain the peace as it was in the last few months.”

    On the alleged random bombings of some areas in the Niger Delta by the military, Eradiri urged the soldiers to seek better methods of combating criminality in the region.

    He said: “Very unfortunately the military, (I do not know if they are doing eye service), in recent times, there are a series of bombings of the region to fish out pirates.

    “The Nigerian Navy is there, a lot of money is spent on the Navy. There are a lot of blockades in the waterways, yet pirates and kidnappers still have their ways, abducting people on the main routes manned by the military.

    “I think there is complicity. So, this pretext of looking for pirates and begin to bomb randomly is not accepted by us. We see it as a ploy to begin to move towards bombing people in the Niger Delta region.

    “We are saying that inasmuch as we condemn criminality in the region, the approach as experienced in the recent weeks is not acceptable because there are statutory organs – the Joint Military Task Force, the Navy that have been funded over the years to secure the waterways.

    “But when we begin to bring in the Air Force, then there will be colossal damage and at the end of the day our innocent communities will suffer for it.”

    He warned the youths to desist from criminality. According to him youths should not give the military any reason to attack the region.

    “So, if your a kidnapper, don’t use our environment to kidnap, if you are pirates, leave the Ijaw environment because we do not want a situation your activities which are not sanctioned by our people will begin to bring calamities to the Niger Delta.

    “I have been talking to many youths, we must give the current administration in the country the opportunity to express themselves and we begin to take them on their actions accordingly.”

  • Akwa Ibom governor’s wife advises women

    The National Council of Women’s Societies (NCWS) Akwa Ibom chapter has been challenged to engage in economic activities that will help re-orientate, rehabilitate and empower women.

    Akwa Ibom First Lady Mrs. Martha Udom Emmanuel gave the charge when she received a delegation of the executive of the association led by its president, Mrs. Mmeyene Nkwo at the Government House, Uyo.

    Mrs. Emmanuel said the group being an umbrella women organisation with over 140 affiliated groups needed to do more to create programmes that will change the status of women.

    She said the task of developing and empowering women remains the collective responsibility of all, calling on the group to be more active in the discharge of their duties and also work towards inculcating good moral values on teenage girls and women.

    On issues bothering the organisation, the First Lady assured that government was committed to meeting the yearnings of women in the state. She also promised to look into the group’s various demands.

    Mrs. Nkwo thanked the governor’s wife for granting the group audience. She also congratulated Mrs. Emmanuel on her assumption of duties as the First Lady of the state, saying that with her, the women were secured. She highlighted the aims of the organisation to include promoting the economic, social wellbeing and progress of women, youths and the physically challenged, with emphasis on education, training and empowerment adding that within her stay in office, she has been able to conduct 24 local chapters elections, visit orphanages in the three senatorial districts of the state and as well organise seminars/ workshops for women.

    Mrs. Nkwo solicited for government’s assistance to enable the group function effectively and also pledge their unflinching support and unalloyed loyalty to the administration of Mr. Udom Emmanuel.

    The highpoint of the visit was the conferment of the organisation’s Patron award on the governor’s wife .

    In a related development, the wife of governor also received the Cornelia Connelly College Old Girls Association at the Government House. Its National President, Mrs. Hannah Essien, said they were at the Government House to intimate the first lady, who is also an old girl of the school, on events mapped out to celebrate the re-union party for the old girls. She said the school having been a citadel of academic excellence over the years has produced worthy ambassadors in different endeavours.

    She said the group has achieved some results in the furnishing of the Home Economics department and the expansion of the school refectory while soliciting assistance for the construction of a two story building to serve as dormitory for the school girls.

    Mrs. Emmanuel thanked the group for the visit, saying that she was delighted to see some old faces she has not seen for a while. She thanked the group for their unflinching support during and after the elections promising that she would not let them down. She harped on the need to ensure that the school was restored to its glorious days, calling on the principal of the school to scale up disciplinary measures.

  • Politics of Omehia’s portrait and entitlements

    Last week the news was everywhere that Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike had restored  all the  entitlements  and benefits  of  Sir Celestine  Omehia  as a former  governor of  the  state. Indeed I was very happy that my uncle can now enjoy his entitlements like other past governors who have served the state.

    While I was still excited about the news, the governor took Omehia to the Government House, where he raised his portrait and hanged it among other past governors. That means visitors to the Rivers State Government House can now see the portrait and identify Omehia as the past governor of Rivers State. Of course, Wike will be described by Omehia and his loyalists as a man who is kind to their master. But most of us who saw what happened during Omehia’s electioneering campaign in 2007 and what happened when the Supreme Court gave Amaechi the mandate to become the governor will know that Wike is playing politics with my uncles (Omehia and Amaechi).

    I am putting this on record for the sake of my uncles and to avoid unnecessary hatred among their loyalists which the politics of portrait and entitlement is about to cause.  Like me, Amaechi and Omehia are  from Umuordu village in Ubima community of Ikwerre Local Government Area and  as far as I am concerned, Omehia does not need the entitlements to survive but Wike only enjoys the benefit of using my uncles for his political advancement.

    In 2007, former President Olusegun Obasanjo put a spanner in the works of Amaechi’s governorship plan with his novel K-leg declaration thereby temporarily denying him the opportunity of contesting the election of that year as a governorship candidate on the platform of People’s Democratic Party (PDP). To consider Ikwerre people for the vacant job, Omehia was considered for the job and most of us from Ikwerre ethnic nationality,  particularly Ubima community threw up ethnic sentiment and   supported Omehia as our brother. But Wike, who was described by Amaechi then as fearless, bold, and reliable political ally, kicked against Omehia’s candidacy.

    Just like Okrika is in the eyes of APC in Rivers, Obio/Akpor was hell for Omehia. Wike did not give Omehia a breathing space to campaign in his area. Because of Wike’s ‘hatred’ for Omehia, he vowed  to ensure Omehia would not become the governor of Rivers State. He promised Omehia that his supporters were going to vote for the PDP and get victory in the court for Amaechi .

    Omehia  sent some elders to Wike to persuade him to cross over to his camp but he refused. Eventually, Omehia served Rivers State from May 29, 2007 to October 26, 2007.

    Because of Wike’s contributions to the struggle that led to Amaechi’s victory at the Supreme Court, he became the first to be appointed into a political position in Amaechi’s  government as the Chief of Staff in 2007.

    One thing Omehia should not forget in a hurry is that most of the decisions against his administration, especially the alleged recovery of missing government properties and the order that all the past commissioners who served under him should return their official vehicles were all masterminded by Wike. It was Amaechi who pleaded with Wike not to enforce the witch-hunt. Apart from chasing those who served under Omehia, Wike also ensured that none of Omehia’s supporters got contract or appointment. We need to know that when Wike was working with Ameachi he had more power than the governor because the governor trusted him so much more than any of his cabinet members.

    In the 2011 election, Omehia went back to political field to try his luck. At that time he came under the platform of All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), his worst enemy was Amaechi’s campaign director, Wike.

    In Obio/Akpor Local Government where I covered the 2011 election, Wike personally ensured that Omehia did not have reasonable votes in all the wards . APGA party agents and Omehia’s supporters were brutalised by hired thugs. Some of the APGA party agents who escaped can attest to what they saw in 2011  under the supervision of Wike.

    So, who is deceiving who over the politics of entitlements and portrait? Uncle Omehia, you are a man of high sense of decency, the few times I have interacted with you showed that you are a decent man. Who knows what Wike has in mind for doing what he is doing? Just be careful; if Amaechi who trusted him so much could fall out with him, then you an old enemy must be careful.

  • NDDC inaugurates 500-bed hostels for UUTH medical students

    NDDC inaugurates 500-bed hostels for UUTH medical students

    It was joyful moment for medical students of the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital (UUTH) and the people of Use Ikot Ebio in Akwa Ibom as the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) inaugurate 500 bed-space hostels for UUTH medical students.

    Speaking during the commissioning of the project, the NDDC’s Managing Director, Bassey Dan-Abia, said the NDDC had inaugurated nine hotels in different universities in the last one year.

    According to Dan-Abia, when the present board came in, the contract for the project was awarded in 2004 with 19 others but the board placed emphasis on the completion of all on-going projects in line with the Federal Government’s directive.

    The NDDC boss also said the University and the host community would enjoy 500 KVA transformers. Also donated by NDDC is a 275KVA generator.

    His words: “This project started some 10 years ago with 19 others. When this present board came in, we placed emphasis on the completion of existing projects. As I am talking to you, we have nine University hostels we have commissioned within the last one year.

    “We had to amend the original plan because we noticed that the University had no access road and perimeter fencing. The host community and the University will also enjoy 500KVA transformers.”

    Also the Akwa Ibom State Governor Udom Emmanuel commended NDDC for the gesture.

    Emmanule explained that the provision of the hostels accommodation will go a long way in improving the capacity of the teaching hospital to train more doctors.

    The governor, who was represented by his deputy, Moses Ekpo said the state government being an agent of growth and development would continue to partner agencies of government so that the needed development can come to the state.

    He said: “With this project, the capacity of the teaching hospital to train more doctors will improve. As a people we are grateful to the federal government for the gesture. Together, as agents of growth, we will continue to bring dividend of democracy to our people.”

    The governor also appealed to host communities not to encroach on the land they willingly give to institutions of government.

    In his speech, UUTH’s Chief Medical Director, Prof. Etete Peters urged NDDC to construct a link road from the hostel to the teaching hospital.

    Prof Peters said: “This is not the only project that has lasted a decade. At the UUTH, we also have projects that are scattered all around. Please, also help us to intervene so that we can see the quick completion of the project.”