The Nation Newspaper

Category: Niger Delta

  • Oro Nation proscribes youth associations

    The Council of Oro Traditional Rulers (COTR), Akwa Ibom State, has proscribed youth associations which existed before March 21.

    The Council proscribed Essu Nlap Oro and the Supreme Council of Akpakip/Oro Youths.

    COTR is the the coordinating agency of traditional and customary administration in Oro land, which has  five local government areas.

    In an address titled “That the tail may not wag the dog” presented at its meeting, all former youth bodies were proscribed. The chairman of COTR, His Royal Highness, Ovong (Hon.) E.O. Isemin, said the Council took the step after reviewing and reflecting on events in Akwa Ibom  and the Nation with their implications for the Oro citizens in the last couple of weeks.

    “This endeavour has necessarily entailed the appraisal of the various institutions assigned the duty to develop, protect and project Oro’s interest at various levels and ramifications of their mandate.”

    The Council said after the review, it discovered that the State of Oro Nation is “strong, united and alert to defend and protect both the interest and core values which stand the Oro out from others”.

    The Council stated that there are challenges to surmount.

    The Ahta-in-Council gave further reasons why the associations were proscribed. They include rSampant factionalisation which engender violent confrontation and frequent threat to the peace; recurrent leadership struggle which subvert their roles as fora for unity for the youths; incessant allegations of extortion and other forms of corruption which undermine morale, loyal following and unity of purpose and lack of democratic principles and accountability in the operations of their affairs. Other reasons given were – neglect of regular report to and statutory consultation with Ahta-in-Council, visionless leadership characterised by absence of verifiable action plan for mobilisation of Oro Youths for meaningful development of the ethnic nationality and working at cross-purposes with the aspirations of Oro people.

    The Ahta-in-Council said all organs of the proscribed bodies cease to exist and directed that all documents and movable assets be deposited with the Council and also warned persons and organisations undertaking any transactions with the proscribed bodies to desist.

    The Traditional Council created a new youth organ for the Oro youths named “NLAP ISONG AKPAKIP ORO”.

    Interim leadership was also announced. They are: Victor Anwanakak (President), John Obisung (Vice President), Omen Bassey (Secretary), Kedrick Isangedighi Assistant (Secretary), Hannah Effiong Uye (Treasurer), Anwana Ikott (Financial Secretary), Esu Amba Antakikam Amba (Publicity Secretary), Eddie Ankwai (Director of Research), Iniobong Nyong Edmund (Director of Mobilisation), Victor Onomo (Director of Socials), Josephine Jimmy Ebito (Welfare Officer), Abia Effiong Bassey (Legal Officer) and Blessing Bassey Ekpenyong (Woman Leader).

     

  • Gains of hi-tech land management in Cross River

    Gains of hi-tech land management in Cross River

    Problems associated with land management have been greatly curbed. Boundary disputes have been greatly reduced. These are some of the gains of the Cross River State Geographical Information Agency since its establishment by the Governor Liyel Imoke led administration in 2011.

    The agency was to ensure that every issue relating to land management is streamlined and properly managed to eliminate all problems by digitally managing every issue related to land.

    Marking a huge departure from the past, one could get an electronic Certificate of Occupancy (CofO) just 21 days after application, the agency assured.

    A programme of the agency which had driven the successes it so far achieved has been the Systematic Land Tilting Registration (SLTR) which ensured that every piece of land in a jurisdiction is adjudicated and mapped in a systematic manner whereby the owner and neighbours are present to agree on who owns what.

    The chairman of the Presidential Technical Committee on Land Reform, Prof Peter Olufemi Adeniyi, said: “Once that is done across a jurisdiction, you will know that there will be no dispute because currently we do not know who owns what everywhere and so a dubious person can go and show somebody else land and want to sell it.”

    According to Adeniyi, with the SLTR where every owner would have a valid Certificate of Occupancy would curb such problems.

    The SLTR, which was introduced last year by the agency, aimed at providing land security for owners especially as the demand for land continues to grow in state which is fast becoming a hub.

    The Director General of the CRGIA, Dr Clement Oshaka, said: “SLTR is fast, efficient and innovative method for having the government formally recognise landowners rights to the land they are occupying, by issuing a CofO to every landowner in a specific area. This affords the owners more security for their rights and allows the land to be used as collateral for financing.”

    The success of the programme in the state had captured the interest of other states in the country who sought to emulate it to develop their own areas.

    For instance, a delegation from Kogi State was in the state to understudy the project.

    Leader of the Kogi team, Hajiya Ramatu Umar, commended the state government Cross River State government for the establishment of the agency which it said had recorded tangible achievements. She said what they had learnt, they would use to improve the situation in their area.

    Coordinator of the SLTR project in the state, Mr Augustine Ojeka, throwing more light said the project entails capturing every inch of land in the state through field work to form part of an overall cadastral system that would have all the land parcels in the state represented properly.

    “It is going to help in town planning, urban renewal, projections, and even help on issues of taxation and any other revenue issues relating to properties in the state.”

    The project aims to registering every property in the state, he said.

    “Thereafter they will proceed to making it possible for all who have been registered to get valid certificates of occupancy,” he said.

    He said the project which is a collaboration between the CRGIA and the Growth and Employment in States 3(GEMS3) was an intervention programme.

    “Being an intervention programme it is designed to be pro-poor to make sure that the poor man who has land to be able to have access to secure his land and have a C of O at very little cost.

    “When we came here initially, the governor was very appreciative of the concept. Getting to know what it is about, he granted approval and released some funding for it to kickstart.

    “GEMS3 is a project funded by the United Kingdom Department for International Development so they give some fund support for the project.”

    On expectations from members of the public towards the exercise, he said, “The members of the public in terms of requirement to get your property registered is nothing different from the usual practise where you are expected to come up with evidence of claim for a particular property you occupy. And every document relating to that property. In this case of SLTR, we ask you for such documents. If you have them, you present them. If you don’t have them, we try to go beyond that to see how we can establish the authenticity of your claim on that property. We capture every relevant detail including your image and identification.

    “It is designed to augment actually the normal system that is running in the CRGIA such that if there are subsequent transactions on that property, you can be sure that all documents generated relating to that transaction would always be tied to the ones that have already been captured right here in the system in the data base. So at any point references are necessary to draw on the database relating to any parcel of land, it would not be an issue of searching. You just go straight and get whatever history you need on that property and then it would now help in planning, decision making and any other administrative decisions that are necessary for management of such parcels of land.”

    “It is not just for property that has been developed. Every piece of land in the state is supposed to be registered even if it is half an inch, so long as somebody is claiming that land. Whether it is an individual, group of individuals, communities, even government property, we also capture them. They should be part of the database for reference purposes.”

    Adviser to the project, an American, Mr Stephen Calder describing how they work to get the area covered said, “Basically we work in teams and they go round every street from door to door and ask house owners to show their properties and they draw on the map and they fill our forms and verify facts of ownership.

    “We take pictures of all documents and survey plans. We take all that information and then we come in here from hand drawn to computer drawn. All the details are captured. When we are complete with this there is one more important step to embark on which is the public display. Larger maps are put along with the list of the names and for thirty days we put them in public places and ask people to go check the names to ensure we got it right. If you have anything to correct or dispute let us know. After that period if no one objects, it is considered to be valid and then the property goes to CRGIA after which it is registered. After which if the people come and pay a fee, the get a Certificate of Occupancy. They don’t pay for any of the work we do. They only pay for the C-of-O.

    “The difference in what we are doing is that before now it was up to the people to come and register their property and we call that sporadic registering, because it happens person by person and it is sporadic. But with this we register virtually everything. So it is a very valid exercise.

    “There are two main benefits. First you are securing your land. Once the government approves of it and has it stored, it is difficult for someone to dispossess you of that land. You are secure in your land title. The other benefit is that with the C-of-O you can use your land as collateral to obtain investment capital.

    “The people are receiving it well. In fact when they hear about it they come to us and say please to do theirs. They are always a few people that have distrust but by and large the response is very good especially as people get more aware.”

     

     

     

  • Otuoke…Where there is no opposition

    Otuoke…Where there is no opposition

    Senior Correspondent JOSEPH JIBUEZE, who covered the presidential election in Otuoke, the president’s hometown, relives his experience.

    It is not difficult to imagine the mood in Otuoke when the presidential election result was announced. Many in the small town would have shed tears.

    Before the election, indigenes of the town, where President Goodluck Jonathan hails from, were eager to receive him. They believed their brother and son would be re-elected. Their hope may have been buoyed by the fact that the opposition is virtually absent in Otuoke. Nearly everyone belongs to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    I was eager to visit president’s town. I considered it a wonderful opportunity to have been sent to cover the election there. The Ijaw, Niger-Delta town is about 21 kilometres south of Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital, and 120 kilometres west of the famous seaport of Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.

    The town is not populous (said to be less than 10,000), and it is not your usually bubbly city. Apart from the Federal University Otuoke, the town is just like any other village struggling to transform into a mini-city. There are no street lights leading to the town and business is slow. There are several commercial motorcycle operators on the road.

    I arrived Otuoke on Thursday, and was driven to the town by this newspaper’s Bayelsa correspondent Mike Odiegwu, who also showed me around. Everywhere was calm. I expected to find armed soldiers or riot policemen on the streets, but there were not. People went about their business.

    The residents I spoke to all expressed confidence that President Jonathan would win. They seemed to love him. Around the town posters and banners of President Jonathan and his running mate Vice-President Namadi Sambo hung at various locations.

    There was increased security in the town on Friday. Two Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) were seen on the Otuoke Road, one in front of the president’s house. The other was parked in front of Magels Resort, a hotel close to a commercial bank, the only one in Otuoke. A police chopper hovered.

    Then the D-Day came. Voting materials have arrived late at Unit 39, where the president voted. The materials were brought to the unit in Ogbia Ward 12 by 8.24am. By 9am, electoral officers were still sorting out and arranging the materials.

    Journalists, including foreign ones, arrived the venue much earlier, awaiting the electoral officers’ arrival. No fewer than 50 journalists were in Otuoke to cover President Jonathan voting.

    There was an awkward moment when the card readers malfunctioned as the president waited to be accredited. The president arrived at about 9.20am, but stood for over 45 minutes. Electoral officers battled to make the card readers work, but to no avail. At least three card readers failed.

    The president continued to smile as he stood waiting for the machines to work, but none did. Only his mother and his ADC were accredited using the card reader. The president stood till about 10.05 am when he addressed the media. Tired, his wife Dame Patience Jonathan sat down, fanning herself.

    The president chided the electoral officers for not starting the accreditation on time. He told the presiding officer: “I decided to come in a little late. I don’t need to be the first person to be accredited. You should have started before now. By 8am you should have started.” It was the first time I would stand so close to the President.

    After his mother was successfully accredited, he spoke to her in their local dialect, apparently urging her to keep her PVC and a piece of paper given to her intact.

    President Jonathan’s ADC handed him a phone, and he was overheard saying: “Chairman, have you been briefed about…? Across the country what’s the situation?”

    When he addressed the press, he urged Nigerians to be patient, saying: “If I can endure – you can see me sweating, then I plead with all Nigerians to be patient. No matter the pains we take, as long as we as a nation can conduct free and fair elections that the world will accept, that is what we should all think about, not the temporary pains individuals may pass through.”

    There was a large turnout of voters in Otuoke going by the population. Long queues were seen at the various polling units. It was learnt that 675 people registered in the president’s unit.

    After the president voted, Otuoke soon emptied. He left the town in a motorcade to Yenagoa about an hour later, enroute Abuja. Voting continued into the night, but result was never announced in the president’s polling unit.

    I was eager to send a report of what he polled in his unit, but I never got it. When the last person on the queue voted, the electoral officer announced that counting would begin, but a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) agent who gave her name as S. Otazi, complained that several people were yet to vote.

    The electoral officer then stopped the counting and returned the ballot papers to the boxes. There was no opposition; there were no complaints. No electoral observer was present, and no other party agent could be seen. No one demanded that result must be announced.

    At about 8.30pm, the electoral officer said the unit, in front of President Jonathan’s country home, was becoming unsafe and that they were relocating to a “safer place”. She and other polling officials packed the voting materials and were driven away.

    When I contacted Mrs Otazi on phone by 10: 59pm on Saturday, she kindly confirmed that results had not been announced. I later learnt that voting might continue until Sunday.

    On Sunday morning, I went to the president’s unit, but it was deserted. However, electoral officers and ad-hoc staff, mainly National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members, gathered at the Dame Patience Jonathan Square which had three polling units (17, 18 and 40).

    I asked and was told that voters were still being expected. But I did not see anyone voting. No queue. The Electoral officers who manned the president’s unit had changed location and were at the Square on Sunday.

    I spent about 30 minutes at the square but saw no one come to vote although ballot boxes were on display. There were no electoral observers present; only policemen, the electoral officers and PDP agents.

    Then there was a mild drama. Two people, a man and a woman, who I assumed were PDP agents, approached me and sought to know who I was and what I was doing. I was not surprised because people were also glancing at my direction.

    When I told them I was a journalist, the man said: “You can’t be here. There’s supposed to be restriction of movement. You’re only supposed to be here if you wish to vote. The result may not be announced here. Your presence here is making them uncomfortable.”

    In a mild threat, and which made me suspicious, he said: “You had better leave before they begin to think you’re an agent of the opposition.” The lady with her glared at me, and narrowed her eyes to see what I was doing with my smart phone.

    When I contacted INEC’s spokesman in Bayelsa Mr Timidi Wariowei on phone, he said he was not aware that results had not been announced in Otuoke. He also started questioning me when told him that electoral officers claimed that voting was still going on Sunday.

    He said: “There were some polling units that election did not hold on Saturday, and  a few units where election is going on, but it’s not a continuation of Saturday’s election.”

    When I told him that electoral officers were still in Otuoke, he sounded angry, saying: “You’re saying you didn’t see anybody voting, and you said election was going on! Please I don’t like this kind of story!” And he hung up.

    I sent him a text message asking him to confirm if results from the units in Otuoke had been announced, but Wariowei never responded.

    What transpired at the polling units in Otuoke no longer matters. Gen. Muhamadu Buhari has been announced as the winner and Jonathan has conceded defeat and congratulated his opponent. But it was still a wonderful experience visiting the president’s home.

     

  • An Elder’s naked dance

    An Elder’s naked dance

    A friend sent me a BB message on Tuesday afternoon. It reads: “New word now in the English dictionary: ‘Orubebe’ (noun): The process of trying to disrupt a smooth running process, especially through a fraudulent and dishonest means”; (verb): “to make an attempt to disrupt a gathering/smooth running process…” : E.g. Noun: The birthday party resulted in an Orubebe before the police intervened. Verb: Every time Liverpool fc is winning Manchester United, they always want to Orubebe the match.”

    The message came a few hours after Elder Godsday Orubebe, ex-Niger Delta minister and founder Glory Sanctuary Christian Centre (GSCC), Ogbogbagbene, Burutu Local Government, Delta State, danced naked in the market square without being ashamed.

    Orubebe made unsuccessful attempts to stop the collation of the presidential election results because defeat was staring the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the face. He enjoyed his naked show and was not ashamed. He was being beamed live on national television stations. He thought it was good for the cameras to record him; so he moved forward before making his point, despite being advised that he could be heard from where he sat. But, he wanted his face to be seen and ended up being the worse for it.

    This elder in a church of God cut a pitiable sight as he sat on the red rug close to where the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman Prof Attahiru Jega and other senior officials of the electoral umpire were, insisting the process must be stopped. He had started his theatrics first standing and when he seemed to be making not much sense to Jega, he sat on the red rug and for close to 30 minutes, he held everyone hostage and no plea could make him leave the stage. He screamed, shouted and giggled like a man desperate to have his way. His eye balls bulged as though they would jump out of the socket as he shouted: “No, we will not take this.”

    His eyes also spoke volume about the pains he was going through at the suffocating fate of his darling party under whose platform his dream of governing Delta State crashed like a pack of cards. He kept jumping up and down and raising his hands to drive home his point. All he wanted was for Jega to return to his office and empanel a body to investigate his party’s petition.

    He said Jega was biased against the PDP and deliberately not investigating the complaints about events in some All Progressives Congress (APC) stronghold. Orubebe, an Ijaw man from Ogbobagbene, Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State, who was born on 6 June 1959, could not stand the coming fate.

    He later apologised in an interview with reporters, saying he regretted his naked dance in the market square. He said his emotion got the better part of him. He begged Nigerians and the youths who look up to him to forgive him, adding that as an elder in the church he went beyond bounds. President Goodluck Jonathan’s commendable act of conceding defeat even before official declaration of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari as the president-elect must have made him feel like a fool. The man he thought he was fighting for knew it was time to leave the stage.

    Tuesday’s event or non-event was not Orubebe’s first ‘public show of shame’. His quarrel with boxer Bash Ali while he was Minister of Niger Delta brought him into ridicule. The contents of text messages between the duo became public knowledge and the sort of language Orubebe deployed put a question mark on his character.

    The crux of the matter between Orubebe and Ali was whether or not the Ministry of Niger Delta promised to sponsor Ali’s championship bout. Orubebe said he never committed his ministry to sponsoring the proposed Guinness Book of Records bout of the ex-World Boxing champion.  Orubebe, in a telephone interview with this newspaper at the time, said his ministry had nothing to do with sports. He added that all he did was to recommend Ali to the National Sports Commission (NSC). Ali, however, insisted he had a commitment from the ministry, through the minister, to sponsor the bout.

    Ali’s claim, said the minister, shows that he needed psychiatric help. Orubebe said:  “That man came to me with his proposal and I said these are things that can be done by the National Sports Commission (NSC). I gave him a recommendation note to see the Minister of Sports at that time.

    “Later he came to me that some people told him that the programme will be included in the budget of the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs.

    “I said if other people are lying, I will not lie. The Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs has nothing to do with sports, the programme could not have been part of our budget. So, it is not in our budget.

    “This agitation of Ali is dated back to the tenure of ex-President Umaru  Yar’Adua. At a point, he was so impressed with my assistance that he wrote a letter to Yar’Adua telling him that I am the only minister who speaks the truth. I still have a copy of the letter with me.

    “Sometime this year, he sent me a text that is it because he insisted on a transparent deal that the budget for the programme was not released? I asked: What has my ministry got to do with Sports?”

    “Bash Ali is a big fool. He is good enough for the psychiatric hospital in Uselu. I think it is a mental case and I want to advise his family to take him there. I am not bothered about what he is saying about me.”

    However, documents obtained by this newspaper at the time showed that Ali had a deal with Orubebe’s ministry to sponsor the bout. The ministry also championed the setting up of a Local Organising Committee (LOC) to stage the fight. Orubebe’s ministry, in a letter, asked the NSC to nominate one of its senior officials to serve on the LOC.

    In the August 27, 2009 letter, the Ministry of Niger Delta, wrote the Chairman of the National Sports Commission on its readiness to support Ali’s fight. The letter, signed by Dalhatu Sule on Orubebe’s behalf, reads: “I am directed to inform you that the ministry is in the process of supporting an International Boxing Tournament between Bash Ali of Nigeria and John Keelon of Britain.

    “We are therefore seeking for your nominee to serve as member of the committee that will work out the modalities on how to arrange and finance the tournament.

    “Your nominee should be an officer of not below the rank of Assistant Director.”

    In another letter, also signed by Sule on Orubebe’s behalf on September 8, 2009, Ali was assured that “a committee has already been set up to work out the modalities for the great fight.”

    But, after some months, Orubebe changed his mind. So, in a December 15, 2009 letter Sule, on Orubebe’s behalf, wrote the fighter that the ministry had no money to sponsor the bout, which it had earlier set up a committee to organise.

    The letter reads: “I write to refer to your letter of 24th November, 2009, on the above subject matter and to inform you that we are just a fledgling ministry that barely took off this year and as such, extreme budgetary constraints has been a problem to grapple with. In this regard, the Niger Delta Affairs Ministry would not be in a position to sponsor the historic boxing defence bout between Ali of Nigeria and Keeton of Britain. Please accept the warm assurance of the Honourable Minister’s highest regards.”

    It is not in doubt that Orubebe actually gave Ali the hope that the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs would support the fight. Why he had a change of mind is hazy. Ali claimed it was because of his refusal to part with some of the $14.2m allegedly budgeted for the fight under skill acquisition in the ministry’s budget, an allegation the ex-minister denied. The ex-minister said the fight was never budgeted for by the ministry.

    My final take: Though Orubebe has apologised for his naked dance, recovering from the shame of his action will take some time. History will surely record him and the verdict may not be different from what Wikipedia added to his profile some minutes after the outing: “On the 31st of March 2015, he attempted to disrupt the proceedings of the 2015 presidential election collation, but was escorted from the building”. And this verdict may overshadow his records in public offices, which included supervisory councillor in Burutu Local Government Area, local government chairman and minister. We should all learn to control our emotion and not be controlled by it.

     

  • Why last Saturday’s elections were peaceful, says Fufeyin

    ]Nigerians have been assured of peaceful governorship and House of Assembly elections.

    The General-Overseer of Christ Mercyland Deliverance Ministries, Prophet Jeremiah Fufeyin, who spoke with reporters in Warri, Delta State, said God’s intervention ensured peaceful presidential and National Assembly polls.

    According to him, God averted what would have been a  bloody election, adding that God listened to the prayer of Nigerians and settled all that could have resulted to bloodshed in the spirit realm.

    Prophet Fufeyin also told journalists that God had already revealed the winner of the presidential contest to him, but would not reveal them, considering the security implications.

    He said God had yet to reveal the winner of the governorship election in Delta State to him.

    He added that Nigerians should not expect so many surprises at the poll, noting that the outcome of the Saturday presidential election had been decided in the spiritual realm.

    “This is one of the most peaceful elections in the history of Nigeria. It was peaceful not because of man power, but by the intervention of God. My message to Nigerians is that they should continue to pray so that the election will end peacefully in the country. Nigeria is walking on the path of peace and progress,” Prophet Fufeyin, who is also regarded as Warri TB Jushua, urged.

     

  • 15km East/West road excites Rivers communities

    he chiefs, elders, women and youths of Eleme and Khana Local government areas in Rivers State  came out en mass to celebrate the inauguration of the upgrading of the Port Harcourt Onne Junction Kilometer O-15 of East -West road.

    The award of the road expansion and upgrading ceremony,  which took place at Petroleum Mechanical Junction, open field Aleto Eleme was awarded to Reynolds Construction Company Nigeria Limited (RCC). It was flagged-off by the Honourable Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Dr. Stephen Oru and his team in the Niger Delta Ministry.

    The minister and his team also use the opportunity of their visit to the area to officially commissioned Gwara electrification project in Khana Local government which was executed by the Ministry.

    At the flag -off of the road project, the Chairman, Rivers State Council of Traditional Rulers, His Royal Majesty King G. N Giniwa and His Royal Majesty, King Samuel Ejire of Eleme Kingdom lauded the Federal Government for awarding the road which they described as a nightmare.

    They said the people of the area would be happy if the road is completed, recalling that it takes the road ushers and the people of the area hours to get to their various destinations. They also plead with the contractor RCC to consider the nature of terrain where many companies uses heavy trucks to transport their goods in the construction.

    King G. N Giniwa said: ” I am very happy that Federal Government has come to rescue us from the terrible nightmare, we drive hours before we get to our destinations. But now that the road has been awarded I will advise that the contractor handling the project should be fast before the raining session. I and my subject have accepted the award of the contract to a reputable contractor like RCC; this construction company has been tested and known as the best construction firm considering the job they have delivered before now.”

    At the palace of King Samuel Ejire , the Oneh-Eh Eleme X of Eleme Kingdom, where the minister and his entourage paid a courtesy visit, the Monarch while blessing their step to the palace, said the people of Eleme are hospitable and accommodating. He advised Dr Oru to ensure that the contract is being handled with all amount of seriousness as to relieve his subject from another pain of this year’s raining session.

    The monarch said: “We are glad to have you in our kingdom, the chiefs and my subjects will not forget the respect you accorded to their king by stepping into the palace to greet the king. Many people have visited this kingdom but choose not to visit the palace. I want to inform you that this road has damaged to the level that as you go out there driving, people would be praying for you. I almost lost my life on the road, that is to tell you how bad the road is. I want to thank Mr. President through you for remembering the people of Eleme. Of course it is to be noted that the road you are about to put in a good shape lead to the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan’s home, and the President himself pass through the road when he wants to visit his In-laws, so it is very important that the road should be fixed.”

    Dr. Oru thanked the Royal Majesty for accepting them in his palace, he said they decided to pay him a courtesy visit to brief him on the reason why they are in his kingdom. He told the monarch that the occasion is designed to flag-off the road section III.

    During his speech at the flag-off, Dr. Oru said the East West road runs from Warri through Kaiama Port Harcourt, Eket to Oron with an extension to Calabar, adding that it is the major artery that support the economic activities associated with the oil and gas exploration and exploitation in the Niger Delta Region.

    “This section of the East West road from port Harcourt to Onne junction, it carries the heaviest vehicular traffic on the East West road as it runs through the industrial hub of River state. The activities of Port Harcourt refineries (old and new) Eleme Petro chemical, NAFCON, Onne deep sea port etc are all dependent on this road. This section of the road has witnessed unprecedented rise in traffic volume and heavy axle loads as a result of daily increasing commercial activities. In order to cope with this rising vehicular traffic trend, the Federal government under the present administration awarded in November 2014 the contract for the upgrading of this 15km section of East West road.

    “The works to be executed by the contract Messrs Reynolds Construction Company limited (RCC) include the following: (1) The Upgrading of the existing two lane dual carriageway to three lane dual carriageways from Eleme junction to Onne Port junction, with a total length of 15km. (2) Construction of 2NOs. interchange ,one each at Refinery junction and port junctions,(3) Construction of three traffic lanes ,10.95m wide divided carriageway, flanked by 2.75m outer and 1.5m inner shoulders; (4) construction of drainages and culverts (5) provision of asphaltic concrete pavement consisting of 250mm compacted thickness of soil cement stabilized sub base ,250mm to 500m compacted thickness crushed rock stone base material 120mm to180mm thickness of asphaltic binder course and 40mm thickness of wearing course amongst others; and (6) construction of deck-on-pile bridge between km 59 and km 61 on the new carriageway to provide ultimate solution to heavy soil subsidence frequently experienced in that section of the road.”The minister continued that the project which is awarded at the cost of N43,869,381,730:23 to messrs Reynolds Construction Company Limited (RCC) is expected to be completed within 18 months, noting that when this project is completed vehicular traffic congestion will be totally eliminated.

    “It is my pleasure to inform this respectable gathering that my ministry is working hard to complete the section I-IV of the East West road from Warri to Oron. Meanwhile, we have achieved 87% overall completion of this road. I am happy to also inform you that the Federal government has graciously awarded the extension of East West road from Oron to Calabar (section V). The contractor handing it, is Chinese Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC) Nigeria Limited. We have every reason to thank God for the administration of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, son of the soil, for identifying with the need to resolved the Niger Delta question as a solution to the enthronement of peace in the area.”

     

  • Cross River’s absentee senator-elect

    While people are celebrating or wearing long faces over the outcome of last Saturday’s Presidential and National Assembly elections across the country, the people of the Central Senatorial District are pondering how they will deal with the issue of an absentee Senator-elect.

    Dr. Rose Oko, who emerged the winner of the election on the platform of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to represent the district in the Senate, has not been seen in public since September last year. She is said to be ill and receiving treatment in a hospital abroad. She won  the primary election in absential too. Oko is the member representing the Ogoja/Yala Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives.

    The northern senatorial district consists of Ogoja, Yala, Obudu, Bekwarra and Obanliku local government areas.

    The controversy surrounding the woman started in the build-up to the primary election of the party last year, where many from the area believed she picked the party ticket under disputable circumstances.

    The general feeling is that she was imposed on the people by the government.

    In the campaign tours of the party moving round the state, she was noticeably absent. When campaigns for her were carried out in her district, it was done with her posters.

    Her absence  fueled rumours of her death. Stakeholders demanded her immediate replacement, but the chairman of the PDP  insisted she was well and would be back to the country as soon as possible. With the elections coming and going without her, there have been fresh concerns about what the situation exactly is.

    Coupled with allegations by the main opposition parties, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Labour Party (LP) that the National Assembly elections in the state was rigged by the PDP in connivance with some officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Tension is mounting in the area.

    Speaking on how she emerged despite resistance, a PDP chieftain, who chose to remain anonymous, said: “You know the PDP have structures there and those structures are what they used. You know also most people there are not enlightened. All they know is PDP. They don’t know if the candidate is alive or not. The thing is that the PDP has a style. They gave each leader in each area a polling booth to deliver. On that day they would do all they can to deliver that polling booth. They had money and foodstuff to induce people to vote for them, which is what they did. All the people did was voting for PDP.

    “Also most of them who are the enlightend ones in the party have their interest to protect, so they will just go along with anything. They felt that if the party’s governorship candidate, Ben Ayade wins, they will get one thing or the other. They are working for the government. They expect that if they remain in the PDP and do the bidding of the PDP, they will be rewarded.

    “A lot of people are unhappy with the situation but cannot fight the government. In fact, here they were happy and celebrating that the PDP lost at the Presidency because of this situation.”

    At the moment, what is of utmost importance to concerned citizens from the area is that they want to see the person that will represent them in the red chamber of the National Assembly in the next political dispensation.

    “Is it too much to ask that we know where our representative is and how she is? I don’t think that it is really fair on us the people to be kept in the dark about what is going on. It is an unfortunate development I must say,”Mr Charles Odey from Yala said.

  • Construction of federal road linking Otuoke begins

    Construction of federal road linking Otuoke begins

    It is called Kolo-Otuoke-Bayelsa Palm Road. It is a single 20km Federal Road but its dualisation has started. In fact, the Minister of Works, Mr. Mike Onolememen, was in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State recently to inaugurate the dualisation of the road.

    Dignitaries at the occasion were MD/CEO of the Federal Emergency Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA), Mr. Gabriel Amuchi; the Chief of Staff Government House, Bayelsa State, Tafford Ongolo; representative of the state’s Commissioner of Police, Moses Isua; the state’s Commissioner for Works, Mr. Lawrence Ewrudjakpor, and some traditional rulers.

    The minster also commissioned the newly-constructed dual carriage Mbiama-Yenagoa Road valued at about N2.4bn. Onolememen, congratulated FERMA for the construction of the road and vowed to bring federal presence to the state in respect of road infrastructure. He said the road would help in the movement of farm produce to marketplaces.

    He also said: “The Mbiama-Yenagoa road was in a pitiable state and the Federal Ministry of Works is by law authorised to build inter state roads.

    “The Ministry and FERMA collaborated to make sure the road was constructed. What infrastructures are to the economy of one’s nation are what the blood arteries are to the human body. Good roads promote commerce and social integration.”

    The Minister and his entourage then moved to Bayelsa Palm Roundabout where he perform a ceremony to kickstart the construction and dualisation of Yenegwe Road Junction-Kolo-Otuoke-Bayelsa Palm.

    The road is a section of the Yenegwe-Brass Road, leading to the oil rich Brass region. It is a 33.5km asphalt concrete single carriageway road with surfaced dressed shoulders on either side. The road also links Yenegoa the state capital with the eastern part of the state.

    The construction of the road was awarded to China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), one of the leading civil construction giants in China operating in Nigeria.

    The Minister who did not disclose the cost of the project said it should be completed within a reasonable period of time. He said it was part of the President’s agenda to ensure good roads across the country.

    “The people will benefit from the wave of transformation project.The complete dualisation of this road will reduce travel time. It will reduce cost of vehicle maintenance.

    “It transverses many communities and will help the communities to enjoy smooth transportation of farm produce to enhance social and economic activities within the project environs. The road will ultimately link to Brass. The road will be constructed in good time”, he said.

    Also, Amuchi, in his opening remark stated that FERMA strived to maintain roads in Nigeria in compliance with the President’s transformation agenda. He lamented the former sorry state of the Mbiama-Yenagoa road and said its dualisation had brought a facelift to the state capital.

    “Under this administration, major road rehabilitation and reconstruction of high bridges have been undertaken to this magnitude, successfully completed, timely and qualitatively at different part of the country.

    “The Mbiama-Yenagoa Road, route number 402 is a major Federal road that links Bayelsa State to the other parts of Nigeria through the East-West Road at Mbiama Junction. The road is the first gateway in Yenagoa, the state capital and other major towns in the state.

    “The entire Mbiama-Yenagoa road is 30km long with 4.2km single carriage stretch that connects Rivers and Bayelsa states. Prior to the execution of this project, the existing single carriage way had failed and collapsed at different occasions and the outstanding weight could no longer accommodate the weight of vehicles that ply the road.

    “The road was formerly congested and had a road side market. It was untidy and could not be called the gateway to a state capital or a federal road.

    “In line with the nationwide improvement of facelift programme of the Minister of Works,the road was approved by him for immediate action. The Minister has zero tolerance for bad road network.

    “The project was executed at the cost of #2,417,184,917,012 only. The road was completed within the design period of 19th June,2013- 18th June,2014”, he said.

    He stated that the government of the state encouraged FERMA to construct the road and advised stakeholders to join in the good use and maintenance of the road.

    Also. Ongolo, who represented the State Governor, Mr. Seriake Dickson, commended the ministry for its efforts.

    “The Ministry of Works has been productive under President Goodluck Jonathan led government. The President has made a remarkable difference in the construction of roads. The people are amazed at the construction of roads in Bayelsa State”, he said.

    He described the restoration government of Dickson as a lover of road projects and guarantor of safety.

    “Before now, the road to Bayelsa State was not a gateway but a narrow path” said asking the Federal Government to give the state more kilometres of road.

    “As part of Niger Delta, something more should be done for the state”, commending robust partnership between the state and the Federal Government.

  • Day thugs seized Bayelsa court

    Day thugs seized Bayelsa court

    • The Dickson/First Lady connection

    As it was in Ekiti State last year, so it was in Bayelsa, the state of President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday. In replica of what happened in Ekiti, hoodlums visited the division of the Federal High Court in Yenagoa, the state capital, with rage.

    There was pandemonium on Capt. Amangala Street, the location of the court. The thugs numbering over 100 stormed the court premises at about 10am chanting war songs.

    Mrs Jonathan
    Mrs Jonathan

    A judge was already seated when the thugs armed with different weapons attacked the court. They descended heavily on the judge and lawyers, including two Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs), Mr. Selekeowei Larry and Lucius Nwosu, who came for their various matters.

    The miscreants threw caution to the wind as they broke the doors, shattered the chairs and scattered legal documents. They shot sporadically during the attack.

    Judges and lawyers had to dodge various weapons thrown at them by the thugs as they scampered for safety. Officials of the court took to hiding. The commotion lasted for about 30 minutes.

    The court, which is located opposite the state office of the Department of the State Security (DSS), is also close to the state command of the Nigerian Police.

    A pregnant lawyer was caught up in the melee. The panic-stricken lawyer nursed her pains as she complained that her pregnancy was hit by the marauding thugs. The shocked lawyers packed themselves like sardines in the office of the judge where they took refuge until the situation was brought under control. But the police watched helplessly as the hoodlums had a field day.

     

    Reasons for the invasion

     

    Niger Delta Report gathered that the miscreants acted to stop the hearing and possible judgment on a suit filed by the senator representing Bayelsa West Senatorial District, Mr. Heineken Lokpobiri, against the candidature of Mr. Foster Ogola.

    Lokpobiri is asking the court to disqualify Ogola and declare him the authentic candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the senatorial district. Since the conclusion of the senatorial primaries of the PDP, Lokpobiri, who is seeking a third term in the Senate, has continued to lay claims to the party’s ticket.

    But the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) accepted Ogola as the winner of the senatorial primaries of the PDP in the district. Ogola has also been declared the senator-elect after Saturday’s National Assembly election.

     

     

    Mutual suspicion

     

    Prior to the thugs’ invasion, the camp of Governor Seriake Dickson, had accused the National Chairman of PDP, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu and the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan of plotting to substitute Ogola with Lokpobiri.

    Lokpobiri lost out of the primary election of the party which was held in Sagbama Town, Sagbama Local Government Area, where Ogola was declared the winner.

    The senator later began to drag the ticket after winning a parallel primary election, the result of which was rejected by the national leadership of the party. But a source from Dickson’s camp claimed that Mu’azu was later drafted into the First Lady’s scheme of seeking alternative ways of replacing Ogola with Lokpobiri.

    He said lawyers attached to the PDP and Lokpobiri took the option of reclaiming the ticket through the court and subsequently filed a suit to that effect. Among other things, the suit argued that Ogola’s name was sent to INEC in error.

    The case continued until Monday when loyalists of Ogola and members of the governor’s camp felt that the court’s sitting on the matter scheduled for that day was improper. They were said to have suspected that the court was planning to hand over the judgment to Lokpobiri through the back door.

     

    Lokpbiri, Ogola trade blames

     

    Larry, who led the team of Lokpobiri’s lawyers, accused Dickson of leading, sponsoring and directing thugs to desecrate the temple of justice.

    But Dickson, in a statement by his Chief Pre
    ss Secretary, Mr. Daniel Iworiso-Markson, deniedSenator-Lokpobiri the allegation, accusing Lokpobiri of trying to secure the PDP ticket with misleading information and outright forgery of party documents.

    Larry, however, said on March 27 when the matter came up for hearing, hundreds of thugs barricade the court and prevented it from sitting.

    He expressed shock at the mistreatment of judicial officials by the thugs and alleged that Dickson was shouting around the court premises that he would not allow Dame Patience Jonathan impose a candidate on the party,

    “While we were sitting in the court, I heard that the gate to the court which I had passed had been locked. We started hearing the voice of the governor who was there with his security details.

    “After sometimes, some senior police officers came but they didn’t ask the thugs to leave. The thugs invaded the court and started chasing all of us out of the court. It was the governor who supervised the sacking of the court.

    “Over ten lawyers including a pregnant woman and two SANs were chased and kicked by the thugs. The state Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) was there and he has already sent a report to the national NBA,” he said.

    But Dickson said what happened in the court was a clash between the supporters of Lokpobiri and Ogola.

    He said his intervention prevented the development from turning bloody, adding that his government would deal decisively with anybody or group of persons, no matter how highly placed, who takes the law into their hands.

    He said: “Reports have it that, supporters of Evangelist Foster Ogola were irked, when the Judge, who had earlier been petitioned over his lopsided handling of the matter, went ahead to fix hearing and judgment, without proper notification to both parties, even as the matter has been moved away from his court.”

    Dickson said he visited the scene of the clash in the company of some heads of security agencies. He condemned the action of Lokpobiri accusing him of trying to manipulate the judicial process for judgment to be passed in his favour, without the knowledge of the other party in the matter.

    He advised the judiciary not to allow itself to be used by desperate politicians to perpetrate injustice, capable of causing a breach of the peace, as was experienced today between the rival supporters.

    Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) Mr. Asinim Buswatt confirmed the invasion but said no arrest was made.

    “Before we could get there, they took to their heels,” he said.

     

  • Jonathan, Itsekiri and $16b EPZ

    Jonathan, Itsekiri and $16b EPZ

    The proposed over $16bn Delta Gas City Project located in Ogidigben and the Gbaramatu Deep Sea Ports in the Escravos area of Delta State have been plagued by what many see as avoidable problems. Intrigues and controversies led to three delays of the groundbreaking ceremony. Now, a section of Deltans believe that the ceremony might have become more political than developmental and there are fears over its successful take-off, reports Southsouth Regional Editor SHOLA O’NEIL

    When the idea of the $16 billion Export Processing Zone for Delta State was first introduced nearly four years ago, it was greeted with glee, back-thumping and eulogies for the federal and Delta State governments by the benefitting communities. It was touted as a magic wand to tackle mass unemployment, youth restiveness. It was also expected to bring prosperity to not only the state, but the entire country. But four years on, the debate over ownership of the land and alleged victimisation of the smaller Itsekiri host communities by their more populous Ijaw neighbours and kinsmen of the President Goodluck Jonathan have brought several dimensions and polemics into the project.

    The original site of the key project was Koko, an Itsekiri town and headquarters of Warri North Local Government Area. The home town of the famous Chief Nana Olomu, the famous Niger Delta nationalist, who put the town on world map in the late 19th century, is in need of positive development following the infamous toxic waste saga of 1987 and wanton destruction by ethnic militias during the Warri crisis. The town has significantly lost its attraction as one of the major port cities of the state. Massive warehouses built by companies in its yore days have been converted into churches and other uses.

    It was against this background that the July 25, 2011 visit by a group of foreign investors led by Mr Matouq Janna, Senior Vice President of Xenel/Safra Group of Saudi Arabi and PP Singh of Nagarjuna Group from India was received by indigenes of the town, including Chief Victor Nana, scion of the famous Koko patriarch, with fanfare and expectation.

    Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan was also ecstatic as he enthused: “The benefits are quite huge. The completion of the plants will lead to the employment of thousands of persons and many of them will be Deltans. So, we have a lot of benefits from it and there are several industries that will spring up from these plants. Industries that will utilise the bye-products and others that will make parts for these plants will also benefit… the future is very bright.”

    The hopes and expectation of the Koko people were cut short after the visit as they were told that the project would no longer be sited in their town. Information later emerged that the narrowness of the Benin River access to the Atlantic Ocean was the reason. Mr Paul Odili, Communications Manager to Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan, and a key member of the think tank, told our reporter that more than $1billion was needed to dredge and expand the river to accommodate bigger vessels.

    The unwillingness of the Federal Government, the Nigerian Ports Authority and other stakeholders in the project to commit the fund scupper the project. The search for a new site led to Escravos area, where Ogidigben, another Itsekiri community on the fringe of the ocean, was chosen.

    Nearly four years down the lane, at least three false starts on, people of the area are wondering if the project is jinxed. The latest bump on the long tortuous road was last Monday’s failure of President Goodluck Jonathan to perform the groundbreaking ceremony for the Ogidigben Gas City Project and Gbaramatu Deep Sea Port in Warri South West Local Government Area of the state.

    The March 16 no-show was the third of such disappointment: in November 2014 over 200 foreign investors, local businessmen, community leaders and the state government were left red-faced when the Ministry of Petroleum Resource, in a terse statement, announced that the President would not be in Escravos for the ceremony.  ‘Security report’ was cited as the reason for the abortion.