The Nation Newspaper

Category: Niger Delta

  • Evbuotubu prays for completion of Storm Water Project

    Evbotubu Iguediayi Community in Egor Local Government Area in Edo State could be accessed either through Owina, Ekehaun or Siluko roads in Benin City, the state capital. It is a boundary community between Oredo and Ovia North-East Local Government Areas.

    It is one of the satellite towns in the state and is expected to expand as population increase in the urban. Areas. However that dreams is being stymied by poor access roads leading in and out of the community.

    Residents of the area usually pray for the dry harmattan season to come early because it is the time when they are able to heave a sighs of relief from their difficult terrain. Niger Delta Report gathered that driving in and out of the community is a difficult task because all the roads leading to and from the community are in a bad state. During the raining season, it is takes dexterity and good knowledge of the ditches and ‘pools’ on the road to reach the community.

    Two major roads leading to the community from Benin City, the state capital and Iguobazuwa and other towns have collapsed. The perennial flooding and lack of access roads have also made it difficult for farmers in Evbuotubu to convey their farm produces to the markets. Apart from the major roads, all other link roads are impassable. Last year, the chairman of the local council, Mr Victor Enobakhare, released N500,000 to the community leaders. The money was used to provide temporary relief for the embattled community. It was gathered that fund was deployed to grade and sands fill three earth road and streets. The relief didn’t last long as the first two rains of the season washed away the effort.

    A residents in the area who gave his name as Sam said “government has abandoned the Community for a long time. When the Comrade Governor came on board 2008, he visited the Community and promise to fix the major road leading to the Community but that promise has not been fulfilled as we are still expecting him to do so”.

    However, our checks showed that the N30bn Storm Water project currently being done by the state government would helped solve the perennial flooding problems in the locality. Besides, the major roads leading the community are to be tarred upon the completion of the gigantic project.

    Government sources said Governor Adams Oshiomhole preferred to tackle the problem with a lasting solution rather than fall prey to past experiences when the roads are done but are soon washed away due to the perrenial flooding in the area. “It is better to treat the ailment rather than the symptoms”, our source stated.

    The Storm Water project is expected to tackle flooding and erosion problems not only at Evbuotubu but also at Upper Siluko, Uwelu, Uwasota, Adolo and its environs. Already, the flooding experienced at the notorious Teacher’s House axis at Upper Siluko has disappeared while over 50 landlords that abandoned their houses many years ago within the vicinity may soon return home due to the improved condition brought about by the project.

    Chairman of Evbuotubu Community Development Association, Mr. Sunday Osaro Evbonaye said government attention was also needed to repair many other deplorable link roads within the community, which were ravaged by years of constant exposure to flood water.

    He disclosed that that community added N3.5m to the N500,000 given to them by the local authorities for grading of earth roads. Mr. Osaro Evbonaye said cars given to youths of the community as part of youth empowerment have already broken down due to the bad road.

    He said the poor state of the roads contributed to developers’ unwillingness to acquire land in the community adding that plans were under way to open up an abattoir and a burrowed pit in the community with a view to creating employment opportunity.

    However, a top government functionary who spoke with our reporter on telephone, explained that the stae governor was determined to fulfill his promise to the people of Evbuotubu, stressing that the community is part of suburbs that would be changed by the multibillion naira project.

  • Project monitoring as catalyst for NDDC

    Project monitoring as catalyst for NDDC

    The first two weeks of 2015 witnessed an unusual flurry of activities in the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC. It was not unconnected with the determination of the management team led by the Managing Director, Bassey Dan-Abia to hit the ground running in the New Year. This was evident in its crisscrossing three states of Ondo, Abia and Akwa Ibom, monitoring NDDC projects and insisting on executing them according to specifications.

    The Chief Executive unequivocally stated that the era of the top echelon of the commission sitting in air conditioned offices day-in and day-out was over. He said: “the new NDDC requires that we move out of the office to inspect projects. We cannot stay in the office to develop the Niger Delta. We need to regularly monitor our projects to ensure that our contractors are working according to our specifications. I need to confirm that the papers I sign in the office are true reflections of what is on the ground.”

    The people from the oil-producing area of Ondo State had often lamented that notwithstanding the level of intervention made by NDDC since its creation in 2,000, oil bearing communities in the state have had little to cheer about the commission in terms of major capital projects that would significantly change their lives for good.

    Perhaps, it was the need to assuage the feelings of these people that informed the choice of Ondo State for the commencement of the inspections. The first port of call was the multi billion naira Ugbo-Oghoye Road in Ilaje Local Government Area of the state. The 21.4-kilometre regional road, with 4 bridges, would connect communities that were hitherto inaccessible by road.

    There was excitement in the air as the NDDC officials were taken through the sand-filled portion of the road to the point where the pilling for the first bridge was on-going. The project manager of the contracting firm, Engr. Sciandrello Emmanuel was happy to announce that Barr Dan-Abia was the first NDDC chief executive to visit the project since they mobilized to the site in 2011.

    Barr Dan-Abia, observed that the project was strategic and regional because it would link up with the Koko-Oghoye Road in Warri North Local Government Area of Delta State. He said that the communities should thank President Goodluck Jonathan for making it possible for the commission to undertake such a gigantic project.

    The NDDC chief executive did not fail to underscore the enormous challenges posed by the deltaic environment, prompting him to call on other Nigerians to show more understanding of what it takes to develop the Niger Delta. He said: “This Ilaje area is a typical Niger Delta terrain and I wish other Nigerians will appreciate the peculiar problems we encounter in the region. With this kind of setting, people should not be surprised that the cost of executing projects is usually high. However, we look forward to driving on this road to Ayetoro in no distant time.”

    Barr. Dan-Abia commended the people of Ilaje LGA for their patience and understanding, especially for providing the enabling environment for the contractors to do their work, which he observed was progressing satisfactorily.

    On hand to throw light on the construction work was Mr. Augustus Owowa, the project consultant, who gave graphic details of what it took to cut through virgin swamp land. “We have to fill up to 4 metres with sharp sand to stabilize the soil. Here we are working on the first bridge and we have drilled 63 metres deep, yet we are still coming up with clay soil. Such challenges will invariably lead to variations in the design,” he said.

    If the Ugbo-Oghoye road is filling the swamps with hope and anticipation, the 10.5-kilometre Igbokoda-Orere Ara road is a dream already realized. The 7.3-metre-wide asphalted road with side drains, has already opened up new areas for development as the road has been completed. The joy and excitement of the people was written all over their faces.  Barr. Benson Amuwa, the representative of Ondo State on the NDDC board was not an exception. He conveyed the satisfaction of the people for the road which has linked Igbokoda, the commercial nerve centre of Ilaje, to Orere Ara and other neighbouring communities.

    He further said that several other communities in the area were looking forward to the commencement of the second phase of the project which would take the road to Orere Ara town and beyond and thus give the people the full value of the first segment that had been completed.

    Barr. Amuwa also led the inspection of the 3-kilometre Ugbonla township roads also in Ilaje LGA. He said that the road, laid with interlocking stones had brought life back to the town, The Ugbonla Monarch, Oba Henry Ogunfeyimi, expressed delight that the NDDC had raised the status of Ugbonla and made it to stand out as far as basic infrastructure was concerned. He said he was particularly impressed by the quality of the 3-kilometre Ugbonla township road which he said had become a model for other rural communities.

    “We thank the NDDC for giving us the necessary amenities that are now attracting our people to come back home. We are particularly grateful for the internal roads and the solar-powered street lights,” the Oba said.

    In Akwa Ibom State, the NDDC team inspected several projects which included roads in Etinam, Ibiono and Itu local government areas. At the 15-kilometre Ikot Isong-Ikot Akpabio-Edemekpo-Ndoneyo Road, Barr.Dan-Abia expressed satisfaction with the quality of work on the completed section but regretted that the road was being threatened by erosion. He said that a ravine that has developed at a point along the road was not anticipated and was not factored into the design. He promised that appropriate action would be taken to protect the road from the threatening erosion.

    The NDDC boss remarked that the Akwa Ibom State Government had raised the bar in terms of quality roads. “The NDDC cannot afford to do anything less. Although we are not competing with the state government, we will push our contractors to march the Akwa Ibom standards,” he said.

    At the 10.1-kilometre Ididep-Ikot Odiong-Ikot Ibiono Road and bridge project, Barr. Dan-Abia said that by overcoming the challenges of hills and valleys along the road, the NDDC had demonstrated its capacity as an interventionist agency. He added: “The road traverses several communities in Ibiono which is one of the largest local government areas in Akwa Ibom State. Again, the road links up to the busy Calabar-Itu Road.”

    The NDDC team also inspected the 12.4-kilometre Oko Ita-Itu-Mbak Atai-Oku Iboku Road, in Itu Local Government Area. The project consultant, Engr. Eyo Peters, said in spite of the challenges of delays in the payment of compensation to some of the property owners along the road, all other things were in place to facilitate the completion of the road very soon.

    In Abia State, the team visited the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike. There, the Vice Chancellor, Professor Henry Edeoga, appealed to the NDDC management to speed up action on the 522-bed modern hostel it is building for the university.

    He said that the university had expected that the hostel would be ready for hand over late last year and had, therefore, admitted 6,000 students on the assumption that they would be fully accommodated. “The students have been on my neck over the accommodation problem on campus. They even threatened to pack into the hostel even as the remaining work on the building is going on,” the VC said.

    The Vice Chancellor thanked President Goodluck Jonathan for directing the NDDC to urgently complete on-going projects before embarking on new ones, noting that the university hostel projects deserved to be given priority. He also gave kudos to the NDDC Managing Director for coming personally to supervise the project to facilitate its completion in the shortest possible time.

    Dan-Abia assured the Vice Chancellor that the contractor would be funded adequately to ensure that the work on the hostel was completed as quickly as possible, noting that the commission had completed and handed over similar hostels in Imo State University, Federal University of Science and Technology, Owerri, University of Benin and the Delta State University, Abraka. “The university hostel projects are very dear to us,” the MD said.

    The Secretary to the Abia State Government, Prof. Nkpa Agu Nkpa, commended the NDDC for helping to address the accommodation challenges facing many universities in the Niger Delta. He said that he was directed by the state governor, Chief Theodore Orji, to join the VC in appealing to the NDDC to quicken the pace of work at the university hostel in Umudike as the only university of agriculture in the region.

    The NDDC inspection team had earlier visited similar hostel projects at the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital which was virtually ready for commissioning, as well as the one at the permanent site of the University of Uyo which has also reached an advanced stage.

     

     

  • Cross River community smiles again

    Cross River community smiles again

    They waited on the government to provide them with this basic amenity to no avail. All appeals and complaints they made seemed to fall on deaf ears. The Ikpa-Omin and Bakoko community in Calabar Municipality of Cross River State, had been without electricity for the past three years.

    After futile attempts to get help from government, they had to resort to self-help provided by one of their own.

    Philanthropist and community leader Ebenezer Ika-Bassey Okene, following appeals by members of the community,  came to their rescue by providing a transformer to light up the community.

    Niger Delta Report spoke with Okene, a businessman, who trades on palm oil on why he decided a a project which normally would be considered a huge one for an individual. According to him, “I chose to do that because I have seen the suffering of my people. I have seen the government of the state are not helping the issue of my own people in this community. So for me to relieve government I decided to relieve a part of their load by handling my people with the little strength I have.

    “The community is now benefiting from the light they have been crying out for over the years now. We wrote to local government, house of assembly and other relevant agencies, no way. So I said let me see what I can do for my people.”

    Elated members of the community expressed relief at the development which they said would make life a whole lot easier for them.

    One the residents, Mr Eze Nnanna Ikoku, said: “I have been in this community for over 20 years. For the past three years we have been suffering because of no light and our businesses have been going down. The cost of running our business was so high because we had to be running strictly on petrol. And to run a business a day you have to buy petrol worth thousands of naira every day. At the end of the day you don’t get anything.

    “But since the cry of the people got to our leader Ebenezer, we made our position known to him and he promised us until last December he brought a new transformer to us and it was powered and the whole community rejoiced and our businesses are waxing stronger now so that we can make N1000 and run expense of N100. You can now have N900 as your saving for the day. From this we can pay our revenue at ease compared to when we were buying petrol all the time and at the end we end up borrowing to pay government revenue.

    “As things are now, people within Ikpa-Omin and Bakoko communities will run businesses and other services successfully if it has to do with light. So at this point I want to say our leader has tried for his communities.”

    A fashion designer in the community, Princess Nsa Victor Bassey, was also grateful that the development was going to improve her business.

    Bassey, a widow, said: “He is a brother to all of us. He has done so much about the well-being of this community. Concerning the light we were in darkness for years and with his help we now have steady power and secured it. May God continue to bless him.”

  • Dear Oga Bature

    When you assumed office last year after Brother Johnson (AIG Tunde Johnson Ogunsakin) was promoted, I wrote you a letter. I remember ending the latter by saying; I sure will write you again. The time has come.

    Rivers State, where you are the Commissioner of Police, is a place the American Ambassador to Nigeria, James Entwistle, has visited twice in the last few weeks. His mission: how to ensure elections in the state is peaceful.

    Permit me to quote copiously from my column last week to bring you to speed on the situation in your station.

    For weeks now, men without spine, men of brawn—and please permit me to add— who lack humanity and conscience have put Rivers State, the Lagos of the Southsouth, on the spot. It is either they are shooting guns or they are throwing bombs. And when they do it, they hide their face. They act under the cover of the dark and daylight.

    Aside guns and dynamites, they also use machetes and other dangerous weapons. Heads have been broken. Necks have been twisted. Arms have had hot leads pumped into them. And there was a woman whose back was reshaped with bullets. It is simply a tale of blood.

    The other day, I received the picture of a man on a hospital bed somewhere in dear Rivers. Blood was gushing out of the middle of his head. It looked as though his skull was broken. His name, I found out, is Emenike. In the picture, he looked dead. In fact, he was reported dead and condolences were sent to his friends and families. The picture was to illustrate a story for the next day’s edition of this paper. But, we simply could not use it. It was gory. My Editor, Gbenga Omotoso, cringed on seeing the picture and simply screamed: “we can’t use this. It is gory.”

    He was not the only one attacked that day.  Others were too. They were at a meeting when they were swooped on by men of low moral standing, men who are so-called because of their physical possessions.

    It is baffling why anyone will agree to be anybody’s thugs. Poverty of the mind seems to be the only reason I can think of. Regular poverty does not explain to me why a man, whose children are probably abroad having the best of education or attending one British or American international school in Lagos or Togo, will turn another man’s children into thugs after arming them with guns, dynamites and machetes and some miserable cash that cannot take him out of poverty. These little tin gods sit on their wooden thrones and dish out evil instructions.

    There is an interesting ring to the violence in Rivers. Jerry Needam, who speaks for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, alleged that the Chief of Staff to Governor Rotimi Amaechi, Chief Tony Okocha ordered political thugs and APC supporters to attack a former chairman of Obio/Akpor Local Government, Timothy Nsirim at a function in Rumueme. Needam described the alleged attack on as “criminal, barbaric and animalistic”.

    Nsirim, he claimed, was physically battered by Okocha and sustained major injuries all over his body and had his clothes torn to shreds. “The PDP therefore, calls on the Inspector General of Police, IG and the Rivers Commissioner of Police, CP to arrest and prosecute Tony Okocha. The party also describes Okocha as lawless, blood thirsty and one if not tamed, would cause crisis in Rivers State, ahead of the general elections,” he said.

    But Nsirim’s father who is the King of Rumueme community, Nyeweli Omunakwe Nyeche Nsirim, accused his son of using thugs to disrupt the All Progressives Congress (APC) rally. According to him, the APC stalwarts in the community had duly obtained the blessing of the chiefs of the community to organise their political rally. He described as false the claim by the PDP that Okocha and other APC supporters attacked the former council chairman. The question I ask is: Is the traditional ruler lying against his son?

    It is gratifying though that Police Commissioner Dan Bature has condemned acts of violence. He even called a meeting of the leaders of the major political parties in the state. The PDP and APC traded words at the meeting. Bature has vowed to unleash the law on offenders. We are watching.

    One thing is clear, the bulk of those at the receiving end of the madness in Rivers are of the APC. The PDP says the APC is the one throwing the dynamites and attacking its own to buy sympathy. Really? Several APC supporters on their way to the official flag off of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari’s presidential campaign in Port Harcourt were attacked by masked gunmen near Harry’s Town, in Degema and Sakpenwa, in Tai. The cowards were not bold enough to do it without hiding under face masks. They left many unconscious and in their pool of blood and fled into anonymity to spend the filthy money from their cowardly masters.

    Ask Aadum Pya-Alu , Deemua Beatrice, Sorbari Npebee, Barbe Jack, Victory Vinam and Wisdom Akpogbara and they will tell you tales that not only touch the hearts but break them.  Pya-Alu’s leg shot by the cowards tell all the story; Beatrice’s back-arm can never forget the day hot leads were pumped into it; Npebee, who was shot in the head and neck, is lucky to be alive to tell the story; and elated is Jack for not dying as a result of the gun-attack on his stomach; so is Vinam, who was shot in the leg; and Akpogbara must be thanking God that the bullet he received on the head for daring to identify with Gen. Buhari’s aspiration did not kill him. One wonders what they think about the police’s claim that they were victims of armed robbery, yet their valuables were not taken.

    Sir, whatever happens during and after the elections in Rivers will form a chapter in your biography. So, it is your responsibility to ensure you are fair to all. I hear weapons have been amassed to cause trouble in the state. It is your duty to frustrate the plans of the evil ones. Do not allow the agents of the devil to have their ways. Cage these men who will arm another man’s child with guns, dynamites and cudgels to kill and maim— all in the name of politics. Shame them and see to it that the people’s will prevails.

    Bye for now Oga Bature.

     

     

  • Warring Rivers communities give condition for peace

    Warring Rivers communities give condition for peace

    The people of  Ekporo and Ogu, two neighboring communities in Eleme and Ogu/Bolo local government areas of Rivers State, have for several years been fighting over the ownership of a boundary land.

    However, Niger Delta Report gathers that hope for return of peace to the crisis of ravaged area has brightened, as both communities have resolved to end the killings and self-inflicted devastation to pave the way for peace.

    The Paramount Ruler of Ekporo Community, His Royal Highness, Chief Samuel Obe, like most of his subjects, has great expectation and hope about the deal. He said after several killings, destruction of property and bitterness between the two communities, the Police Committee has succeeded in creating a congenial atmosphere between the two rival communities.

    He said as the traditional ruler of Ekporo, he is representing his people in the peace deal  while  the Chairman of Ogu/Bolo Council of Chiefs, Chief Mark Derefaka is the representatives Ogu.

    The monarch noted that both parties have agreed to meet, on peaceful resolution of the misunderstanding.

    He said: “But the position of both communities will serve as panacea to enduring peace and security in the area. One of the position is that the State Boundary Adjustment Commission should be prevailed upon to critically and expeditiously look into the land dispute in conjunction with the representatives of the two communities and their Local Government Chairmen, with a view to arriving at a consensus and permanently laying this land dispute to rest in the interest of all. All necessary arrangement should be made for the people of Ekporo to return to their community and settle down.

    “The remains of persons who lost their lives in the communities as a result of the crisis that are still in various mortuaries must be urgently buried with security agents to be present to monitor the burial ceremonies on both sides. This will help to calm down frayed nerves. The two Local Government Councils Eleme and Ogu/Bolo should undertake to bear the cost of befitting burials for the dead on each side.”

    The monarch said some of the basic things demanded by Ekporo people include: the end of   series of attacks on them and their lands which have been allegedly grossly trespassed and forcefully taken by the Ogu people.

    “They claim that their sons were murdered in the seventies and nineties and last year, 2013. They stated also that in the course of the crises, their houses, farm lands and crops were destroyed. We want immediate arrest of the persons listed in their several petitions before the Rivers State Police Command and commencement of full scale and thorough investigations of same.  We want immediate stopping and removal of building and other structures on Ekporo land by the Ogu people.  Utter displeasure over use of the name “kporo” while referring to Ekopro (Ancient) community by Ogu people. (4) The establishment of a special security post for the safety and protection of Ekporo people.”

    Conversely, the Ogu people, through Chief Derefaka, demanded that firstly, one Inspector Franklin Nwiba of Ekporo who allegedly  Pastor John Isaac and kidnapped others should be arrested and prosecuted. Secondly, that Ekporo should finance the burial of Pastor John Isaac while the three kidnapped Ogu people should be released to them.

    “Ekporo should stop disturbing Ogu whenever they are carrying out developmental projects and to confine themselves to settlement 99 and not to encroach on settlements 96, 97, 98, 100, 101. (4) That Ekporo should be made part of Ogu/Bolo LGA for permanent peace to reign.  Since settlement 99 is Okirika territory on Ogu land. Ekporo to respect the Federal Supreme Court Judgment of 1958, and finally, that any peace agreement reached in this discussion panel should be signed by both parties for permanent peace to reign in the area.”

    After listening to both parties the committee recommended that all necessary arrangement should be made by government through the assistance of security agencies for the people of Ekporo to return to their community and settle down. They also agreed that the remains of persons who lost their lives in the communities as a result of the crisis, that are still in various mortuaries must be urgently buried with security agents to be present to monitor the burial ceremonies of  both sides.

    It was noted that the two local government councils – Eleme and Ogu/Bolo – should bear the cost of befitting burials for the dead on each side. And that the ongoing inter-community peace discussion process be closely monitored by the Rivers State command Intelligence Bureau and the progress reported to the Commissioner of Police for necessary action.

    NDR though noted that the stern proviso by both parties, has led to concern that the return of total peace may yet be a long way away. A source close to the both sides revealed that the positions canvassed have been the same over time. But this has failed to dim the hopes of indigenes of both communities, particularly those who have been living in exile and pains since October 2013 when the last crisis broke out in the area.

    The Amanyanabo of Ogu Kingdom, His Royal Majesty N.D. Ibiebele Nimenibo, Loko IX, was also optimistic about the deal as he revealed that his kingdom has continually sought for the peace.

    “Why can’t we  seek for peace,  my  daughter  is married to an Eleme man that means nothing could make me  not to accept peace deal by anybody to return peace in the area.  Each time there was crisis I will always plead with the youths of my kingdom not to return evil for evil even when Ekporo people are the ones causing trouble against my people.  The last attack that took place in the community I went to the media houses to announce that the people of Ekporo should come back to the community.  Ekporo is a neighbouring community before now we lived like brothers.  As the king of my kingdom I can testify anywhere that their fathers before the war and immediately after the war, we were living as one and peaceful neighbours.”

  • 2015: Stakeholders in Niger Delta demand a violence free election

    2015: Stakeholders in Niger Delta demand a violence free election

    Stakeholders and Nongovernment Organisations in the Niger Delta gathered in Port Harcourt, Rivers State on Tuesday to discuss how to achieve a violence-free election in Nigeria. South /South Regi

    The Niger Delta Peace and Security Working Group (NDPSWG), a coalition of about 40 civil society organisations working in nine Niger Delta states, concluded a one-day workshop tagged, “Stakeholders Responsibilities During the 2015 General Elections in Nigeria”, on Tuesday. The event was held at the office of the Foundation for Partnership Initiative in the Niger Delta, an NGO funded by American oil giant, Chevron Nigeria Limited, which facilitated it.

    At the workshop, stakeholders brainstormed on how to avoid a repeat of 2011 election’s crisis in 2015, which was mostly characterised by violence and bloodshed. It attracted the representatives of civil society groups, representatives of NGOs, Chief Security officers (CSO) of various groups and organizations and the representative of political parties.

    Some of the stakeholders noted that although the gathering was a good idea, they said it was not timely considering that the general elections were just few weeks away for the resolutions taken to make a strong impact on the electorates and key players in the election exercise. Yet, it was generally agreed by speakers and attendees that the effort of the facilitators (PIND) should be commended. Stakeholders and keyplayers in the process were urged to make use of the available opportunity to educate the public on the possible ways to eradicate violence from the election and the society.

    In his remarks PIND team leader, Mr. Michael Gonzalex, explained that the essence of the stakeholder gathering was to proffer solution to save lives by bringing stakeholders together, from Chief Security Officers (CSO) NGO and government partnership into one forum so that we can discuss issues relating to election violence.

    “This forum (NDPSWG) met in October last year to work on 2015 election scenario. Over 50 NGOs came together to analyze the 2011 election violence. So we said something must be done to minimize the 2015 election violence that is why we are here. The forum today is to bring the critical stakeholders from the local communities in the Niger Delta region to create awareness and hopefully to save lives during this election period.”

     

    The Chairman, National Association of women Journalist Mrs Lillian Okonkwo, in a paper titled “Violence During 2011 Election”, reminded the stakeholders that the 2011 election was characterized by high incidents of rape, intimidation, assassination, physical attacks, fights, clashes and counter-attacks, stating: “Youths in gangs were mobilized to disrupt the campaigns of opponents; there was power tussles between political chieftains leading to deaths. Political attacks of candidates and their supporters. There was also destruction of billboards, party offices, cars, houses, business establishments. Don’t forget, there was sexual harassments and threats to the lives of female aspirants/candidates.”

    Ms Okonkwo also noted that in 2011 election there was less awareness in the area of health or how to take care of those affected in election violence. She insisted that government must deploy health personnel at various wards and LGAs to take care of victims of attacks during and after election.r

    “That there must be ambulances, emergency units in all the local governments in the state including wards in case of violence. Look, violence is inevitable, there must be attack on the opponents, there must be ballot box snatches, it may be INEC officials or party supporters but it must occur. We should be proactive, and deploy medical personnel in all the areas where violence is likely to occur. In 2011 a lady was kidnapped a day before election, she said she was tied and later released after the election. Of course, violence is not only physical attack. Secondly we must protect the journalist; there must be life insurance for all journalists who intend to cover the 2015 election.”

    Another speaker, Egondo Ogbalor of Community Initiative for Enhanced Peace and Development who spoke on “Conflict Drivers and Area at Risk” indentified youths’ unemployment, poverty and monetary inducement as factors that contribute to election violence. She also said the emergence of strong opposition party and the struggle for political supremacy has in many time led to violence.

    She revealed that large amount of light weapons in the region and the increase in cultism/gang membership in our various communities must be identified as a serious factor of election violence. “Apart from these factors we have looked at various factors like gender, health, peace building, governance, youths and economic development. On the issue of gender we are asking what security measures are there for female electoral officers, observers, and candidates? What measures are political parties putting in place to protect the interests and lives of female candidates?

    “Health is very important but how ready is the health system to respond to the increased turnover of patients who may be victims of electoral violence? What should the health system do differently? How will services be provided in rural areas? On the issue of peace building what structures are in place to address post-election violence at the local levels (i.e., riverine and village communities)?

    “It is also important to look at the governance, what measures have the LGAs put in place to forestall violence in the forthcoming elections? What roles will local governments play to reduce electoral malpractice (e.g., ballot box snatching, voters intimidation, etc.)? We should also ask what are youth organizations doing to prevent youth involvement in electoral violence and lastly is economic development and we want to know what measures are in place to secure businesses from disruption as a result of post-election violence, arson and looting?”

    Mr. Terry Lacey, team leader Market Development in the Niger Delta, in his contribution noted that idleness is one of the factor that make young people see violence as an avenue to earn a living. He said if the Nigeria government could diversify the economy and invest heavily in agriculture, many youths would be engaged and their attention re-direct from violence to productive ventures.

    Lacy said: “The focus is to look at the market structure in the Niger Delta region and look at ways to develop critical sector like agriculture that could employ more youths to redirect their thinking from violence. We are looking at how Rivers State will produce ten thousands tons of fertilizer annually. Now the question is how do we bring this development so that young people will embrace it? If the youths will generate more income in this area, them they will disregard some of the things they see as worrisome. If the youths are properly engaged making money for themselves they will feel a little better about their communities and they will be interested to contribute to community development.

    “If the youths are jobless they will see crime as an alternative, until the youths think positive about their country they will not stop crime. Nigeria is doing better than other African countries, though she suffered bad publicity from the local media which affect her international relation. If we want violence free election the Nigeria newspapers must play a critical role to protect the image of the country.”

    At the end of the workshop, stakeholders agreed, after reviewing the 2011 elections, that the violence experienced in 2011 was post-election and that there is the need to put measures in place to prevent a re-occurrence. They called on all stakeholders especially youths not to allow themselves to be used to perpetrate violence during and after the 2015 elections. They noted that if the measures put in place do not totally forestall violence in 2015, then adequate proactive response mechanisms must be put in place to minimise unnecessary loss of lives and property and provide remedy for the wounded and traumatized especially the marginalized and vulnerable.

    Participants pointed out that as it was in 2011, the early warnings signs were very visible but that responses were reactionary, poor, ineffective and limited, adding, “And in 2015, the early warning signs are ominous and the Peace Accord signed by the Presidential candidates of the parties must be enforced.” They commended the move by the initiators of the peace accord, but urged them to put measures in place to ensure compliance.

    They called on the relevant government agencies to put measures in place to prevent the outbreak of violence during elections. They suggested the need for the government to revisit the Justice Uwais Panel report on elections in Nigeria and explore the potentials of implementing some of the recommendations especially the establishment of the Electoral Offences Commission.

    It was also observed that there is dearth of adequate response mechanisms for the wounded in case of mass violence and called on the authorities to support and encourage the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) with adequate logistics to be able to play this role since the corps has shown that it is capable of responding to such complex emergencies and to minimize the pressure faced by the police.

    It was agreed that INEC, NEMA, NOA and other relevant agencies should establish and educate the public on who and what agencies to contact in the case of emergencies during elections since movement is restricted during the period, remarking that many lives have been lost due to delays in responding to these emergency situations.

    Participants called for the establishment of Emergency Health Response Teams (EHRT) as was the case during the Ebola outbreak to help manage those that may be wounded in the outbreak of violence. They decried instances of insufficient preparation and response by public and private emergency medical service providers in the area of staffing, establishment of treatment centers, supplies and ambulance services.

    Participants observed that in previous elections where there has been violence, female voters, female election observers, female electoral officials, and female candidates and party officials have been targeted through rape, sexual harassment and intimidation. They called on law enforcement agencies to put in place measures to protect women during elections especially in the case of the outbreak of election violence.

    They also called on politicians and their supporters to minimize hate speech, inflammatory and inciting statements that motivate violence and hate and to focus on issues of good governance, development and sustainable peace.

    There were also specific findings which include call on governments to employ resources in a non-partisan manner and avoid abuse of state resources for party interests.

     

    “Given the inadequacy of security in terms of numbers, efforts should be made to effectively deploy the few numbers to hotspots. The security of women should be brought to the forefront via developing security protocols, instituting community-based security arrangements, and creating situation rooms for reporting threats and seeking advice and redress.”

    The resolution noted that NGOs can use their media and other election programs to sensitize women on security issues. There is a need to set-up emergency health units to attend to victims of election violence. NGO networks could be used to ensure adequate supplies of blood and other items for the units.

    “All relevant groups – youth, organizations, governmental and non-governmental – should be adequately sensitised against election violence. There is a need for value re-orientation. The poverty of today is the poverty of the mind. Poverty and unemployment can no longer be accepted as an excuse for violence. Encourage a network of security agencies, chamber of commerce, and trade unions, etc. to form a security task force for the elections.”

     

    onal Editor SHOLA O’NEIL and PRECIOUS DIKEWOHA report

  • Dickson, TAN and First Lady

    The Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN), a campaign group for President Goodluck Jonathan’s re-election bid, is enmeshed in controversies with Governor Seriake Dickson.

    Keen observers expected TAN and the government to work harmoniously on the Jonathan project. TAN, at the national level, is known for its passionate and fierce campaign for Jonathan’s re-election. The group is believed to have been founded to explore, expound and express the benefits of the President’s Transformation Agenda.

    Dickson is not only the kinsman of Mr. President, he is also a Jonathanian advocate who from the inception of his administration vowed to pursue Ijaw national interest with the protection and projection of Jonathan’s Presidency the key element of the Ijaw affairs. In words and deeds, people believe that Dickson has not deviated from his averred support for the President.

    Despite similarities of purpose, TAN and Dickson have been living like cat and mouse Where then is the missing link? In fact, the subject of acrimony is  the fate of the Creek Haven, sobriquet for the state’s Government House, in 2016. The governorship election holds in the state in 2016 and it is expected that the governor will be seeking a reelection.

    There are reasons within the state government to believe that TAN has an ulterior motive in Bayelsa beyond the purpose of galvanising support for Jonathan’s reelection in February. The group is said to be working to ensure that the governor does not return to the Creek Haven. The group’s body language is also confirming the suspicions of the governor and his camp.

    First, was the sudden entrance of the group into a state considered by many people as lacking meaningful opposition to challenge Jonathan’s reelection. Curiously, the group has started gaining ground and setting up permanent structures in the state. Already, it has secured an edifice as its secretariat along the Isaac Boro Expressway in Yenagoa. The group is also making plans to inaugurate the secretariat.

    If the reelection of the President is the reason for TAN’s coming into the state, what then does it need a permanent structure for a secretariat especially considering the fact that the Presidential election is next month? This is the question agitating the minds of the camp of Dickson.

    Besides, the camp of the governor also reasons that TAN’s agenda in the state is a suspect following the sudden change in the group’s leadership structure.

    Initially, when Jonathan’s re-election was its only mission, the group was headed by the Chairman of the Bayelsa State Local Government Commission and former Speaker of the old Rivers State House of Assembly, Chief Talford Ongolo. But Ongolo and some loyalists of the governor woke up one day to discover that they had been unceremoniously stripped of their functions.

    The restructuring of TAN’s leadership undoubtedly became an issue and fueled the existing suspicion. Matters came to a head when it was reported that the interest and ambition of the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, was the reason behind TAN’s rebirth.

    Dame Patience is said to have an ambition to remove Dickson and replace him with her friend and domestic aide to the President, Mr. Waripamowei Dudafa.

    Her sudden resignation as a super Permanent Secretary in the state’s civil service, her alleged influence in the posting of the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Valentine Ntomchukwu, to the state and her other underground activities are said to be geared towards realizing this ambition.

    Therefore, TAN is said to be the first lady’s vehicle to drive her Dickson-must-go ambition. On this premise, TAN is suspected to be repositioning itself for the task of leading anti-Dickson’s campaigns, formulating and executing strategies to outsmart the governor and kick him out of his seat.

    Since the TAN imbroglio started, there has been sharp division in the state chapter of PDP. Opponents and enemies of the governor have run to TAN to form a formidable force with the First Lady against Dickson. The group is now headed by the First Lady’s associate and former deputy Governor, Chief Werinipre Seibarugu.

    The governor issued a pack-and-go order to TAN. Before pronouncing the order, the governor had accused TAN of subversion. But TAN fired back at the governor  saying he lacked the powers to order its exit from the state. It is only hoped that the gladiators will not use the innocent blood of the masses to settle their political scores.

    • This piece was first published last week.

     

  • Ayamara foundation leads campaign for non-violence in Bayelsa

    Following the threats of war emanating from different quarters including the Niger Delta  a member representing Sagbama/Ekeremor Federal Constituency, Dr. Stella Dorgu, has deployed her foundation, the Ayamara Foundation Movement for GEJ (AFMG) to spread the gospel of peace in the Niger Delta.

    An astute and loyal supporter of President Goodluck Jonathan, Dorgu who hails from Sagabama, the local government area of Bayelsa State’s Governor, Mr. Seriake Dickson, does not want any blood shared on the altar of politics and electioneering. She believes that an election is not war. It should rather engender peace and stability.

    So, Dorgu has been busy touring homes of people in the eight local government areas of her state to educate youths, men and women on the need to ensure a violence-free poll next month. While urging them to vote for their kinsman, President Goodluck Jonathan, Dorgu told them that on no account should they take to violence before, during and after the elections.

    She has also seized the opportunity to carry out voter education; enlightening the people at the grassroots on thump printing, Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) and electoral process. Besides, Dorgu through her Ayamara Foundation has been able to engage youths in her campaign for peaceful elections. The youths are always led to the communities by the President of the Bayelsa West Democratic Youth Front for Good Governance (BWDYF), Mr. Afamukoro Ebiks.

    Recently, the foundation took its violence-free elections to Sagbama and Yenagoa local government areas and was received by appreciative people in the communities. The campaign excited traditional rulers, women and youths in the local councils.

    Ebiks who led the team urged the communities to play a key role in the forthcoming election by ensuring they collect their PVCs. He reminded the traditional rulers of their roles in the maintenance of peace and order within their domains insisting that they are expected to double their efforts during the election period.

    According to him peace begins when people are allowed to freely exercise their franchise without intimidation. He, however, asked the traditional rulers to educate the people on qualities they should look out for before casting their votes.

    During the programme tagged, “Non-violence voter’s sensitisation campaign”,Ebiks  explained that the major aim of the campaign is to enlighten the people on why they should get their PVCs, mobilize and vote, protect their votes and ensure they do not sell their future.

    He said the era of “sidon look” and voter apathy in the state were gone declaring that now is the period for people to participate in the election of their leaders. He maintained that patriotism in a country starts by engaging everyone in all the process of elections.

    Also as the team criss-crossed Asamabiri, Elemebiri, Abuto, Kaiama, Odi, Adagbabiri and Sagbama main town in Sagbama Local Government Area, the National Secretary Izonebe Student, Mr. Oweifiye Success, admonished the student community to eschew violence and resist desperate politicians.

    He said the aim of desperate politicians is to deceive and mortgage their future. “This is the time to say no to bigotry and nepotism”, he exclaimed.

    The team, after Sagbama, turned their attention to Yenagoa. Armed with t-shirts and other materials with a message of peace boldly inscribed on them, the facilitators held town hall meetings in some of the suburbs of the capital city. They were accorded warm reception.

    Success said: “The aim of this campaign is  to sensitise the youth to promote a peaceful  election in the state  by not engaging in violence so that our votes can be counted . It is also to teach the people especially youths on how they can cast there vote peacefully without engaging in acts capable of promoting violence.

    Reiterating the foundation’s stance on non-violence, Ebiks added: “This is a movement for nonviolence. We want to preach peace in the state because the time for violence is over so, let us come out with our Permanent Voters Cards and vote for Mr. President again.

    “Nobody should carry machetes and guns. All we want that day is for you to come with your voters cards and cast your votes”.

    Reacting to the activities of the foundation, a resident from Epie community, Mr. Longlife Gilbert commended the efforts of the Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO). He said the door-to-door strategy adopted by Ayamara was good particularly to persons who lack have access television and radio.

     

  • Group hails NDDC chief Dan-Abia

    The National Convener of Journalists-for-Humanity, Mr. Nkeneke Efo, has praised the Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Barrister Bassey Dan-Abia, for being focused and committed to his job.

    In a release in Uyo, Efo said Dan-Abia’s NDDC intervened in roads repairs and rehabilitation and made the roads passable during the Christmas season.

    “Of particular note is the spoilt section of the Abak-Ikot Abasi Road which it awarded to Messrs Base Engineering. The place was so bad that commuters had to divert to the East-West Road through Mkpat Enin which was also bad but this changed as the NDDC worked on the road just before Christmas. We commend the intervention of the Managing Director who has shown that he is in the Commission to work and not for show.”

    Efo also said the NDDC under Barrister Dan-Abia is embarking on several other road projects, some of which was abandoned by his predecessors.

    “In giving Barrister Dan-Abia kudos, I also appreciate a focused Chairman of the Commission, Senator Bassey Ewa Henshaw, who is always on the move to make sure the core reason for the creation of NDDC is achieved.”

    He said if Dan-Abia maintains his focus, the Commission will be one of the greatest performance indices of the federal government in due time.

    The National Convener further advised government agencies to take a cue from the Barrister Dan-Abia led NDDC by putting in their best for the common man whom they were placed in the position to protect.

     

  • How kidnap suspects’ escaped from Warri prison

    How kidnap suspects’ escaped from Warri prison

    In the dead of a December night last year, four kidnap suspects awaiting trial woke up from their cell at the Okere Prisons in Warri, Delta State. Quietly they broke through the ceiling and landed down into the open courtyard of the prison. From there they managed to scale the nearly 100-feet high electric fence and jumped down into the dark night and the waiting arms of freedom.

    Revelations afterwards have shown that the escape was not so straight forward as that. An alleged foreplay between the escapees and the prison official that climaxed in the drama of that night remains an interesting subject of debate within, not just within security circles in the state, but among curious civilians and purveyors of rumour in the area.

    The works of investigators who have tried to deconstruct the audacious escape were hampered by the lack of eyewitness. They have merely relied on scrap of information gathered from the thin trail left behind by the escapees – bits and pieces of broken blocks, ceiling, tattered ropes, sharp and blank objects. The suspects were far gone, possibly out of the state, before the staff on duty woke up from their slumber to see what had happened.

    Niger Delta Report’s hope that the mystery had been solved necessitated a visit to the facility on Monday, over a month after the incident. But the silence of official and prisoners alike was as deafening as the morning after. The officers in charge of the prison, Mr Emma Omiede, a Deputy Comptroller of Prison refused to speak with our reporter. He said he had nothing to say about the incident and referred our reporter to the State headquarters of the service.

    The Delta Command Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Celestine Kalu, who was contacted by our reporter, said: “I don’t know anything about prison break; you should ask the prisons official.”

    one of the soldiers deployed to the area after the incident said the story surrounding the jailbreak was “very fascinating and confusing. It is the stuff that movies are made off. When we were younger we watched films like ‘Bangkok Hilton’ and recently ‘Prison Break’ and I tell you this is the closest to those films.

    “The reason this is really interesting is the height of the wall that the prisoners scaled. What you see from the outside is even shorter than what it is from the inside because the inside of the prison is set on a lower ground. How they still managed to climb and come down on the other side is what makes it more interesting.”

    Our source who craved anonymity, said the warders on duty that night later explained that after breaking out of their cells, the suspects made a long rope out of bed sheets and any other clothing items they could lay their hands on. With the rope, they made several futile attempts to climb out into freedom. The bits of ropes they left behind for bewildered prison officials told only a part of the story.

    Undeterred by the failure of the Tarzan routine, the felons were believed to have devised a more successful means: Using bundles of firewood, bricks and other available objects, they built a pile high enough to help them scale the high wall. The task, which could have taken up to two hours, was done without any of the guards on duty getting wind of it. By the morning the four alleged kidnappers who were arrested for the abduction of the son of a prominent politician in the state, had successfully escaped.

    Looking at the prison walls from the Okere Road, as this reporter did, it was difficult to comprehend how dozens of security operatives, including soldiers and mobile policemen on an Armoured Personnel Carrier and their colleagues from the NPS, slumbered away while those they were meant to guard escaped out of the Okere Federal Prison in Warri.

    “The feat achieved by the suspects is almost unmanageable and the story is too good to be real,” a resident of neighbouring Oki street told our reporter.

    The circumstance of the escape gets even more implausible, considering that security was beefed up around Federal Prisons in the country in the wake of recent attacks by Boko Haram Islamic set on such facilities and other incidents involving the Okere Prisons in recent times.

    Our investigation revealed that the incident was the second break from the heavily secured prison in barely three years. It would be recalled that a couple of prisoners escaped from the prison in July 2011, by blowing up a hole through the prison wall with suspected IED (improvised explosive device).

    That incident was followed by a daring attack on prison warders conveying suspected members of a kidnap ring to the court for trial. The suspected who successfully broke free were members of a gang alleged led by the notorious Kelvin Ibruvwe. The smash-and-grab operation was carried out in March 2013, two warders and at least four other persons were killed in that incident.

    None of these incidents above match the derring-do of the absconders of the December night prison break and none of the stories match it either in terms of the intricacy of plot or the fairytale ending. while all but a couple of the dozens that escaped in 2011 were arrested, the four men who slipped out of the ‘Okere High College’, as some residents of the city refer to the corrective facility, are yet to be found.

    There are suspicions of collaboration by some workers at the prison, particularly why the suspects were allowed to live in a cell that made it easier for them to escape. A retired staff of the prisons expressed surprised at how easily the prisons escaped, and also hinted that there was possible connivance with warders either on or off duty at the time of the break.

    “The cells that were supposed to be kept would have made it near impossible for them to contemplate or even successfully hatch the escape plan. This is because for one, the cell due them would have been one of the most secured cells considering the enormity of their alleged crime and the maximum sentence,” our source added.

    Our findings further revealed that some officials of the Nigerian Prisons Service (NPS) attached to the prison usually collect gratifications from crime suspects and those awaiting trial and in return allot to them choice cells and undue privileges such as the use of GSM telephone, meals cooked specially for them.

    A former prisoner there told our reporter, “It is like a hotel; when you pay a certain amount of money, there are certain facilities and privileges that you are entitled to. This might not be the same as those who merely pay for the basic amenities in the hotel. So, although all prisons are equal, some are more equal than others.”

    Our source who asked not to be named to avoid stigmatization, revealed some prisoners live like royalty in detention. He said a very notorious thug who was in the prison for several years was so comfortable within the facility that ran his private businesses and executed more crimes from detention.

    “The man (names withheld) one of the notorious hoodlums from Uvwie area of the state. He was allowed regular visit by his girlfriends and other family members and he made telephone calls to top politicians and about anybody.”

    Meanwhile, in response to the incident, the prison authority and security operative in the state have thrown a very suffocating security ring around the infamous prison. A blockade, about 500km long, covers the entrance to the prison. The busy Okere Road has been closed to traffic from Essi Junction to the Robert Road U-Turn point. Traffic flow onward Okere Post Office is restricted to a single lane on the other side of the road, much to the chagrin of angry residents and motorists who are forced to sluice through the available single-lane are fuming silently. A taxi driver likened the situation to “shutting the gate when the goat had already escaped.”