The Nation Newspaper

Category: Niger Delta

  • ‘Why we use bamboo to produce toothpick at Anegbette’

    ‘Why we use bamboo to produce toothpick at Anegbette’

    Mr. John Yacim is the Group Head, Business Development of Pemo Groups, which produces toothpicks at Anegbette in Edo State. He was at the just concluded Edo State 2014 Trade Fair where he displayed products made from bamboo tree. Osagie Otabor met him

    What brought about bamboo furniture?

    It was basically my desire and passion for production. We identified that bamboo is available in the country for production and we wonder why we keep on importing bamboo products like toothpick. We are still spending lots of foreign exchange importing toothpick. It is a shame to the country. Through Taiwanese technology, we have been able to bring in machines that made us to produce toothpick at Anegbette in Edo State. Presently, We are unable to meet the local demand of toothpick not to think of exporting our products. I only service Lagos and Kaduna and I have not been able to meet their demands. The Bank of Industry has come and they indicated interest to help me expand my machinery so that I can produce more toothpick for the country. With the expansion, it will create more employment and conserve foreign exchange by stopping importation of toothpicks. We have about seven product lines. They did not come in one day. We have the toothpick, chopstick, window blinds, furniture, floor tiles based on customer’s demand and requirement.

    How did you start?

    We started with some N50m and bought machines gradually. We have over half a billion naira in terms of equipment. Seed money came in from contribution of some Nigerians who came together with a pool of fund. It is equity. The funds were from Nigerians who believe in me and in the business. I am a business development and finance consultant at the international level. I have the capacity to raise fund. We approached these men and they saw that it was viable, they saw the feasibility and the economic value.

    What does this mean to Nigerians?

    Businessmen should look inward. Every community, every village is endowed with natural resources. All we need is patience, identify them, make them less import dependent and then carry on.

    Why do you think people would prefer bamboo furniture to those made from wood?

    Bamboo products are durable. They have undergone firing. The moisture content is only six percent. Water and weathering condition cannot affect it at all, it has been carbonised. It remains the way it is. You see the beauty of nature in bamboo. We are going into production of energy pillets that would be used by the Americans and Europe to generate heat in their homes. I am appealing that everybody in government should come and see what we are doing.

    What is your staff strength?

    We have 150 workers with 47 engineers inclusive. We are trying our best to make them happy. They are fully accommodated and a graduate goes home with about N60,000 at the end of the month in that village.

    How do you hope to keep your production line if bamboo becomes extinct?

    What we have right now can take us for many years. We are creating backward integration so that 30 years from now when we are gone, it will continue. An average bamboo we used is from four years and above. We know how to assess the matured ones. Bamboo belongs to the community where we operate. Nobody grew bamboo. As it is cut down, another one comes out. There is no issue to bamboo survival. We pay royalty to the community. Banks should look into this area for long term loan. Bamboo also does not cause deforestation.

  • Ebola slows down Uyo’s night life

    Ebola slows down Uyo’s night life

    Night life in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, is fun with different arrays of bars and night clubs, but the fear of Ebola seems to have impacted it, writes KAZEEM IBRAHYM

    Night life in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, is what most residents normally look forward to. Fun seekers usually besiege drinking bars of their choice after the close of work. They visit these bars for several reasons.

    Tunde Ogbeha Avenue,  a bubbling neighbourhood in Uyo, is named Maitama, just like the Maitama district in Abuja, due to its popularity among the fun lovers.

    The area, which is located in “C Line”, Ewet Housing Estate, is an eyebrow area, housing most of the government officials and politicians in the state. The area also has a night club (Wimpy Bar) that operates on a daily basis. There is also Millionaires Club for the fun lovers. Fun seekers normally look forward to days like Wednesday and Friday for them to groove at the club.

    If you are the type that prefers noodles and fish barbecue, Tunde Ogbeha Avenue is the right place for you to be at night, as you could do so to your satisfaction, especially now that people prefer to eat barbecue fish instead of bush meat because of the scare of Ebola virus.

    Alwins Mike Akpan, the Managing Director and CEO of Eden Garden Resorts located at Afaha Oku, Uyo Village Road, is a sad man following the discovery of Ebola virus that scares people away from eating bush meat.

    More than 60 per cent of the sales of Akpan come from bush meat sales because customers in their hundreds visit his resorts to eat varieties of bush meats.

    When The Nation visited Eden Garden Resortson Monday, the once bubbling and lively place was empty while few customers were seen only drinking beer.

    Narrating how the scare of Ebola Virus has affected his business and decreased the patronage of people in his resorts, Akpan said sales from bush meat sales were nothing to write home about ever since the discovery of the dreaded virus called Ebola.

    According to him, his daily sales from bush meat have reduced from N40, 000 to N1, 500.

    He said: “The Ebola Virus has affected the patronage here a great deal. We are not selling again because of the fear of Ebola virus.

    “As you can see, this place is empty. Just yesterday we sold Bush meat N1, 500 something that we normally sell up to N40, 000 in a day. The Ebola virus is affecting my business.”

    Tunde Ogbeha Avenue has over the years become attractive place for prostitutes seeking to make brisk business. The prostitutes move about in skimpy wears in search of men. The prostitutes, mostly teenagers have always blamed the bad economy coupled with lack of unemployment for choosing prostitution as a venture. They are mostly from neighbouring states of Abia, Imo, Enugu and Anambra.

    Activities of some of these prostitutes have been curtailed with the arrest of some of them by the security agencies following Government House order. According to findings, most of the prostitutes now prefer to hang out in a bar while they transact their business with men under the guise of having some drinks after which they relocate to any hotels of their choices.

    Other bubbling night clubs in Uyo are Magnum night club; play terrace; cephas place and others. If you are the type that prefers class play terrace and Magnum night clubs are the right place for you.

    Night life in Uyo is interesting according to Joseph Bassey, who is a student of University of Uyo. He explains that he always look forward to Wednesday and Friday. Asked why, Bassey says with his meagre pocket money, he could go to club with his girlfriend.

    He says some of the drinks particularly beer with the exception of spirit and wine are sold at flat rate. Just the same way you get it at a local bar off club. His words: “What I normally do on a Wednesday night is to drink three bottles of Star beer outside before going to the club. With that, I will be able to dance well and forget my sorrow.”

    To Aniefiok Ita, he says he normally hang out at Emila bar after the close of work from the State Secretariat. The choice of the bar according to Ita is that is closer to his house. He says atimes, he would just go to the house to register his presence from work after which he would return to the bar.

    “With N500, you could eat chicken and drink a bottle of Guinness Stout,” says Ita.

    Even as most workers complain of lack of money, The Nation observes that beer parlour business is a lucrative venture in Uyo because the number of beer parlours keeps increasing on a daily basis. One of the Guinness Van salesman, who preferred anonymity, told our correspondent that he supplies about 300 crates of Guinness stout, harp and other products to his customers daily.

    His words: “Akwa Ibom is a fertile land for beer business. From observation, the indigenes prefer beer to spirit. You can even see it from the table here, people are drinking beer and not spirit.”

    A customer at one of the bars in Uyo told The Nation that an average Akwa Ibom man likes enjoyment no matter his status in the society. He explains that nothing is really happening as far as night life in Uyo when you compare same to Cross River and Rivers states.

    The source says even most people prefer to work here in Akwa Ibom and go to Calabar to spend the money because according to them, Cross River is more secured than Akwa Ibom State.

    Hardly can one move in a street in Uyo without noticing at least two to three drinking joints popularly known as beer parlours where the residents hangout at night. Kenneth, the owner of extreme bar along Nwaniba road, said night life in Uyo is interesting. He explains that now citizens can move anytime of the day with their two eyes closed due to the heavy security arrangement provided by the government of Godswill Akpabio.

    In Kenneth’s shop, people of all ages were seen eating roasted Ukon (Plantain) and Unen (Chicken). He explains that as from 4pm when people close from work, they branch at the bar to either eat roasted Ukon (Plantain) and Unen (Chicken) or drink beer, spirit or wine. Kenneth says he has no closing time as sometimes he closes late like 2am depending on the volume of customers.

    Even the situation is not different at Lakunta bar on Oron Road, Life Power bar on Two Lane, Amazon on House of Assembly Road and Castrophy Bar at Ewet Housing Estate. For instance, in Amazon Bar and Castrophy bars, some of the customers  go there because of the fish barbecue and the serene environment. Also in Lakunta Bar, where fun lovers prefer the assorted Kpomo/Kanda  mixed with stew source. In all, customers visit bar of their choices for different reasons.

  • Ex-militants root for Jonathan

    Niger Delta ex-militants have warned politicians against playing politics with security issues.

    They are concerned about politicians’ handling of the Chibok girls abduction and the Boko Haram.

    Delta State Chairman, Amnesty Phase 2 Ex-militants, Kingsley Muturu, spoke with reporters in Warri, Delta State.

    He said the politics of Chibok girls and the Boko Haram phenomenon were orchestrated to frustrate President Goodluck Jonathan’s 2015 ambition.

    Muturu said  the  foreign assistance to find the Chibok girls is not producing the desired result.

    He added that efforts to stop Jonathan from seeking  a second tenure would fail.

    Nigerians, he said, have witnessed  Jonathan ‘s efforts to improve the security of life and property.

    He said:  “A situation whereby a whopping number of girls abducted from a school without anybody knowing their whereabouts until now coupled with their states of origin, is appalling. Or are they all from Borno State? They should stop deceiving Nigerians and allow Jonathan to work for the people who voted him.”

    The ex-militants said they would continue to stand by Jonathan, urging him to be courageous in tackling security challenges bedeviling the nation.

    They called on the people of Niger Delta not to be deceived or used by desperate politicians.

    “They do all these things because of 2015 elections. There is no information from the world powers that came for the rescue of the girls. Everybody is keeping mum over the issue, politicking and manipulating information. It is all a ploy against Jonathan and his government.

    “We Niger Delta ex-agitators are solidly behind Jonathan for a second tenure. The insecurity situation in the country is a plan by a group of people, and Niger Delta agitators are keenly watching their diabolic activities against a President from the oil-rich Niger Delta region, and we say we are watching.”

  • Calabar stadium…Eagles’ slaughter slab

    Calabar stadium…Eagles’ slaughter slab

    As the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier between Nigeria and Rwanda kicks off in Calabar on September 6, residents of the capital of Cross Rivers State hopes the magic, which has made the Super Eagles unable to lose a match at the UJ Esuene Stadium, will still work, writes NICHOLAS KALU

    It is not a smelly, blood stained building where animals are butchered, but has come to be known as the Slaughterhouse.

    The serene atmosphere of the Udoakaha Jacob Esuene Sports Stadium located in the heart of Cross River State’s capital, Calabar, has been so christened by football lovers and supporters of the Nigerian national team, the Super Eagles, which has not lost a single game there in the past few years.

    The grounds of the facility, simply referred to as the UJ Esuene Stadium, has in recent times served as the venue where the national team consistently beat their opponents, hence it has been termed, “The slaughterhouse of the Super Eagles.”

    Built in 1976, the multi-purpose stadium has served as the home ground of the Calabar Rovers Football Club. After its commissioning in the same year, the first match was played there was between Calabar Rovers and Bendel Insurance.

    A couple of weeks later, the stadium hosted an international encounter between Enugu Rangers and Tonnerre Yaoundé – a game that featured the likes of Roger Milla, Christian Chukwu and Emmanuel Okalla

    Later upgraded to include an ultra-modern electronic video-matrix scoreboard, with powerful floodlights, the stadium has a capacity of about 12,000.

    Since then the sporting arena has continued to attract various national and international sporting activities among which are the FIFA Under-21 World Cup in 1999 and the FIFA Under-17 in 2009.

    At the moment preparations are in top gear for the sporting facility to host the 19th edition of the National Sports Festival in November this year.

    So what is the magic of the Calabar Stadium? The Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Mr Patrick Ugbe, says the thing special about it is the people.

    “The magic is the people of this state and this city. You see, when you have an ambience of peace and security, you have an environment that is welcoming, when you have that kind of environment, you know all you can do is to excel because you are relaxed. You are not stressed. You are not bothered about other extraneous things that can distract your focus. So you are focussed on the task you have and you just excel. That is what Calabar does.

    “That is why the national team has always excelled here. And because again when the national team is playing, you have over 10, 000 people in the stadium that are there to support them, not to criticise them or heckle them or boo them, but there to cheer them. It encourages them and gives them that boost. So the fans in Calabar act as the 12th player that encourages the team to always excel,” Ugbe said.

    On how it got its peculiar nomenclature he said: “The people gave it that name. We didn’t give it the slaughter house of the Super Eagles. It came from the people themselves after seeing that, for several years, now, the team has not lost a match in this place and very significant that even outside the country, teams that come to Calabar to play the eagles now come with fear. They now see Calabar as the slaughter house. Nigeria never loses a match here, so they come to play with fear which again also helps psychologically to ensure victory for the team.

    With the hosting of the sports festival almost upon them, Ugbe expressed confidence that the stadium, whose facilities are being upgraded as well as new ones added would be ready to give the country the best festival ever.

    According to him: “We are sure it would be ready. The facilities that are being added apart from the main bowl and the tartan track that has been renovated and relayed with a brand new class one track, are the swimming pool that is being renovated to a ten lane Mitre Technology Pool. Also there is the basketball courts that are being redone and then for me among others. For me, the icing on the cake would be the multi-purpose ultra-modern indoor sports hall that is being constructed there. It is one design that has never been seen in this country. When it is completed, it is one that we would all be proud of as a people and as a state.

    “The facility is one that would host all indoor games. It would have basketball, volleyball, handball, five aside FifPro footsal, and badminton and also attached to it are two glass back international standard squash courts as well. Of course added to it are other facilities and amenities as different gyms for boxing, weightlifting, wrestling and so on. So it is a well fitted indoor sports hall that we are having.

    Ugbe said a proper maintenance culture over time has been one of the main reasons it has continued to remain relevant in the scheme of things as far as sporting activities are concerned.

    His words: “The stadium is one of the oldest in the country. It falls in the generation of the National Stadium in Lagos, Ogbe Stadium in Benin, Ahmadu Bello Stadium in Kaduna, Liberty Stadium in Ibadan, but today because of the way we have maintained it, it stands out among all those other stadiums. Because we have a good maintenance culture, we have constantly attracted events here.  The national teams have made it their home and we are very proud of our maintenance culture. Don’t think that it is now that we would throw that away.”

    Manager of the Stadium, Mr Omara Coco-Bassey believes that Calabar being the home of football as the game was first played in the country in a secondary school, Hope Waddell Training Institution, just a stone throw away, it was only natural that the National Team always get their best results there.

    “You know this is where football was first played in Nigeria. In a secondary school which is nearby, Hope Waddell. So, Calabar has always been a home of football. So, it is not a surprising thing that you see even the national team, they prefer coming to Calabar Stadium to play their matches. Besides you know this is a tourist state and the people are very warm. Again you see that it is a smaller stadium, so you realise that any time any match is being played, the stadium is filled to capacity.

    “It has been favourable for the national team. The people too are very receptive and very willing to support.  The major thing is that since they started playing here, it has been very favourable and one thing I realise with the Calabar people is that they are very patient. Like you know if they play in Lagos and after some minutes if they don’t score, they would start booing them, but rather here they would be saying, “All we are saying is give us more goals”. They are patient with the players. They understand. It makes you feel comfortable when the people have confidence in you that come rain come shine, you are going to deliver so it makes the players even more relaxed. So it gives them the confidence that when they come here, they will win and since they have not been failed before,” the stadium manager said.

    On measures to keep the facility in top condition especially as they host the sports festival, he said, “It has always been our culture to keep the stadium in good shape all round. In 2009 apart from the national stadium, this was the only stadium that had a natural turf to play. Other stadia because of poor maintenance, Jack Warner said they should go on astro-turf. So it is not a new thing for us. We would make sure the facilities are kept in place and it has always been our culture. There is no way the thing would go down.

    “The grass has just been replanted. After 2009 we regrassed the pitch. Now because we are hosting the National Sports Festival, we are regrassing again. The tartan track you are seeing is just two months old. Everything is new. We are getting set and you know what matters most is the playing turf. As you can see people are still working on the turf and we would make sure it is up to standard and what the national team would not have any complain to play on.

    As the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier between Nigeria and Rwanda kicks off in Calabar on September 6 it is hoped the magic which has lasted for so long would continue to ensure victory for the Super Eagles.

  • NOSDRA Chairman: Oil spills cause ecological damage in Omoku, Ogbaland

    The Chairman of the Governing Board of the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), Major Lancelot Anyanya (Rtd), has said oil spills caused ecological damage in Omoku and Ogbaland in Rivers State.

    Major Anyanya spoke when he led a delegation from NOSDRA to assess the impact of oil spills in Omoku.

    He paid a courtesy visit to the Oba of Ogbaland, His Eminence, Eze Chukwuemeka Nnam Obi.

    He praised President Goodluck Jonathan for his exemplary leadership in solving the myriad of problems Nigeria has accumulated over the years.

    He noted that Omoku and Ogbaland were among the areas in the Niger Delta that had suffered extensive ecological damage as a result of oil spills.

    According to him, “Across the Niger Delta, negative medical conditions, hitherto unknown to the locality, are being observed due to colossal environmental degradation from oil spills. That is a huge price for anyone to pay for the prosperity that people are enjoying in and out of Nigeria because of our oil.”

    The NOSDRA Chairman thanked Jonathan for and bolstering NOSDRA’s corporate governance through which the agency is now improving its community relations with oil producing communities.

    He attributed the feat to Mr. President’s belief that “no community or individual should suffer any more of those indignities because Nigeria produces crude oil. This is why NOSDRA is engaging with oil producing communities.”

    Major Anyanya praised the Oba of Ogbaland for his exemplary and selfless leadership, while briefing him and the council of chiefs on the activities of NOSDRA, including visiting host communities affected by oil spills to engage and educate them on oil spill prevention.

  • Julius Agwu for governor

    Julius Agwu for governor

    Let’s get this straight from the beginning.  The man I write about is Julius ‘the genius’  Agwu. The same Julius Agwu you have probably attended his Crack Ya Ribs comedy shows or seen his comedy VCDs, which sell for as cheap as N100. You can even get the VCD for N70 at Alaba International Market on the outskirts of Lagos.

    Some years back, Julius Agwu was one of the many graduates of Theatre Arts trying to find their feet. He had always had a funny side and comedy came easy to him. Many who underwent the one-year National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme with him in Katsina, including my elder sister, said he cracked their ribs at the orientation camp.

    I understand that when he was still struggling, he squatted with ace actor Segun ‘Oju’ Arinze in his flat somewhere in Lagos. From Arinze’s home, he tried his hands on some comedy and theatre stuffs. With time, comedy paid off and his story changed from that of grass to grace.

    After conquering the comedy world, it is time to move on. And what else is there to move on to other than politics? It took a lot of begging from his people for Agwu to finally take the bait. They pleaded and pleaded and sent delegations upon delegations before he deemed it right to join the crowded race for Rivers governor.  The knee caps of some of the women involved in the begging almost peeled on the floor of his mansion before he decided to serve his people and help continue the legacy of his brother, Rotimi Amaechi.

    The message on Agwu’s poster on the social media simply reads: “Our moment of change. Julius Agwu for governor. Rivers 2015.”

    You may never see the poster on the streets of Port Harcourt, where for four years he was a university student. Chances are that you won’t see it also on the streets of Buguma or Finima. The world has gone digital and ‘the genius’ is taking advantage of this.  There are so many platforms on the social media that it will soon become needless wasting money on billboards and posters and all those stuffs politicians do. ‘The genius’ is set to put that to test using the social media.

    Forget his height; it has nothing to do with being a governor. Pay less attention to his financial capacity to run for such an exalted office; he will disarm the people with his jokes and he will have their votes free of charge. For security reasons, he is not revealing the identities of his financial backers.

    Agwu has no political party. My mind tells me he wants to run as an independent candidate. Don’t tell me the constitution does not allow it. What a genius will see sitting down, a fool will not see even with the aid of binoculars. What does he need a political party for anyway? Political parties are sources of headache, which ‘the genius’ can do without.  Better still, he can run as a quasi-independent candidate by using a less popular platform like the Social Democratic Party (SDP), which had a dismal outing in the Osun governorship race by scoring a little over 400 votes. He stands no chance in the big parties in his state.

    In Rivers, there are two dominant parties: the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which already have power centres, which ‘the genius’ cannot break into. In the APC, Agwu stands no chance of clinching the party’s ticket. The race is between two serving members of the National Assembly. And to add salt to injury, he will also find a bottleneck in his kinsman, Governor Rotimi Amaechi who has vowed that nobody from his area will succeed him.  Like Amaechi, Agwu is Ikwerre. Amaechi, by next May 29, would have been governor for about eight years. On this basis, he says he will not support any Ikwerre person to be governor.

    The PDP, whose ticket he could have sought, is a mad house. At the last count, there are some 20 men who have shown interest in being its governorship torchbearer. But the man who seems in control is Minister of State for Education Nyesom Wike. He helped install the Felix Obuah-led executive council, which has not hidden where its loyalty lies. The others are not leaving anything to chance. Last weekend, some of them announced a breakfast meeting with the sole agenda  of  ‘cutting Wike to size’. The Wike camp last weekend too, through an advertorial, condemned the breakfast meeting.  So, with this sort of fire in PDP, Agwu needs a new order.

    He also does not need the brouhaha associated with which part of the state has the right to produce the governor after Amaechi. In over 15 years, the upland part of the state has been in charge. The riverine people, who are basically Ijaw, say it is their time. The Ogoni are also angling for the position. They say as the majority in Rivers Southeast the seat should be conceded to them. The riverine people have said this will amount to still keeping power in the upland part, which has had it since 1999. And they are screaming injustice.

    This is my advice to Agwu. First, he needs to rebrand by presenting himself simply as the third force and severing every ethnic tie. He should sell himself as the Rivers candidate. His manifesto should also show the power of comedy in disarming the Federal Government to give the state its dues. Federal roads in the state need attention. Agwu’s manifesto should promise that he has got the skills to get the Presidency to fix these roads and other infrastructure pronto. The manifesto should also show that never again will Rivers be cheated of its rights. In fact, he can promise to get back the oil wells taken from the state through his comic skills.

    With Agwu as governor, the state will also be saving a lot of money. Never again will the state spend any kobo on any Master of Ceremonies (MC). Governor Agwu will play this role. All he needs do is to dash from the high table to the microphone stand as the need arises. The era of the state wasting money on stand-up comedians will also be gone. Agwu will also dish out comedy free of charge at government functions. And in case the state decides to go into film-making,  Agwu’s’ training as a theatre artist will come into play. He will act, produce and direct at no cost to the state. He will also be able to get his colleagues to work on the production at a reduced rate. Since he can also sing, there will be no need to pay for the soundtrack. He will simply head for the studio and produce the soundtrack.

    And if you think this whole Agwu-for-Rivers-governor stuff is a joke, the 41-year-old Choba indigene, in an interview on his ambition, said: “Ever since that story broke, I have been receiving calls and getting text messages from people. Even on social media, people have been telling me to just stick with comedy. They think it’s just another joke from me but it’s not. I mean to contest in 2015. I am above 40, to be precise I am 41 and I doubt if those who go for governorship have two heads. I think it’s high time youths realised they need to be part of the change that they so much desire and that’s exactly what I am doing.”

    What more is there to say? All hail His Excellency Julius ‘the genius’ Agwu, the next governor of Rivers State.

  • East-West Road…The goal post is shifted again

    In Nigeria, one of the most important roads is the East-West Road. It is a major connecting road for the Niger Delta states. It stretches from Delta, to , Akwa Ibom and Bayelsa states. Its bad state has affected the economic and social lives of the people living around that axis and the people using it.

    December this year was the deadly set for the completion of work on it. The Federal Government re-affirmed its commitment to ensuring the completion of the East-West Road last weekend.

    After inspecting the road for two days, Minister of Niger Delta Affairs Dr. Steve Oru stressed the need to showcase the achievements of the ministry on the  strategic East-West Road.

    Oru explained that because of the importance of the road to the people of Niger Delta and Nigerians, some other on-going projects had been sacrificed to ensure the completion date was realised, adding: “Together as partners, we will complete the East-West Road project by December, 2014.”

    He added: “My mandate in the ministry is mainly to ensure the timely completion of the East-West Road. I appeal to the contractors handling the project to increase their tempo of work. The Federal Government will provide the fund to complete of the project.

    “With the level of commitment by this administration, the road would be completed by December, 2014. Some sections of the road have been completed and are due for handing over by the contractors.”

    He said people cannot judge this administration on East-West Road alone.

    The minister, who said the Federal Government was committed to the development of the Niger Delta, sought the cooperation, support and collaboration of stakeholders in the region to nip in the bud pockets of threats and kidnapping of expatriates and excessive demands by communities from contractors which often result in work stoppage.

    He commended the contractor for the quality of ongoing work on Patani Bridge and assured that the ministry would support the company to enable them speed up work.

    But by the time the Director of Operations, Setraco Nigeria Limited, which is handling the Section 1 & 2 of the project (Warri-Patani Bridge-Kaiama Bridge-Ahoada-Port Harcourt), spoke it was evident that the minister’s expected delivery date may not be possible.

    Setraco’s Director of Operations Mr. Michael Angelo said the schedule time would be extended to December next year, meaning one more year of pain and anguish for users of the road.

    Oru, however, described the December 2015 being targeted by the contractor for the completion of the Kaiama Bridge, which is like the last bit of the job, as unacceptable. He added that Setraco had the expertise to mobilise more hands and materials toward an earlier completion.

    He urged the contractors handling the construction of the 870-meter Patani Bridge and the 750-meter Kaiama Bridge to expedite action on their respective projects in order to fast track the completion of the road by December.

    The minister said: “I believe right now, you people always work in day time; if it is possible to work at night, we (Ministry) need your requirement and everything that can pump up the spirit and make the work move faster. And the ministry is ready to back the contractor up in actualising this dream.”

    On Section 3; (Port Harcourt – Eket) in Rivers/Akwa-Ibom states, Dr. Oru said that the quality of work done by Reynolds Construction Company (Nig.) Ltd. (RCC) so far has been very satisfactory while RCC promised to complete that section at due time.

    While on Eket-Oron, the Minister congratulated the Project Manager, GITTO handling the section 4 of East-West Road, Chief Ghanem Rasibel for doing a good job.

    “The tempo has however increased but still not to expectation, the completion is our priority,” he said.

    The way things are, it will be a miracle for Setraco to complete the work this December having asked for one year extension. It is doubtful if it can reverse its decision even by adding more hands and working 24 hours daily.

    In a nutshell, the goal post has been shifted and no one can vouch if it will not be shifted again. The pain continues and victory is certain!

     

  • ‘Delta has spent over N60 billion on power projects’

    ‘Delta has spent over N60 billion on power projects’

    Delta Commissioner for Power and Energy, Charles Emetulu, in this interview with OKUNGBOWA AIWERIE, speaks on the government’s investment in power and energy, saying it will drive its Delta beyond oil initiative

    Since assumption of office three years ago, what have been your major achievements?

    We have been able to extend and reinforce electricity infrastructure in many communities. We have completed about 109 projects in the last three years. The Power and Energy Ministry has done 300KV transformer installations, injector transformer were also installed. A 7.5 step-down in Abbi Community Ndokwa West and similar project at Olomoro, Isoko South and Ogume, Ndokwa West. Another 7.5 step-down is being completed at Eku,Ethiope East while another is being installed in Koko Warri North.

    For Eku and Koko you will agree with me that after rehabilitating the hospital at Eku and putting modern equipment there we will require better power infrastructure. The entire Eku community had a paltry 2.5 MVA so we are upgrading by over 300%, for Koko which is to become an industrial hub. Koko has never had proper power dedication so government is doing something significant there; for starters government is building a 7.5 MVA. At Orerokpe, entire community was in darkness when I assume office the community had a broken down 2.5 MVA, but government has since doubled that now they have a 5MVA.We have done a lot of 500 and 300 KVA transformer injections into the distribution network.

    The power sector before now has been under the exclusive list, and as such States precluded from investing   but for Delta State  power was a matter of responsibility because one cannot be hoping to build an economy devoid of power .So Delta State got involved because there was massive shortcomings from the federal level in terms of deliverables to our rural and urban areas, The State has invested about N2billion which the State government does not compensated for, either by way of tariff ,tax rebate , everything goes back to the public power provider. It was only when the deregulation began, that some State governments including ours cried out saying we had spent so much money on the power infrastructure  and federal government was about to sell to private owners and thereby make money . So there was assets verification where we had a consultant go round the State and verify our claims. Delta government has been involved in distribution and generation

    .Overall, we have done a lot in the power sector and we have also taken it a notch higher by getting involved renewable energy. We engaged an international energy agency to do an energy mix analysis, which included solar, wind, waste and hydro resources of the State. What that means is that we are ready in case investors come we will have a starting point for them. We have a MoU with the Energy Commission of Nigeria this means that the State will be part of any new developments in the energy sector. We have embarked on a public enlightenment campaign on energy efficiency amongst the populace. Our solar projects have been beset with many problems including theft of solar batteries and vandalism. Also some of the solar projects were poorly done, but some are doing very well. We have signed a MoU with a Canadian-Saudi Arabian firm Sky power and Fast Energy to build power plants that is strictly solar.

    Delta State is going to generate about 1000 MW through this partnership. The firm will also build pockets of power plants across the State. We are in the process of sourcing land for the project and the company will invest their money. Delta ordinarily ought to be termed a lucky State with over 5 power plants that generate over 2000 MW of electricity but Delta gets only 100 MW due to government policy. But with the privatization programme in the power sector, Delta State realized that investors may only be interested in recouping their investments and will probably look at densely populated urban centres. But with our Delta beyond Oil initiative, government realised that our rural areas are the drivers of this policy. We know that we are going to rely on our rural communities if we are going to drive our Delta beyond Oil to be a success because farming ,fishing , are done in our rural communities, so what we did was to take the risk of investing in the companies who have bought into the power sector.

    What informed government’s decision to buy a stake in the BEDC?

    The first drive was the huge investments by the state in the power sector. In the life of this civilian administration in Delta State, we have spent close to N60 billion. Delta State is in the Benin zone which comprises Edo, Ekiti and Ondo states. If government is going to sell, let’s invest in a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) and buy these plants. The four states came up with an SPV, but it did not work. What we did as a government was to reach out to those who succeeded and bought equities of over N5 billion in the distribution and generation companies. We bought equities in BEDC and EUROAFRIC and TRANSCORP.

    Will the IPP owned by the Delta State be completed before the end of the Uduaghan administration ?

    The IPP is on course. Civil works are going on. All the equipment we need are on ground. In another three, four weeks, the gantry, the turbines will be mounted .What were the challenges? Where it is now is the original site from the previous administration, but when Dr Uduaghan came on board another site was proposed that was by the river, this new site made much more economic sense than the previous one because it is close to Warri.

    Warri is the industrial base of the state. So, government went into negotiations with the community; engineering drawings have been drawn, EIA’s were done. At that time, the Rolls Royce turbines phase 3 , but at the point when we were to start, the community said they will not agree to the earlier agreement with government. For 2 years, it was back and forth with the community.

    Government had to take a decision to take the project back to the original site. Within that two years period, the equipment had gone to phase  4 and new drawings had to be done all over; everything had to be started afresh. The nature of turbines is not something you buy off the shelf; you pay fully before manufacturing starts. The turbines were manufactured in different continents. What was being made was customised .As at the time we came on board, the equipment had arrived. The challenge of the East-West road was real as the equipment was large. But we got them to a warehouse in Oghara, the next challenge was building of access road to the location of the IPP.  There was this old colonial bridge whose dimension could not accommodate the heavy duty trucks hauling the equipment. We needed to construct a new bridge and a road. Since that time work has progressed rapidly. All of the equipment is in Delta State. In the life of this administration, the IPP will be completed.

     

     

  • Succour for Delta’s widows, elderly

    WIDOWSand the elderly usually face tough times.And help rarely comes their way. But such help came the way of widows and the elderly in Delta State from the Christian Resource Centre and the Glory Sanctuary Christian Centre (GSCC), situated in Ogbobagbene, Burutu. They reached out to 2000 aged men and women as well as widows from more than 90 communities.

    It was to mark the fourth anniversary of the Christian Resource Centre. It was tagged “Widows and Aged Day of Honour/Thanksgiving”. To make the people smile, the organisation gave out a goody bag of items containing a bag of rice, a tin of vegetable oil, a packed bag of salt, Hollandes wrapper, Bible and cash.

    The coordinator of the centre, former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs and governorship hopeful in Delta State, Elder Godsday Orubebe, said the programme was part of a special commission given to him by God. According to him, giving is one of the teachings of the Bible.

    He said: “God said this centre should be taking care of widows, orphans, the aged and the needy. That’s what we do in this centre. We take care of widows, we take care of orphans and we take care of the aged, from 70 years and above. Whatever the centre can do for them, we support them. You have seen the one of the widows now, it’s part of the project that we do from time to time, but this one is a major one with which we mark the anniversary on the 14th of August every year.

    “In what we are doing today, every widow or every aged is going home with a bag of rice, a tin of groundnut oil, a parked bag of salt, a new wrapper, the one they call Hollandes and then we give each one of them a Bible and then we add a little thing for them to use for transport and one or two other things. We are not bothered about the amount, we are only interested in how we can provide the little we can for them. Most of the things that we are doing in this place are donations from people who understand the meaning of giving.”

    The beneficiaries could not hide their joy. Madam Izonbere London, a widow, said: “Na go say make em give us as our husbands don die, em say make we take and eat. We happy for am.”

    Also, Madam Akparakogbopade Adisanfo, another widow, who has seven children, all of whom are still living with her, said: “I don happy now, I come write my name to be part of the owner for this rice. E dey help me, I happy. This one go help us a little.”

     

  • Rivers community, clerics make case for Ogoni, Jonathan

    Politics is in the air and there is no dull moment for socio-political groups. Even communities are seeking relevance in a game that will climax in 2015. In the spirits of 2015, Rivers community in Bayelsa State trooped out recently to announce their preferred candidates for the election year.

    Displaying placards and banners, members of the Rivers community under the aegis of the Federated Union of Rivers State Indigenes in Bayelsa (FURSIB) State marched the streets of Yenagoa. Under police protection, the enthusiasts chanted songs to create awareness about their mission.

    They are rooting for two persons – President Goodluck Jonathan for reelection and an Ogoni indigene for the Governor of Rivers State. In fact Prof. Don Baridam is their preferred candidate and they want him to run n the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    In unison, they asked President Goodluck Jonathan to stop foot-dragging and declare for his reelection in 2015. They also asked President Jonathan to support Prof. Don Baridam’s ambition to govern Rivers State in 2015 on the platform of PDP.

    The President of the group, Emman Ubaka, said  Jonathan’s Transformational Agenda was being felt in critical sectors of the economy.

    He said: “And whereas key infrastructure such as roads, economic empowerment of citizens and improvement of the well being of Nigerians are effectively developed and promoted despite all the distractions.”

    “Nigerians have never had it so good until now and if Jonathan achieved so much in less than four years it is obvious that if given a second term, he would achieve more and the glory of Nigeria will fully return.”

    He said the call on Jonathan to support Baridam was based on “fairness, equity and justice as the Ogoni ethnic group in Rivers State had not produced a governor, deputy governor nor speaker since the creation of Rivers State.”

    Ubaka said an Ogoni governor would give the ethnic group a sense of belonging and urged all other ethnic groups in Rivers State to throw their weight behind Baridam’s candidature.

    “We believe that Prof. Don M. Baridam represents equity, justice, peace and prosperity in Rivers State and will not antagonize the Federal Government or undermine the interest of the Southsouth zone.”

    The community is not the only voice.  Clerics under the aegis of Concerned Clergies for Good Governance (CCGG) also asked Nigerians to bury their selfishness and follow divine direction to avert looming bloodshed in 2015 general elections.

    The National President of the group, Prophet Lawrence Okorie, in Yenagoa warned Nigerians against hauling insults against the President.

    Okorie, who claimed to have predicted the militancy in the Niger Delta in 2015, said the country was drenched in injustice and bloodshed.