The Nation Newspaper

Category: Niger Delta

  • Outrage in Cross River community over missing health worker

    Outrage in Cross River community over missing health worker

    There is outrage in Obanliku Local Government of Cross River State following the perceived reluctance of relevant authorities to follow up the disappearance of a health worker Mrs Helen Ilonge, from the area since September last year.

    Until her disappearance, the 48-year-old widow was the Coordinator of the Primary Health Care in neighbouring Bekwarra Local Government in the state and was said to be an outstanding worker who oversaw a zero mother/child mortality rate.

    For her five children life seems to have lost meaning and they believe their mother did not deserve what she got.

    Life for the children, who lost their father in 2000, has been traumatic and members of the Obanliku community feel more could be done about the situation in terms of following up the matter and making sure all culprits are brought to book as well as cater for the welfare of her children, given her excellent performance while she was working.

    A youth leader of Obanliku, Williams Alelele, said they would express their grievance at the Mountain Race which holds in the area to show the world the pains the community was feeling over the matter, especially the woman’s children.

    He said, “Mrs Ilonge got missing on her way to Obanliku from Bekwarra. We once demonstrated and they caught some people regarding the case but at the end of the day nothing has happened. We have not even heard anything about the case. The children are suffering. Nothing is going on. We feel that we would carry out a peaceful demonstration to make government do something about it. Even if she is not here, she left some other people to take care of. So we want to carry placards and do something at the mountain race as it is a world event so that the whole world will see it.”

    Eldest daughter of the missing woman, Mishael, regretted that it was at about the time her mother was to be sent abroad for further training that the unfortunate incident occurred, hinting of possibly foul play especially given that her mother was the source of envy to many people in Bekwarra due to the accolades she got for her performance at work.

    Twenty five-year old Mishael, a graduate of Banking and Finance from the University of Calabar recounted: “My mummy was abducted on September 23, last year between Ogoja/Bekwarra are. She was coming from a church programme. We tried her number through 24th her number did not go through. On 25th, a Tuesday, her number connected and it was someone else who picked it and demanded for money. The person demanded for N50,000 ransom sent through recharge cards – N25, 000 Glo and N25, 000 MTN.

    “We quickly did that and then, the person said he was quickly going to sell the cards and then release my mum. The person said they were at Ishi Eke, behind Ebonyi State University. So we quickly did that and the person promised he was going to release our mother as soon as he confirmed the recharge cards. The person switched off the phone. We did not hear from the person again throughout that day until the next morning when the number connected again and it was another person that picked and was requesting to speak to one Jombo. That one was not even patient. At least the person the previous day was patient enough to ask us to send something. The second day the person was very unfriendly. My mum is being kept somewhere and the police are not doing enough. I don’t understand. I am strongly convinced my mother is alive.

    “My mother is a God-fearing person and I know in her wildest imagination she would not believe that someone would mete out this kind of punishment to her. My mummy travelled with her handbag and travelling bag and she and my pastor’s wife where together at the convention. My pastor’s wife said she bought books and a lot of gospel CDs and an umbrella that Jesus boldly written on it. The title of one of the books she bought was Girls of Destiny. None of these has been seen. No evidence to show.”

    Mishael said she heard her mother shouting in the background for a door to be opened while one of abductors, who was later found out to be Ifeanyi, called her to get the recharge cards.

    “She was supposed to be sponsored abroad by the government for training because of her enviable record. So I think that is where this problem starts from – people who envied her. She was supposed to be abroad but now they have destabilized everything because they don’t want her to go anywhere. Some people have been boasting they will use their connection to frustrate this case and they will do my mother anything that she does not have people to fight for her. This matter cannot just be pushed away. We have spent money but keep making no headway. Why? The government should please help us,” she cried.

    What irks the mind of Mishael and her siblings even more now is the seeming complacence of relevant authorities in pursuing the matter.

    Ifeanyi and others were arrested and have been facing trial since. But they are aggrieved that one of the main suspects, a supervisor for health in the area, has never appeared in court for one day.

    “The number one suspect recommended by the Department of Public Prosecution (DPP) has never appeared in court and he keeps dodging. Is it that he is bigger than the law? This is eating us up and the government is not doing anything. Maybe because we are not connected or politicians or maybe because the woman is a widow. They have just left us to be fighting our own cause like that on all fronts.”

    Life has not been easy for Mishael, who shoulders the responsibility of looking after her younger ones, and her siblings.

    She says: “It has not been easy but we thank God for His grace and strength. My mother brought us up to know that in times like this, all our hope is God. The father to the d to fatherless and the God of the widows would not let us see shame. We have been praying and fasting. We have had sleepless nights.

    “I was about to turn 12 when we lost our father in 2000. She was still young. She could have married anybody if she wanted to but she did not want to. Instead she married her children. She lived and sweated for us. She lived in debt, borrowed to see us through school. That is why she has been so hard working, because of her children.

    “If they are saying they killed her, they should produce her body. Even if they have killed her she should be buried properly. They stopped her salary and they have forgotten about us. She was a government official and a very active civil servant. She was very productive in fighting so many diseases and she achieved a lot.

    “The Mountain race would not hold if the government does not intervene. You don’t know whether she is alive or dead. What are we living for? This woman has suffered for us and now we don’t even know where she is.”

     

     

  • Amnesty report an indictment on Fed Govt, NOSDRA, says Igbapike

    Amnesty report an indictment on Fed Govt, NOSDRA, says Igbapike

    Osteen Igbapike is a renowned environmental activist and lawyer for spill impacted communities in Delta and Bayelsa states are of the Niger Delta. He spoke with SHOLA O’NEIL on the recent Amnesty International’s damning report on Shell’s response and management of oil spill in the region.

     

    What is your reaction to the last week’s Amnesty International report on Shell and Pollution in the Niger Delta?

    God bless Amnesty International for being the conscience of the oil industry. Amnesty International has preached this sermon times without number to IOCs and their collaborators in government offices. There is nothing new in that report; it merely has restated what Amnesty International has been saying over the years that these oil companies are responsible for all the environmental woes in the Niger Delta due to negligence and sharp practices. When these facts are becoming clearer by the day SPDC in particular has been struggling to convince the world that the environmental woes are as a result of oil thieves. Amnesty’s position is a further affirmation of what we, as host communities, victims and sufferers of countless known and unknown, resolved and unresolved pollution cases arising from SPDC’s negligence and ailing facilities have been saying all these years. I am happy that Governor Uduaghan has added his voice to our clamour.

    Unfortunately, this report, like others before it, does not have the teeth of a court judgment. Shell knows this and continues with impunity in defiling our environment. The United Nation’s Environmental Programme Report on Ogoni is a case in point. SPDC and the Federal Government have refused to implement that report till date. Let UNEP, Amnesty International and other environmental rights agencies say whatever they want, Shell will not change its posture and attitude towards pollution and oil spills because the regulatory agencies and the government lack the political and technical will to enforce the laws.

    Do you see the report as an indictment on NOSDRA and similar organs?

    Not just NOSDRA, but all Ministry and government agencies jostling for the plum environmental watchdog turf. So an indictment is an understatement. Indictment is just a euphemism of the “cosy relationship” between these IOCs and their watchdogs, the so-called regulators. This is complicated by the fact that the Federal Government is the most senior JV partner in all oil businesses in Nigeria.

    This explains why the problem with spill response and environmental management is systemic and institutional. Our popular cliché of ‘Nigerian Factor’ further helps to complicate our woes as Niger Deltans.

    Now let me explain. Before the creation of NOSDRA in 2006, the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), an offshoot of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, was in charge of spills, environmental management and regulating the so-called IOCs beside the Petroleum Act, 1969. DPR created EGASPIN in 1992 and reviewed it in 2002 as the sole document for oil industry best practice in spills and environmental management amongst others. This document first was not law, second the cosy relationship between the IOCs and the sole regulator DPR blighted the proper implementation of EGASPIN and it suffered from internal inconsistencies.

    Our economy being oil-driven and oil business managed by the Ministry of Petroleum Resources resulted in a conflict of interest because the Federal Government, as senior JV partner, pays the larger share.

    But you see Nigeria is not the only country with oil-driven economy. The Middle East is. The Arabs created ministry for environment. Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Environment ought to serve the same purpose but the Ministry of Petroleum Resource refuse to let go through DPR and worsen things.

    The Bonga oil spill is reputed to be one the biggest in the country, similar to the Gulf of Mexico BP debacle, how do we compare in terms of handling?

    The response and management of the BP spill in the US will tell what is wrong with our system here. What Obama did in the Deepwater Horizon incident was to sever Federal Agencies that hitherto issued permits for offshore drilling and handed that power over to a Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement. According to him the relationship between the Federal Agencies and the oil companies was too cosy. In Nigeria, our environmental watchdogs are Abuja, not in Niger Delta where we have the environmental issues, they are in the same cosy relationship without any consequence and it is business as usual.

    From 2006 NOSDRA became, by law, the lead agency in oil spill response and environmental management in Nigeria. Sadly, now apart from NOSDRA, other Government agencies are juggling to have dealings with IOCs for no other purpose but to line their pockets without any proper legal/regulatory or at best conflicting legal framework. DPR has refused to let go. NIMASA is taking a fair share of the role of NOSDRA because its leadership is incompetent with little or no technical knowledge. This is further worsened by the fact that corruption has eaten the fabric of what the agency is supposed to achieve. So they just remain in Abuja receive allocation from the Federal Government, pay staff salaries and remain docile.

    So, the Bonga spill occurred NOSDRA did not know what do when NIMASA was kicking. NOSDRA suddenly woke from its slumber to slam ‘N5b administrative penalty’ whatever that means on SPDC and SPDC said they won’t pay and didn’t. The type of penalty speaks volume of the kind of leadership in NOSDRA because there is no basis for it either in law or morals. Sadly, incompetent persons are placed in sensitive positions to check the activities and recklessness of Shell and other IOCs as it affects the environment, a very important component in the wellbeing and quality of life of the people of the Niger Delta.

    I will further explain the malaise in handling the Bonga spill. The then Minister of Environment, Mrs Hadiza Ibrahim Mailafia, after an over-flight of the spill area, gave a thumbs-up to Shell – a polluter of that magnitude! She did not go down there to see what happened. She and Peter Idabor the DG of NOSDRA did an over flight in a chopper provided by SPDC. They did not get down to the communities. They saw the Bonga spill from the prism of SPDC and went back to Abuja with praises for SPDC.

    These environmental watchdogs are so detached from the people in fact they do not care about the people they appointed to protect. The masters attitude is replicated in all zonal offices as the Zonal Directors take instructions from Abuja on what to and what not to do and everybody plays to the gallery and fall over themselves to get involved and be in the thick of the action without thought for the people of the impacted communities.

    On the Bonga Oil spill Procedural steps and regulations on spill management were not followed. As a result, the agency relied on figure provided by Shell, which by its own estimate, was about 40,000 barrels of crude oil spilled into the environment. Yet, nothing was done about it.

    You sound like you doubt the 40,000barrels figure?

    That is what Amnesty International is saying. Shell consistently underreport and manipulate spill figures to escape damage and liability. As I speak there have series of spills from the Forcados Terminal from the Crude Loading Platform of SPDC called the Single Point Mooring. SPDC has started the abracadabra with NOSDRA. I had to report to the Honourable Commissioner for Environment to help since NOSDRA is comatose for obvious reasons. These spills occurred on the 3/1/2012, 30/9/2013 and 5/11/2013. The polluted communities were never taken along on the constitution of the Joint Investigation Team and the JIV for deliberate reasons.

    Some top officials of NOSDRA and other regulators are very corrupt and incompetent people who ought not to be there.

    That is a serious allegation…

    Not allegation, but fact. Let me explain to you. The law provides that if there is a spill, NOSDRA constitutes JIV comprising the agency, the polluter and the polluted (impacted communities). Not just that, but they are to do that within 48 – 72 hours to ascertain the cause and extent of the spill. To establish the extent of pollution, NOSDRA should get an ESI (environment sensitive index) of the area before the spill. It would then match the ESI to the area during the spill to get the extent and what to do during and after the spill. But up till this moment, with all the resources and allocations, NOSDRA does not have that invaluable document.

    That is the incompetence. Now let me tell you about the corruption in NOSDRA. I have used this analogy before, I will use it again. In a situation where security agency arrests a thief and relies on the suspect to provide and fuel vehicles to convey him to court, also provides the courtroom, logistics, pay the hotel bills and feed the officers and give them pocket money to buy groundnut, gala and even GSM phones and recharge card, how do you expect the case to go? That is the situation we find NOSDRA in. Shell provides helicopter and the pilot, boats and driver and cars to take them on JIV. If the site is outside their area, the company also provides hotel accommodation, feeding and ‘logistics’.

    Now the situation is so bad that other agencies have seen pollution as a good hunting ground. NESDRA, states and federal ministries of environment and even NIMASA have joined because they want a piece of the polluters’ cake at the expense of the environment.

    Do you think the Federal Government is committed to fighting environmental pollution?

    No, it is not. You expect President Goodluck Jonathan, who is closest to Oloibiri, among Nigerian leaders, to understand the plight of the people, but he is not because the economy is oil driven. Nobody, not even a president who is victim of oil pollution, wants to upset the apple cart.

    The problem is when you have a government that is involved in the oil business with a JV stake of over 50 per cent and the government appoints regulators and fund them! You should wonder how there can be fair play and justice and how the agencies, which funding come from the oil business can be above board.

    What then is the way forward?

    Government should hands off oil business. It should stop funding the various agencies and ask them to generate their own fund. There is the polluter pay principle, which stipulates penalty for pollution. The agencies are not bothered about enforcing them because whether they do or not, they still get their allocations from government coffers.

    Then, duplicity of regulatory agencies is a drain on public fund. They should all be collapsed into one efficient body with powers to enforce laws and impose appropriate penalties. Government should stop creating unnecessary position and portfolios simply to settle political interests.

    How has the judiciary fared in the quest of justice in oil spill cases?

    I have been involved in dozens of court cases over pollution and I can tell you that even the legendary patience of the biblical Job is not enough to wait. You see many people who can afford it are now taking their cases against IOCs outside the country because it is difficult to get justice here. Shell and others have been severally sued outside the shores of Nigeria.

    Again, even justice is affected by the environment. I have said before that Nigeria’s economy is oil driven and the government cannot tolerate anything that interferes with its daily bread. The government has its interest and influence.

    Then there is also the justice-for-sale syndrome. The honourable Chief Justice of Nigeria, Aloma Mukhtar, said there is black market justice, it also affects environment cases. Some judges are easily influenced to chase technicality at the expense of justice.

    This is very frustrating for the victims of these pollutions and it has led some communities and their leaders to endorse illegal bunkering, which is a crime that should be condemned no matter the circumstance. They do this to get their own pound of flesh from a system that has made environmental justice so difficult and far-fetched.

     

  • NDYM okays Abia’s nomination as NDDC MD/CEO

    The Niger Delta Youth Movement (NDYM) has supported Governor Godswill Akpabio’s nomination of his Commissioner for Housing and Urban Renewal, Akwa Ibom State, Bassey Dan Abia, for appointment as Niger Delta Development Commission’s (NDDC) Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer.

    NDYM, at a briefing in Uyo, the state capital, said a great Niger Delta patron like Akpabio cannot but work for true and rapid development in the Niger Delta as evidenced in Akwa Ibom state.

    NDYM is the umbrella body of all youth groups and movement in the Niger Delta.

    The President of the group, Ajulisan Akumagba, explained that Abia proximity and participation in Governor Godswill Akpabio’s developmental revolution in Akwa Ibom state, gives credence to the propriety of his current nomination for the NDDC top job.

    Akumagba noted that Abia’s nomination also entails all that is required to further strengthen the already formidable cords of unity and brotherliness in Akwa Ibom state and the entire Niger Delta as a whole.

    Before his recent appointment as the Commissioner for Housing and Urban Renewal, Abia served as Attorney-General/Commissioner for Justice.

    He also served as NDDC Commissioner representing Akwa Ibom state and also acting chairman of the commission.

    The NDYM President said: “During all these years of public stewardship, Abia has never once been indicted or found guilty of any wrongdoing whatsoever. In fact, I recall that on many occasions during these different stints in public office, Abia received heartfelt commendations from many regional and, even, national stakeholders.”

    While thanking the Supreme Council of Youth Leaders in Akwa Ibom State for their stand in supporting the nomination of Abia as NDDC MD/CEO, Akumagba stated that, by this, the council has shown to all that they

    are interested in fast-tracking the development of the Niger Delta.

     

  • Diobu timber market… A den of robbers, kidnappers

    Diobu timber market… A den of robbers, kidnappers

    Diobu area of Rivers state is popular in Port Harcourt, the state capital because of its high level of commercial activities, high population density and high level of crime.

    It is strategically located at the heart of Port Harcourt, and close to the state seat of power (state House). Most hosts business organisation, especially the print media, banks offices etc.

    The area is always busy and full of activities both legal and otherwise. It has several waterfronts with many squatters and squalors. Hardship and poverty are evident on waterfronts dwellers and the waterfronts are believed to be breeding grounds for criminals in the cosmopolitan city.

    Diobu boys are readily available for use by desperate political office seekers to execute dirty deals.

    Many notable personalities like the Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, Austin Opara (the former Deputy Speaker of the Federal House of Representative), the famous singer Duncan Mighty, among others, grew up in the area.

    Security in Diobu as in other parts of the states was a huge challenge until the governor Amaechi took over late 2007.

    He signed into law cultism/ kidnapping bill and gave death sentence penalty for offenders. He stood against payment of ransom for kidnap victims, with the view to making the ‘business’ which at a time became the flavour of many youths for its lucrativeness less attractive.

    However the state is yet to record the first convict on the crime five years after the law was made, despite efforts by the police in apprehending and charging the culprits to court.

    The always awaited report of the state Director of public Prosecution (DPP), hardly come out, for their prosecution at the High Court to begin.

    Also the governor embarked on the demolition of some identified flashpoints- mainly popular waterfronts, like the Abonnema Wharf and Njamanze waterfronts to clear the city of criminals and their activities.

    Amaechi also announced the ban on the operation of commercial motor-cycle (okada), in the two LGAs of Obio/Akpor and Port Harcourt City (PHALGA), amidst public criticism and resistance, but it paid off, as it reduced crime rate in Port Harcourt.

    Residents gradually began to sleep with their two eyes closed, the rate at which people were losing their handsets and women losing their handbags and its contents began to reduce, fragile security returned.

    But there are indications that the bad old days have returned to Port Harcourt. News of kidnap, cultism, snatching of bags, rape, robbery, and diversion of passengers has become the present order of the day in the city.

    Traders at the Iloabuchi, Echue, Okwelle, Eagle Island and Sandfill Timber markets all in Diobu, recently raised alarm over the resurgence of hoodlums and their nefarious activities in Diobu area especially the timber markets.

    They said their businesses have been paralysed by the criminals.

    Diobu timber markets hosts over 5,000 businesses and employs over one million workers, including traders in timber, timber mill, carpenters, wood dressers, labourers, eateries among others.

    A delegation to the Port Harcourt office of the Vintage Press, publishers of the Nation Newspaper recently told the Niger Delta Report that their businesses are under threat.

    They said both their customers and suppliers have been scared away by the criminals (cultists), who operate under the name, ‘Niger Delta Youths’.

    According to them, the hoodlums, made up of six different cult groups, operate different kidnap camps, where they rape, torture and maim their victims in each of the waterfront at the timber markets.

    They said they engage in all forms of heinous crimes unhindered and appeals, petitions to both the Azikiwe, Mile one police stations for assistance yielded no results. They said extortion of shop operators, lorry drivers who came to supply goods to them (traders), and snatching of customers’ money at payment point is the order of the day at the markets.

    They said the boys operate in the area unchallenged, alleging that they have understanding with the police, who at every evening walk down to their (criminals), camp to collect their share of the day’s loots. They have lost confidence on the conventional policemen, and appeal for the deployment of men of SARS of Joint Military Task Force(JTF), to them.

    According to them, cries and shouts for help by victims of their attack are in vain not even on close range as nobody would wish to go close to the scene of attack/crime or thank God if he lives to tell the story of his rescue mission.

    “As soon as it is 6:00pm, entire areas of the timber markets within the area become impassable by all, including commercial motorists.

    “These criminals take advantage of the darkness that characterizes the markets to carry out their nefarious activities. Although electricity polls and cables criss-crossed the markets, they have never conveyed electric current any day,” they said.

    They said several reports to both the Mile one and Iloabuchi Police stations for intervention have not yielded any result, as the situation has increased following the approaching yuletide season.

    They called Governor Chibuike Amaechi –led government and Commissioner of Police (CP), Mbu Joseph Mbu to save the means of livelihood of the over 5,000 youths that are doing the business in these markets from joblessness hardship, poverty and their attendant consequences.

    Narrating the situation, Mr. Charles Amadi, said, “for some time now, doing business at Iloabuchi Timber Market in Diobu is becoming more challenging because of the activities of hoodlums.

    “No business is going on there presently; all of our customers have deserted the market, for fear of attack by the criminals.

    “Nobody is exempted; whether you came to buy or deliver/supply goods to us you are a target of extortion, robbery and torture. Because of these ugly experiences, our customers have been scared away, we don’t see anyone again.

    “These have become a daily occurrence in the area. They pride themselves as “Niger Delta Boys” to harass attack and illegally extort monies from us and our customers.

    “vehicles that bring goods to us from Aba or Onitsha are always apprehended by this group of boys and forced to pay various amounts of illegal fees ranging between N3,000 and N5,000 (per vehicle). Any driver that resisted them, is instantly attacked with either bottle, knife or they take him on gunpoint to any of their “Inn” (inside the waterside), where they will either be forced to pay the ‘levy’ or face whatever punishment they deem feat.

    “There are several watersides in the area, like the timber waterside, Echue, Okwelle, sandfill watersides among others.

    “Sometimes they feign passengers on the roadsides, to capture commercial drivers, the moment slow down or stop to either find out where they are going to or carry them; they attack them on gunpoint and run off to the waterside.

    “Women are the worse affected; their necklaces, handbags, handsets and other belongings are always ripped off them, often time they are raped, tortured, all manner of abuse are meted out on them.

    “It is a terrible situation in the area and we are calling on the state government, security agents in the state, the Commissioner of Police Mbu Joseph Mbu, the military and others to come to our aid, we are helpless, the water has reached our throat we are handicap.

    “The Police have not been of any assistance to us, each time we report to them of these activities, especially whenever the illegal levies are being collected so they could be caught red handed, the police will not act immediately, and when they try to response they will come blaring their siren and the moment they suspect it was coming the area they will run, but returns the minute police leave.”

    It would be recalled that Governor Amaechi at the wake of the political crisis in the state raised the alarm over the resurgence of criminals and crime wave in the state, after directive of CP Mbu provided cover to ousted militants in the state to stage a one-day protest against the governor in the streets of Port Harcourt. The protest was led by an ex-militant leader Ateke Tom.

    But CP Mbu accused the governor of crying wolf, and reassured residents of the state, especially Port Harcourt that all is well in the state.

    However, the testimony of Mr. Casmir Uzoagba, chairman Multi-Purpose Timber contradicted the CP’s believe on the security situation in the state.

    Mr. Uzoagba said, “Last time, at about 3 pm, a man lost his N860, 000 (Eight Hundred and sixty Thousand Naira), with a gun, the man ran helter sketcher to no avail.

    “Another person was shut on the lower part of his abdomen, and everything he had was taken away from him.

    “At times these hoodlums will divert vehicles into the timber market in pretence that they have some items to carry, but they will end up robbing them of all their possession. Different kinds of crimes are going on there unhindered.” He stated

    He recommended the use of stiffer security measures by the Joint Military Task Force(JTF), or the SARS, to check their activities and revive their business, insisting that the police have disappointed them.

    “What we actually need there is the JTF or pure Military personnel. If they deploy either Mile one or Iloabuchi Policemen to the area nothing will change because, they know one another and this boys are paying tolls to them (the Police).

    They gave insight on the collaborative activities of the boys and the Police and said, “every evening, anyone around could notice the Police going to the water side, the boys Inn, to collect their share for the days job, it is not an allegation against the Police, but a fact.” they insisted.

    the Chairman said his groups made efforts in assisting the security agents to eradicate the area of crimes.

    “As part of our efforts to raid the area of this activities, last year, I went and made a formal report to the office of the State Security Services (SSS), sent in a petition and took them round different parts of this areas, they came and made some arrests that time but nothing more was heard of it, but the situation now is worse and frightening, especially as the December period is approaching.

    Mr. Ikechukwu Eze, Chairman Federated Timber Dealers Association, comprising Ikwuato, Iloabuchi, Echue and Eagle Island Timber Markets all in the same area, corroborated the stories of his colleagues and said, “The activities of these hoodlums in the area have sacked us from our businesses. Our customers have run away, they operate round the clock and daily.”

    He expressed concern on possible increase in crime in the Garden city and the state generally if the situation was not brought under control and the markets shut down.

    Mr. Emmanuel Agigbie, a lawyer, expressed the hope on the professionalism of CP Mbu in handling the situation and appealed to him to take note of what is happening in the state and address it as soon as possible.

    “It is trite in every society that you cannot eliminate crime hundred per cent in any place. But our appeal is that crime should be reduced to a minimum bearing so people could be relieved from trauma and anxiety.

    “As I said earlier, CP Mbu has an antecedent, he had worked in other states before coming to this state. Being a CP, I believe he is a professional in security and security matters. I think as the head of security, until he is briefed he wouldn’t know exactly what is going on somewhere.

    “The issue here I believe is that the CP’s men, who are in the field are not doing what they ought to do, and I think they should be changed.

    Reacting to the situation, the Police spokesperson, Mohammade Ahmed, expressed ignorance about the events at the area and invited the people to a meeting. He promised to ensure the situation was addressed and peace and normalcy restored to the area.

  • N1.8tr East-West Coastal Road back on the front burner

    N1.8tr East-West Coastal Road back on the front burner

    For three days, November 6 to November 8, the Nigerian Institution of Civil Engineers (NICE) brainstormed on the theme: “Enhancing national economic growth though sustainable civil Infrastructure”. The occasion was the 11th National Civil Engineering Conference and Annual General Meeting, which was held in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital. The civil engineers not only talked about big dreams, they talked about taking the necessary steps to realise the dreams.

    One major dream, which they talked about how it would become a reality, is the East-West Coastal Highway. The contract for the design of the 704 km project was awarded to Pearl Consultants, an indigenous firm, with over 40 years’ experience in the business of engineering designs. It was agreed that the project remains pivotal to the rapid development of not just the Niger Delta but the country.

    It also emerged at the sessions that the Federal Government was seriously working on the contract for the award of the project, which was by strategic design the Nigerian perfect extension of the Trans-West African Coastal Highway segment linking Dakar-Banjul-Monrovia-Lome-Lagos.

    The East-West Coastal Road will link the Western flank of the Trans-African Highway Network from Lagos to the Eastern axis through Ikom in Cross River State to Mombassa in Kenya.

    Speaking at a dinner lecture to mark the end of the conference, Mayne David-West, the guest lecturer, said the design of the road had been completed and tender documents for the award of the contract were now before the Federal Government for consideration.

    In a presentation entitled: ‘Economic Development of Nigeria and the Challenge of Road Infrastructure Improvement,” David-West, a fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), and lead consultant on the engineering design of the coastal road, advised that it would be expedient if the Federal Government would adopt the East-West Coastal Road as the base-alignment of the proposed Golden Triangle Super-Highway, which is part of President Goodluck Jonathan’s Strategic Highway Investment for Transformation (SHIFT) programme.

     

     

     

     

     

     

    David-West said: “The East-West Coastal Road is the natural alignment of the Nigerian segment of the Trans-African highway Network that connects the Trans-West African Coastal Road, which spans from Lagos to Dakar. The unique alignment of the East-West Coastal Road, coupled with the abundant natural resources available along its corridor easily qualifies it as a natural ‘Trade Corridor’ in the African sub-region.”

    He urged the government to speed up action on the coastal highway to properly position it to link up with the proposed Golden Triangle super-highway being planned by the Ministry of Works to improve the country’s economy.

    He said the East-West Coastal Road, estimated to cost about N1.8 trillion, should be undertaken through a multi-lateral funding arrangement. He urged the Federal Government to seek funding windows through the Public Private Partnership (PPP) and concessionary loans, since the capital resources needed for the actualisation of the coastal road was huge.

    David-West said the 704-kilometre Coastal Road stretches from Odukpani Junction in Cross River State to Ibeju on Lekki-Epe Expressway in Lagos State, traversing over 1,000 communities.

    He said: “The unique alignment of the East-West Coastal Road, coupled with the abundant natural resources available along its corridor, easily qualifies it as natural ‘trade corridor’.”

    He said the economic potentials of the road were bountiful as it passes through nine states— Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, Ondo, Ogun and Lagos.

    He added that the road would link up major industrial facilities, such as the Tinapa Free Trade Zone in Calabar, the Nigeria LNG Plant in Bonny, the Brass LNG, and the Koko Free Trade Zone, among others.

    David-West said the value of roads went beyond transportation of goods and people, as it also provided the foundation for economic development. According to him, “roads are important drivers in facilitating economic growth. It is a corridor with the ability to augment trade, increase productivity and improve living standards of a nation.”

    A former Executive Director of Projects in the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Beniah Ojum, said the idea of the coastal road was conceived by the interventionist agency and articulated at an international conference in Port Harcourt in December 2001, under the aegis of the commission and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

    He said the international conference on the development of the Niger Delta concluded that without the proposed road, no meaningful development would likely take place in the region.

    Ojum said the mega project should not be delayed any further.

    He said: “I believe that we are going to have a new Niger Delta that will be propelled by important infrastructure. I want to see a Niger Delta where Lagosians will move on Friday evening to go and enjoy fresh fish in Port Harcourt, in Yenagoa, where investors will come from all over the world.”

    He said a good road network connecting the entire Niger Delta and the rest of the country is viewed as the beginning of economic development and emancipation in the region. He added that the Niger Delta Regional Development Master Plan identified the challenge of paucity of transportation infrastructure. The former NDDC Executive Director said the proposed coastal road was so strategic that there was no doubt it would play the expected role in promoting the development of the region by seamlessly integrating the regional economy with the mainstream economy.

    A study conducted on the economic benefits of the road indicates that the road when completed will save each traveller from the various coastal communities in the road corridor an average of 3 traveling hours to the capital city. The gain amounts to N267 billion per annum based on the assumptions that only one-third of estimated current vehicular traffic to the capital city exists and that each vehicle plying the road on average has only two occupants.

    When in 2008, the NDDC awarded a contract for the design of the coastal road, the job was divided into two phases. The first phase was to find out the potential areas of alignment and look into the feasibility of the construction of the road. In this phase, the consultants undertook such tasks as alignment selection, scoping and realistic cost estimate, determination of construction methods and standards and financing options for the project.

    Significantly, after that phase was successful, the second phase was approved. Under the second phase, the firm was tasked with assessing the environmental impact of the project and carrying out full engineering design.

    The two phases, said the then NDDC Managing Director Chibuzor Ugwoha, were independent of each other in order to know “whether the project is possible before taking on further expenses, otherwise, we just end up wasting resources if we award everything in a lump only to discover, after the feasibility study, that the construction is not feasibility.”

    Reports from the first phase of the project indicated that the road would be two-lane dual carriageway, with provision for expansion of the road into three lanes on both sides of the road. However, the bridges are to be constructed as three-lane dual carriageways from the beginning so as to make future expansion easier.

    The study on the project also shows that about 106 kilometres of the road will run through islands, forests, mangrove swamps and fresh water swamps. The road will also house about 160 bridges.

    Some of the places that the bridges will cross are places where ships also pass, which means the bridges in such places would be extra-ordinary. Two of the bridges, from the feasibility study, will be cable-stayed bridges while another two will be suspension bridges. The cable-stayed bridges, said the report, will be the fifth longest of the type in the whole world, while the suspension bridges would be the eight longest the world over.

    For ease of delivery, the construction work was broken into several segments so that the job can be done simultaneously. In all, there are five sections of the contract which are: Calabar-Andoni River with a length of 177.8km; Andoni River-Brass River, spanning 133km; Brass River-Ramos River, covering 133.750km; Ramos River-Benin River which runs across 92km; and the Benin River-Lagos, which will cover 168km.

    For a project of this magnitude, compromise has had to be made. Ugwoha said: “The consultants came across community issues whenever they got to certain communities and the community would prevent them from working in certain areas because they (the community) consider such areas no-go areas either because they were being used as shrines or were simply considered sacred groves or forest. The implication of that is that very often, the workers needed to shift elsewhere in order to secure alignment points. Naturally, they also had to contend with government regulations which prevent carrying out certain forms of construction activities in some areas.”

    But, not a few have wondered where the over N1 trillion for the project will come from? The NDDC admitted it cannot go it alone. So, it wanted to partner with government, the oil companies and other corporate bodies.

    The creation of the Niger Delta Ministry affected the project. The Federal Government transferred the responsibility for executing the project to the Niger Delta Ministry. Vice-President Namadi Sambo offered a justification for this when he said: “The Federal Government, in its quest to complete all major projects in the Niger Delta, has directed that the coastal road construction be transferred to the Ministry of Niger Delta since the money needed for its construction is over N1 trillion and is beyond the capability of the NDDC.”

    Niger Delta Minister Godsday Orubebe was quoted as blaming the inactivity on the project on lack of fund. The project, a brainchild of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, has remained on the drawing board because of lack of capital outlay. Orubebe said it would be difficult to source the kind of fund to prosecute the project.

    Recently, the Akwa Ibom and Delta states assemblies, at a joint sitting, deliberated on the matter.

    The Deputy Majority Leader, Johnson Erijo (Delta) said the construction of the Coastal road project would serve as a catalyst for both regional integration and enhanced economic activities in the Southsouth.

    Part of the resolutions read: “That this joint sitting of the Delta and Akwa Ibom state Houses of Assembly hereby urge His Excellency, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan (GCFR), the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to: Direct the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs and Niger Delta Development commission (NDDC) to ensure that work commences on the proposed Coastal road Project from Calabar to Lagos.

    “Use his good offices to urge all oil exploration and exploitation companies operating in the South –South region including the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and other stakeholders in the oil industry to as well partner with the above mentioned MDAs for the construction of the Coastal Road Project which will serve as a catalyst for both regional integration and enhance economic activities in the South- south region.”

    Interestingly, the issue of when this dream will become a reality is dependent on a number of factors, which also revolve around funding. Even if the funding is made available, the terrain is such a challenge that it can take not less than five years for the road to be ready for use. And that is also provided the job is segmented and awarded to several companies to handle the five different portions of the road.

    The commission hoped that inhabitants of the communities that the coastal road will pass through will co-operate with the contractors, leaving them to grapple with only environmental and natural challenges.

    David-West said it would take about five years to complete the Coastal Road. In a paper he presented as a guest lecturer at the 6th annual lecture of Prof. Youpele Beredugo organised by the Port Harcourt chapter of NICE, in Port Harcourt , Rivers State, he said the project might span a period of ten years if contracts for the different sections of the projects were not awarded at the same time.

    “It will take about five years to complete the construction of the East-West Coastal road. It was designed in such a way that the project will be divided into ten sections and awarded to different contractors.

    “But if the project is not awarded to different companies, it will take up to ten years to get it completed,” David-West explained.

    David-West described the move by the Federal Government to seek external sources of raising the required fund for the project as a welcome development, saying: “The project holds a lot of promise for the people of the coastal communities and Nigeria at large.”

    He said such promises would come with some sacrifice and challenges, especially from the people of the region who have suffered from age long neglect and deprivation.

    It is envisaged that with this road more people will go into agriculture; it will become easier to bring electricity to some communities that were hitherto inaccessible and such businesses as cold room for sea food, gas stations, holiday resorts and schools will spring up.

     

  • Why motorcyclists shunned Ikpoba-Okha taxis

    Why motorcyclists shunned Ikpoba-Okha taxis

    The inauguration of 100 new Suzuki cars bought for ex-bike riders in Ikpoba-Okha Local Government was done with funfare. During the inauguration, supposed beneficiaries dressed in uniforms of the Road Transport Employers Association stood by each of the taxi parked at the Ikpoba-Okha secretariat where the event took place.

    Governor Adams Oshiomhole who performed the inauguration was full of praises for the council boss, Itohan Osahon-Ogbeide for taking a step ahead to provide palliatives for the former commercial motor-cycle operators in the state.

    The Governor banned the use of commercial motor-cycle in Oredo, Ikpoba-Okha, Egor and some parts of Uhunmwode and Ovia North Local Government Areas in May this year.

    Oshiomhole at the inauguration said: “The value of these vehicles shows how a local government can complement the efforts of the state government. It was my lot to try to take into account the overall interest of our state, I found myself having to reverse myself when I announced the banning of Okada. It was not the best mode of transportation and for many of us who have travelled to other parts realised that it remains a shame.

    “But I had offered to support them because they were my allies during the struggle to reclaim my mandate. When the interest of the overall security of the state compelled me to reverse myself and to invest my political capital in order to enhance the security of the state, I had to take the painful but inevitable decision to ban the use of motorbike for commercial purposes in the three core local government that constitute the heart of Benin City.

    “I did promise that we would try to provide palliative jobs for okada riders as well as take long term decision to increase the fleet of the Comrade bus and provide cars for the original okada riders. We are still working on that; so, for me it was a brilliant surprise when the Chairman of the local government invited me to come and commission these taxis. I am not ashamed to say that you have worked faster than me”.

    Hon Osahon-Ogbeide had said the taxis were bought as part of her empowerment programme for former bike riders and that the venture was a Private-Partnership-Programme (PPP) inclusive of insurance cover cost, which places each vehicle at N1.9 million each and the beneficiaries are to pay in installments for a three-year duration.

    She explained that the choice of Suzuki motor cabs was due to its cost effectiveness, ruggedness and the assurance of three years warranty of the product.

    Checks showed that supposed beneficiaries are to bring a guarantor who should be a civil servant from level 13 and above and are expected to pay N2100 daily for three years before the taxi could become theirs or the guarantor forfeit his pension.

    One month after, the taxis are yet to be seen in the streets of Ikpoba-Okha. Sources at the council told the Nation that persons who stood as beneficiaries during the inauguration were paid to perform the act.

    The taxis are currently parked at a residence at Osadebey Avenue in the Government Reservation Area waiting for interested persons to apply. Commercial bike-riders whom the cars were bought for appeared not to be interested.

    Some who spoke to the Nation said the palliatives measure came late after many of them have readjusted and bought old cars through hire purchase at cheap and affordable prices.

    Henry who uses an Audi 80 for cab said the N1.9m for the Suzuki cars was too expensive for him.

    “I prefer to use this and not have any problem. How will I work N1.9m in three years? Where will I get a guarantor? They should have placed the price at N1.2m or N1.5m.”

    Others said roads in Ikpoba-Okha are not motorable for the use of the new cars.

    Philip, a former bike rider who now work as a bus conductor said the council boss should have fixed the roads before buying the taxis.

    State President of RTEAN, Osakpanmwan Eriyo, who is in charge of giving out the vehicles could not be reached for comments on why the cars were parked at the GRA residence.

     

  • Kokori…Troubles are not over

    Kokori…Troubles are not over

    Fresh crisis is brewing in Kokori community of Agbon Clan in Ethiope East Local Government Area of Delta State, after a militant group, the Liberation Movement of Urhobo People (LiMUP), by Kelvin Ibruvwe an alleged kidnap kingpin, abducted a prominent chief in the sub-clan.

    It was gathered that the traditional titleholder, Chief Fred Emufo, a prominent member of the community’s Okoarho-in-Council (Council of Chiefs), was abducted by the gang while returning from a meeting of the council in the palace of the Okarhoro (community head).

    It was later revealed that the group was unhappy that Emufo and other traditional titleholders had paid a visit to the Kokori monarch, HRM Mike Omeru, Ogurime-Rime Ukori 1.

    It was learnt that the visit was to appease the monarch for an attack on his palace by LiMUP members, when he was receiving members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the run-up to the October 12 Delta Central Senatorial by-election. The rampaging youths opened fire on the palace, razed several vehicles and chased away the monarch’s guest.

    Those in the palace at the time of the attack included the PDP candidate and eventual winner of the election, Chief Emmanuel Aguariavwodo and member representing Ethiope Federal Constituency in the National Assembly, Chief Sunny Emeyese. The legislator was later flown abroad for treatment on the injuries he sustained in the attack.

    Consequently, some traditional chiefs and members of the sub-clan paid a visit to the monarch to denounce the attack and apologize for the unruly behavior of the youths and the entire Kokori people and dissociated themselves from the attack.

    However, Niger Delta Report gathered that a fresh twist emerged in the drama last Tuesday when armed youths suspected to be members of LiMUP ambushed and seized Chief Emufo. The victim was taken him to their hideout in one of the bushes around the community.

    A team of soldiers were immediately deployed to secure his release. But it was learnt that gang took him farther into the bush before the soldiers arrived the scene. Although one of the rifles of the fleeing gang members was retrieved by the soldiers.

    The embattled community leader, who was released four hours after, explained how he was snatched by the armed youths. He said he was taking his uncle and three other chiefs to their homes when the armed gang swooped on him around Okpe street junction of the town.

    “They ordered all of us out of the car. They took the car from me and drove it into the street while others marched me to about 4 kilometers into the bush where I was held hostage for about 4 hours.”

    He said the youths, who identified themselves as members of the militant group, lambasted him and other members of the community who went to plead for forgiveness over attack on the monarch and his visitors.

    Emufo revealed that the youths told him that the allegation made against them by the chiefs were false, adding that they were not criminals but genuinely aggrieved freedom fighters who were pressuring the government to give them employment and develop Kokori and the entire Urhobo nation.

    He said the saving grace for him was that one of the militant gang members knew him.

    “He said he knew me through my late wife, who taught him in security. He said he was educated but unhappy that he is unable to get a job and the living condition in the town was deplorable. He said he was forced to take up arm because against the government because of the situation.”

    The beleaguered chief said he was only released because he denied being on the delegation that visited and apologised to the king.

    Emufo said he was shown around the camp where over 200 members of the gang are currently hiding in the bush.

    The victim was asked to deliver a stern warning to the monarch and other members of the community and governments. He was said to have been asked to deliver a two-week ultimatum, which would expire next Wednesday, November 27.

    The latest ultimatum came on the heels of the expiration of a similar deadline issued by Oniarah and his gang on September 17 – one week before he was arrested in Port Harcourt.

    A source in the community told our reporter that the gang members are putting pressure on traditional titleholders and a section of the community to call for the release of Oniarah, who was arrested by Department of State Security (DSS).

    “They are asking the council of chief to secure the release of those who are at present arrested and detained by the security agents, including LIMUP leader Mr. Kelvin Oniara Ibruvwe or alternatively face dire consequence. Some people in the community are appealing to them to remain calm. That is why you see the semblance of peace in Kokori right now,” our source in the town said.

    In a related development, Kokori youths (Ighele) and women folk (Ewheya) also disavowed the controversial apology visit to the monarch.

    The women’s group, led by their spokespersons Madam Irerevwo Oyokoko and Mrs. Omotejehwo Onovughakpo, faulted the supplicationt to the moanrch, noting that it tend to portray the entire community as responsible for the invasion of the palace.

    They said although some members of the militant group could be from Kokori, not all indigenes of the community are members of LiMUP. While remarking that some members of the group are not from the town, they noted that for the apologizing for such unclear action was wrong and capable of passing it off as an action by the entire community.

    Madam Oyokoko posited that those who attended the meeting should have just asked for the forgiveness for their own children involved in the attack and not for the entire women folks and youths of Kokori.

    Mrs. Onovughakpor remarked that it was unbelievable that the women would be made to ask for forgiveness when they were the victims of military oppression and abuses, which resulted in their nude protest. She also decried perceived falsehood being spread in the wake of the recent insurgence in the Urhobo community.

    The women faulted claims by the monarch for claims in an interview published in NDR. The monarch took credit for facilitating the tarring of major roads and streets in the town. He also listed his achievements to include the tarring of Kokori-Eku and Kokori Ring roads in the town and annual award of scholarships to indigent students of the clan.

    However, Mrs Onovughakpor recalled that the roads were tarred by an oil company operating in the area following months-long protest by the women folk.

    “The protest led to the closure of the Erhioke flow station in our land before the company agreed to tar the road,” she added.

     

  • Joggers defy death, sickness in Bayelsa

    Joggers defy death, sickness in Bayelsa

    Even a spiritualist cannot guess his age. He is the only one that can explain how old he is. Others who tried from the realm of speculation in the past failed. Even the Niger Delta Report could not presume how old Bright Abel Yowa is.

    But he said: “I am 63. But if l don’t tell you, you wouldn’t know. I look younger, healthier and more agile than people who are far younger than me”.

    Without any scintilla of doubt, Yowa, a retired Permanent Secretary doesn’t just look younger than his age. He is highly spirited and full of life. The vivacious sexagenarian is a member of Sports for All Nigerian Club which has been adapted to Sports for All Bayelsans with a slogan: “Nobody Dies”. In fact, he is the Chairman of the club.

    Every Saturday and other public holidays, members of the club comprising workers, students, military men and even job seekers including retired civil servants assemble at the Samson Siasia Sports Complex, Yenagoa, to collectively partake in sporting events.

    Niger Delta Report joined members of the club on Saturday last week to find out the secret behind their fitness. It is a ritual. Every Saturday, members of Nobody Dies assemble at the sports complex at 7am with some wearing yellow-and-black, the official jersey of the club and others clad in different sporting outfits.

    After forming two lines, the men and women begin their exercise with jogging. They jog from the sports complex through the Government House, Onopa to Amarata up until the popular Ekeki Park. After reaching the park, they make a u-turn through the same route back to the sports complex. It is a distance of 5km.

    One of the unique features of the jogging is its entertainment. In unison they sing and gyrate attracting the admiration of passers-by, motorists, commuters and residents. Children rush out to applaud them and many others envy and give them “thumb up”. Theirs is a sight to behold.

    Apart from that, they are careful and conscious of their safety. Some of them keep some distance away from the group to control traffic and pave the way for others to pass without hassles. The motorist s, out of respect for the group, willingly obey and reduce the two-lane road to a single lane.

    Despite his age, Yowa leads the group in songs. He remains spirited throughout the period. He jogs, jumps, dances and most times adds swagger to the movement. He observes the group, motivates them and ensures that boredom does not set in. When his voice begins to fail him, other members of the group such as Emeka and Okon take over.

    After the 5km run, the joggers return to the stadium and their coach, Mr. Lawrence Perimo, who dictates the pace of the jogging takes them through different exercises that strengthen the heart, burn stomach fats and tone the knees and muscles.

    Yowa explains the idea behind the nobody-dies slogan. “It means that everybody should stay alive. Nobody should stay inactive. We don’t want people that will grow old and sloppy with age. We want everybody to get strong even until death”, he said.

    He confessed that the jogging and other exercises make them fit and strong. He said: “It makes me healthy and takes away weakness from me. For instance I am 63-year old. But you can see me, l am still strong. I am stronger than some people who are far younger then me.

    “Everybody should come and join us. Bayelsa should stay alive and active. As you come out and jog, you will remain healthy”.

    The coach, Perimo, says joining the club is free. Though he is about 50 years old, he looks young like Yowa.

    “I am approaching 50 but if l don’t tell you, you wouldn’t know. I am advising people to come in. You don’t pay anything to become a member. Just come and partake in the programme”, he said.

    Perimo, a coach attached to the Bayelsa State Sports Council and trainer of football teams in fitness, insists that members of the club hardly get sick. “No regular member has complained to me about sickness,” he maintains.

    “This is a club known as at the national level. It is to keep people fit and anybody that comes on Saturday and public holidays will partake in it free of charge.

    “Fitness, they say, is next to Godliness. Permanent secretaries, commissioners, military men are all members. The governor is aware that these things are going on,” he said.

     

  • Peterside’s goodies for Rivers

    Peterside’s goodies for Rivers

    Andoni/Opobo-Nkoro Federal Constituency of Rivers State is home to some of the best minds in the country. And going by recent developments in the area, which is represented in the House of Representatives by Dakuku Peterside, the area will not lag behind in the production of highly-skilled manpower for a long time to come. All thanks to Peterside, who has instituted a post-graduate scholarship scheme for indigenes of the area, who have admissions to study in prestigious colleges in the United Kingdom.

    This, said a source, is in line with Peterside’s cherished dream of raising a new generation of forward looking and visionary leaders.

    Last week, Peterside, through the Andoni/Opobo-Nkoro Economic Zone Foundation made sons and daughters of the zone upbeat when it called for applications for scholarship awards. The Andoni/Opobo-Nkoro Economic Zone Development Foundation 2014/2015 scholarship for Overseas Post-Graduate Scholarship has helped several underprivileged persons realise their dream of receiving world class education, thus many look forward to it yearly.

    To be qualified, the students must have admissions from any of these universities, Kingston University, London, University of Bristol, United Kingdom and University of Kent, United Kingdom.

    The foundation, in a statement, said candidates must be indigenes of Andoni and Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Areas of Rivers State, adding that only 12-month master’s degree students are eligible.

    The statement said students with admissions to courses, such as Energy and Environmental Law and Oil and Gas Engineering in the University of Aberdeen, United Kingdom, would be considered.

    It added: “Candidates must not be above 35 years. They must be graduates of recognised universities with not less than second class lower division. The year of graduation must not be earlier than 2004.”

    Peterside, an ardent supporter of the Governor Rotimi Amaechi government and a former Commissioner for Works under Amaechi, also facilitates the participation of Andoni/Opobo-Nkoro indigenes in four other scholarship schemes in some government and non-government agencies. These organisations include Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC); Rivers State Government Scholarship Board; Rivers State Sustainable Development Agency (RSSDA) Scholarship and Shell Scholarship.

    From August next year, Peterside will start a new scholarship which will benefit no less than 46 underprivileged undergraduates from the 23 local government area of Rivers State. His Development and Leadership Institute (DLI), founded in 2002, has also affected emerging young leaders through basic trainings in leadership, mentorship and development.

    Peterside, who shares the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum (Downstream), plans to convene a special education retreat to review post economic summit efforts in the area of education.

     

  • Olu of Warri, others commend NSITF chair’s benevolence

    Olu of Warri, others commend NSITF chair’s benevolence

    The Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse II and other traditional rulers in Delta State have commended the Chairman of the Nigerian Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), Dr. Ngozi Olejeme, for setting up a foundation to cater for the less privileged members of the society.

    Ogiame Atuwatse II spoke when Dr Olejeme, chair of U & I Foundation, paid him a courtesy visit during her inspection tour of the foundation’s office and empowerment programme in the state.

    The monarch said the gesture of the NSITF boss was unique and instructive and urged privileged members of the society to borrow a leaf from her initiative by giving back to the society.

    Ogiame Atuwatse II promised to support the foundation’s programmes that are geared towards the benefit of the Warri people.

    Dr Olejeme told the Warri monarch that the foundation was set up to give succor to the needy, widow, oppressed and vulnerable members of the society

    She called Nigerians and Deltans to support President Goodluck Jonathan and Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan, admonishing Nigerians to resist the temptation of falling backward on previous ways of doing things.

    Quoting Abraham Lincoln, a former US President, she reminded Nigerians on the nation’s unity of purpose and the bonds, stressing, “We are not enemies but friends. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.”

    She cautioned that the empowerment package is for the less-privileged members of the society and frown at situation where the rich would want to take over the wealth of the poor.

    Meanwhile, Dr Olejeme revealed that her visit to the Oil City was in continuation of her desire to take hope to the hopeless and acting as mother to motherless and provider of shelter to those without homes in the society.

    The U&I Foundation chairperson said the visit was also to prepare the foundation’s Warri office for its Christmas activities geared towards yuletide packages and taking the message of hope to those who lack the basic things of life.

    She said her foundation has impacted upon all groups and ethnic nationals in the state, irrespective of political and religious affinity, age or gender difference.

    Dr Olejeme added that through many lives have been reinvigorated through the foundation, promising that “more lives will be transformed”.

    She commended Ogiame Atuwatse II for his fatherly advice and support for the foundation.

    She also visited traditional rulers in the Isoko and ijaw lands in the Delta South Senatorial District of the state, where the preached the message of hope of the foundation.

    At the palace the Agadagba of Egbema kingdom, she thanked the traditional rulers for their support in the success of the last widow empowerment exercise in the areas.

    She expressed gratitude for their support for the Jonathan and Uduaghan administration saying that Nigeria will rise as one nation and one people.

    The Pere of Akugbene-mein Kingdom, who spoke on behalf of other traditional rulers, commended Dr. Olejeme for investing in the lives of others whose words of thanks she may not hear.

    He described her as a true woman of passion and love for the people.