The Nation Newspaper

Category: Niger Delta

  • Group protests abandoned NDDC road project

    A group, the Rebuild Nigeria Initiative, has expressed reservation over the alleged abandonment of Etomi/Agbokim road project by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

    Coordinator of the group in Cross River State, Mr Castro Ezama, alleged the road was contracted to a contractor (names withheld) which has reportedly abandoned it for four years.

    Ezama, who led the protest to the NDDC office in Calabar, said their investigations showed that money for the project amounting to over N1trillion had been released without any work being done.

    He said: “We support strongly the transformation agenda of the present administration and so we will not just sit down and see people dent the image of the administration.”

    He alleged that the sub-contractors in Cross River had supplied materials for the project, which they have not been paid for since the project was abandoned.

    Castro said if nothing was done about the situation, they would carry their protest to the NDDC office in Rivers State to ensure their message, warning, “If it means buying mattresses to go and sleep at the NDDC in Rivers State, we would do it.”

    At a meeting with the member representing Etung State Constituency in the House of Assembly, Mr Ogiza Okongor, he pleaded that the state government intervene in the matter.

    He said: “We know that you are the one representing that constituency and we know that you can prevent this from continuing because we know that your voice can be heard, so we have come as Cross-Riverians who are very concerned in re-building our great country.”

    He pleaded with the federal lawmaker to see to it that their plea was heard by the state government.

    Okongor said the house recently invited NDDC to a meeting where they claimed that the contractors’ complaint was that insufficient fund was not released to them.

  • Our grouse against Orubebe, by Niger Delta groups

    Our grouse against Orubebe, by Niger Delta groups

    Orubebe must go! Orubebe must go!” This was the slogan of two groups from the Niger Delta region that met recently in Patani, a Delta State local government area bordering Bayelsa State.

    The Niger Delta Peacekeeping Volunteer Force (NDPVF) and the Niger Delta Believers Group (NDBG) were unanimous in their agitation for the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Chief Godsday Orubebe to vacate his office.

    The National President, NDPVF, Chief Lokiri Lawrence, and his counterpart in the NDBV, Mr. Engema Lambo, blamed lack of development in the region on what they described as Orubebe’s incompetence.

    According to them development will only come to the region if President Goodluck Jonathan musters courage, sacks Orubebe and replaces him with a selfless, passionate and capable person from the region.

    Lawrence said: “The President has appointed Niger Delta people to mount sensitive offices to see how they can bring in development in the Niger Delta. This tasks falls on the Ministry of the Niger Delta which was handed over to Orubebe.

    “This ministry was created out of the struggle of the Ijaw people to ameliorate the suffering of the Niger Delta people. But this man has failed woefully with regards to performance.

    “He is incompetent and we call on Mr. President to sack Orubebe without any delay. Sacking him will promote the agenda of transparency and corruption-free governance. He does not mean well for the Niger Delta and should be sacked”.

    He further lamented the deplorable state of the roads in the region especially the East-West Road. He said the most important road that traverses the region has remained in bad shape despite huge amount of money so far spent for its dualisation.

    He regretted that the road had become a death trap for travelers and recalled series of accidents that claimed lives of innocent Nigerians on it. According to him the mother of Patience, the wife of President Jonathan died from an accident that occurred in a failed section of the road.

    Lawrence alleged that the East-West road had become a drain pipe on resources earmarked by the government for the development of the region.

    “Every day people are dying on the road. In fact, Mr. President’s in-law got an accident on the same road and died. All these lives have been lost because of the negligence and non-performance of this minister”, he said.

    He also kicked against the speculated governorship ambition of Orubebe in Delta State and said he lacked the qualities required to govern the state. He said any attempt to allow the minister govern Delta State would be to the detriment of the region’s development.

    “We are making strong appeal to the President not to support any ambition of Orubebe to rule Delta State.

    “Instead, we are calling on the President who is a product of zoning to support a credible person from Anioma, Delta North, which has never ruled the state from its creation to produce the next governor”, he said.

    Jombo further listed the alleged sins of Orubebe to include his inability to articulate the development of the region. He said the canalisation of some communities in the region, a project awarded by the ministry, was marred by fraud.

    He said: “There was nothing like canalisation. Within a short period, billions of Naira was siphoned in the name of canalisation. But we have a road less than 2km from Bomadi to Torogbene lying fallow for many years. If you can do canalisation quickly why don’t you approach the construction of that road with the same effort?

    “Orubebe cannot make any difference in Delta State. If the Presidency doesn’t want the development of Niger Delta, it should bring Orubebe as the governor of Delta.

    “He will be a failure. We are appealing to the a President to remove Orubebe because he has not done well. The problem of the East-West road is not of funding. It is a deliberate attempt to divert money and stockpile it for an election.”

    He called on the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to commence an investigation into the activities of the minister.

    “We are not happy with the state of our roads. There is no improvement at all in the roads that lead to communities in the Niger Delta region, the Hausa people became presidents and opened up their roads.

    “Every other projects in the region are suffering. Where are the coastal roads? President should protect his name by sacking Orubebe otherwise people will blame the underdevelopment in the region on him.”

    But Orubebe reiterated government’s determination to complete the East/West road next year. He said N140 billion was needed to fight the infrastructure battle in the region adding that the East-West road had reached 65 per cent completion.

    He decried the misconception of his ministry’s performance by the public, despite concerted efforts by his team to live up to expectation. Orubebe said N209 billion had been spent on the road project, adding that N140 billion was required to complete the project.

    He said: “People have misconceptions about the slow pace of service delivery by the ministry. We have moved from 10 per cent to 65 per cent in terms of completion. Before, there were no drawings and designs. Within a year, we had drawings and designs.”

    He said besides fostering peace in the oil-rich zone, the ministry has empowered the ex-militants, who have acquired skills through vocational trainings to become self-reliant.

    The minister dismissed insinuations that his attention may have been diverted from his ministerial job by his speculated governorship ambition in Delta State.

    He said: “I am a politician. But I have not gathered people to say that I want to be governor. May be, because I have been a minister for five years this is why there is speculation.

    “If I will run for the governorship, I will call you to tell you. My attention is not diverted. I am focused. I work with my team. If you don’t see me in Abuja, you will see me on the East/West road or in any of the Southsouth states.”

     

  • Day Igbo in Rivers elect new leadership

    Day Igbo in Rivers elect new leadership

    Igbo in Rivers State, under the aegis of United Igbo Community (UIC), last weekend, gathered at No.4c Ikwerre Street, Diobu, Port Harcourt to elect the Executive Committee to pilot their affairs.

    The peaceful election conducted by the electoral body of United Igbo Community was monitored by policemen, other security operatives and reporters.

    The election, which started with the screening of delegates, was observed by Chief Livnus Ofoegbu, the representative of the Igbo apex unifying body, Ohaneze Ndi-Igbo.

    The Electoral Committee Chairman, High Chief Nkeiruka Rita Onwunali, who is also the Adandigbo of Rivers and Bayelsa states, who was supported by Sir Peter Onu, said the UIC election was important due to the need to campaign for peace in Rivers State and Nigeria as a whole .

    She said: “We want people who will serve the interest of UIC and Ndi –Igbo as a whole because the delegates who are here today are ready to elect their leaders. God will help us with our intensions in this election. 90 delegates were screened and thirteen offices will be contested.”

    At the end of the election, a new leadership of UIC was declared by the chairman of electoral body with Mr. Arungwa Chrysoganus as the President, Okafor Chinedu as the Vice President, and Ajaiero Abraham as Secretary-General.

    Chrysoganus, while giving his acceptance speech, thanked all the delegates for giving him their mandates.

    He said: “For giving me your mandates, the new leadership will ensure that the promotion of peace will be the ultimate concern in Rivers State chapter of the organisation.

    “However, I advised UIC members in Rivers State to shun violence or any activity that will tarnish the image of the organisation. Of course, that is the only way the Igbo organisation could be respected in Rivers State.”

     

  • Glitz, glamour as FGC honours alumni

    The ceremony was a gathering of who is who in Nigeria. ‘A’-list guests and awardees comprised erudite scholars, vice chancellors of top Nigerian universities, financial whiz kids, trail blazing business magnets, top military brass and politicians from across the length and breadth of the country. SHOLA O’NEIL reports on the day Federal Government College, Warri honoured its illustrious old students.

    T hey were united by their alma mater, the Federal Government College, Warri, Delta State, which gathered them for the FGC, Warri Distinguished Old Students Award. As the name implies, the honour was bestowed on old students of the college who are excelling in their chosen careers.

    Delta State Governor Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan, Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse II, Ovie of Agbon, Ogurimerime Ukori 1 and former Nigerian Ambassador to Botswana, Ogbonnay Aja-Nwachukwu were some of the distinguished alumni

    The principal of FGC, Mr. Abiodun Fabiyi, said the recipients were honoured for their contribution to the building of the nation through their various callings, adding that excellence is the hallmark of FGC Warri. He enthused that the awards would act as catalyst to others and students.

    “To the recipients let it inspire you to greater work, to the non-recipient I urge you to strive for excellence, those who have succeeded are those who through hard work and dint of ingenuity achieve greatness.

    “It is believed that the choice of these awardees will act as a role model to the students and will open opportunity of unity. I appeal to them to continue to help the school as they have always done,” he said.

    Fabiyi boasted that his administration has embarked on transformation of the school to 21st century, adding that teachers have been trained in capacity building to make them more effective to deliver effective education.

    “Several programmes have been put in place to challenge teachers and students alike so that they can stand taller than any of their peers. We have had good results in WAEC and NECO, God willing we will not rest on our oars.

    However, he maintained that to continue to achieve its laudable goal of producing great men and women as the school had done in the past, there was need for it to be repositioned. To this end, he acknowledged that the college has enormous challenges, noting “they are enormous but not insurmountable, so we call on you to continue to support us.”

    Governor Uduaghan, who was represented at the occasion by Dr. Chris Oghenechovwe, Commissioner for Water Resource, described the gathering of eminent old boys of the college as a testament of that they (old students) “did not just past through the school, but the school passed through” them.

    He charged old students of secondary schools and other institutions in the state to assist their alma mater by giving scholarships to deserving students and provision of facilities so that other students would excel and achieve like dignitaries at the august gathering.

    For his part, the governor said his administration has human capital development as a key agenda, adding that education is one of the pivots. “Since we have been in office, we have left no one in doubt about our passion for quality education, schools now wear new look with a view to providing enabling environment for learning.”

    In his address, Ambassador Ogbonnaya Aja-Nwachukwu, who chaired the ceremony, congratulated the principal and his team for putting the ceremony together. He said, “I wish to thank them for a job well done.”

    Speaking further, he noted that “You must agree with me that FGC Warri within such a short time has produced great men and leaders, I applaud the institution. FGC Warri is the best simply because it has produced great men more than any other school. It is number one in advancing academic excellence,” he added.

    Nevertheless, the former diplomat attributed the malaise bedevilling the society to failure of institution. “Breakdown of law and order can be traced to failure of institution. When Nigerians see the civil service job as a white collar job but see Nigeria as a unity, then the country will move to where it ought to be.

    “I am proud of FGC Warri because we were taught how to be contented, how to become productive and grow in unity. Please ensure that this school does not slide away and does not decline, God bless FGC Warri,” he concluded.

    In his keynote address titled ‘Service as a Cardinal Virtue’, Prof. Tanure Ojaide, a renowned poet and writer, described the FGC and Unity College as an invaluable name brand and that every alumna carries along to wherever they live, work, or go.

    “A way of paying back the society that nurtured one with such privileged resources of education will therefore be or to be of service to uplift the society and Nigeria to create a better nation.”

    He remarked that the country needs men and women of service, maintaining that ex-students of FGC Warri should be at the vanguard of such a mission and so should dedicate themselves to service for a better society and Nigeria.

    “A life of service is the highest goal of a good citizens or humanist. Our religious and social ideals corroborate it. I do not mean what in Nigeria is described as public service of being in government but taking time out of your profession or any work you do to make a living to assist the public in whatever capacity to uplift human development,” he said.

    The international awards winning poet and writer attributed the prevailing poverty and underdevelopment to endemic corruption ravaging different levels of the national fabric. “This abnormality has become almost normal,” he lamented.

    He posited that as a group, Nigerians could harness resources of their various professions for different programs as doctors, lawyers, writers, teachers etc. “A specific case will be for one, two, three, or more doctors to organise public screening and enlightenment on the killer disease of diabetes, hypertension, stroke, prostate, breast and ovarian cancers, among others.

    “We need to be involved in the process of change of change in our immediate society and the nation. This means we have to abandon a self-immersed cocooned type of life for a more activist role in society. We have to do something and not just ‘sidon look’ after the Federal Government College Warri experience.

    “Whatever service we choose to pursue, let us put in our dedication, passion, energy, and resources. We may succeed in a short time but we need persistence because good change in a society already plagued with myriads of problems takes a long time and persistence to accomplish,” he added.

    Alumni honoured included a former Minister of Science and Technology, Mrs. Grace Ekpighwre; former Minister of Power, Engr. Joe Makoju; Prof. Tanure Ojaide; philanthropist, shipping magnet and Chairman, Ocean Marine Group, Capt. Idahosa Wells Okunbo; Vice Chancellor, Federal University of Technology, Minna Prof. Tukur Sa’ad; Justice Wale Abiru of the Appeal Court; financial expert and GMD BGL Limited, Mr. Albert Okumagba, Prof. Julius Okojie, a former VC of the University of Agriculture, Abeokuta.

    Other awardees were AVM Nicholas Spiff; Prof. Mohammed Audu; former Executive Chairman of Federal Inland Revenue, Mrs. Ifueko Okauru; Secretary to Kogi State Government, Prof. Olugbemiro Jegede; a former Delta State gubernatorial aspirant, Prof Fidelis Oditah; Mr. Uyi Akpata and Mr. Ken Igbokwe, PricewaterhouseCoopers’s partner; Mr. Akin Ambode; Mr. Herbert Wigwe, MD/CEO of Access Bank; Mr. Jite Koloko, MD Notore Chemical Industry and Ambassador Ogbonnaya Aja-Nwachukwu, who chaired the occasion.

    The climax of the ceremony was the presentation of the distinguished old students award to beneficiaries.

     

     

  • Tonye Harry …The good that men do live after them

    Tonye Harry …The good that men do live after them

    Obuama community in Degema Local Government of Rivers State is set for the funeral of its son, Tonye Ezekiel Harry. He was the speaker of Rivers State House of Assembly from 2007 to 2011 and was still a member of the House representing Degema constituency before his sudden death on October 4.

    He collapsed at Port Harcourt Polo Club, where he was enjoying his favourite game with some of his political friends and died on his way to hospital abroad.

    The late Tonye’s funeral begins today and ends tomorrow. He will be buried at Obuama, where he was adored for his large heartedness.  Of course, one thing the people of Obuama community, popularly known as Harry Town, will miss from his death is his generosity. He was said to have imparted on many lives in the community and the constituency, especially in the area of education and empowerment of the youths.

    A visit to Obuama shows that the members of the community named Obuama  Harry’s Town due to the contribution of Tonye’s grandfather to the development of the community. He shared his resources to empower the people.

    Chief Opakriba Harry, one of his elder brothers, who was with the late Tonye at Port Harcourt Polo Club when he collapsed, said Tonye was the Iroko tree of Obuama and Degema. He noted that the late Tonye’s popularity in the community and Degema was because of his contributions to humanity.

    Narrating what transpired before he died, Chief Opakriba said: “When he collapsed, I took him to the family clinic but when I discovered that the doctor would not be able to do anything about his condition, I decided to call Dr. Ogbonna Harry and Dr. Akpan. We now agreed to move him out of the clinic; so, Dr. Harry told Dr. Akpan to call the driver of his ambulance to move him to a specialist hospital located at Emenike Street, Port Harcourt. And before we got there, all the consultants were ready waiting for us. It was there that Governor Rotimi Amaechi got the information and rushed to the hospital.   He stayed with us for nearly two hours thinking on what to do to revive his friend and brother.  He ordered Dr. Parker, the Heath Commissioner that he should bring evacuator and make arrangement to fly him abroad. But it was this issue of bureaucracy and due process that contributed to his death.”

    Opakriba said Tonye was one of the many philanthropists in this generation who made numerous sacrifices towards the enhancement of the society.

    He said: “He has, through his developmental agenda, touched many lives in his community and the society at large and knowing the importance of empowerment programme in a community, he chose not to do away with it. He established scholarship scheme through which a lot of Degema youths have been sent to school. And apart from this, he indulged in human capacity building , which was one of the numerous ways of empowerment.  He helped many people, especially the youths who were not privileged to engage in any meaningful activity for the sake of surviving the current economic harsh weather. He made a number of the youths in his Degema Local Government Area of Rivers State to contribute positively to society.”

    The youth leader of the community, Daminabo Harry, said the community and the people of Degema would forever remember the late Tonye for his generosity. He noted that there are many ongoing projects at Obuama sponsored by late Harry. He said hundred of youths benefitted yearly from his educational empowerment fund. He said churches and schools at the community received one donation or the other.

    “Until this moment, we don’t believe that Tonye is death. When we heard the news of his death, everybody started crying not because he was the first person to have died in this community but because of his generosity.  He has done extremely well in the community’s development. You can see the community’s Town Square, including the compound close to the area, have all been tiled.  He also extended the tiling to other part of the community, which was ongoing before he died. Three days before his death, he paid close to half a million for the fibroid operation of a woman in this community; she is still at the hospital now.

    “About 50 persons got their school fees from him and close to 200 youths benefit from yearly bursary; while 30 persons, excluding the ones I don’t know about them as the youth President, were under scholarship. He just finished building Obuama Youth Centre, though yet to commission the centre before he died. He has also donated big generators, music instruments for churches, even cash for the expansion or building of some churches in the area. He was the sole sponsor of Obuama beauty pageant, Harry’s Town festival and football competition in the area. I think these are the reason why the youths and the people of the community have not stopped crying.”

    When Niger Delta Report visited Mrs Giya Finnyat a Hospital in Borokiri axis of Port Harcourt, she said the late Harry paid for her fibroid operation three days before he died; she regretted that death did not allow her to meet with late Tonye to say thank you for saving her life. “When I need this operation, I had no kobo to take care of the bill; then I told my children to visit his office and inform him about my plight. I thought he would not assist but to my surprise, he told my children that I should prepare my mind for the operation. He died few days after he paid for the bill, because when I regained my consciousness, they told me the story of his death. I have planned to meet him to say thank you for what he did in my life but death has prevented me. God for my sake grant his soul eternal rest,” she said.

    Mr.  Fonyama Thompson, a family friend, said the family is yet to believe Harry’s death.

    He said: “My only concern now is that it is now becoming a tradition in this community to lose their prominent sons in the hand of death at a time when we needed them most. More than 10 years ago, the community lost a great son, the late Dr. Marshall Harry. Today we have lost another great son, we are not happy.”

    The late Harry represented Degema Constituency, served as Speaker of Rivers State House of Assembly between 2007 and 2011 when he was succeeded by Otelemaba Dan Amachree.

    Born November 21, he was first elected into the Rivers State House of Assembly in 1999, making him one of the oldest members of the state legislature. He was an avid lawn tennis player and had sponsored tournaments in Port Harcourt. An Accountant and holder of separate MBA in Marketing and Corporate Governance, the late Harry was a political leader in his native Degema and Kalabari.

     

     

     

     

  • Chevron rewards Kula community

    Chevron rewards Kula community

    Apparently happy with the way Kula Community has handled the Global Memorandum of Understanding it signed with it, the management of American oil giant, Chevron Nigeria Limited has promised to empower the people the more, writes CLARICE AZUATALAM.

    Chevron Nigeria Limited is impressed with the way Kula Community in Akuku Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State has managed funds accruing from the Global Memorandum of Understanding (GMoU) signed by both parties in 2005. The GMoU is a revitalised community development template through which the American oil giant assist benefitting communities to develop.

    In the terms of the understanding, the company fund the communities’ development committees, which in turn provide amenities and facilities to the benefiting communities based on their needs assessment.

    As a result the company has promised to sign another higher version of the agreement. The new version which is to be called Global Memorandum of Understanding plus (GMoU+) would help to empirically monitor and evaluate the impact of the already existing GMoU on host communities of CNL as well as help the company to realize individual and collective aspirations.

    The General Manager, Policy, Government and Public Affairs (PGPA) of CNL, Mr Deji Haastrup who spoke in Port Harcourt during the commissioning of the Secretariat of Kula Regional Development Committee (KURDC) and the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the body, also explained that the GMoU+ would “focus on business development and economic empowerment; third party partnership and collaboration; delivery on the Millennium Development Goals, Operational Excellence and Human Rights.”

    Haastrup, who was represented at the occasion by the Coordinator, GMoU,PGPA, East of CNL, Mr George Iluwa, also commended the current leadership of KURDC for surmounting the challenges associated with changes to live up to the agreement of the 2005 GMoU and to set up many viable projects.

    The projects include the construction of 4,000 gallons of water project with treatment plants in Robert-Kiri, LuckyLand and Offion-Ama; electrification projects in Boro community and Kula Main Town as well as the highly acclaimed Support for Women in Micro Enterprise (SWIM) in partnership with CNL and Accord for Community Development, a non-governmental organisation.

    He also commended the KURDC leadership for its foresightedness in building a secretariat in Port Harcourt and for awarding contracts for the construction of 30 units of three bedroom bungalows in Kula main town pointing out that this would help to ameliorate the housing needs of families that would be impacted in the proposed road and drainage project by the Niger Delta Development Commission.

    The CNL Spokesman also commended KURDC “for being the first among the eight Regional Development Committees under the NNPC/Chevron Joint Venture GMOU to put in place a competitive community scholarship selection process” noting that this would help the youths to prepare for fulfilling careers in future.

    While expressing hope that the partnership between KURDC and the Early School Initiative (ESI) would usher in the construction of Nursery and Primary School project, he further praised the KURDC for making transparency and accountability which are the core values of the GMoU their watchwords.

    He said the AGM which the committee introduced since 2011 provides a good platform for them “to go back to the people to give account of its stewardship for the preceding year and to outline programmes that would continue to bring sustainable development to the communities” and commended the Rivers State government for helping the GMoU to record successes.

    The Chairman of KURDC, Mr Stanley Benibo, listed out all the projects the committee has been able to establish but lamented that the first beneficiaries of its Kia-Rio car loan scheme have not been paying up promising that they would be prosecuted if they do not pay up in the next one month.

    While appealing for more funds to enable the committee meet up with its “insatiable human wants”, Benibo called on CNL to provide a separate employment scheme for KURDC youths.

    Also speaking, the Royal Father of Kula, King Sara Eleki commended the KURDC for what it has been doing since 2011 and for successfully hosting three AGMs.

    King Eleki who was represented by Chief Temple Dia also advised the committee “to make communication more effective” and urged CNL to look into what the contractor it gave job in Robert-Kiri is doing and to make the contractor who has not released any fund to the Chiefs since this year to do that as soon as possible.

    The Secretary of Kula Council of Chiefs, Chief David Emeniye-Orlu, who also spoke, recalled that a lot of misunderstanding surrounded the KURDC when it was initially floated.

    “Now the council of chiefs are fully in support of KURDC and we are happy that today’s meeting is being held at this secretariat,” Emeniye-Orlu said, promising that the chiefs would be holding its meetings at the place when need be.

    The Audited Account of KURDC for 2012 was read out to the people by the Resident Manger of Anthony Nwinee & Co, a firm of Chartered Accountants, Pastor Legborsi Tebira.

    Tebira also stated that “to the best of our knowledge and having regard to the explanations given to us, the financial statements read in conjunction with the notes thereon, give a true and fair view of the financial position of KURDC as at 31st December 2012.”

     

     

  • Bayelsa table water producers declare war against ‘imported’ products

    Bayelsa table water producers declare war against ‘imported’ products

    Producers of satchet water in Bayelsa State are angry. They are crying over low patronage of their product popularly referred to as pure water by the residents of the state.

    The indigeneous companies under the aegis of the Association of Table Water Producers of Nigeria (ATWAP) are in dilemma over the preference of water produced outside the state by the residents to their products.

    Niger Delta Report investigations found that sachet or table water produced outside the state is the toast of residents and visitors. Such water is more visible in stores, supermarkets and distributed on the streets by hawkers. It is so domineering that it dwarfs water manufactured by companies existing in the state.

     

    In fact, most people are oblivious of the fact that there are indigeneous companies producing water in the state. Processed water from Rivers, Delta and Imo states saturates Bayelsa market.

    There is a network of distributors who bring in the products and circulates them across the state. The products are brought into the state without any form of regulation.

    Niger Delta Report also found that the development has driven many indigenous producers of table water out of the market. Many of the companies have closed down with many of their employers losing their jobs.

    Few of the companies still operating are battling to break even. Among the indigenously produced sachet water striving to survive in the state are Kumo, ET, Esbel, Foutain, Ezewode and Yemeb. Kumo is the longest surviving water. Others that came up the same period with it such as Bosy and Regal had since gone under.

    The surviving companies are lamenting that while they are paying taxes to the government despite the harsh economic environment, companies producing water outside the state are not.

    But ATWAP has drawn the battle line. The association in conjunction with the Distributors Association of Yenagoa (DAY) have declared war against water produced outside the state and its network of distributors. It gave an ultimatum for every company producing water outside the state to register with it.

    Niger Delta Report found a letter written to companies producing water outside the state by ATWAP. Members of the union wrote the letter after rising from their meeting on September 30th. They gave such companies up until October 31st to register with ATWAP.

    ATWAP, in the letter signed by its state Chairman, Capt. Cletus Emiemokumo (retd.) and Secretary, Mr. Mike Eyedoudegha, said the objective of the association was to cooperate with the National Agency for Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) in ensuring that water produced and distributed in the state by companies comply with high manufacturing standard.

    “It will also assist the public and regulating authorities in identifying and exposing charlatans and pirated whose activities are capable of bringing the industry into disrepute.

    “As the major stakeholders of the industry in the state, ATWAP in collaboration with the Distributors Association of Yenagoa (DAY) can no longer fold it’s arms and watch the unabated and unbridled influx of all sorts of packaged water not the state even from questionable sources to the detriment of the populace and the indigenous producers in particular.”

    The association further warned all the producers of the product against loading any vehicle that has not registered with it. It said only vehicles that could load 1000 bags and above would be allowed to be registered. According to the group, defaulters would be visited with “unpleasant consequences”.

    Copies of the letter were sent to 11 major non-indigenous producers and distributors of water such as PA, POC, ZINO, River Mile Daily, EFAC, Delight and Director. Others are Jami, OHIS, Ovisco and GB Premium.

    Niger Delta Report also observed that ATWAP lodged a complaint to the Director-General, Yenagoa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (YCCI). In a protest letter dated October 21, the group decried domination and control of the industry by non-Bayelsans.

     

    It lamented that the non-indigenous producers had no stake in the economy of the state observing that their interest was simply to maximise profit. The group complained that the industry had been infiltrated by charlatans and pirates.

    “These people have, therefore, flooded and saturated the state with pure water from everywhere and even from unhygienic and questionable sources without regard to the rules and regulation guiding packaged water distribution.

    “Thus many packaged water factories and companies set up by eminent Bayelsans with millions of Naira have been forced to shut down due to lack of patronage. The economic and social consequences are too numerous to mention.

    “The people are getting poorer by the day and the youths who are supposed to have been gainfully employed in our factories and companies are now roaming aimlessly about the streets”, it said.

    The association, therefore, appealed to YCCI, to help in protecting the industry and saving it from imminent collapse. ATWAP said such intervention would also assist in saving the state and the people from economic strangulation.

    The union did not stop at that. It went further to write to the state government requesting it to to establish a special task force to check vehicles conveying packaged water into the state.

    The letter which was addressed to the Chairman, Environmental Sanitation Authority, was signed by Emiemokumo and Eyedondegha. ATWAP in the letter dated October 31 reminded the government that “any sector of the economy that is not subjected to strict control is usually abused”.

    “The task force is required to ensure that vehicles bringing packaged water to the state are duly registered with the Distributors Association of Yenagoa. It is believed that there will be some control on the indiscriminate influx of packaged water from everywhere, thus making Bayelsa State a dumping ground”, ATWAP said.

    Emiemokumo, who is also the owner of Kumo Water, told Niger Delta Report that most of the sachet water distributors were non-indigenes. These intruders out of greed had slyly and mischievously entered into dubious clandestine business treaties with some unwary indigent Bayelsa men and women not to patronise our own Bayelsa packaged water produced by indigenous companies”, he alleged.

    He added: “Worse still, these non-Bayelsa distributors and collaborators go to the extent of labeling our indigenous NAFDAC-approved table water as not fit for drinking, poisonous.

    “But these mischievous calumnies and insinuations about our products are fallacies intended only to blackmail our fledgling industry and stunt the growth of our industry. Our products are safe and prepared in the most hygienic environment in accordance with the standard established by NAFDAC.

    “We want the backing of the government and the people of Bayelsa. What we are doing is what is being done in other states. If they are able to enforce it in other states, we can enforce it in Bayelsa.

    “Those companies from neighbouring states flooding the state with packaged water must register with us. Their registration will enable us to fish out people adulterating water in the state as well as ensure proper regulation. Any of them that refuses to register with us is not ready to do business in the state”.

    In his comment, Managing Director, ET Water Company Limited, Capt. John Odele (retd.) expressed concern that most packaged water flooding Bayelsa market sell at a ridiculous rate.

    “People should consider the health implication of the water they drink. Some producers from other states sell at a ridiculous price that you begin to wonder if they are actually producing the right thing. All these are what we set out to correct through this registration.

    “We also want to let people of the state know that sachet and bottled water produced in the state are not substandard in any way.”

     

     

  • Two years after, Ogoni still awaits action on UNEP Report

    Two years after, Ogoni still awaits action on UNEP Report

    Two years have passed since a United Nations Report calling for the clean-up of Ogoniland in Rivers State was presented. The Federal Government, which commissioned the study, promised action, but nothing has happened so far. The people have protested. Rights activists have complained about the matter. Their calls were handled with levity.

    The House of Representatives waded in on Wednesday. It expressed disappointment with the handling of the clean up of impacted areas of Ogoni land.

    As a result, the lawmakers summoned the Hydro-Carbon Pollution Restoration Project (HYPREP) to explain why action should not taken against it for failing to carry out its responsibility in Ogoni land as directed by the Federal government.

    The decision followed the adoption of the resolution of a motion by Kingsley Chinda (PDP, Rivers) who noted with dismay the despoliation of the Ogoni environment and other Niger Delta communities due to decades of oil exploration activities in the region.

    According to him, the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) conducted an independent assessment on the environment and public health impacts of oil oil contamination in Ogoni land and proffered options for remediation on the request of the Federal government.

    “The UNEP field observant and scientific investigation found out that oil contamination in Ogoni land is widespread and severely impacting many components of the environment and that even though the oil industry is no longer active in Ogoni land, oil spills continue to occur with alarming regularity and the Ogoni people live with pollution daily.

    “That there is contaminated soil and ground water, destroyed vegetation and mangrove, in addition to the destruction of aquatic life due to hydro-carbon which affected local fishermen, loss of income and source of livelihood.

    “Also that there are public health concerns and people are exposed to petroleum hydro-carbon in outside air and drinking water; and also exposed through dermal contacts from contaminated soil, sediments and surface water,” he said.

    Chinda went on to state that UNEP, having concluded its study made numerous recommendations, which once implemented, would have an immediate and positive impact on Ogoni land, including the restoration of Ogoni land, remediation by enhanced natural attenuation (RENA), land based contamination and a clean up of the creeks.

    He said: “On 4th August. 2011, UNEP presented its report to Presodent Goodluck Jonathan which confirmed the claims of the Ogoni people “that neglectful environmental pollution law and sub-standard inspection techniques of the federal authorities have led to the complete degradation of the Ogoni environment, turning the environment into an ecological disaster.

    “Two years after, the Federal Government is yet to act on it rather hurriedly set up the Hydro-Carbon Pollution Restoration Project (HYPREP) just to dismiss the UNEP report as mere window dressing, largely ineffective, ineffectual and short of Ogoni people’s expectations.

    “More worrisome is the fact that HYPREP is supervised by the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, a major polluter in Ogoni land. The only sign of HYPREP’s intervention is the placing of signposts at strategic places in Port Harcourt and Ogoni land informing people that their environment has indeed been contaminated and that people should keep off the affected areas.

    “On the other hand and as a consequence, the Ogoni people continue to drink contaminated water and seafood is being scrounged from the polluted water and the community people still process their food in crude coated creeks.

    “It is also disturbing that the situation is already generating ill feelings and despondency amongst the Ogoni people and unless the UNEP report is fully implemented, they would continue to suffer pain and feel alienated in their land, a situation which could further lead to tension in the area”.

    Abubakar Momoh (APC, Edo) reminded his colleagues that the same motion was presented in the 6th Assembly with the same resolution adopted but that nothing came out of it as the Federal government refused to act on the resolution .

    He said: “I will rather suggest that we invite HYPREP to come and explain why action should not be taken against for failing to a cry out the responsibilities assigned to it by the federal government”.

    His amendment was adopted and the presiding officer, Deputy Speaker Emeka Ihedioha referred the motion to House Committees on Environment and Emergency and Disaster Preparedness.

    An environmentalist, Nnimmo Bassey, in an article, said: “Two whole years after the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) issued a damning assessment of the Ogoni environment, the Ogoni people are forced to continue wallowing in the toxic broth that their lands and waters have been made to become. Ogoniland was once a land that supported productive farming, fishing and related activities. That was so up till the moment the oilrigs began to puncture holes in the land and crude oil began to be spilled on lands, forests and rivers. The air was clean but that changed when gas flares belched like dragons out for the kill. Today, twenty years after Shell got excommunicated from Ogoni, thick hydrocarbon fumes from sundry pollutions hang in the air.

    “From the late 1980s, the Ogoni people raised alarm over the wholesale destruction of their environment. They followed this by careful and robustly peaceful organising. With the Ogoni Bill of Rights of 1990 they catalogued their demands for environmental, socio-economic and political justice. Although the Bill of Rights was presented to the Nigerian government till date there has not been a whisper by way of response to, or engagement with, the document.

    “The Bill of Rights became an organising document for the Ogoni people and also eventually inspired other ethnic nationalities in the Niger Delta to produce similar charters as a peaceful way of prodding the government into dialogue and action. The Bill noted that although crude oil had been extracted from Ogoniland from 1958 they had received nothing in return.

    “A total clean up of Ogoni land will take a life time or about thirty years at the least. That is the length of time UNEP estimates it would require to clean up the water bodies in the territory. And it would require an additional five (5) years to clean up the land. How is that a lifetime? Well, life expectancy in the Niger Delta stands at approximately forty-one years.

    “At the eve of the first anniversary of the presentation of the UNEP report, the Federal Government hurriedly cobbled up an outfit incongruously named Hydrocarbons Pollution Restoration Project (HYPREP). The project was set up basically to hoodwink the Ogoni people into thinking that action was being taken to implement the UNEP report. A year after the setting up of HYPREP under the Ministry of Petroleum Resources – a major polluter of Ogoni land – the only visible acts of implementation of the UNEP report has been the planting of sign posts at some places informing the people that their environment is contaminated and that they should keep off. You could almost laugh, but this is sad and serious. Keep off your environment! No options given. The people still drink the polluted waters and farm the polluted lands. Seafood is still being scrounged from the polluted waters and community people still process their foods in the crude-coated creeks.”

    On October 4, the people vowed to compel the Federal Government to implement the report . At a sensitisation rally in Baen, Khana Local Government Area of the State, the President of KAGOTE, made up of Khana, Gokana Tai and Eleme Local Government Areas, Dr. Peter Medee, said: “Whether the Federal Government likes it or not, we will force them through legal means to implement the recommendations of UNEP on Ogoni environment, ” adding “What is the Federal Government doing, two years after the report was submitted? Federal Government ignored the report so that Ogoni people will all die.

    “We will not support any government that is wishing the people of Ogoni death. The minister of Petroleum, Deizani Alison-Madueke, has decided to torment the people of Ogoni. Tell her that if UNEP report is not implemented, she will fail.”

    He said the Ogoni people would continue to support the administration of Governor Rotimi Amaechi and everything that will lift Ogoniland higher. “We are ready to fight for Amaechi because he is fighting the cause of the Ogoni 2015 project and bringing development to us,” he said. . The Public Relations Officer, Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP), Legborsi Esaen, declared that no amount of threat would stop the people of Ogoni ethnic nationality from producing the next governor of the state.

    “We have spoken; it is project 2015 and no going back on that. We are used to security intimidation but we are not going back on 2015,” he said.

    The Deputy National President, Nigeria Civil Service Union (NCSU), Menele Nzidee, said those opposed to the administration of Governor Rotimi Amaechi were doing so because of the governor’s resolve to have an Ogoni as a successor come 2015.

    Rivers State Commissioner for Works, Chief Victor Giadom, said construction work would soon commence on the Saakpenwa-Bori-Kono road project, which was recently awarded by the Amaechi-led administration. He added that the present administration in the state was committed to ensuring that development gets to the nooks and crannies of Ogoni land.

    Chairman of Khana Local Government Area, Gregory Nwidam, in an earlier remarks, said the rally was to sensitise the people of Khana on government programmes, insisting that elected officers from Ogoniland have not failed the people as he assured that they will continue to stand by the administration of Amaechi in the state.

     

     

     

     

  • Thugs unleash mayhem on Edo community

    Thugs unleash mayhem on Edo community

    Residents of Ukhorumi community in Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State are trying to come to terms with the calamity that befell their community. The hitherto peaceful community was attacked by armed men suspected to be thugs hired to settle scores between two feuding leaders of the community.

    The once bubbling town is now turned into a ghost town. Its residents are yet to return one week after the deadly attack. The community head (Odionwere), Pa John Edosomwan, managed to flee with nothing but the cloths on his back. He is now taking refuge in a nearby village. Many residents fled into the bush when the thugs struck.

    At the end of the attack, three persons laid dead, properties worth several millions of naira including 15 houses, 12 vehicles and motorcycles were burnt. Poultry farm housing over 10,000 birds belonging to an ex-banker was vandalised and looted. Some new buildings erected by non-indigenous of the community were also burnt.

    Trouble was reportedly sparked off when the Vice Chairman of Ukhorumi Community Development Association, Ovbokhan Igbinovia was suspended from office by the chairman, Prince Ewuare Erese.

    The suspension followed alleged refusal of the community leaders to accompany a relation of the Vice Chairman, Omonedo, to lay the foundation of a building project because he did not inform them five days ahead.

    Prince Ewuare said the decision not to accompany Omonedo did not go down well with Ovbokhan, who he alleged rained abuses on him, a development that provoked the suspension. He said the suspension letter was yet to be delivered and that the elders were already discussing the matter when the attackers came.

    He said his younger brother and the youth PRO were killed before his eyes. Speaking with newsmen when he went to take stock of the destruction under heavy security, Prince Ewuare said his life was under threat.

    “This is my first time of coming here. Look at all the destruction they have done even those buildings that belonged to the people that are not from this community. I saw them from where I was hiding how they shot my brother. I ran away and did not know where my family is now. The thugs were brought from neighbouring communities. The vice chairman said he was supposed to be the chairman and not me. My house at Amagba village was also burnt.”

    The community head, Pa Edosomwan said the elders were already discussing the issue of the building by Omonedo when some youths invaded the community. He said he ran to the police station when the shooting started but that damage was already done before security operatives arrived.

    “When the shooting started, I went through the bush to the police station to complain about the attack. But the police did not leave. I was informed at the police station that many buildings were on fire.”

    On why he was yet to return home, he said there is no place to go to as his buildings were affected.

    A school teacher, Izevbokun Osafamwen, whose building was razed said he is now sleeping on the bare floor with his family in an apartment provided by a friend.

    “I have a house there where I lived with my family. I was called not to go home that day that the community was on fire. I managed to rescue my child. They have burnt my house. I slept in bush with my family that night. I lost all my certificates in the fire. Somebody just gave me a place to sleep on the floor with my wife and four children. Somebody should come to my aid. I don’t have money to rent a house now.”

    Evelyn Obadiaru’s father lost three buildings to the attack. She said her father and his aged wife were picked up in the bush after two days.

    However, independent investigation however revealed that the attack on the community was in retaliation for the killing of an undergraduate by thugs who first invaded the community.

    At the time of this report on Tuesday evening, it was learnt that the Edo State Police Command were questioning elders of the community and Ovbokhan, who was fingered for the mayhem, had been arrested.

    Similarly, it was gathered that the Oba of Benin, Oba Eradiauwa II had sent traditional chiefs to the security operatives for detailed investigation of the causes of the crisis in Ukhorumi and other communities.

    Sources close to the monarch said he expressed concern over “incessant and disturbing occurrences of community clashes, boundary disputes and land matters in his kingdom”.

    The monarch was said to be disheartened that the development was a dent to the much valued peaceful co-existence of his people. He spoke through the Chairman of Peace and Conflict Resolution Committee, Chief Eduwu Ekhator Obasogie.

    Oba Erediauwa frowned at a situation where members of Community Development Association who are supposed to be involved in development of community turned around to become instrument of destabilisation and disrupting utilisation of available resources of the people.

    He said, “We are now witnessing a very sad and total liquidation of our age-long keynote of oneness which has been the hallmark of our collective responsibility and peaceful co-existence in the kingdom and in the state.

    “Our communal landscapes have been turned into war zones with rival parties armed to the teeth with weapons of destruction. They go on rampage desecrating our beloved fatherland with wanton destruction of lives and properties.”

    Edo State Police spokesman, DSP Moses Eguaveon said investigations were still going on in the Ukhorumi crisis.

    Eguaveon said normalcy has been return to the community and advised members of the community to return home for normal businesses.

    He however added that anybody found culpable would be invited for questioning.

    A soldier who was in the village shortly after the attack told the Nation under condition of anonymity that they met the houses on fire but that the attackers have fled.

    He said they were not informed about the incident on time.

     

     

     

  • Crude oil theft causes for alarm

    The Chairman of Moni Pulo Limited (Petroleum Development), Chief Olu Lulu-Briggs, has declared that there is cause for alarm in Nigeria, with crude oil theft placed at 400,000 barrels per day, accounting for annual revenue loss of over $7 billion.

    He spoke at the maiden Roundtable on Petroleum Exploration, Development and Production at the Hotel Presidential, Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.

    The roundtable for O. B. Lulu-Briggs Professorial Chair for Petroleum Geosciences at the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT), had as theme: “Sustaining Investments and Reserves in the Face of Growing Challenges.”

    The event was attended by UNIPORT’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Joseph Ajienka, who stated that if Petroleum Engineers did not discover the reserves, there would be nothing to produce.

    Ajienka, a Petroleum Engineer, also noted that there were many challenges, both local and global, facing the oil industry, while lauding Moni Pulo Limited, for endowing the Professorial Chair and sponsoring the roundtable.

    The Moni Pulo Chairman, who was represented by the indigenous oil firm’s Executive Vice-Chairman, Seinye Lulu-Briggs, stated that establishing the Professorial Chair at UNIPORT was in view of the premium the company placed on education and continuous learning.

    Lulu-Briggs said: “The rampant cases of crude oil theft, pipeline vandalism and illegal refining have despoiled our environment. No new discoveries in the field of oil. There is a lull in exploration. All activities have been around fields discovered over 30 years ago.

    “The roundtable is a creative attempt to create lasting synergies between academic research and practical solutions that will enhance the operations of the Nigerian and the global oil and gas industy.”

    Lulu-Briggs also stated that with crude oil and gas as the mainstay of Nigeria’s economy, the Federal Government should continue to encourage indigenous participation.

    One of the keynote speakers, who is a Nigerian, US-based don, Prof. Wunmi Iledare, described as stupidity, the Federal Government’s Vision 20-2020, while declaring that Nigeria must go back to Vision 1970 and act like Singapore.

    This was also corroborated by another keynote speaker, Dr. Paul Michael Wihbey, from Washington DC, USA, who stated that the Vision 20-2020 would not happen because of leadership.

    Iledare, who is also the Director of Energy Information Division of the Centre for Energy Studies, Louisiana State University (LSU), Baton Rouge, USA, while speaking, stated that he would be surprised if the current Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) before the National Assembly would be passed.

    He stated that he believed in PIB 2008, which was amended in 2011, which he described as superior to and better than the PIB 2012, reiterating that he pointed out in 2009 in Abuja that the then PIB would not be passed.

    Iledare said: “Is PIB 2012 pragmatic in its provisions? You cannot wait for technology to be transferred. You either steal it or acquire it. Nigeria will be at the driver’s seat of the economy, if the leaders manage the resources well.

    “The greatest challenge in Nigeria’s oil industry is the non-passage of the PIB, still before the National Assembly. To grow our reserves (of crude oil), the Federal Government must put in appropriate legislation. There is need for rethink.

    “To grow reserves, regulatory agencies must be independent, while institutions must be self-sufficient in their funding. Better leasing process is essential. PIB must promote transparency in the oil industry.”

    Iledare, who is also the President of the International Association of Energy Economists, stated that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) must be overhauled and independent, while payment of royalties and rents must be regulated by the Federal Government, without given discretionary powers to politicians.

    The LSU don added that the way out would be transparent, accountable, easy to read and understand fiscal regime.

    While also speaking, Wihbey noted that blood oil, through the rampant cases of oil theft and illegal bunkering, was rooted in the non-passage of the PIB, while depriving the host communities of the 10 per cent equity.

    He said the political will to tackle oil theft and illegal bunkering was essential, while calling for support for the Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, in order to be able to tackle the menace, especially movement against overseas end users of stolen crude oil and arms suppliers.

    Wihbey said: “Illegal bunkering is not a traditional insurgency, but an existential threat to the stability of the country.

    “Nigeria’s Vision 20-2020 will not happen because of leadership. It is up to the leaders and the Federal Government to find a way out of the current political situation before 2015.

    “The Federal Government of Nigeria must find a way out, like Obama did to US economy or find another business, besides crude oil and gas, because crude oil theft is criminal.

    “The inevitable can be avoided. It takes the leadership to see the options and act on the options. Illegal bunkering is a dagger to the economy of Nigeria. The threat should be removed.”

    The Director of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), George Osahon, in his keynote address, stated that there was the need to grow indigenous capacity in the oil industry.

    Osahon, who was represented by DPR’s Head of Strategy and Value Management, Alfred Ohiani, assured that the Federal Government’s agency would continue to encourage indigenous participation in the oil industry, stressing that the indigenous oil firms were doing well.

    The DPR director stressed that regulatory framework for the oil and gas industry must be established, to stimulate reserves growth, while stating that the Federal Government was tackling oil theft and illegal bunkering.