Category: Niger Delta

Akwa Ibom Governor Udom Emmanuel has bagged the 2023 Merit Award of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) in recognition of his contributions to the development of the accounting profession in Nigeria. 

Presenting the award to the Governor, at the Monarch Event, Ikate Lekki-Epe Expressway, Lagos, the President of ICAN, Mallam Tijjani Musa Isa, acknowledged the passion and towering contributions of Emmanuel to the development of the body and the country at large.

The President said Emmanuel was among ICAN members who have positive marks in Nigeria’s political development, giving him no hesitation in approving his nomination for the Merit Award.

Read Also: Valedictory service holds May 28 at new Int’l worship centre – Gov Emmanuel

Responding on behalf of other awardees, Emmanuel mentioned that the Merit Award from ICAN was dear to him, as the occasion marked the second time he had personally received an award in his eight years as Governor, indicating that on other occasions, he had always received awards by proxy.

Appreciating the Council Members and past presidents for ensuring that the ICAN remained a leading professional body by maintaining high standards, the governor reiterated that himself and other awardees would continue to give back, as well as continue to ensure transparency and accountability in their professional dealings.

Governor Emmanuel who bagged his Merit Award from the Members’ Category at the event, is a graduate of Accounting from the University of Lagos and holds a Master Degree in Corporate Governance from Leeds Metropolitan University, United Kingdom. He is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (FCA), as well as a Fellow of the Institute of Financial Management. 

Before becoming Governor in 2015, he held 

many Non-Executive Director positions at Zenith Bank and later became an Executive Director of the bank.

Emmanuel has also served as a Non-Executive Director, Africa Finance Corporation (AFC); and Director, Nigerian Inter-Banks Settlement System (NIBBS). 

He was also Secretary to the Akwa Ibom State Government. 

A valedictory service of thanksgiving on the success of the Governor Udom Emmanuel-led administration in Akwa Ibom State is scheduled to hold at the ultramodern International Worship Centre earmarked for inauguration come 28th May 2023.

Emmanuel announced this Monday while addressing worshippers during the new month Government House Covenant Service with the theme “Be ye thankful” at Banquet Hall, Government House, Uyo.

He explained that the International Worship Center is an altar built unto God by Akwa Ibom people as a worship centre and a place of prayers to speak positivity into the lives of the people as well as growth and development of the state. 

Reflecting on the eight years of his administration, the Governor expressed appreciation to God for the peace enjoyed in the State and thanked Christians who prayed fervently for the growth witnessed in the state.

He acknowledged the Service Chiefs for working tirelessly to maintain peace which he described as the fulcrum of development which gave investors reasons to settle in the state .

“I want to thank God for this opportunity, I thank my dear wife, and all those who have supported me in the past good eight years.

Read Also: Emmanuel sets up committee on census

“I have made an announcement that I will have a valedictory thanksgiving service on the 28th of May at the International Worship Centre.

People see the International Worship Center as a building, but I see it as an altar we are setting up to speak positivity over this land”, he stated.

Governor Emmanuel said that God’s benevolence has seen his administration through two major economic recessions and the outbreak of Covid-19 which ravaged the world. 

He maintained that his administration has been able to pay workers’ salaries and pensions, intervened at the third tier of government by settling 11 billion naira gratuities out of the 18 billion inherited from previous administration.   

“I have not owed any pensioner, I am leaving here today not owing one naira pension. 

“The issue of gratuity I have explained over time came up because of how the contributory pension scheme was managed. 

“We made contributions, a lot of money then were refunded, what would have been done was to reinvest that money in order to pay back, but i met about N18 billion unpaid gratuity and there is nothing I could have done with two recessions and Covid-19  to recover that amount.

“Even the ones we paid to Primary Schools and Local Government is not in my budget, it is the third tier responsibility of the Local Government. As at today we have intervened with over 11 billion naira on gratuities”.

Governor Emmanuel commended the Father’s in Faith for attending the covenant service, noting that their fervent prayers have been rewarding. 

Senior Pastor of Dunamis International Gospel Center, Abuja, Dr. Paul Enenche, who delivered a sermon on the topic “Season of appreciation and reflection” culled from Eccl: 12: 13, said that at the conclusion of every endeavour or project there is need for appreciation and reflection, adding that the focus of appreciation is for help and mercy.

Preaching further, the clergyman noted that appreciation brings multiplication, glorification, acceleration, direction and activates the action of God, while reflection affords man opportunity to ask pertinent questions that will produce corrections, revision and redirection.

Chief Executive Officer of Seth Hotel and Philanthropist Mr Okanoro Kenneth Oghenekome has expressed delight in his philanthropic gesture.

The CEO made the statement at a brief event, where he doled out N500,000 to Mr. Collins Odinaka to help him stand on his feet.

Okanoro said he was led in his spirit to help him, following his pathetic story, and it was hurtful seeing him in such pain.

Read Also: Imagine if there was no Mike Adenuga, by Femi Adesina

He further said what was more painful was the drive and zeal in him to ensure his children are educated. 

“I saw a man who was so passionate about education, despite not having the resources to do so.

“Whatever I do for him today, in terms of empowerment, will go along way to cushion the effects of the biting season and ameliorate his living condition,” Okanoro said.

Niger Delta Stakeholders in the All Progressives Congress APC have called on the leadership and critical stakeholders of the party from the region to support credible and a team player as the country’s next President of the Senate for the sake of equity, fairness, and justice. 

The group noted that the 2023 general elections have created deep gully and division across the country, hence there is an urgent need to give every region sense of belonging and set off the process of total healing and reconciliation in the country. 

The group which styles itself as Niger Delta Stakeholders for Equity and Justice (NDSEJ) disclosed this in a press statement after its meeting held at Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, on Monday, noted that the nation cannot attend the desired peace and development without equity and justice in the distribution of political offices.

Read Also: Group mobilises support for Akpabio over Senate presidency

The statement which was signed by the Convener of the NDSEJ, Chief Alfred Ebikeme, and its Secretary, Prince Victor Ogie Osagie, appealed to APC leaders from the zone to consider and support a southerner to emerge the Senate president.

According to the group, “We believe in politics of equity, fairness, and justice and that is why we are calling our leaders from the Niger Delta region to support a credible, resourceful person who will not lord over the people as the next senate president.

“Though we have one of our own, the immediate past Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio who is reported to be eyeing the Senate presidency of the 10th National Assembly, however, his last outing as a supervising Minister over the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC left a sour taste in our mouth.  

“It’s on record that under his watch, Senator Akpabio blatantly refused to run the NDDC with a functional board, instead, he opted for sole administrators thereby shutting out the entire leadership of the region in the administration of the Commission, the consequence of this is that the people of the Niger Delta were starved of good and quality representation in the NDDC board.

“We think that at this critical time of our national history, where we are divided along religious and ethnic divides, the Senate leadership that we need is a man that believes in teamwork and not a superman who will lord over other leaders and colleagues because, in the national assembly, it will need a great deal of teamwork to pull a bill through.

“What Nigeria needs urgently in the National Assembly is purpose-driven, visionary, selfless, and people-oriented leadership, to make informed and relevant laws that will better the lives of Nigerians both at home and in the diaspora. 

“We should not forget in a hurry how the Saraki and Buhari frosty relationship impinged on governance in President Buhari’s first tenure, we can’t afford a repeat of that in the Tinubu-led government, that will be too much baggage and a drag.”

Southsouth leaders and some prominent groups in the Niger Delta region have set an agenda for the President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Priority areas are the completion of the East-West road, the revival of seaports, the completion of all abandoned federal projects, fixing the coastal roads, and the revival of the Warri and Port Harcourt refineries, among others.

The groups believe in Tinubu’s capacity to establish programmes and policies that would lead to the empowerment of the people of the region.

They include the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide, the Itsekiri Liberation Group (ILG), the Itsekiri Leaders of Thought (ILoT), the Ikwerre People’s Congress (IPC) Worldwide and prominent Ijaw youth leader, Bodmas Kemepadei.

IYC urged Tinubu to prioritise the completion of the East-West Road and expand the scope of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP).

IYC Spokesman, Comrade Ebilade Ekerefe, lamented the terrible state of the expressway that links the Southsouth geopolitical zone to other parts of the country.

He said the dilapidated and decrepit nature of the road had been hampering commercial and economic activists of the people of the region hence it should be given utmost priority in Federal Government’s infrastructure development.

Ekerefe also urged the President-elect to ensure that some landmark projects in the region such as Oloibiri Museum, Brass Fertiliser Project, among others, were given priority attention by his administration.

He said: “As an umbrella body of Ijaw youths in the Niger Delta, we urge that upon assumption of office, the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu should prioritise the complete rehabilitation of the East-West Road that is in a very sorry state and a deathtrap right now.

“We also demand that all the Federal Government’s uncompleted projects in the Niger Delta should be completed to provide succour to the people. Some of those projects that require federal government’s strong intervention include the Oloibiri Museum, the Brass Fertilizer Company and others.

“Also, the Federal Government should provide jobs for the youths across the states in the region through skills acquisition, capacity building, empowerment and grants. Tinubu should endeavour to expand the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) and make it more people-oriented in line with the current economic realities to make it more robust and sustainable.”

The kinsmen of Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State under the auspices of the IPC asked Tinubu to declare a state of emergency in critical sectors and work towards winning the confidence of the people.
The Chairman of IPC, Livingstone Wechie, believes there should be a state of emergency for the economy, health and security.

He said: “From day one, the first task of the incoming administration should be aimed at winning back citizens’ trust and confidence.

“If this administration must succeed, it must start by initiating strong policies that meet the yearnings and aspirations of Nigerians as a proof of a people Centered mandate.

“The incoming administration should prioritise the end of selective economic monopoly by fully opening up the Wharfs across the country particularly in the Southsouth and Southeast to massively spread economic opportunities.

“Other potential states outside Lagos and Abuja should be opened up to international air routes for foreign direct investments including the opening of Visa issuing and Consular offices in key Niger Delta and Southeast states to open them up to the boundless international opportunities.

“A state of emergency should be declared in critical sectors such as health, security, judiciary, education, housing and the economy with a view to focus on making them work through innovative and enforceable policies.

Read Also: Nnamani to Obi: align with Tinubu for a new Nigeria

“It is critical that the entire security structure and infrastructure should be reworked to guarantee the safety and security of Nigerians. The government knowing through intelligence should isolate all merchants of what is perceived as an insecure industry.

“The academic curriculum of Nigeria should be radically reviewed to meet advanced and modern realities in innovative climes by creating opportunities for special talents and gifted citizens from nursery to tertiary levels. This will help build a creative and innovative future for Nigeria.

“Access to justice should be a priority of this administration with a mandate to unbundle the judicial system for Nigerians to have their cases speedily dispensed of within set record time.

“The Supreme Court should be decentralised regionally across the federation by setting up at least three panels in each region with equal jurisdiction with a timeline on the dispensation of cases. Hence, outstanding reports for judicial reforms should be fully and immediately implemented.”

Wechie said in the Niger Delta, the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) should be reworked to boost the stake of oil-bearing communities to reflect the ownership rights of host communities.

He said: “There should be a deliberate standing policy that all Oil Multinationals should relocate their headquarters to the Niger Delta. The fuel subsidy regime has continued to be portrayed as a criminal cartel enterprise and a scam enriching certain state and private agents at the expense of citizens and the incoming administration must come out clean on this.

“If any, the government cannot outrightly remove subsidy because the welfare of citizens remains its primary responsibility within the context.

“The incoming administration should only remove the subsidy provided it guarantees the functional state-owned refineries are quickly put in place and relevant laws enforced without prejudice if any result must be achieved against the conduit of endless turnaround maintenance.

“It is only the government and not the private sector that will subsidise petroleum products for Nigerians. Hence, the government will fail if it pretends about the realities raised by Nigerians concerning petroleum subsidy.”

The ILoT appealed to Tinubu to declare a Marshall Plan for the development of the Niger Delta.

The group said a Marshall Plan under the direct supervision of the Presidency would address the environmental devastation and infrastructural deficits in the region.

It declared the current developmental approach as ineffective and ad-hoc in nature insisting it could not address the developmental challenges of the region.

ILoT scribe, Sir A.S Mene, warned of dire consequences except the incoming government led by Tinubu addressed the issues of marginalisation.

He said: “The President-elect needs to declare a Marshall Plan for the Niger Delta. We cannot continue to adopt the current development strategies, which are ad-hoc and ineffective, to develop the region.

“There is a need for a Marshall Plan to robustly address the challenges in the region because today the Niger Delta remains devastated and economically challenged.”

Mene urged the incoming administration to construct the coastal road, adding that the promise to build a coastal road starting from Akwa Ibom to Lagos state was long overdue.

He said: The incoming government led by Bola Tinubu must focus on the coastal road project starting from Akwa Ibom to Lagos state, connecting the entire oil producing areas.

The group appealed to the incoming administration to revisit the issues of the 13 per cent derivation fund, stressing that the current practice where state governments took 50 per cent of the 13 per cent meant for oil-producing areas was unacceptable.

He said: “The issue of the 13 per cent derivation fund needs to be reviewed. The entire 13 per cent needs to be directed to the development of the Niger Delta as the current practice where state governments in the region take half of the money to develop other parts of the state is unacceptable and cannot see to the development of the region.”

He said to avoid a crisis in the region, the incoming administration must critically review all forms of infrastructural development of the region including building schools, hospitals, electricity and provision of potable water.

The ILG said the incoming President must be seen as a man who keeps to promises recalling that the Vice-President, Yemi Osibanjo during the tour of the Niger Delta promised that all oil companies would relocate their headquarters to the region but failed to actualise it.

The Coordinator, ILG, Mone Oris, said Tinubu should prioritise the completion of the East-West road and revival of the seaports in Koko, Calabar and Port Harcourt.

He said: “There should be a commitment in the completion of the East-West Road. Then Warri Port, Koko Port, Calabar Port and Port Harcourt should be seen as working. Today, Nigerians are aware that the Lagos Port is choked up and causing a lot of congestion in Lagos.

“If these ports are working, some of the activities will be brought down this way. The president-elect should work on this. We cannot be exporting crude oil from the region through vessels, but cargo vessels cannot enter the region. So there should be proper policy to ensure that the ports in the region work.”

“The road from Lagos to Calabar should be put into consideration by the President-elect. Travelling from Lagos to Calabar is less than five hours, if that road is completed today. And it will bring a lot of development to the region.

“The president-elect should look at the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs. The purpose of establishing the ministry is to see that the Niger Delta is developed. But today you see that for the past eight years, there’s no tangible thing that the ministry can say it did.

“The president-elect should look into the ministry. Until today, we did not hear anything about the forensic audit. The federal ministry has become a cash cow for some individuals. So policies that should be made for the ministry must be those that will benefit the people of the region.”

A prominent Ijaw youth leader, Bodmas Kemepadei, President-elect to focus on the construction of roads, and bridges, to link riverine communities to major cities in order to stimulate economic growth and improve the quality of life of the Niger Delta people.

He said: We also seek the President-elect to look into the issue of the coastal road network that is designed to traverse all the states in the region, linking our rural communities to every state in the region via the coastline and to Lagos, his home state.

“The issue of sustenance of peace must also be a top priority, oil theft is one major factor that has birthed violence in the region, the current pipeline Surveillance programme being managed by the NNPCL should be adequately sustained and more opportunities created.

“The Warri and Port-Harcourt refinery should be resuscitated for production, to create employment and reduce the level of crime and oil theft.”

• By Tunde Akanni, PhD

For the first time in the history of the country, and also acutely contrasting with simple logic and commonsense, a second runner up in the presidential election February 25, 2023, is making a most laughable claim of having won the election. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu of All Peoples Congress, APC, had won the election with no fewer than two million votes ahead of the Labour Party’s Peter Obi who came third with Abubakar Atiku of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, coming second. 

In a most convincing reconfirmation of the previous rating of the three during the presidential election, Peter Obi’s Labour Party, LP, won the governorship seat in only one state out of the 33 available for bid. But neither  Obi, the presidential candidate of LP nor his VP candidate has demonstrated the universally known genuine spirit of sportsmanship. In spite of the unmistakable statistical data, they have been insistent that they won, as against the official declaration of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. It’s been messy to the extent that the narrative, especially online, of the opposition in the camp of the second runner in the presidential election, is extremely befuddling, having thrown all caution to the wind.  If this was never sufficiently envisaged, one organization did, apparently projecting scientifically and taking advantage of intellectual efforts well cultivated and nurtured on elections. 

Dr Babatunde Afolabi, Africa Regional Director of the Geneva headquartered Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, HD, oozed so much excitement in 2019 over a book project he had superintended as the Nigeria Director of his organization. The book is titled “Post-Election Assessment of Conflict Management Mechanisms in Nigeria, 2019 and Beyond”. Such was the excitement that even before the production was concluded he had programmed the public launch session that was to feature two reviewers namely, Prof Jibrin Ibrahim, renowned fellow of Centre for Democracy and Development, CDD, and yours sincerely. Incidentally, COVID-19 happened and ensure global shutdown for the better part of 2020. Though painful, the book launch from which so much was expected had to be postponed indefinitely.  But HD kept having the feeling that the launch still had to happen and so it finally did on December 1, 2022.

The launch attracted the best of the sober stakeholders in the moulds of high ranking and veteran diplomats, high profile civil society players and academics featured, among others, His Excellency Dr Mohammed Ibn Chambas, former Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General/Head of the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel;  the immediate past INEC Chair, Prof Attahiru Jega;former Special Representative of the ECOWAS in Liberia, Ambassador Tunde Ajisomo; former Nigerian Ambassador to France and former AU Special Rep in Liberia, Ambassador Akin Fayomi; Dr Hussein Abdul, one of the two non-media professionals recently appointed to serve on the National Media Commission.

Beyond the impactful speeches at the launch are the more enduring recommendations of the publication played up by your’s sincerely as the reviewer. What are these?  They include:

• Formal and informal conflict management structures and initiatives should work more closely in preparation for election processes.
• Traditional and religious leaders should be mindful of the implications of publicly showing sympathy or support for any political party or candidate.
• Development partners, donor organizations and other stakeholders should support the sustained training of journalists and social media influencers on conflict-sensitive reporting.
• The signing of Peace Accords should be promoted at all tiers of government, including the federal level with enough resources and incentives to ensure that all stakeholders comply with their provisions.

The inadequacy of attention and resources allocated to the last two suggestions listed above have since been haunting Nigeria since February 25. The conduct of the media, especially the so-called Fifth Estate, has been unimaginably irritating. Outright misinformation and disinformation competing incessantly and compelling the concerned to do rebuttals to the discomfort of the world. Incidentally, unmistakable as the manifestations are, even core stakeholders appear dismissive. Otherwise, how do we explain the insensitivity to diversity manifest in the composition of the recently inaugurated National Media Commission with the inclusion of the spokesperson of only one of the presidential candidates, Prof Stella Okunna?  How can the promoters of the commission convince the world against bias with the religious insensitivity burden with the only two muslims included in the 10-member body, being neither media scholars nor media professionals? The commission has since been inaugurated and expected to command our respect. How?

The centrality of the media to Multi-Track Diplomacy is such that cannot be over-emphasised with the other tracks feeding it and even feeding on it to enable proper functioning in mitigation of conflicts.  The media connect with the people as collectives and individuals and therefore bear a lot of responsibility helping to stabilize social imbalance.  This is the very basis of  the rigorous transformation effected by media and conflict resolution experts and scholars as manifest in the trajectory of, at first, Peace Journalism and much later till date, Conflict-sensitive Journalism.

Such is the reckoning that conflict-sensitive reporting enjoys that UNESCO has had to invest heavily on it with trainers and researchers  being relentless globally to entrench the principles. But what has our own newly inaugurated commission to do with all the global efforts?  The world waits!

Compounding the situation further is the disregard for HD’s submission on Peace Accord. Since its inception, it has always been a one-off, pre-election routine.  But post-election engagement as scientifically foreseen by HD has turned out to be hugely important.  This is to the extent that if care is not taken, whatever is envisaged to be dividends of democracy may get  recklessly frittered away.

The Peace Accord, as envisioned by HD with the wish for robust funding should be all-encompassing to accommodate the rest seven tracks of diplomacy as conceptualized in 1991.  And Nigeria is well endowed enough to drive the integration of the rest seven tracks to work for the desired peace for our dear country.  For instance, not a few Peace and Conflict Resolution Studies programme in different universities in Africa and even beyond have had to rely on the University of Ibadan professors for take-off and sustenance.  Such also is the respect that the world  has for the relevant experts from Nigeria that there is hardly any of the global associations that does not have a Nigerian on its leadership team. Interestingly, Dr Afolabi who conceptualized the book mentioned in this article is the current Africa Director of HD whereas he was Nigeria Director of HD when the idea of the book took root.  Perhaps more important are the renowned efforts of former President Olusegun Obasanjo in the recent time in Ethiopia and other parts of Africa.

It is absolutely indispensable to ensure adequate sensitivity to diversity in the workings of democratic processes, say at the level of political parties as well as at the level of formulating solutionist agendas such as may involve constituting membership for an all-important organ like the National Media Commission whose relevance transcends election and related complications. Most concerning perhaps is the sky high intolerance of the so-called Obidients one of who is Prof Okunna, who, self-respecting, should have honourably declined the membership of the commission, on the ground of equity, even if she was erroneously offered. Wouldn’t his fellow Obidients not have pulled down the sky on and offline? Is the Nigerian media sector so Obidient- biased to ignore this to the detriment of other political parties and indeed the nation’s peace?

Tunde Akanni, PhD, a media and conflict expert is  an associate professor of journalism at the Lagos State University, Nigeria.