The Nation Newspaper

Tag: communities

  • Communities benefit from firm’s agric programme

    Communities benefit from firm’s agric programme

    The Green River Project (GRP), which was established in 1987 by the Nigeria Agip Oil Company (NAOC), with the aim of pursuing food security and improving the lives of the company’s host communities in the Niger Delta is now yielding huge results.

    So far, 35,000 farmers in over 120 communities spread across the company’s operational states of Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta and Imo are now being provided with improved seedlings; agricultural materials and equipment; extension services; training and micro-credit schemes.

    The General Manager District of NAOC, Mr. Paolo Carnevale, who disclosed this during the 19th GRP Farmers’ Day celebration which took place at Obie in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers State, also revealed that about 225 new co-operative societies have been established while 265 existing ones have been strengthened.

    The company said through the projects, about 3,750 youths and women have been trained in various technical and vocational trades since 1999 to enhance job creation.

    Carnevale also said that last year, about 1,256 farmers were supported with inputs and service deliveries while 550 youths have been trained in skills acquisition programme with 57 co-operative societies being given support  by the company.

    Impressed by these achievements, he stated the company’s “willingness to continue strengthening the project” as it is relevant to Nigeria’s development plan, agricultural policy and vision 2020 as well as United Nations sustainable development goals.

    Also speaking at the event, with the theme: “Feeding the Nation, Energy for Life” the Managing Director of NOAC, Mr Massimo Insulla listed many other achievements the GRP has achieved in the four states, adding that it was why the company has decided “to highlight its successes at an international platform and promote stronger inter-governmental ties both at the state and federal levels for the development of the agricultural sector.”

    Insulla also said that in realisation of the objective of setting up the project, NAOC would take the Farmer’s Day celebration to international exhibition taking place in Milan, Italy very soon which would attract participants from about 140 countries.

    He further used the opportunity to commend the efforts of the four state governments, various research institutions and other organisations in partnering with NAOC to ensure that the GRP is a success.

    In his speech, the Chairman of NAOC, Mr Ciro Antonio Pagano, who described GRP as the company’s flagship, also stated that it is “our conviction that a better way of empowering the communities of Niger Delta states is to intervene and empower them to realise their full economic potential by harnessing and adding value to their God-given resources.

    “That way, more employment opportunities will be generated within the communities, earning capacities will be increased and reduce restiveness in the communities.”

    •Sonny Echono who represented President Muhammadu Buhari.
    •Sonny Echono who represented President Muhammadu Buhari.

    President Muhammadu Buhari, who was represented at the occasion by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Mr. Sonny Echono, used the opportunity to explain all the programmes the Federal Government has mapped out to boost agriculture and make it more market-oriented and to create massive employment for youths.

    The President commended NAOC for establishing the GRP which he said is in line with the new agricultural drive of the Federal Government.

    Rivers, Bayelsa and Imo states that were represented by their respective deputy governors also commended NAOC for setting the GRP while Delta State that was represented by a staff of its Ministry of Agriculture also spoke in the same manner.

    Various categories of awards were given to the participating farmers’ groups and co-operatives while many traditional dance groups from the participating states featured at the occasion.

     

  • 66 Rivers communities benefit from NYSC

    About 10,000 residents in 66 communities of Rivers State were beneficiaries of the three- day free medical outreach by National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), for rural dwellers.

    The state Co-ordinator of the NYSC, Ngozi Nwatarali, spoke at an event to flag-off the programme on Monday.

    Held at Ozuoba community of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area(LGA), of the state, Nwatarali said the outreach tagged “Health Initiative for Dwellers(HIRD), is the brainchild of the Director-General of NYSC, Brig-Gen. J.B. Olawunmi to provide health care intervention to members of the public especially those in rural communities where health facilities are rare and access to affordable, efficient and effective health care is not.

    According to her, the programme is also part of the DG’s four point agenda to increase the visibility and capability of corps member to deliver more service delivery, thereby impacting directly on the people they serve in their midst.

    The State Co-ordinator assured the members of the state of the readiness of NYSC managers to contribute their quota in the governments’ efforts to providing prompt intervention to their health care needs, and call for stronger supports from their partners and stakeholders in terms of provision of drugs and resources needed to carry on the programme round the communities.

    “HIRD is a health initiative of NYSC DG Brig-Gen. J. B. Oluwami to provide affordable and timely health care intervention for larger populations of the country’s rural dwellers who lacks access to basic medical amenities due to their location.

    “The presence of the NYSC in all the nooks and crannies of the state will be leveraged on to achieve this. Hundreds of corps medical personnel as well as other corps volunteers have made themselves available to ensure the success of this programme in all the LGAs.

    “In the next three days of the HIRD programme in the state, a total of 66 communities will benefit from the health care service of this patriotic Corps members. At the end of programme, it is expected that over 10,000 rural dwellers would have received one firm of medical attention ot the other across the state.

    “Adequate manpower, logistics support as well as drugs have been mobilised to three communities in each LGA of the state.

    “At each location, the Corps doctors, pharmacists, physiotherapists, nurses, and other paramedical and corps volunteers will carry out HIV/AIDs test, eye test, malaria, hypertension, diabetes tests, counselling and treatments as the case may be and even give referrals where necessary.”

     

     

     

     

  • Six communities protest abandoned NDDC road project

    Six communities protest abandoned NDDC road project

    Six communities at Iyekogba area of Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State have protested over the abandonment of a road construction contracted awarded by the Niger Delta Development Commission and the continued deplorable condition of roads leading to the communities.

    Residents and indigenes of the communities, comprising Evbowe, Uholor, Utangban, Efionayi, Evbuodia and Ulemon, took to the streets of their communities to protest the abandoned road project that was supposed to link the communities from Iyekogba near Ogba River to Upper Ekenwan road leading to Gelegele.

    The project was supposed to provide an alternative route to Gelegele jetty through Airport road but over six years after the contract for the road project was awarded, it is yet to be completed.

    Driving through the communities is a nightmare for motorists as even the Upper Ekenwan axis has become worsen. They appeared cut off by the bad roads.

    •A bad spot
    •A bad spot

    Besides accessible road, there is no secondary school in the communities and the only two primary schools at Utangban and Evbuodia are far apart and in deplorable conditions.

    Pupils in the communities usually trek long distance to attend good primary and secondary across the Ogba River.

    Chairman of Ulemon Community, Julius Iredia, said members of the community have been subjected to hardship due to the abandoned road project.

    Iredia said the protest was to draw governments’ attention to their plight as the communities have written protest letters to The Presidency, Governor Adams Oshiomhole, and the State House of Assembly, all to no avail.

    According to him, “The bad condition of the road leading to our communities has brought hardship to us. We have tried our best to meet with the Niger Delta Development Commission in Benin for the completion of the road but nothing has happened since.”This abandoned road project has hampered the social economic activities of the community and we are not  going to rest until the government comes to our rescue. We are part and parcel of the country and should begin to reap from the benefits of democracy, which other communities are enjoying to the fullest.”We have been sidelined in the developmental process going on in the country,” he lamented.Investigation by Niger Delta Report at the Upper Ekenwan axis showed that businesses have been paralyzed and social activities are non-existent due to the bad road and lack of electricity for the past five months.When contacted for comments, Edo State Commissioner in the NDDC, Mr. Peter Enogieru, said the road project has been abandoned for over four years because of poor funding.Enogieru said many projects of the NDDC were abandoned not only in Edo State but across the Niger Delta region because of nonpayment of funds to contractors.

    According to him, “The contractor has not been paid because of lack of fund. The contractor will work and no payment will be made to them. Many of them have taken bank loans. They cannot go back to work.”When funding improves like we are expecting under the new regime, things will improved. It is not an Edo State issue, it is the entire Niger a Delta region that jobs are amandine because of funds.”However, the office of the NDDC in Edo State that was sealed over non-remittance of Pay As You Earn tax amounting to N97m was yet to be opened as at press time.

     

  • Why host communities’, operators’ problems persist

    Failure of oil and gas industry operators to identify the immediate needs of the host communities, leverage on the needs to initiate and implement a Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) is the major cause of problems between the host communities and companies operating there, the Country Manager, Entrepreneurial Development, General Electric, Sunny Ojei has said.

    He said the need to ensure a peaceful coexistence between General Electric and its host communities,  informed the decision of the firm to sign  memorandum of understanding with the communities where it operates.

    He said GE is working with the communities on how to develop the entrepreneurial skills of the residents of the communities, make them have their own jobs and earn a living. He said computer training among others have been provided to the residents of its host communities in order to ensure that they are self- employed.

    He said GE has encouraged its suppliers to provide vocational training to the people, adding that their efforts are yielding fruits as the people are now engaged.

    Ojeh said: “People need some measures or levels of assurance that their future is safe. The assurance comes through the employment opportunities, which GE has provided for them and which they are tapping. As many residents, we (GE) can cascade and influence to buy into the jobs’ opportunities around, the better for the communities concerned, the industry and the economy.”

    He urged operators in the industry to firm up relationship with their host communities, by creating opportunities for them to secure employment and live better life.

    He said once this is done, problems such as low production, destruction of facilities owned by oil and gas companies by vandals, which were mostly aggrieved members of the host communities, would be reduced.

  • Ilaje coastal communities seek compensation from Shell

    The Ilaje communities in Ondo State have urged Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company, (SNEPCO), to compensate them for the Bonga oil Spill of 2011. They said SNEPCo and the communities reached an agreement for compensation but Shell has not fulfilled its promise.

    The General Secretary of Abereke Communities and field coordinator, Communities Environmental Protection Committee of Ilaje land (CEPCOM), Prince Taiwo Aiyedatiwa said despite the fact that Ilaje coastal communities of Ondo State are host communities to SNEPCo’s Bonga oil facility, which is offshore Ilaje Local Government of Ondo State, Shell has not been carrying out its corporate social responsibilities to the communities.

    He said: “In January 2014, we were aware that SNEPCO called about 88 coastal communities in Delta and Bayelsa States to stakeholders’ forum in Abuja through the house of representative committee on environment in which the Minister of Environment, National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and other regulatory bodies were in attendance, and Shell agreed to compensate the communities.

    “But to our surprise, Ilaje local Government of Ondo State that plays host to SNEPCO, and also affected by the oil spill was left out. We have written several letters to the company, regulatory bodies and Presidency since the occurrence of the oil spill but our communities have not been invited by Shell. The oil spill affected five coastal states in the Niger Delta including Akwa-Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, Ondo and Rivers.”

    He appealed to Shell and the Federal Government as well as the spill committees to prevail on SNEPCO to call a stakeholders forum and invite the Ilaje coastal communities that were badly affected by the oil spill and compensate them, clean up and remediate the environment to restore aquatic lives. “We had planned to take legal action but were stopped by the traditional head of Abereke communities, Oloja Darosha Oladayo Mesagan. He advised us not to do so now, but the continued failure of SNEPCo to address our issue, will compel us to take action,” he added.

    NOSDRA’s director-general, Sir Peter Idabor had in a letter to Shell said the agency imposed a sanction on the company for pollution and damage to natural resources and means of livelihood of the affected communities. The Agency had recently threatened to sanction SNEPCo for failing to pay the $3.6 billion fine.

    He said: “Despite the fact that the incident was caused by equipment failure and the admission by the then Managing Director that 40,000 barrels of crude oil spilled into the Atlantic Ocean, no attempt was made by the oil company to provide relief materials for the shoreline fishing communities with respect to the acute and chronic impact of the crude oil on the environment.”

    NOSDRA directed SNEPCo to pay the sum of $3,600,191,206.00 or its Naira equivalent as compensation and administrative costs for failure to effect clean up on the impacted site within the stipulated period, as provided in the agency’s Act and Regulations.”

    Shell declined to comment on the issue when contacted by The Nation.

  • Ambode gives 49 transformers to rural communities

    Ambode gives 49 transformers to rural communities

    Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has given over 49 new transformers to rural communities in Lagos State as part of his administration’s policy to light up those places.

    The transformers, he said, would reduce the challenge of unsteady power supply which is crippling businesses and making life unbearable for inhabitants of those areas.

    “In my inaugural speech, I pledged my total commitment to run a government that will implement programmes that will make life more meaningful, easier, and happier for our people, Today, we are handing over these transformers as a demonstration of that pledge,” he said.

    The governor, represented by Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Local Government and Community Affairs, Jafar Sanuth at the ceremony, said his administration would begin the connection of the transformers to the national grid in two weeks under the first phase, adding that the second phase would involve the procurement and installation of over 50 transformers to be distributed to rural communities in Epe, Badagry, Ibeju Lekki and Ikorodu.

    The transformers connection to the national grid would improve power supply, create an enabling environment for job creation and reduce migration from the rural to urban areas – Ambode said, adding: “This will also create employment for our unemployed youths in these areas as small scale businesses can now function properly with the installation of the transformers. With the provision of the transformers to these communities, it will improve the economy of the communities, especially those (residents) who are in one way or the other depending on power supply as the only means of their livelihood.”

    Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Community Affairs Alhaji Tajudeen Quadri said the transformers would improve the standard of living in rural communities.

    Quadri, immediate past chair of the Community Development Committee, promised that the transformers would be used judiciously and protected from vandals.

  • Flood submerges seven communities

    Seven communities were yesterday flooded in Demsa and Numan local government areas of Adamawa State, following a heavy flow of water from the Kiri dam.

    Kiri dam is in Guyuk Local Government. The dam, from the Gongola River, is about 30 kilometres long and 15 kilometres wide.

    The Executive Secretary, Adamawa State Emergency Management Agency (ADSEMA),  Alhaji Haruna Furo, spoke in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Yola.

    He said most of the affected villages were Bilachi, Bali, Mbongado, Dwam Sabo and Kabawa in Demsa area, while Imburu, Hayin Gada and Gbalang were affected in Numan Local Government.

    “The state emergency team and top government officials have visited some of the affected communities.

    “We are going to resettle them in secure and conducive rescue camps,” Furo said.

    He said the government had started making contact with relief organisations for response and rescue mission.

    Furo confirmed that nobody died, but thousands were rendered homeless.

    Mr. Lumsun Dili, the member representing Demsa Constituency in the House of Assembly, who was among officials that visited the affected areas, said over 12,000 people were affected in Demsa area.

    He told NAN that thousands of farmland, houses and domestic animals were submerged and lost in the flood.

  • Shoprite lifts communities, school with donations

    Shoprite lifts communities, school with donations

    •Opens outlet in Festac Town

    Retail giant Shoprite has continued its Community Network in local communities in conjunction with Save Our Needy International NGO as it donates learning materials to the Progressive Nursery and Primary School in Festac Town, Lagos.

    The retailer which opened its new outlet in Festival mall Festac town of Lagos donated a set of chairs, tables, whiteboards and stationery to the principal of the school. The donation is part of Shoprite’s commitment to making a positive impact in the communities where they have stores.

    Speaking on its contributions to the school, Shoprite’s Festac store manager, Jide Ahmadu asserts that the donation forms part of the store’s CSR plans to impact their Community. “we understand the fact that learning materials are important because they can significantly increase students’ achievement by supporting their learning as well as assisting the teachers to efficiently perform their professional duties” “We also want a better life through Education for our youths that’s why we support early childhood development and also assist to create a conducive environment for learning” Ahmadu enthused.

    It would be recalled that the retailer recently partnered with the Kwara state waste management agency to drive the message of keeping the environment clean. In the same vein, it also organised a free breast cancer screening event in Ibadan and donated shopping vouchers to NGO’s in Kano and Abuja.

    The teachers and students of Progressive Nursery and Primary school expressed sincere appreciation for the donation and encouraged other well meaning organisations to emulate the gesture.

    Lagos state now plays host to five branches of Shoprite with the addition of the Festac store and brings to a total of thirteen stores spread across  as they continue to expand in the country.

  • Four more communities treated free

    Four more communities treated free

    Barely two weeks after several communities were treated free by some Anambra State indigenes based overseas, four more settlements have benefited from a similar outreach, NWANOSIKE ONU reports

     

    It was good two weeks ago; now things are getting even better. Barely 14 days earlier residents of six communities in Anambra State were diagnosed and treated free for various ailments. Their benefactors were kith and kin living overseas who came home with a shipment of medicaments. They treated people in Oko in Orumba North, Abagana in Njikoka and Obosi in Idemili North council areas. Also attended to, were patients in Ihembosi and Ozubulu in Ekwusigo as well as Oba in Idemili South local government areas. The beneficiaries loved every bit of it.

    Now another batch of medical personnel has visited the state, zeroing in on four communities and treating their ailing residents. The medical missionaries from Italy worked for nine days in Nanka in Orumba North, Ogidi in Idemili North, Umuleri and Aguleri in Anambra East councils.

    The group, called Opera Don Bonifacio Azione Verde, was led by Rev. Fr. Boniface Duru, who hails from Imo State, on the invitation of the Anambra State government.

    It was tagged Viaggio Della Speranza (meaning journey of hope).

    The group, according to the founder and president, Rev Fr Boniface Duru, has about 400 children also on scholarship in Imo.

    The children were adopted by the group to give hope to the hopeless, while some of them had graduated from different universities, few others are still in primary, secondary and tertiary school in Imo state according to the group.

    On the whole, about one thousand patients were treated by the group for various ailments in the four communities, especially for diabetes and hypertension.

    Speaking with The Nation on their mission, Rev Fr Duru lamented that the two ailments diabetes and hypertension were on the rise in the communities, adding that people should take serious precaution.

    However, he said that the group was willing to collaborate with the state government in getting it right and help to better the lives of the sick people of the state through their humble mission.

    He said: “The government cannot do all, we help the governments reach the grass roots, touch the sick and the down trodden.”

    “The question of the grassroots is a central issue in governance and any government capable of reaching the grass roots in its activities has succeeded, people in the periphery need the assistance of humanitarian organisations”

    One of the patients suffering from diabetes, Martha Okonkwo, from Ogidi, told The Nation that the group gave her some drugs to help in alleviating her sufferings, because she had nobody to carter for her.

    The diabetic patient further said that the aliment had been with her for the past six years, adding that she had got a little bit relived as a result of the drugs given to her by the medical missionaries.

    Another patient from Aguleri, the community where Anambra state Governor, Chief Willie Obiano hails from, Mr. Cyprian Ogbuefi told the Nation that the mission of the group had really given him some relief.

    On why the invitation to the medical missionaries, the coordinator of the group, Sister Fausta Manafa, told the Nation that it was to help the less privileged and the needy in rural areas, who had no person to carter for them.

    She said the state government would equally extend such invitation to other groups like this, which according to her, had been the wish of Governor Willie Obiano to alleviate the sufferings of the people in the state.

     

  • LSACA takes HIV campaign to communities

    The Lagos State AIDS Control Agency (LSACA), in collaboration with Community AIDS Development Foundation (CADEF), Rock Care Initiative and People Against HIV/AIDS in the Barrack (PAHAB), has begun free HIV counselling and testing in some communities in the state.

    They are Shibiri, Iyana Era/Tipper Garage, Gojere, opposite Ojo Barrack, Igbo Elerin First Gate, Onireke in Ojo and Amuwo-Odofin Local Government Council Area (LCDA).

    The programme, the Acting Chief Executive Officer, LSACA, Dr Olusegun Ogboye, said is aimed at taking HIV campaign to door-steps.

    He underscored the importance of people knowing their status, stressing that most residents preferred to be attended to in their immediate environment instead of travelling some kilometres before getting the service.

    LSACA in collaboration with the Civil Society Organisations (CSO) decided to provide services in those communities before moving to others, he said.

    Ogboye said awareness and response to reduce HIV prevalence is key to the state’s strategic plan, and as such, every hand must be on deck to get to zero prevalence.

    He said the state has inaugurated the State Technical Team on mapping of Most At Risk Populations (MARPs) of people.

    The MARPs, he noted, included female sex workers (FSW), injecting drug users (IDU) and men having sex with men (MSM) .

    The team, he said, would identify the locations where people inject drugs and men have sex with men. “They would be counselled and tested. There would be moonlight testing for female sex workers too,” he said.

    The agency, he said, was conducting interviews for research assistants, data clerks and supervisors for local epidemic appraisal (LEA) study, adding that this was done being in partnership with the Society for Family Health (SFH) to scale up HIV prevention in the state.

    LSACA would take the HIV campaign to difficult areas, Ogboye said.