The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Delta

  • Delta: Association wants private sector’s involvement in infrastructural drive

    The Association of Professional Bodies of Nigeria (APBN), Delta chapter, has appealed to the Delta State Government to involve the private sector in the development of the state’s infrastructural drive.

    The association’s Vice Chairman, Mr Paul Akporowho, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Warri that the private sector was more driven by merit and excellence than the public sector.

    Akporowho said several projects had failed to be completed in the state because successive governments failed to involve competent hands, especially, those in the private sector.

    “The Delta State Government should take a clue from the Lagos State Government’s Public, Private Partnership (PPP) initiative.

    “The private sector is driven by merit and excellence. You cannot remain in business if you don’t consider merit in your work; so to achieve a result-oriented project, you need the private sector.

    “Government should stop depending solely on professional bodies in the civil service for project implementation. It must ensure that those in the private sector are carried along since two heads are better than one,” he said.

    Akporowho who is also the National Secretary, Nigerian Environmental Society (NES), said that lack of good policy formulation was responsible for the infrastructural deficit in Delta and called for a review.

    “When you don’t have policies that are well structured and driven by competent persons to deliver the service, what you have is failure.

    “For instance, the failure of the drainage system in Delta today is a manifestation of the total collapse of ethics, merit and abandonment of sanity in the award of contracts,” he said.

    The environmentalist said private professional bodies needed to be involved in the execution of government projects to engender checks and balances.

  • Delta communities trade words over abducted man, 34

    The disappearance of a 34-year-old indigene of Isaba community, Emmanuel King Ukiri, is causing tension between his people and their Aladja neighbours.

    Residents of Isaba Kingdom, who are mainly Ijaw, at the weekend, blamed their Urhobo neighbours in Aladja for Ukiri’s disappearance.

    They said their missing son was allegedly abducted and murdered by suspected residents of Aladja on April 3.

    In a statement at the weekend in Warri, Delta State, President of Isaba Kingdom’s youths, Moses Ogugu, said Ukiri, whose mother is also an Urhobo, was allegedly abducted by suspected Aladja indigenes and later killed.

    The statement said: “The name of the man is Emmanuel King Ukiri. His father is from Isaba in Isaba Kingdom while his mother is from Ekete and Ejewu in Udu Kingdom. He is an Okada (commercial motorcycle) rider. He is 34 years old. On April 3, Aladja residents caught him on DSC Expressway and kidnapped him to Aladja and killed him at 11 p.m.”

    But President of Aladja youths, Wisdom Onatomre, denied the allegation.

    He described it as a cover-up by Isaba residents to reduce the weight of a similar incident they allegedly committed against an Aladja indigene.

    Onatomre said: “If someone is kidnapped on DSC Expressway, how is it Aladja’s fault? I can assure you that the DSC Expressway they are talking about is a busy road. I have never heard that anyone has ever been kidnapped from there.

    “Anytime they do something, they’ll look for a way to cover up. Nothing of such happened. I can swear with my life, there’s nothing anyone or youth from Aladja will do that I, the youth president, won’t know.

    “On April 6, we were at the Government House Annex to sign a peace accord. Why didn’t they mention this there? The brother of the Ukiri they are talking about was also there and he signed as well. There was nothing like that. They are doing this to cover up what they did before. “

    Police spokesman Andrew Aniamaka, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), said there was a missing person’s report on the matter.

    He called for caution on matters involving communities to avoid jeopardising the peace-building process.

  • Delta APC crisis: Party may miss by-election

    The Delta State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) may lose the chance to field a candidate in the forthcoming by-election into the vacant Warri South 1 State Constituency seat if the party’s national secretariat does not speedily resolve the leadership crisis in the party.

    APC’s Delta State House of Assembly candidate for the Warri South 1 Constituency seat in 2015, Robinson Ariyo, sounded the warning at a media briefing yesterday in Warri, Delta State.

    The former aspirant regretted that the party lacked cohesion in the state, since it had six factions claiming to represent its leadership.

    He said the Prophet Jones Erue-led faction, with “authentic” leadership, violated the spirit of the party’s constitution by filing a suit against the party without exhausting internal provisions for redress.

    Ariyo said the action was punishable with automatic expulsion from the party.

    According to him, the APC in Delta State has no leadership because the Prophet Erue-led council had been terminated by a subsisting court action instituted in 2014 by an aggrieved group in the party, led by Chief Adolo Okotie-Eboh.

    The politician said Erue and those who joined him in 2015 to file the suit against the party had automatically been expelled by the party’s constitution.

    He said: “On April 30, 2015, the Adolo Okotie-Eboh-led State Executive Committee (SEC) successfully upturned the legal status of Jones Erue-led SEC in a suit. Let’s bear in mind that an appeal has been filed against the judgment by the Erue-led SEC. However, it is left for the APC to either act on the judgment or pretend that its hands are tied by the judgment.

  • Herdsman ‘shot dead’ in Delta

    Herdsman ‘shot dead’ in Delta

    •Security tightened

    Delta State Police Command has said it has begun investigation to unearth the cause of the alleged killing of a herdsman at Ossissa, Ndokwa East Local Government.
    Last weekend, youths and herdsmen reportedly engaged in a gun duel.
    Although peace has been restored, security is being tightened to prevent a recurrence.
    The Nation learnt the victim has been buried in Asaba.
    It was gathered three herdsmen have been allegedly killed in the area in recent times.
    Investigation showed a reprisal by the herdsmen was prevented by the government and security agents.
    The Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to Governor Ifeanyi Okowa on Security, Chief Casidy Iloba, told The Nation yesterday the government was working to broker peace between the indigenes and herdsmen, adding that troublemakers would be punished.
    Police spokesman Andy Aniamaka said security has been intensified.

    Labour, Dickson disagree on education tax
    Mike Odiegwu, Yenagoa

    The Bayelsa State chapters of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), yesterday, disagreed with Governor Seriake Dickson, on the introduction of compulsory education levy in the state.

    Dickson signed the Bayelsa Education Development Trust Fund Law 2017 compelling civil servants, goverment officials, contractors and taxable citizens to pay monthly education levy.

    The governor explained the reasons behind the tax insisting it was part of the measures to protect the future of education in the state.

    Dickson, who said he was the highest contributor to the funds insisted that anybody opposed to the tax would be considered as an enemy of the state.

    According to him the fund would guarantee the sustainability of huge investments of the government in the educational sector.

    Dickson said: ‘’From now on, funds will be pumped into the EDTF account to support the free feeding, free uniforms and other items of the students. And it will take little contributions from every Bayelsan; some will pay as little as N400, N500 per month. There are others that will have to pay N1,000 or more depending on their business”.
    But the NLC chairman, Mr. John Ndiomu, said that while the workers were in support of the education development of the state, they believed that the government had the capacity to finance it without resorting to imposing further taxes on them.

    Ndiomu appealed to the government to review the levy because workers were still grappling with how to survive the current recession.

    On his part, the TUC chairman in the state, Mr. Tari Dounana, described the levy as “an anti-people’s policy’’ by the executive and the legislature without any inputs from the stakeholders.

    Dounana said: “It is unfortunate that such a law that requires civil servants to make contributions about their salaries was passed and assented to without a public hearing for the stakeholders to make their views known

    .”We have already agreed to support the proposed Health Insurance Policy into which workers will also make contributions. This is one deduction too many. We are opposed to it.’’

    But the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr. Jonathan Obuebite, said that the levy had noble intentions insisting that the state needed it to move its education forward.

    He said: ‘’We have built infrastructure and built boarding schools for which 16 of them will commence soon. We need to put up a system that can sustain them. Government will be doing the job of providing infrastructure, but the essence of this is that we must run a boarding school and if we are to provide boarding facilities as we have done and we want to run them, we must put up a system that must sustain it outside of the direct government’s funding.

    ‘’And that is why the government has said that five per cent of its internally generated revenue will be channelled into the EDTF and that everybody in government – political appointees and elected political officials including the civil servants and all citizens of the state will pay something into that fund which will be used primarily for students’ feeding and immediate needs in the boarding schools we have established in the eight local government areas for which the Ijaw National Academy is one.

    ‘’So, what we are doing is to sustain our educational system and also move Bayelsa out of the educationally disadvantaged state to a state that will compete favourably with other states in the comity of states as a state that is educationally advantaged.’’
    END.

  • PDP, LP lose members to APC in Delta

    PDP, LP lose members to APC in Delta

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party (LP) in Delta State, at the weekend, lost hundreds of members to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

    The defections took place at Ozoro, headquarters of Isoko North local government area during a “Unity Consolidation” meeting of the Isoko people in the APC.

    Leading the PDP defectors, a former member of the party, Benjamin Efekodo, representing Isoko South Constituency 1 in the House of Assembly, said they were joining the APC to mobilise for it’s victory in 2019 in order to enthrone good governance in the state.

    Also, a former President-General of Isoko Development Union and running mate to Chief Great Ogboru in the last Delta State governorship election, Chief Peter Erebi  who led the Labour Party defectors, spoke in the same vein and expressed joy that they were back in the fold of people they had worked together with in the past.

    He promised that they will work hard to deliver Isoko to the APC during the 2019 general elections.

    Receiving the new members, the Leader of the party in Isoko, Chief Lucky Esigie, thanked them for their wise decision.

    He urged all leaders and members of the party in Isoko to go to their wards and mobilise for the party’s victory in the state, assuring that members of the APC were one family in Isoko.

    Speakers at the meeting expressed happiness at the ability of the party’s leadership to harmonise all interests for the party’s unity in Isoko ahead of 2019.

  • Tensions brews between Delta communities over man’s disappearance

    There was heavy apprehension yesterday in Aladja community, Udu Council Area of Delta State, following the disappearance of a 40-year-old plumber, Kingsley Paya, who had gone to work on his farm.

    Leaders of the community alleged that the father of four might have been killed or kidnapped by some yet-to-be-identified armed men, suspected to have come from the neighbouring Isaba community, Warri South-West Council Area. Both communities have adversarial relationship for years.

    Aladja is an Urhobo community. Isaba is an Ijaw community. It denied the allegation, describing it as a lie and yet another ploy of Aladja to escalate trouble.

    The Youths President of Aladja, Wisdom Onatomre, said  Paya went to his farm to collect his harvested plantains.

    “One of our sons, Kingsley, went into his farm early this morning and the only thing we heard from that area were gunshots. All these happened around 5 to 6am. So, when it was day break, we strolled to the area and that was when the army there told us that the guy parked his car and rolled a wheelbarrow into the farm; that’s all we know and up till now we have not seen him.

    “We could not go into the bush; so, we couldn’t ascertain how the place he went to look like; whether there was blood or see any clue.”

    However, the Youths President of Isaba, Moses Ogugu, in a telephone conversation on Wednesday, said there was no way an Isaba person would traveled about 10 kilometres to either kill or kidnap anybody, especially with soldiers on guard.

    Ogugu said: “There’s nothing like that. They are lying. I called the Aladja youths president, Mr Wisdom, this morning when I heard about the story and he said the man parked his car at the army checkpoint of Aladja and went into his farm there. That place is about 10 kilometres away from Isaba and there’s no way an Isaba person will go that far to kill or kidnap someone.

    “Do they have a witness? They are just looking for trouble. That’s how they came to Isaba on February 6 to behead one of our sons and up till date government has not done anything about that. Anytime they come up with lies like this, you will know that they want to start another problem.

    “My take is since government has provided security on that road, both in Isaba and in Aladja, they should go to both ends to ask the security men what they saw, not just pointing fingers at innocent people.”

    Delta Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Andrew Aniamaka, told The Nation that a case of a missing person had been reported by Aladja people, adding that there was no report of shooting

    “We have a case of missing person in Ovwian/Aladja area. Actually, a young man, an Ovwian/Aladja person, went to his farm  and of course you will expect that since his people didn’t see him, they have every cause to be apprehensive

    “For now, we are treating it as a case of a missing person. What we have is that he went to his farm and has not come back, the natural apprehension will be ‘what could have happened’. We have no report of any gunshot,” he said.

  • 80 unemployed graduates benefit from FG’s youth empowerment scheme

    The Minister of Water Resources, Mr Suleiman Adamu, on Thursday, said that 80 unemployed youths were benefiting from Federal Government’s Graduate and Youth Empowerment Scheme on irrigation farming.

    Adamu, who spoke at the official inauguration of the scheme in Illah, Delta, said that the programme was part of efforts to revitalise the River Basin Development Authorities (RBDAs) to boost the nation’s agricultural production.

    He said that the revitalisation of the RBDAs was targeted at creating job opportunities via irrigation farming and aquaculture, while boosting Nigeria’s efforts to attain food security.

    He said that the scheme was an offshoot of an agreement signed between the Federal Government and Songhai Integrated Farms Ltd. in Benin Republic.

    The minister recalled that the agreement stressed the need to reposition and strengthen the RBDAs to become major economic nerve-centres of the country.

    “This is in line with the economic diversification policy and the change agenda of the present administration.

    “The main objective of this scheme is massive job creation for young graduates, with all-year-round agricultural production and other value chain activities,” he said.

    Adamu assured Nigerians that the scheme was laudable as it supported the vision and objectives of President Muhammadu Buhari’s plans for food security and youth empowerment.

    He urged the beneficiaries and all stakeholders to provide maximum support for the scheme through their active participation in its operations and maintenance.

    He added that the scheme was a tool for reducing poverty and youth restiveness in the country.

    Mr Saliu Ahmed, Managing Director, Benin-Owena River Basin Development Authority (RBDA), called on the Federal Government to expand the irrigation facilities in the authority’s catchment area.

    He said that the RBDA had undertaken irrigation projects in Ewulu and Illah in Delta; Ukhun, Illushi-Ega-Oria in Edo; Owena Multipurpose Dam; Erusu Dam and Iju-Ita-Ogbolu in Ondo State.

    Ahmed said that the Illah/Ebu irrigation project was one of the priority projects of the river basin authority.

    He said that the project had a capacity of developing over 3,000 hectares of irrigable land, adding that 550 hectares had so far been developed for the cultivation of rice, water melon and cucumber.

    Ahmed said it was the desire of the RBDA to increase the participants of the scheme to 1,000, calling for more support from the Federal Government.

    “We need the government support to enable us to rehabilitate our broken-down tractors and acquire new ones, while procuring equipment such as rice harvesters and planters.

    “We also desire to prepare farmlands to accommodate more prospective farmers,” he said.

    Ahmed called on the host communities to take ownership of the project and assist in effective management of all the facilities.

    News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that similar projects had been inaugurated in Kogi, Ogun, Zamfara, Kano, Cross River, IMO and Nasarawa States.

  • Activists threaten Delta over teachers

    The Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) has issued a week ultimatum to the Delta State government to end the ongoing teachers’ strike.
    Teachers in primary and secondary schools called an indefinite strike action on March 9, to demand better welfare.
    The Chairman of CDHR in Delta, Kehinde-Prince Taiga, who spoke with reporters in Warri, yesterday said: “At this juncture, we are giving him seven day ultimatum to call off the strike. When he fails, we are going to mobilise 6 million Deltans across the country not only Deltans those who are stating in Delta and outside the country (Diaspora).
    “We are going to mobilise even the higher institution, NADESTU, NANS, students, student leaders, mothers and fathers. We are going to mobilise them to the streets to block the street that the governor must attend to the cry of teachers because nobody work without salary.”

    Teachers cannot be going to school to teach our children when they are not being paid”, the group said.
    Some of the lingering issues that led to the ongoing strike included non-payment of monthly salaries to primary school teachers, non-payment of CONPSS arrears May/June 2015, non-pay­ment of retired teachers’ benefits.
    Others were the continued delay in the payment of teachers’ salaries, non-implementation of promotions by Post Primary Education Board (PPEB) and State Uni­versal Basic Education Board (SUBEB)’s refusal to implement Inter-Cadre transfer among others.

  • World Bank extends project duration in Delta

    World Bank extends project duration in Delta

    The State Employment and Expenditure for Results Project (SEEFOR), an interventionist project of the World Bank and European Union (EU), has extended activities in Delta State by two years.

    Project Coordinator Mr. Benson Ojoko told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Asaba the extension was to make up for the two years of delay in the beginning of the programme, noting that it took off in 2013 instead of 2011.

    He said: “Knowing that the delay will affect the achievement of the objectives of the programme, the sponsors saw the need to extend the project by two years.

    “It is also because most of the states  implementing the project have said if given further opportunity, they will employ more people than the number originally targeted.’’

    Ojoko added that the extension was because the EU provided complementary financing to the original project as conceived by the World Bank.

    He said the financing was a non-repayable grant, adding that it was meant to help realise the objectives of the SEEFOR programme.

    The coordinator said the extension of the programme would help the state deliver on the key performance indicator assigned to it.

    NAN reports that in Delta, SEEFOR has carried out road maintenance, refuse collection and disposal.

  • Delta paid N24m into Justice Ajumogobia’s account in 2011, says witness

    Delta paid N24m into Justice Ajumogobia’s account in 2011, says witness

    An Ikeja high court heard yesterday that the Delta State Government credited the current bank account of Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia twice in August 2011 to the tune of N24 miilion.

    A former customer relations officer with Access Bank Plc, Clement Okaranwolu, who disclosed this at resumed proceedings before Justice Hakeem Oshodi said yesterday that the state credited the judge’s account with N15million on August 5, 2011and with N9million on August 29, 2011.

    Okaranwolu, who said he was the account officer to the judge, further stated that N15million was paid into the account with an Oceanic Bank cheque, while the N9million was lodged in with a Zenith Bank cheque.

    Justice Ofili-Ajumogobia, a serving judge of the Federal High Court, is facing a 30-count charge offence before the court for alleged bribery and unlawful enrichment alongside a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Chief Godwin Obla.

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had accused the judge of receiving a total of $793,800 in several tranches from different sources between 2012 and 2015 “so as to have a significant increase in your assets that you cannot reasonably explain the increase in relation to your lawful income.”

    Led in evidence by the EFCC prosecutor, Rotimi Oyedepo Okaranwolu, the fourth prosecution witness, told the court that apart from the naira account, the judge also owned two dollars accounts into which lodgments were constantly made by herself and other individuals.

    The witness said one Ken Mozia paid in $20,000 on May 7, 2008 into the judge’s domiciliary account, numbered 0002130929; Tony Iwobi, who paid $10,000 into the account on April 16, 2008; Ali D, who paid in $10,000 on June 16, 2007;  Subedetu, who paid in $3,000 on April 12, 2011; and AB/GT which paid in $9,900 on April 30, 2013.

    The witness, who was presented with the judge’s statements of accounts, also pointed out to the court several $10,000 lodgments which Justice Ofili-Ajumogobia made by herself and by sending others, including the witness himself and one Donald Ofili adding that $10,000 was the maximum daily deposit allowed.

    He said that the two dollar accounts received a total credit of $693,000 deposited by the judge and other individuals between 2007 and 2011.

    The witness also pointed out names of individuals who credited the judge’s account to include one Ayegba Abdullahi who credited the account with N1million on August 17, 2011;  Mrs. Bola Latinwo who paid N700,000 and N500,000 into the account on October 5 and November 20, 2011 respectively.

    Justice Oshodi has adjourned further proceedings in the matter  till April 28, 2017.