The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Delta

  • Delta Steel community accuses Receiver/Manager of neglect

    Delta Steel community accuses Receiver/Manager of neglect

    • Aribisala: its all digression

    The host community to the Delta Steel Company (DSC) Plc has said neglect of developmental projects that cater for community welfare prompted the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) to change Receiver/Manager for the ailing steel company.

    The Ovie of Udu Kingdom, His Royal Majesty, E.B. O. Delekpe, alleged that the DSC Technical High School and DSC Camp Extension Hospital were neglected during the time that Chief Ajibola A. Aribisala (SAN) was the Receiver/Manager to DSC. This, he alleged, prompted AMCON to appoint Dr. Joseph Nwobike (SAN) acting for Premium Steel and Mines, a company owned by top businessman Sunil Vaswani, as the new Receiver/Manager.

    But when contacted by The Nation, Chief Aribisala said allegations of neglect against him by the community leaders are digression from more serious issues going on.

    He said he was appointed the Receiver/ Manager to DSC to prudently manage its assets, pay its debts, and not to serve the community. “I am not appointed to manage the host community. That is digression. That is diversion. The issue here is that I was appointed the receiver/manager by AMCON in 2011. And I have been acting. We went to court, took over the assets. It has not been easy for me because the company was owned by Indians.

    “The Indians used their assets to borrow money from banks and could not pay back. The banks sold the loans to AMCON. That was how I was appointed. I have no business with the host community,” Aribisala said.

    Continuing, he said “It is the AMCON MD that he petitioned for gross abuse of office. All the attack is not against AMCON, but against Mustapha Chike-Obi. I am not attacking AMCON. I am working for AMCON and will keep working for AMCON,” he said.

    On the schools, he said: “The school is one of the assets I need to sell to pay the debts. I am supposed to protect the assets of the company prudently, in order to realize the money that is being owed.

    I promised to give the host community concession for admission, but they have to pay school fees because no body will give service free”.

    Chief Aribisala said the alleged discharge of his appointment as Receiver/Manager of DSC is null and void, since Delta Steel Company, is by law a Public Liability Company and not a Limited Company. He maintained that he is the only one vested with the power to realize the charged assets of the company in receivership.

    But HRM Delekpe listed a hike in school fees from N25,000 per term to N40,000 and poor state of the hospital  as some of the issues the community holds against Chief Aribisala.

    Also, High Chief Steve Sokoh said he supports current step taken by AMCON to get the DSC up and running and urged the corporation to ensure that the demands of the community on developmental projects are met at all times.

    Likewise, Chief Samuelson Odibo said now is the time to salvage the company, and bring it to the global standard that will not only benefit the immediate community, but the entire country. He complained that preferences are not given to children of indigenes in the school.

    “The Udu Traditional Council (UTC) received the news on the appointment of new Receiver/Manager for Delta Steel Company with joy, and opens a better chapter in the management of DSC,” he said.

    Also, Principal, DSC Technical High School, Mrs. Mary Rose Ojukwu called for timely payment of teachers’ salaries. There were also calls on DSC managers to improve the condition of the hospital.

  • World Bank engages 4,000 Delta youths

    World Bank engages 4,000 Delta youths

    About 4,000 youths in Delta State have been engaged from 2013 till date under the State Employment and Expenditure for Results (SEEFOR) project of the World Bank, the Delta Coordinator of the project, Mr Benson Ojoko, has said.

    Ojoko said this at a-one-day empowerment training workshop organised by SEEFOR for beneficiaries of the programme in the state on Tuesday in Asaba, the Dekta Statde capital. According to him, about 4,000 youths have been employed under the SEEFOR programme in the state to create value for the society since the introduction of the programme in 2013.

    “The 4,000 youths were engaged to maintain roads and refuse collection in the six local government areas where the SEEFOR project is currently implemented. The six cities where the programme is being implemented in the state are Asaba, Ughelli, Warri, Uvwie, Sapele and Udu,’’ he explained.

    Ojoko said beneficiaries would be trained on money management, entrepreneurship skills and mentorship. He explained that the workshop would help to empower the beneficiaries for entrepreneurship skills, adding that most of the beneficiaries were from poor background with little or no education.

    He said at the end of the training workshop, those who are interested in acquiring vocational and technical skills will be enrolled for further training.

    Ojoko said the programme, which was for a period of 12 months for each batch of beneficiaries, was geared towards poverty reduction as well as creating employment for the teeming youths in the state.

    Also speaking at the occasion, a former state Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Mr Kingsley Emu commended SEEFOR for sustaining the programme in the state.

    Emu also commended the beneficiaries for being part of the programme, adding that the state government was ready to support them in acquiring technical and vocational skills.

    “The state government has a total of eight vocational centres and it is ready to support you in acquiring more skills that will help you to be self-reliant in future,’’ he said.

  • Delta communities shut down oil facilities

    •Seek pipelines surveillance contracts, payment of N1.4b

    Angry host communities in Delta State yesterday shut down the facilities at Oil Mining Leases (OML) 26, 30, 34, and 65 over pipelines surveillance and operations agreement disputes with the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC).

    The host communities shut down the facilities during a protest involving mostly women and youths.

    The protesters disrupted operations at the facilities in Udu and Ughelli South local government areas.

    They threatened to occupy the facilities until the company and the Federal Government heeded their demands.

    Besides demanding the immediate inclusion of Urhobo and Isoko host community’s representatives in the multi-billion naira pipelines surveillance contract, which was recently approved for Ijaw and Itsekiri by former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, the protesters also demanded the immediate payment of accumulated indebtedness to local contractors by the NPDC.

    They put the indebtedness at N1.4 billion.

    In a statement by leaders of the protest, including Morris Idiovwa, Efe Okovwurie, Pastor Rochard Erhurhore and John Obaro, the host communities said facilities at OML 26, 30, 34, and 65 would remain shut until NPDC and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) awarded to Urhobo and Isoko separate Pipeline Surveillance and Intelligence Gathering contracts.

    The protesters, who stormed the Jeremi Flow Station in the morning, shut down the facilities.

    They urged NPDC to create a Contract Department in its Edjeba office to take care of contractors in Delta State.

    The communities also demanded that NPDC pay up the nine-month outstanding salaries of host communities’ workers at OML 26, 30, 34, and 65.

    According to them, NPDC is heavily indebted to most of the indigenous contractors.

    The protesters decried the replacement of indigenous contractors, whose contract tenure had expired for over two years, and the inability of NPDC management to put in place new contracts for the host communities.

    NPDC, the host communities said, should create Assets Department for OML 26, 30, 34, and 65, adding that such must be located in the catchment areas where the facilities are located.

     

     

  • Delta celebrates centre

    Delta celebrates centre

    It was clear that morning that something great had happened in Delta State and the people were ready to celebrate it. Under a long line of conical canopies stretching the 400-metre-length of the facility, they sat waiting. Behind them, over the walled fence, assorted flags fluttered in the gentle winds a few metres from the Benin-Asaba Expressway. Facing the people were well-built, colourful units of production lines where various items are produced.

    As the public address system came alive, signalling the kick-off of the event, nimble-footed, white-clad female traditional performers danced into the open space, their male companions following and flaunting their masculinity in arm-swinging, foot-stamping motions.

    •A client of the Agency at work on Inauguration Day
    •A client of the Agency at work on Inauguration Day

    It was the inauguration of the state’s Micro, Small and Medium Entrepreneurship Centre, a multi-billion-naira leatherworks and shoes factory, where no fewer than 4,000 apprentices will be trained in various trades every year. That is a massive effort in tackling jobs challenges.

    The state government built the centre with the technical partnership of the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO).

    The Centre, located at Issele-Uku, Aniocha North Local Government Area, boasts a wide variety of production lines. All kinds of shoes and leatherworks are produced there, ranging from school footwear to sandals, slippers and formal foot-gear. Bags, belts and other leather-based items also roll out of the factory.

    Former state governor Emmanuel Uduaghan, who flagged off the facility, called it a “wealth-creating” centre, which can provide multi-sector jobs for the state’s teeming youths.

    The traditional institution represented by Prince Dominic Egbune, the regent of Oligbo kingdom, where the centre is located, labelled it a “unique project…a trading centre and jobs scheme.” The traditional ruler said the establishment of the skills centre and its prospects “can never be forgotten”. He further demonstrated his pleasure by presenting Uduaghan with a giant elephant tusk, said to represent masculinity.

    Aniocha North youths savoured the day, too, marching past dignitaries and displaying their thank-you-Uduaghan banners. Women from the Anioma ethnic group, distinct in their green gele headgear, equally took their turn to show their joy, rounding off their session with practised dance steps.

    •Dr Ashiedu (left) explains some products to Uduaghan flanked by wife and daughter
    •Dr Ashiedu (left) explains some products to Uduaghan flanked by wife and daughter

    Many saw the skills centre as one of the best projects of the Uduaghan administration, perhaps the icing on his cake as he bowed out after eight years. He too said it was good way to exit government.

    The Centre is coordinated by the state Commissioner for Poverty Alleviation, Dr Antonia Ashiedu, who is also Executive Secretary, Delta State Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Agency (DMSMA). She took the governor and other dignitaries round the facility, explaining that the skills centre is much more than a shoemaking and leatherworks factory.

    She said the facility also “contains various industrial components” such as “palm-wine brewery, bakery and confectioneries, flour processing, fruit juice processing, ethnic clothing (akwa-ocha) weaving, jewellery and millinery.”

    That much was clear as she and the dignitaries explored the sprawling facility. They examined shoes and leatherworks produced by clients of the agency. They saw various gadgets installed to produce sundry items.

    At the gas-powered bakery, a neat space which could pass for a modest living room, oven-fresh loaves moved from hand to hand in a free-for-all treat. Uduaghan requested for several loaves which were promptly packaged.

    The dignitaries saw the modern looms for the famous akwa-ocha fabric, popular with the Anioma ethnic group.

    At the tailoring unit, guests marvelled at the quality of the products which ranged from school uniforms to neatly-finished everyday wear, and suits, which two staff of DMSMA proudly modelled. You could have taken them for fresh orders from overseas.

    The DMSMA evolved last year from the Delta State Micro Credit Programme or DMCP, which lifted the state’s job profile through interest-free loans to thousands of low-income entrepreneurs. Clients of the programme obtained the loans through their cluster groups, enabling them to pool their resources together and share one another’s expertise. Their output increased remarkably, as did their income, helping them to better meet family and other obligations.

    Uduaghan always praised the jobs scheme, saying it was one platform on which his administration addressed food security challenges, provided jobs and tackled youth restiveness. He also praised Dr Ashiedu who has managed both the DMCP and DMSMA from inception to wide acclaim.

    Anytime you find a job too difficult to handle, give it to a woman, is how the ex-governor appreciated Ashiedu’s efforts.

    Those efforts were evident in the shoemaking and leatherworks centre. Only a year ago, the venue of the facility was a stretch of lush-green forest off the Benin-Asaba Expressway. Through Ashiedu’s trademark commitment, with site workers sometimes toiling till late night, the project was delivered on time. Standards were not compromised.

    As the centre took off, many Delta residents said they looked forward to better days ahead, with UNIDO staff handling the technical aspects of the centre, and Giorgio Armani, the famous Italian designer, partnering in the akwa-ocha cloth-line. Other designers have also shown interest in collaborating with the state.

    Uduaghan and Ashiedu have told the people that much. And with UNIDO staff seizing every opportunity to ensure that everything is fine, Delta people can see that their leaders mean what they say. Things are looking up for the state and its people.

    At the flag-off of the centre that morning, two representatives of UNIDO were on hand not only to praise the ex-governor and Ashiedu, but also to say that their organisation has become a part of the state’s jobs plan. Anioma people and the rest of Deltans had cause to celebrate.

  • ‘My opponent was used to discredit Delta APC’

    ‘My opponent was used to discredit Delta APC’

    Hon. Gibson Akporehe is the House of Representatives candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for Okpe/Sapele/Uvwie Constituency, Delta State. In this interview with Deputy Political Editor RAYMOND MORDI, he clears the air on the allegation of forged death certificate leveled against him and other APC chieftains by an opponent who lost at the primary election, Christopher Anirah.

    Why did the All Progressives Congress (APC) fail to win the Okpe/Sapele/Uvwie Federal Constituency in the last election?

    I am Hon. Gibson Akporehe from Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta State; the candidate for the Okpe/Sapele/Uvwie Federal Constituency under the platform of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the just concluded election. I contested that election with three other candidates from the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), the Labour Party (LP) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP). The result of the election was officially in favour of the PDP candidate, in spite of the anomalies that marred the election. We are contesting it in the court and we are very hopeful that justice will be dispensed in this matter.

    One of your opponents, Christopher Anirah, alleged that you forged his death certificate to procure the APC ticket. What actually happened?

    First, I would like to say that I as a person I did not forge the death certificate of Anirah; neither did the party leadership forge the said document. The said Anirah manufactured those documents to fend off prosecution which I threatened to initiate against him and his collaborators fingered in the forgery of “my withdrawal letter” from the election to pave way for his candidacy.  I will take you back to the genesis of this controversy. On the December 18, 2014, my name was forwarded by the leadership of the APC to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as their candidate for the Okpe/Sapele/Uvwie Federal Constituency. Shortly afterwards, my name was published on INEC website and it remained on the website and notice boards till January 14, 2015 when it was withdrawn. How was my name withdrawn from the website? Anirah set in motion wrongfully or illegally the machinery to delete my name from the list of candidates running for the election. I believed he did it with the connivance of some unscrupulous party officials who manufactured a letter of withdrawal which was ascribed to me and in that said letter my signature was simulated, tending to establish that I withdrew from the race; that document with other documents that were also ascribed to the National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun forwarding his (Anirah’s) name were presented to INEC. Meanwhile, in the letter that was ascribed to the National Chairman, his signature was also forged and so it was these forged documents that INEC was acting on when information reached me on January 9. I immediately flew into Abuja with my lawyer to lodge a complaint against the substitution process in its inchoate state and dissociate myself from that letter ascribed to me. Beside the letter my lawyer wrote, I also wrote telling INEC I never withdrew from the race and made it very clear that I was still the candidate. We also pointed out some irregularities in the documents which Anirah forwarded to INEC seeking to replace me. In spite of those manifest deficiencies in the entire documents and my protest, INEC still went ahead to remove my name from the website on January 14, 2015. I left INEC for the national headquarters of my party to lay my complaint.  I wrote series of letters to INEC, demanding reinstatement of my name and further posited that if my name was not re-instated, I was going to institute an action against them and one national commissioner of INEC, Irene Irhemire from Delta State.  She was the person being used to perpetrate all this against me. So, on January 14, 2015, my name was wrongfully withdrawn from the race. I fought and eventually my name was re-instated on March 27, a day to the election. This belated reinstatement of my name exposed me to grave disadvantages in the election.

    Anirah alleged that you conspired with your party leadership to forge the death certificate…

    After my name was removed from INEC list, I came back home and then met the local leadership of the party. I drew their attention to my wrongful substitution and threatened I was going to lodge a criminal complaint against them and prosecute them as well in a civil suit.

    So, in response to my reaction, Anirah was then invited. On arrival, he was presented with what I had tabled before the party leadership. I made it very clear that I was not going to accept any solution that is less than my reinstatement as the party’s candidate for the election. They said I should give them some time; so we retired from the meeting. But, after a while they invited me and at the meeting, they intimated me that Anirah had agreed to produce documents that will enable my name to be re-instated as the candidate. I told them if that was done, then I would not prosecute anybody, so I left for Warri. Two days after, they called me to say that Anirah was with the Deputy State Chairman and my attention was needed. Of course, I drove straight to Sapele and subsequently the three of us met. At the meeting, Anirah brought out documents from a folder which he handed over to the Deputy State Chairman. I perused through it and observed that it was a death certificate/an affidavit that were written in the name of Anirah. He handed over the documents to the State Deputy Chairman and asked him to take it to Abuja in order to reinstate my name on INEC website as the candidate of the party. That was how my name resurfaced on INEC list.

    But, shortly after that, Anirah started contesting my reinstatement, in response to the pressure from his immediate supporters. He went to Odigie-Oyegun to complain that his death certificate was forged.

    But, the allegation was that the APC Chairman was privy to the forgery?

    For me that is the most irresponsible and insensitive statement to make about the person of Chief Odigie-Oyegun. The only role he played in the matter was the administrative processing of the correspondence that came to him from the state. How do  you expect an experienced administrator like Chief Odigie-Oyegun to act on the claim of an individual that he was not dead where there are documents showing that the person bearing the name was dead; the only thing that would have persuaded the Chairman to accede to such request that the certificate was forged was a court order nullifying those set of documents that declared the person bearing that name dead; the man knew that option but he did not follow that route because he was not sincere. He did what he did to satisfy those sponsoring him; if he actually wanted Chief Odigie-Oyegun to revert what he had already agreed on to do, he would have done what was necessary in law to persuade the Chairman to forward his name to INEC in replacement of my name. But, he did not go to court to nullify those documents. So, how could Odigie-Oyegun have disregarded those documents? The man is too experience to be deceived into illegal trap.

    How well do you know Mr. Anirah?

    The only encounter I had with him after the primary was when I came from Abuja to ask the party leaders in Sapele to produce him; that was when I actually met him face-to-face, beside the brief encounter during the primaries. He has not been in politics; he must be a new entrant into the political game.

    Was he at any point coerced by you or the party leadership to fake his death?

    There was no coercion, except that I was very vehement. I made it clear that no intervention of any personality will change my mind; that the only thing that will change the course of action is when my name is reinstated. When they saw the vehemence, the other people did not have any other option than to prevail on him to do it and he had to do it because he did not want to be prosecuted or subject himself to unnecessary litigations.

    Why is he reneging?

    The truth is that Anirah was used to discredit the party. From the onset, he did not come with a sincere motive; he only came acting the script of his PDP sponsors.

  • Protesters vacate NPDC’s 250,000bpd facility in Delta

    There was respite for the embattled management of Nigerian Petroleum Development Company and its contractors on Monday, as protesting youths from five host communities in Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State vacated the company’s Jones Creek flow station.

    The 250,000 barrels per day facility is located within OML 42, which is a subject of contention between NPDC and Neconde Energy Limited.

    Jones Creek flow station was hijacked last Thursday by four Ijaw and an Itsekiri host communities of Kokodiagbene, Okerenkoko, Akpataekpemu, Akpatagbegbe and Omadino. They are engaged in a face-off with NPDC, its contracting firms NESTOIL PLC, over payment of local contractors and employment slots

    However, Chairman of Kokodiagbene Community, Comrade Sheriff Mulade, who led the protest, told The Nation: “We have lifted our ban on activities at Jones Creek. The company resumed work on Monday morning because of the intervention of the CO of 3 Battalion.

    “We pulled out Sunday afternoon, but the lifting of the ban started at midnight Sunday to the early hours of Monday.”

    Mulade explained that the communities’ decision to lift the ban followed a meeting convened by Commanding Officer of the 3 Battalion, Col Ekong Bassey and attended by management of Nestoil and community leaders.

    “Another meeting is slated at the same office with Lee engineering (another stakeholder company) to address their issue and there will be yet another for NPDC at a later date.”

    The Kokodiagbene leader explained that the meeting with the NPDC was being held back because of the ongoing strike by staff of the company over issues relating to the sale of the oil field.

    He said the communities would insist on the meeting holding at the JTF headquarters in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State or the 4 Brigade in Benin.

  • Unease in Delta community over plan to release bunkering suspects

    The Nigerian Navy, NNS Delta, at the Warri Naval Base in Delta State, is under pressure to release two suspected pipeline vandals arrested by youths of Odimodi community in Burutu Local Government Area about two weeks ago, it has been learnt.

    The suspects were arrested by vigilantes when the management of Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) reported a drop in the pressure from its export trunk line to leaders of the Ijaw host community.

    The vigilantes deployed by the community fought members of a three-man gang at the trunk line and overpowered them.

    Two of the suspects were arrested and handed over to the Navy at the Forcados Terminal of the SPDC.

    A community leader, who spoke in confidence, told our correspondent: “The boys were moved to Warri. But we heard that the Commanding Officer of NNS Delta has bowed to pressure to release them. The plan to release the two suspects was thwarted by some top members of SPDC, who became suspicious.

    “They were then moved to Warri Base. That is where they are planning to release the boys because of the influence of some persons in the matter.”

    When our correspondent contacted NNS Delta’s Information Officer, Commodore Tope Ogunaike, he denied the report.

    The spokesman said the suspects were still in custody at the base.

    It was learnt that some naval officials at the base were being induced to free the suspects.

    A source close to the deal said a N250,000 “bail” was agreed upon, following the alleged involvement of an influential former militant leader.

    Although no official of SPDC was willing to comment on the report, it was learnt that some management workers of the multinational firm were uncomfortable with the development.

    An official, who spoke in confidence, noted that the arrest was a breakthrough by some leaders of the community.

    He said the community believed that the suspects and their fleeing counterpart could provide an insight into the incessant breaches of the company’s facility.

    “We and genuine leaders of Odimodi feel that those arrested, if properly quizzed, could open up on their masters and ring leaders of the attacks on our facilities, especially the 48-inch Single Buoy Morring (SBM) export line.

    “Besides, those in the community, who stuck out their necks to arrest these persons, may become targets. Their lives will be in danger, if they are released without proper investigation,” the source added.

  • ‘PDP afraid of credible elections in Delta’

    ‘PDP afraid of credible elections in Delta’

    Olorogun O’tega Emerhor is the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Delta State. In this interview with BOLAJI OGUNDELE, he explains how the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) robbed the APC of victory during the general elections. 

    “I propose that, as part of measures to reposition our electoral system, wherever and whenever the tribunals upturn any election, contrary to the results declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), either at the state, presidential or National assembly level, any authorizing officer, responsible for that election, must be brought to book”

    Why is there so much rancour in the Delta State APC?

    This is not unusual. Most times, when a party goes into an election in which members have invested so much with the hope of winning and they do not come out victorious, there is bound to be some recriminations. In fact, I believe in spite of what is going on, the party is in a good position. See what is going on in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) after the defeat of Jonathan. It is almost falling apart, with calls for the sack of its National Chairman and the National Working Committee (NWC). In Delta APC, I believe things would have been different, if I had won the governorship election. My being the rallying point of the party in the state would have automatically been above challenge. So, because the election was stolen, it is not unexpected that these issues will rear their heads. We are, however, lucky that the APC won at the centre. I believe this has moderated the potential crisis, although it has also produced its own challenges.

    These crises are fallouts of the struggle for offices at the national level, aren’t they?

    There is no such possibility. See, even in the run up to the governorship election, not everyone was on board with me. My winning would have helped, but not winning meant that some people will naturally go ahead of me to the national in attempt to secure their own interests, which they perceive may not be protected by me as leader of the party in the state.

    Is that why such leaders were expelled?

    I would say that as it relates to leaders that were expelled; it is important to see clearly the two issues that have been raised. One, whether the state chapter has the powers to expel and whether offences were committed to warrant such actions? From my own reading of the issues, it is the party constitution that can answer the question about who has the power to expel. Furthermore, the party has a legal adviser as one of its executives and I assume that this issue must have received his attention. On the offences, I believe these were clearly stated such that I do not believe there were any ambiguities. Offences do have consequences in order to maintain discipline in the party, but there is also need for due process in meting out discipline. However, I do know that there is a rapprochement currently ongoing to douse some of these conflicts. We must unite for the task ahead!

    It is believed that your ministerial ambition, after losing the governorship, is at the heart of the crisis. Do you have a contrary view?

    I believe the APC national leadership is putting a special dispensation in place in order to bring the three Southsouth states of Delta, Rivers and Akwa-Ibom into the APC fold. This is why the three candidates in these states where the outrageous daylight election robbery took place are being encouraged and supported to go cancel these elections at the tribunal. Now, it’s my belief that apart from competence and other qualifications, the other yardstick that may be applied to these Southsouth states would be how the potential minister can use this position to foster the party’s objective of winning these states to the APC fold. Don’t forget that the PDP also held on to these states for strategic reasons with a plan to use these resource-rich states as a launch pad for their 2019 renaissance. Under these circumstances, not to talk of my sacrifices and contributions in building the APC in Delta State, starting from my senatorial bye-election in 2013 to my governorship candidacy and elections in 2015, I wonder what disqualifies me for a ministerial appointment such that it will create a crisis as you alluded. A few ambitious people who may seek to reap without sowing will always be there, but I do not think I am the source of any crisis.

    You lost the recent governorship election in Delta, but your party, the APC, triumphed at the national level. What is your perspective on the outcome?                                 

    We did not truly lose the governorship election in Delta; the PDP stole the election. Elections are only lost if they are conducted according to the rules and a winner emerged. In the election in Delta as was also the case in Rivers and Akwa Ibom, the card readers were discarded, results sheets confiscated and fabricated results announced in connivance with compromised INEC staff. A smokescreen of violence and intimidation and ballot boxes snatching were unleashed to provide cover for results manipulation. As you may be aware, we have filed our petition at the tribunal to cancel the purported elections.

    People have said that the APC is not on ground and it came third in the election…

    Again, the PDP always try to play smart by half. In allocating the fabricated results, they deliberately and strategically kept the APC in the third position for the reason that they wanted to send a message to our national leaders, in preparation for their eventual defection to the APC, that the current APC in Delta is not on ground. As I speak, they are strenuously working on this scheme. But, they failed ab initio when they extended this dubious scheme to Rivers State and others. Can they also claim the APC is not on ground in Rivers? In any case, in Delta, look carefully at the presidential results where they allotted only 50,000 votes to the APC/Buhari and 1.2 million to PDP/Jonathan. Prior to this election, the projections were such that Buhari will win Itsekiri/Isoko votes 80 per cent, Urhobo/Anioma votes 40 per cent. Only the Ijaw areas were projected to give less than 20 per cent. So, what happened that Buhari didn’t get even 10 per cent from these areas?

    So, you believe the APC can win a rerun election in Delta?

    After the Buhari win, Delta was set and ready for the APC. Delta did not want to remain in the opposition. Even, stalwarts of the PDP were with us on this and are still are. PDP knew they would not win a proper free and fair election and that was why they did not allow an election on the field, but resorted to snatching it in the air, so to speak. Under a Buhari government, a rerun, I believe, will be free and fair and in an environment of neutrality by INEC and the security forces. If Deltans are truly allowed a free hand to choose between the 16 years of the PDP misrule and the APC wind of positive change, they will definitely choose the APC.

    What is the position of Great Ogboru and Labour Party in all these? He is believed to be discussing with the APC…

    Ogboru invested all his political capital in President Jonathan’s re-election bid, which failed. He partnered with the PDP to try to kill the APC in Delta State and was rewarded with a second place position by the PDP in the April 11 election results. Be that as it may, we must not forget that both parties come mainly from the same stock of opposition that has always wanted the PDP ousted from the state. So, Ogboru should be free, if it is now his desire, to join forces with Emerhor. The APC will soon liberate Delta and the rest of the Southsouth.

    Does this mean you are ready to work with Ogboru?

    There is strength in unity of numbers and purpose, but this has to go through a process! For example, after the elections, the first person I ran into Ogboru was at the house of one of my leaders in Abuja. As I did not know his mission, I didn’t make it my business.  Eventually, the said leader invited both of us to a meeting which turned out to be a meeting to get both of us to cooperate to cancel the Delta governorship election result at the tribunal. But, I get the impression from Ogboru that he continues to rate himself as the most popular candidate and appear to suggest to our leadership that he/Labour be admitted to supplant the current the APC which some assume are not on ground. In Delta, such approach aimed at going over our heads and discounting us, I can say definitely will be unhelpful. Apart from the fallacy of it, we in the APC Delta not only invested in building a strong party, but also took the risk of going against the PDP and a sitting president who is a Niger Delta son. Ogboru ran from this risk and pitched his tent with Jonathan. He cannot therefore be coming after the failure of Jonathan, with a mindset.

    What should the nation expect from a Buhari government?

    In the short time since March 28 when he was declared President-elect, Gen. Buhari has been an open book; what you see is what you get. He plans to run an open, transparent administration that will stamp out corruption, eliminate insecurity, improve the economy and create a new Nigeria. You can already glean a lot from his speeches to date, the inauguration and transition committee memberships he has made and actions like going out of his way to provide strategic support to the current Agriculture Minister, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina, who is vying to become the Managing Director of the Africa Development Bank (ADB). Buhari will work selflessly to make Nigeria succeed.

     

     

     

     

  • Delta High Court sacks APC exco

    Justice M. N. Obi of a Delta State High Court, sitting in Asaba, the state capital, has nullified the congress that produced the Jones Erue-led executive of the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    The nullification followed judgment in a suit filed by Chief Adolo Okotie-Eboh, who contested the legality of the congress in April, 2014.

    He was challenging the congress held at the Hope Christian Centre, saying the venue was not a public place.

    Chief Okotie-Eboh added that members  were not duly informed about the change of date and venue, as stipulated in the APC’s constitution.

    However, Justice Obi held that Hope Christian Centre is a public place where a congress could be held but said the APC constitution, which provides that the change of date and venue should be published in the media four days before the congress, was contravened.

    He declared the state congress illegal, null and void and of no consequence.

    The judge restrained the state APC Executive Council from parading as leaders in the state.

    Justice Obi ordered the a fresh congress in accordance with the party’s constitution.

    Okotie-Eboh said the judgment was a vindication of his claim that the congress was breached the APC’s constitution.

    The former APC state chairman said the outcome of the case made it imperative for members to unite.

    The party, last night, said it would appeal the ruling.

    In a statement, state Publicity Secretary Prof Isaac Adakpo said although it had not received a copy of the ruling, it instructed its solicitors to appeal the judgment and get a stay of execution at the Federal High Court in Benin, the Edo State capital.

    Adakpo urged party members to be calm, adding that APC would follow the legal path to set aside the judgment.

  • UNIDO, Armani partner Delta govt

    Delta State government is set to kick-start a manufacturing and skills acquisition project in Issele-Uku, headquarters of Aniocha North Local Government Area.

    Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan, who spoke on Wednesday, said many foreign investors had indicated interest in the multibillion naira factory in Issele-Uku. He assured that the state’s drive for industrialisation was on course.

    Uduaghan, who led members of the State Executive Council to inspect the progress of work in the factory, said: “You have seen a lot of machines that will be used in the production of leather works and akwu-ocha, these will be used for both training and production of leather works, our products will be used both locally and internationally as a lot of local and foreign investors have indicated interest in the products from this factory/centre.”

    The governor revealed that reputable English footwear manufacturer, Clark of England, international fashion designer Giorgio Armani, FIIRO, M.I.T, Massachusetts, Cambridge University were among some of those who want to use the products and partner with the state government on the project.

    Uduaghan disclosed that the Delta State government provided the funds for the project while UNIDO is providing the technical expertise, including the construction.

    He described the project as one of the gains of the ‘Delta Beyond Oil’ initiative, which he added would enable some of the beneficiaries of the state Micro Credit Scheme to become small and medium entrepreneurs.

    The governor  endorsed the production of agro products like garri as part of the factory, stressing that it would solve some of the challenges faced by farmers in the state. “The centre will bridge the gap between the farmer and the end-users as it will take care of the excess supply, encourage price stability and more production to take care of the factory export needs”.

    He said: “This training institution is part of the achievements in the area of Delta Beyond Oil, a lot of entrepreneurs will be trained here and we call on the youths to always protect projects in their areas.”

    Allaying fear about the sustainability of the project, he assured Deltans that “there is an agency backed by law which is overseeing the programme to ensure its sustainability and if anything, the incoming administration of Dr Okowa (Governor-elect) will improve on it.