The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Fed

  • Workers to Fed, state govts: our patience is running out

    WORKERs have again called on the Federal Government to urgently transmit the recommendations of the tripartite committee on a new minimum wage to the National Assembly, saying they are becoming impatient.

    The workers, who spoke through their leaders yesterday across the country during mobilisation rallies organised on the minimum wage issue, said governments should effect the payment of N30,000 minimum wage as agreed or  face an indefinite strike any moment from now.

     

    On N30,000 we stand, say workers in Lagos

    Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Vice President  Comrade Solomon Adelegan, who led the protest in Lagos, from Maryland to Alausa as early as 7am,  insisted that the government must transmit the N30,000 recommended to the National Assembly with immediate effect.

    Adelegan said workers’ decision for going to the Governors’ office in Alausa  was aimed at presenting a letter to Governor Akinwunmi Ambode.

    He said the letter was just to urge the state governor to speak to  his fellow governors on the need to agree and effect the N30,000 minimum wage.

    Also speaking at the protest,  former Southwest Zonal Chairman of Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) Alhaji Tokunbo Korodo,  said the Federal Government was ready to pay the agreed minimum wage, “but the state governors are slowing down the presentation of the bill to the National Assembly”.

    General Secretary of the Joint Action Front (JAF)Comrade Abiodun Aremu  urged its affiliates, allies and Nigerians across religion and ethnic divides to join forces with the organised labour to enforce the payment of the minimum wage.

    Receiving the letter on behalf of the governor,  the Special Adviser to the Governor  on Civic Engagement, Mr. Benjamin Olabinjo, apologised  and said the letter would be delivered to the governor.

    The  protest caused a heavy gridlock stretching from Maryland through Ikeja to Alausa.

     

    Oyo Govt ‘ll soon make workers smile, says Ajimobi

    Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi said yesterday that his government will soon put smiles on the faces of its workers when the issue of national minimum wage is addressed.

    He also assured the workers that their pay would soon rise in compliance with the new wage law.

    Ajimobi spoke yesterday in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, while addressing the Oyo State chapter of Nigeria Labour Congress in his office at Agodi, Ibadan, during a peaceful protest by NLC to demand for the implementation of the new minimum wage.

    The governor, speaking through his deputy, Otunba Moses Adeyemo, said every reasonable person knows that the present N18,000 minimum wage was very small compared to the high prices of goods and services.

    He noted that the Federal Government, led by President Muhammadu Buhari, is committed to the welfare of the workers, adding that government would ensure speedy passage and implementation of the new minimum wage.

    Chairman, Oyo State NLC Comrade Waheed Olojede said the essence of the peaceful protest was to call on government to quickly pass the recommendation of the tripartite committee to the National Assembly to enact it into law

     

    Ondo workers join protest

    Workers in Ondo State, like their counterparts across the country, yesterday protested over the new national minimum wage.

    Members of organised labour unions, who converged  on the Cultural Centre, rallied to Governor’s Office, Alagbaka, where they demanded that President Muhammadu Buhari submit a bill to the parliament for the implementation of the N30, 000 minimum wage.

    NLC President Ayuba Wabba, while addressing workers in Akure, said the protest became imperative to ensure that the minimum wage bill processes for the transmission would be completed.

    A letter by the labour unions to Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu  was received by Secretary to the State Government Mr. Ifedayo Abegunde, who addressed the labour unions on behalf of the governor.

    Abegunde, however, said the welfare of the state workers was paramount to the government.

     

    Osun workers:  we’ll not relent in our demand

    Osun State workers also joined the protest to demand for N30,000 minimum wage, saying they would not relent in their demand.

    In their hundreds, they converged on the Nelson Mandela  Freedom Park  in Osogbo, the state capital, before marching round major streets of the town to register their grievances over non-implementation of the proposed minimum wage.

    The workers went round major streets, including Old Garage, Olaiya Junction, Ayetoro and Okefia and terminated the protest in front of the state House of Assembly, on Gbongan road while singing solidarity songs.

    With placards with different inscriptions: “No retreat, No surrender on our demand”, “We will not relent in pursuing our goals”, “On N30,000 minimum wage will stand” and many others, the protesters promised to follow the demand to a logical conclusion.

    State NLC Chairman Comrade Jacob Adekomi, who addressed his colleagues, said they would not relent until their demand is met.

     

    Imo NLC: we’ll reject anybody who reject minimum wage

    The Imo State NLC chapter called on President Muhammadu Buhari to hasten the process of the implementation of the proposed N30,000 minimum wage.

    The aggrieved unionists stated that they are ready to reject anybody “who rejected the minimum wage”.

    The protest, however, ran into a hitch when the leaders disagreed on where to lead the protesting workers to.

    The Executive members lead by the Chairman, Comrade Austin Chilakpu, marched to the office of the Secretary to the State Government. The workers, led by one Samuel Iwuala, took their protest to  the Government House.

    Read also: Abiara backs workers on N30,000 minimum wage

    Niger is ready to pay, says Sani-Bello

    Niger State Governor Abubakar Sani-Bello yesterday declared his readiness to pay the new minimum wage as being agitated by the organised Labor.

    He assured the organised labour the state that he is ready to comply as soon as the new minimum wage is agreed upon.

    The governor stated this in Minna while addressing the state chapter of the organised labour.

    Bello maintained the need for workers’ welfare to be improved upon in the face of the inflationary trend, which makes life difficult for workers.

    The governor reinstated that the welfare of the state workforce remains his major priority.

     

    Workers vow to punish politicians in Delta

    Delta State NLC vowed to use the opportunity of the 2019 general elections to punish state governors and other politicians paying lip service to the implementation of the proposed N30,000 minimum wage.

    NLC Chairman Mr. Jonathan Jemiriegbe stated this in Asaba  yesterday after leading a rally to the Government House, where he presented a position paper to Governor Ifeanyi Okowa.

    Okowa, who is seeking a second term in office, had promised to implement the new minimum wage once it is approved at the national level.

    The governor, who was represented by his Chief of Staff, Tam Brisibe, said his administration is labour-friendly.

    He hailed the organised labour in the state for their cooperation and support in the past three years.

     

    Kogi govt, labour disagree over unpaid salaries

    The Kogi State NLC chapter yesterday alleged that workers in the state were still owed between many months of salary arrears by the state government.

     

     

     

    NLC chairman Comrade Enuh Edoka stated this in the Government House Lokoja, while presenting the workers’ demands during a protest for the actualisation of N30,000 minimum wage.

    He said the workers passed through dire situations, owing to irregular payment of salaries.

    Chief of Staff to the Kogi State Governor Chief Edward Onoja asserted that with workers at the local government level, salary payment has not gone below 50 per cent.

    He said the state government would collaborate with the organised labour to ensure that the minimum wage demand is given the maximum attention it deserves.

     

    Akwa Ibom decries insensitivity of politicians

     

    The organised labour in Akwa Ibom State yesterday joined the nationwide protest.

    The protest, which was led by leadership of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC),  saw hundreds of government workers marching from the Idongesit Nkanga Secretariat to  the Government House, Wellington Bassey Way, Uyo.

    Addressing workers at Indongesit Nkanga Secretariat, the state NLC Chairman, Comrade Etim Ukpong, decried the insensitivity of politicians towards the welfare of workers.

    Ukpong added that workers would bring down governments for politicians to recognise the fact that everything in the country belongs to the people and not the governors.

     

     

  • Three months after, Fed Perm Secs yet to take oath

    Seven permanent secretaries appointed by the federal government are yet to take office three months after their appointment.

    This is creating disquiet following the furore generated by the reinstatement of former Pension Reform Task Team (PRTT) into the civil service before President Buhari’s intervention which led to his sack.

    Then acting President Yemi Osinbajo in August approved the appointment of 21 Permanent Secretaries.

    Fifteen of them were sworn in on August 16and assigned them portfolios.

    These are: Anagbogu, Ifeoma Nkiruka (Anambra State), Women Affairs; Wilson-Jack Didi Esther (Bayelsa), Service Welfare, Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, OHCSF; Gekpe Grace Isu (Cross River), Information Culture, and Aliboh, Leon Lawrence (Delta), Budget and National Planning.

    Uwaifo, Osarenoma Clement (Edo), Ministry of Health; Afolayan, Ayodele Olaniyi (Ekiti) Common Services, OHSCF; Abdullahi Abdulazeez Mashi (Katsina), Ministry of Communications; Adebiyi, Bolaji Adekunle (Lagos) Labour and Employment, and Ibrahim, Musa Wen (Nasarawa) Water Resources.

    Odewale, Samson Olajide (Ogun), Special Duties, OHCSF; Adesola Olusade (Ondo), Youths and Sports; Umar,  Mohammed Bello (Sokoto) Special Services, Office of the Secretary to the Government Federation; Aduda, Gabriel Tanimu, (FCT), Political Affairs Office, OSGF; Akpan, Edet Sunday(Akwa Ibom), Trade and Investment, and Ehuria, Georgina Ekeoma (Abia), Cabinet Affairs Office, OSGF.

    Those yet to be sworn-in because of lack of vacancy for their states to fill are: Suleiman Mustapha Lawal  (Kano), Ekaro Comfort (Rivers) Adekunle, Olusegun Adeyemi (Oyo) and Apata, Dayo (Ekiti), Bitrus Bako Nabasu (Plateau) Osuji, Ndubuisi Marcellinus (Imo) and Mu’azu Abdulkadir (Kaduna).

    They have been idle since having handed over in their previous offices. They have only been earning salaries without doing anything.

    Sources said many attempt to get their swearing in listed on the agenda of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) had been unsuccessful.

    There are fears that leaving the perm secs in limbo might not be known to President Muhammadu Buhari.

    ‘If the President could promptly respond to the Maina issue, ordering an investigation into the controversy; if he could direct the reinstatement of Governor Willie Obiano’s security personnel in Anambra State; if he could appoint a Secretary to the Government of the Federation and swear him in within 24 hours, that means President Buhari has listening ears’, the source said.

  • Fed, Oyo govts to build 70 rural roads

    The Oyo State government, in collaboration with the Federal Government, will build 70 rural roads across the state.

    The state government said the roads will open up the rural areas and make life more meaningful as well as enhance transportation of farm produce to cities.

    Commissioner for Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development, Prince Oyewole Oyewumi, broke the news at a stakeholders’ meeting on prioritisation of rural roads at Saki, Atiba and Ido local government areas.

    Oyewole, who spoke through the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Mr. Victor Atilola, said the roads, with over 700 kilometres, would be built in 28 agrarian local government areas based on priority and recommendation of community leaders under the Rural Access and Mobility Project (RAMP III).

    The commissioner said the roads would further promote agricultural practices in the identified areas and other parts of the state.

    He urged residents of the beneficiary communities to support the contractor to do a good job.

    The National Project Coordinator of Rural Access and Mobility Project, Ubaldoma Ularamu, said $60 million would be given to Oyo State for its rural roads and river crossing the beneficiary communities.

    He said the government would pay compensation to families or individuals who may suffer damage or loss in the course of building the roads.

    The State Project Coordinator of RAMP III, Dr Yode Ayanlowo said the project was designed to ensure that farmers in rural areas have access to good roads to convey their farm produce to the markets with ease.

  • Fed Govt raises N160b in local bonds

    Fed Govt raises N160b in local bonds

    • Unsure of how much to borrow from World Bank

    The Federal Government  has raised N160 billion ($525 million) in local currency bonds at its second debt auction this year.

    The bonds were raised at yields lower than inflation rate.

    The Debt Management Office (DMO) announced that it initially wanted to raise N110billion, but increased the offer due to demand, which was pegged at N337.03billion – a figure higher than N235.05billion demand at its previous sale.

    The DMO said it raised N70billion of the paper maturing in 2036 at 16.77 per cent, lower than 16.99 per cent same instrument fetched at the previous auction, and paid 16.61 per cent for the N30billion raised in the paper maturing in 2026.

    It issued N60billion in the note maturing in 2021 at 16.55 per cent against 16.89 per cent at the previous auction.

    Meanwhile, the Federal Government said it has not decided on how much it wants to borrow from the World Bank.

    Minister of Budget and National Planning, Sen Udoma Udo Udoma, who spoke yesterday said the decision will be taken after the passage of budget 2017.

    The external borrowing is needed to help pay for record spending of $24 billion this year.

    He said: “The figure will depend on the (2017) budget approved by the National Assembly.

    “We are waiting for the passage of the budget by the National Assembly so that we will know the budget gap or the actual deficit before we can go to the World Bank for loan.”

  • Fed Govt trains 5,000 graduates in Anambra

    Over 5,000 graduates have been trained in Anambra State under the Graduate Internship Scheme (GIS).

    Before the training in Awka, the state capital, about five groups of 50 graduates each had been trained, with additional five groups taking their turn next.

    Speaking at Geo-Gold Hotels in Awka, the project Director, Graduate Internship Scheme (GIS), at career development and entrepreneurship skills said the federal government was trying its best in making sure that the youth are employed.

    He was represented by Mr. Fola Jimoh, who said that the FG’s scheme had given hope to thousands of youths in the country.

    Jimoh said, “The federal government is not ready to fail on this exercise; rather the President Muhammadu Buhari administration is doing everything possible to fight graduate unemployment.

    The era of unemployment is over in this country with this (GIS) programme, but whatever stipend being owed to anybody will soon be paid by the government”.

    Jimoh was in Anambra State with Mr. Johnson Iyiola, project implementation unit (GIS), Garba Shehu, Principal Officer Ministry of Finance and Jamey Yakubu of Nansel selzing-N-Miz International Limited for the programme.

    He said the initial plan by the previous administration was to recruit 50,000 which according to him did not work until the present administration came in and raised the stake.

    “However as long as thousands of graduates still remain unemployed, we will continue to improve the capacity of the scheme to absorb more applicants”

  • 41,161 benefit from Fed Govt’s graduate internship scheme

    The Project Director of the Federal Ministry of Finance’s Graduate Internship Scheme (GIS), Mr Dennis Chukwu, has said 41,161 graduates have so far benefited from the scheme since it started in 2013.

    The scheme trains graduates on job creation and employ-ability skills over a period of 12 months during which they are attached to various firms and are paid some stipends.

    Speaking during a Career Development and Entrepreneurship Skills training facilitated by Faziya Global Resources for interns and firms’ representatives that just concluded their training in Cross River, he said 68 per cent of them are male, 31 per cent female and one per cent vulnerable.

    Chukwu who was represented by Project Director, GIS, Mr Dare Odunlade, said, “Over 35,000 have exited the scheme, with thousands of them having secured jobs. Many have secured credit facilities and grants (including YouWiN! Grant) to expand businesses they set up using GIS stipends and many have set up cooperative associations, some of which have transformed into SMEs. Rather than seeking for work, they are now becoming employers.

    ”As government, we can boldly say that the purpose of setting up the GIS, which is for unemployed graduates to acquire employable skills, is being achieved. It is also my hope that some years down the line, the GIS interns will galvanize different sectors, especially the non-oil sectors, which are the new focus of the Nigerian economy.”

    Also at another GIS orientation training for new intakes into the programme, facilitated by Econometrica Consultants Limited in Calabar, Head of Operations, GIS, Akubo Adegbe, explained, “They run for 12 months and exit the scheme. For those that have finished the programme, a lot of them have been employed by the organization where they are working. Others employed by other organizations based on the skills, which they have learnt. Some of them have set up their own businesses. This is an orientation and employability skills training. Our message to the graduates is that they have an opportunity that other Nigerian graduates do not have, to be an intern for 12 months and earn N30, 000 per month. They should make use of that opportunity and not abuse it.”

    Dr Mahmoud Muktar Saidu, Econometrica Consultants Limited said the aim of the programme is to prepare graduates to be self-reliant to equip them with the necessary skills of setting up their own businesses.

    ”It is for them to understand their environment, especially the economic environment of Nigeria. So we make sure this graduates understand it is not the sole responsibility of the government to provide every single employment that the Nigerian economy requires. These graduates have various skills that are untapped in them. The aim is tap such kinds of skills. Make them aware of it. The programme is intended to make them employers,” Saidu said.

    A beneficiary of the programme from Obubra local government area, Mr Igot Enama Enama, expressed gratitude foe the programme and urged the government to continue and make it better. He called for support of all Nigerians for the present administration in the country to succeed.

  • El-Rufai urges Fed, state agencies to leave school land

    El-Rufai urges Fed, state agencies to leave school land

    The Kaduna State government has revisited its  land recovery policy, saying federal and state institutions on Kaduna State school lands should relocate.

    Governor Nasir El-Rufai spoke on the government’s policy at the weekend in Kaduna when he appeared on a radio town hall meeting organised by BBC Media Action.

    The governor said he had directed that private property on school lands be valued and compensation paid to those with valid titles and planning approval so they could get replacement plots.

    He said the state government had concluded arrangement to restore the Government College and Rimi College, in Kaduna, as boarding schools.

    The governor, who toured the Government College and its environs on Friday, said the boarding facilities for pupils and the staff quarters could not co-exist with private accommodation.

    El-Rufai also visited the government agencies that were sited on the school land, including those occupying former hostels.

    The governor said government agencies would be relocated from the schools.

    He noted that similar instructions had been passed to Rimi College, which used to be an iconic boarding school but whose facilities had been encroached upon by private interests and public institutions.

    El-Rufai said: “Formal notices to relocate, with deadlines, will be issued to all government agencies, some of them federal, which are accommodated on school premises. Government agencies in Rimi College have received their relocation notices. Their departure will enable the government to prepare the school facilities to receive boarders.”

  • ‘Why Fed Govt must repurchase iron, steel firms’

    How can Nigeria realise its dream of industrialisation? It is by repurchasing the iron and steel companies, privatised by  immediate past President of the Institute of Business Development (IBD), Mr. Ifeanyi Obibuzor, has said.

    He said repurchasing the  Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited (ASCL), Kogi State; Delta Steel Company (DSC), Ovwian-Aladja in Delta State, and National Iron Ore Mining Company at Itakpe, among others, remained the panacea for achieving employment and industrialisation drive.

    He spoke on the sideline of the induction/Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Institute in Lagos

    ASCL, Nigeria’s largest integrated steel plant expected to produce 1.3 million metric tons (MT) of liquid steel per annum, has been a subject of litigation between the Federal Government and Global Infrastructure Nigeria Limited (GNIL), an Indian firm, since 2008. This followed the revocation of the concession agreement that handed over the steel plant to GNIL.  DSC has also been acquired by Premium Steel & Mines, a company owned by Mr. Sunil Vaswami and other institutional investors from the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON). The acquisition has also been a subject of intense controversy.

    However, he said repurchasing the facilities had become necessary in view of the fact that building new ones would be difficult considering Nigeria’s prevailing economic situation caused by the crisis in the international oil market where oil prices have dropped drastically. “We need to repurchase the steel companies we sold because if we think of building new ones, it may be impossible,” he insisted.

    While stressing the need to look inwards, Obibuzor said there is no way Nigeria could move forward as an industrialised nation without addressing the issue of engineering infrastructure, which, according to him, consists of the capabilities and physical plants required to enable a prolific machine and equipment design and production to take place in the country.

    “If we have engineering infrastructure, we can design and produce machineries that will produce other machines. That is when we can think of utilising the steels to make the bodies of cars and have spare parts. We need to look at long term planning as an institute and a nation and then access what we have done, the gaps and how to bridge them,” he said.

    Obibuzor pointed out that in developed economies, the steel sector is the highest employer of labour and it is treated as a strategic sector because of the positive multiplier effect it has on employment generation.

    Aside creating direct employment, he said repurchasing the steel companies and putting them into full and efficient use would create millions of indirect employment opportunities for Nigerians.

  • NFF set Nov 23 date for Fed Cup Final

    NFF set Nov 23 date for Fed Cup Final

    The Nigeria Football Federation(NFF) has approved Sunday, November 23 as the date for the grand finale of this year’s Men and Women Federation Cup competitions.

    At its meeting in Abuja on Wednesday night, the NFF Executive Committee endorsed the date and observed that holding the finale on this date would still leave enough time for Nigeria’s flagbearer in the 2015 CAF Confederation Cup to register for the competition.

    The grand finale of the 2014 Men and Women Federation Cup competitions had suffered a couple of postponements due to the crises that rocked the NFF for three months.

    Cup holders Enyimba FC of Aba will confront Dolphins FC of Port Harcourt in the men’s final while Rivers Angels of Port Harcourt and Sunshine Queens of Akure face off in the women’s final, to be played same day at the Teslim Balogun Stadium.

    Already, the Lagos State government, through the Commissioner for Sports, Wahid Enitan Oshodi has pledged to ensure even greater glamour for the grand finale, which the Centre of Excellence has consistently and creditably hosted for a number of years now.

     

  • MOSOP begins rallies to force Fed Govt to implement UNEP Report

    MOSOP begins rallies to force Fed Govt to implement UNEP Report

    THE Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP) is commencing non-violent actions, with Saturday’s expiration of the ultimatum given to the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan to fully implement the recommendations contained in the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report on Ogoniland.

    The umbrella organisation of Ogoni people also accused the Federal Government of practising genocide against the peace-loving people.

    The President of MOSOP, Legborsi Saro Pyagbara, spoke in Bori, the traditional headquarters of Ogoni people and seat of Khana LGA of Rivers State, at the 18th anniversary of the hanging of a renowned environmentalist, Ken Saro-Wiwa, and other Ogoni activists.

    Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni activists were hanged at Port Harcourt Prisons on November 10, 1995, during the regime of the late Gen. Sani Abacha, while the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) was sent packing from Ogoniland in 1993 and yet to return.

    The UNEP report was released on August 4, 2011 and submitted to President Jonathan in Abuja on August 11 of the same year, but yet to be implemented.

    Pyagbara stated that the 18th anniversary was to honour the heroes of Ogoni struggle: Saro-Wiwa, John Kpuinen, Chief Edward Kobani, Chief Albert Badey, Chief S.N. Orage, Dr. Barinem Kiobel, Chief T.B.Orage, Nordu Eawo, Paul Levura, Saturday Dobee, Felix Nuate, Baribor Bera, Daniel Gbokoo and Dr. Garrick B. Leton.

    MOSOP said: “On August 4, 2011, UNEP released the report of its multi-year study of the Ogoni environment, which had presented in some scientific detail, the destruction of the Ogoni environment and the unprecedented pollution of the Ogoni water system.

    “The stunning silence of the Nigerian government two years and some months after the release of the report had confirmed to us that the government, as alleged by our heroes some years ago, had been practising the crime of genocide against the Ogoni people.

    “This government wants us to continue to drink the poisoned water and die. This government wants us to continue to breathe the poisoned air and die and this government wants us to continue to live on the polluted lands and die.

    “The Dr. Goodluck Jonathan administration is presiding over the final liquidation of the Ogoni nationality and we would not accept it. As the ultimatum we issued to the Nigerian government expired yesterday (Saturday), in the coming days ahead, we invite you to join us as we embark on series of non-violent actions to demonstrate our total disapproval of the government’s handling of the implementation of the report of the environmental study of Ogoniland.

    “We wish to also inform you that we would be invoking the provisions of the Genocide Convention against the Nigerian government. We must all be ready to challenge those who are daily erecting barriers to our sense of common humanity and equality and this is the time.”

    The Ogoni umbrella organisation also reiterated that a few months ago, it launched the Ogoni Project 2015, which it said called on the political parties and other sympathetic groups in the country to give the Ogoni people the opportunity to produce the next governor of Rivers State.

    After a thorough analysis of the current situation in Rivers state, particularly on the issue of political marginalisation, which it described as one of the issues for which their leaders paid the supreme price, MOSOP stated that it decided to launch this campaign to reduce the level of Ogoni marginalisation in Rivers state, pending when the people would have their own state.

    MOSOP said: “The occasion of this anniversary is also an opportunity to remind our politicians and political office holders that during this period, regardless of political affiliations, we must do everything within our powers to ensure that we strive for unity and peace among our people.

    “The bickering and divisions among the political class must end for the common good of the Ogoni people. The spirit of Ogoni, the entire Ogoni people and our heroes that we remember today (yesterday) expect the political leaders to demonstrate that they stand for the overriding interest of the Ogoni people, by speaking up for them and joining them in their campaigns.

    “This remembrance provides us with yet another unique opportunity to unite in ways that we have never before. We may disagree sometimes over strategies and views, but there is no question that we should be able to unite on the most crucial points that drove our fallen colleagues to draw up the Ogoni Bill of Rights.”

    The Ogoni umbrella organisation also urged the marginalised people in the four Rivers LGAs of Khana, Gokana, Tai and Eleme, to identify and recommit themselves to the core values for which their heroes laid down their lives.

    While also speaking, the representative of the Rivers Southeast Senatorial District, Magnus Ngei Abe, described the non-implementation of the recommendations contained in the UNEP report, as an act of wickedness against the people of Ogoni by the Jonathan’s administration.

    Abe revealed that all the efforts made by the elected representatives of the people of Ogoni to get the Federal Government to implement the UNEP report had not been successful.

    The Senator said: “I have said it before and I want to repeat it here that the non-implementation of UNEP report is nothing other than wickedness on the part of the Federal Government. I want to acknowledge the contributions of all our heroes, those that marched, those that were killed, those that shouted, those that wept, those that carried placards.

    “Before now, when I talked, I was saying it was the Rivers state government that made the UNEP report possible, but I have come to realise that that is not entirely correct. We worked the physical work as at the time when the UNEP report was being put together, but without the struggle of all our heroes past, the Federal Government would not have even called UNEP to come and do anything in Ogoniland. So, every Ogoni person has contributed to the realisation of the UNEP report.

    “What has happened to the report? Before UNEP began its assignment, the late President Umaru Yar’Adua called us to a meeting in Government House, Port Harcourt and we agreed and gave a condition that we would not allow the Federal Government to come and do a study for the sake of a study, that we would write an undertaking that once the report was out, it would be implemented.

    “President Yar’Adua directed the then Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) to write the letter. One week after the meeting, the Federal Government wrote to promise Ogoni people that the report would be implemented once it was ready.”

    Abe also lamented that when the UNEP report was eventually released, Yar’Adua had died, but it was submitted to Jonathan, without any action taken on it for over two years, which he described as very unfortunate.

    a peaceful way of prodding the government into dialogue and action. The Bill noted that although crude oil had been extracted from Ogoniland from 1958 they had received nothing in return.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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