Youths from the nine states of the Niger Delta region,on Monday, accused leaders from the area of squandering trillions of naira that accrued to the region over the years.
They insisted that the selfish tendencies of the leaders and their perennial failures plunged the region into the present untold hardship, poverty and underdevelopment.
The youths, under the auspices of the Pan Niger Delta Youth Leadership Forum (PANDLEAF) said poverty in the region was curious, unthinkable, unfortunate and worrisome when compared to the amount of money appropriated to the region by the Federal Government, state governments and intervention agencies.
The President, PANDLEAF, Mr. Richard Akinaka, spoke after meeting with Presidents of Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide, Urhobo Youth Council (UYC) and Itsekiri Youth Council (IYC) as part of his ongoing engagements with ethnic youth leaders in the region.
Akinaka said PANDLEAF met with Eric Omare of IYC; Ahbateyiniro Weyinmi of Itsekiri, and Festus Igherebuo of Urhobo.
He said the meeting was convened to instill a renewed sense of responsibility among youths in the region.
He lamented that the region had nothing to show for the years of huge budgetary appropriations from the federal government, agencies and states.
Akinaka said: “For instance, after the first two to three years of the establishment the Niger Delta Development Commission, the agency has perpetually become an instrument in the hands of those who control the region from Abuja to finance elections.
“Leadership is not given but it is a responsibility taken and as such we have to wake up now. Our region is not without resources or institutions, but our region only lacks accountable leadership.
“The major problem of the region is that of perennial leadership failure. We are embarking on this engagement with ethnic youth leaders in the region to instil a renewed sense of responsibility to peace, harmony and common development.
“We are here to talk to ourselves to promote ethnic harmony, peace as a generation, to advance a common economic, political and social agenda through objective political participation of youths.”
He stressed the need for peace among the various ethnic groups in the region, Akinaka said language should not be a barrier to the peaceful co-existence of the ethnicities.
He said the Niger Delta remained one people with a common destiny, adding that the crises in the past were all functions of failures of leadership.
He observed that though militant activities in the past were aimed at securing attention of the Federal Government to the marginalisation of Niger Delta, the phase caused the region more woes.
He said the phase caused the relocation of economic activities from the region to the western parts of the country.
He insisted that the region must take deliberate steps to advance peace to cause those companies to come back to the Niger Delta.
Read Also: ‘We’re focusing on integration of Niger Delta’
Akinaka also explained that the ethnic youth leadership engagement exercise was not a political movement but the gathering of youths, irrespective of political affiliations.
He said: “The engagement is not about political parties but about the collective peace, unity and progress of the region.
“Young people who have been privileged to be part of government must not see those privileges as rewards for followership to advance personal interests but see such opportunities as platforms to add value to society by demonstrating capacity.”
Also speaking, a member of the National Executive of PANDLEAF, Dr. Selekaye Victor-Ben, noted that the poor leadership problem identified was caused by the imposition of political leaders on the people.
Victor-Ben said: “Most of the young men imposed on us have failed because they listen to the dictates and old ideology of their sponsors.
“We must unite and stand up for peace and development in the region. The youths of the present Niger Delta must come together and uplift the unity and cohesive development of the region.”
In his remarks, the IYC President, Eric Omare, said the youth must know that those who benefited from the ills of the past would resist plans to effect change.
He asked the youths to be ready to take the challenge to liberate the region from impostors, bad and corrupt leaders and never-do-wells.
The Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria has launched an initiative to establish conventional and standard locally-build refineries in Niger Delta to boost local oil production.
Professor Ibrahim Mohammed-Dabo, the Team Leader, ABU Refinery Project, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Zaria, Kaduna State that the team’s ultimate is to have a conventional and standard locally build refinery that can refine Nigerian crude.
Mohamed-Dabo, a Professor of Chemical Engineering said: “We are hoping, if enough funding is made available to us, to perfect what we have on ground. We shall be willing to build other ones that can be stationed in the Niger Delta.
“This is where most of the Nigerian crude oil is produced. When new ones are built, we are going to train operators that will manage them.”
He recalled that the ABU mini refinery project started in 2011 when he wrote a research proposal to the university management for onward delivery to the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) for funding.
“In monetary terms, the initial stage of the project was proposed to cost a total of N18 million, but to our surprise, only N1.8 million was approved for the project,” he said.
“We initially wanted to abandon the project because the amount approved was so small, but being very passionate about it, we started the design and fabricated some components with that meagre amount.
“Actually, it reached a stage that we had to use our personal money for the project. When we started installation at the site, we invited the university management to the site and they were very happy.
“On appreciating what was done, the then Vice-Chancellor pledged that the university was going to support the project which they did by providing land, security light and water,” Mohammed-Dabo said.
He added that dedicated personnel were employed purposely for the project and the university hasbeen very supportive.
He added:”As you know, refinery is made up of many units; the first unit to be put in place in any refinery are the desalting and crude distillation units.
Nsima Ekere is the Managing Director and the Chief Executive Officer of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). Ekere spoke to reporters in Lagos on his experiences in trying to turn around the commission, to focus on its core mandate of creating an enabling environment for the development of the Niger Delta region. Deputy Political Editor RAYMOND MORDI was there.
HOW has your tenure been so far?
I always tell people; we were a bit luckier than other boards or management that has come into NDDC. I say this because it took about five months after we were nominated by the President before we were inaugurated. So, that gave us some time to do a bit of stocktaking about the NDDC and come up with strategies to attack the issues. That’s how we came up with what we call the 4-R strategy to reposition and restructure the NDDC for maximum impact, maximum delivery. The first R has to do with restructuring the balance sheet. On assumption of office, we found out that the balance sheet was outdated. We had projects that were non-performing and some of them have been there for about 10 to 16 years. So, we decided to cancel them. We’ve done that twice; the first one involved about 624 projects worth over N200 billion and the second batch was about 400 projects worth a little over N100 billion. Effectively, we have being able to take out over N300 billion from the balance sheet. Going forward, we have also dedicated 70 per cent of the budget to ongoing projects. This will enable us to complete projects started by previous administrations. We have identified some of them that are priority projects and we intend to concentrate on completing them. The second R is to restructure the governance system of the commission. When we came in we decided to look at the systems and processes of NDDC in order to come up with a policy that allows NDDC to respect the extant laws and policies of government. So, we decided to streamline the governance system and introduce international best practices, by introducing technology in running the organisation. The third R is to restore the commission to its core mandate. What is it that government had in mind when it set up NDDC? Over the years, the NDDC started competing with local and state governments; struggling to buy chalk for classrooms, for primary schools and so on and so forth.
We are looking at the bigger picture now. The emphasis now is to do big ticket projects that will aid regional economic integration of the Niger Delta. That is why you will see we are thinking of deepening the internet penetration in the Niger Delta. We are working with the Galaxy Backbone on that. Hopefully, with that, a lot of IT-based businesses will spring up or even be attracted to the region. We are also thinking of the Niger Delta Development Bank, to support the developmental efforts of the commission. Then the fourth R is to generally reaffirm our commitment to doing what is right and proper. We believe that if we can successfully implement these reform strategies, we would leave the NDDC better than we met it.
What challenges have you encountered so far?
We have encountered lots of challenges. First, there was institutional resistance to change, which is normal. A lot of people have become used to doing things in a certain way; they were not pleased that you are now demanding a new attitude. Secondly, you also have political interferences here and there. You want to go a certain way, but it may not be politically correct to do that. So, you always have to juggle and balance all of these issues. But, the major problem of the Niger Delta, which has affected the commission, if you ask me, is the attitude of some of our stakeholders and the youths particularly. They have this sense of entitlement that everything belongs to them.
Previous boards and managements were bogged down by in-fighting. Did you experience such tendency?
Well, I guess it is generally a management strategy. If you come in and you are not able to carry members of your management and board along in the way you run the commission, definitely you will have problems. It is a matter of engagement; you just engage people, try and get their buy-in to things you think you want to do. We’ve set up a Strategy Committee at management level and the three executive directors — that is, the two EDs and myself — always interface with the strategy team. So, there is this buy-in by all members of the executive management to the programmes and reforms agenda that we are driving. Then, with the board also, we have a representative from the Chairman in that strategic team. So, there is no disconnect between the management and the board.
So, how are you dealing with the sense of entitlement of the youths?
I have always said to the youths and to stakeholders anytime I am opportune to address them, that it is better to think of a sustainable economic model that we can use to empower our people. I don’t believe that you should just keep dashing them money. There was a time at the NDDC when there were like two to three protests every week, because they expect to be given some money when you are dispersing them. So, anytime somebody is broke in his house, he will come and protest, so that something can come. I stopped that. I made protests unattractive. So, when they come, you will allow them stay there the whole day, without giving them money when they are going. So, gradually the number of protests began to reduce. So, the protests you see now are those sponsored by some politicians for selfish reasons.
One of the sustainable economic models we are coming up with to engage our youths is what we call The Niger Delta Enterprise Centres for startups, so that people with bright ideas can come into those centres. It is different from what we used to do before. Before now, we used to do a lot of trainings and empowerment programmes. In other words, we called people, train them in various skills and at the end of the training, we give them starter packs to go and start their businesses. But, six months or one year down the line, you see the guy still unemployed; he would still be standing at the gate of the NDDC. What used to happen for most of them is that when they get those starter packs at the end of the training, they will sell it off and collect the money and after that they will come back and look for more. But, with the enterprise hub that we are thinking of doing now, we should be able to address that challenge.
We are starting with one centre for now. We are partnering with SMEDAN. SMEDAN had what they call Industrial Development Centres (IDCs) all over the country before now. In the Niger Delta region, they have six IDCs. So, in partnership with SMEDAN, we will take their IDCs and develop them into enterprise hubs to engage our young people and help them to become entrepreneurs. Secondly, we are also in partnership with NEXIM Bank to set up a N5 billion export facility, targeted strictly at the agricultural value chain.
We are also partnering with Innoson, a manufacturing outfit, to train a hundred youths. We are beginning to train a hundred people annually on automobile related skills. They will go to the facilities and learn how to assembly cars, fix and maintain cars and a couple of other things.
Contractors always complain that NDDC does not readily pay for work done. The Senate has had to pass a resolution on the matter…
We discovered that there was a lot of overtrading in the NDDC; they had much more projects than they can pay for with the available funds. That is why we have said that going forward 70 per cent of our budget would be dedicated to servicing ongoing projects, while only 30 per cent would be used for salaries, overhead and new projects. When you look at the NDDC Act, there is a financial provision which states how much and how the funding of would be structured. If the NDDC was able to get all the money that we are supposed to get under the Act, you will see that there would be enough to pay for those contracts. As we speak today, we have a shortfall of about N1.7 to N1.8 trillion from the Federal Government. In other words, the Federal Government owes us that much money. If that money was paid, why wouldn’t contractors be paid? So, it is basically a funding problem. We receive about N5 billion in a month. By the time you pay salaries and overheads maybe you have N3 billion remaining. How can you use N3 billion and pay N1 trillion to contractors?
Beneficiaries of NDDC post graduate scholarships have also been complaining of being abandoned….
We have paid up all NDDC scholars. When we came in, we discovered that there was a lot of hanky-panky in the scholarship thing. For instance, a master’s programme is supposed to last one year or 18 months in the maximum. But you will see an NDDC scholar who won the scholarship in 2007 for a master’s programme in the US or the UK still claiming scholarship in 2017. We had several cases like this. Somebody will win the NDDC scholarship, but will be in Nigeria and not in any school abroad and he is claiming money. So, that is why it was necessary that we froze that process, because we needed to confirm what really the issues were; who the genuine students were. But, unfortunately, in that process some genuine students suffered. We regret very much that some genuine students had their money withheld for a while. But the verification has been done now and we have paid up to date.
We understand that there are plans to rejig the scholarship programme…
We are thinking that scholarships shouldn’t be only for foreign scholars. If you want to help people, Nigerian universities are also good. So, it shouldn’t only people schooling abroad that benefit. Secondly, we have very bright Niger Delta students who come from indigent homes and they really can’t afford even the undergraduate education.
Your contractors were recently chased away from sites by the Akwa Ibom State Government. How did you resolve that issue?
Unfortunately most of what happened in Akwa Ibom was political. We have engaged the government through the Federal Government. We hear there is a change of heart from the state government. Overall, we are trying very hard now to engage with the nine governors in the region, because we are not in competition with any of them. We have visited virtually all of them, except Akwa Ibom.
Why have you not visited Akwa Ibom?
We have been engaging them, hoping for an opportunity to visit the state. But, the reception has not been favourable and that is unfortunate, because I am from Akwa Ibom and I have served that state as deputy governor. So, the best interest of the state is always paramount to me. Akwa Ibom is the largest oil producing state in Nigeria and by NDDC policy it should attract the highest number of projects.
That is not what the present board met on ground. We have been magnanimous enough to want to redress this. We need the partnership and support of the state government to make this happen. It is not about me or the board; and it is not about politics. We at the NDDC believe it is the right and proper thing to do. And that’s the focus of the Board.
The Executive Director of Environmental Right Action, (ERA), Dr Godwin Uyi Ojo, has said that the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) will not address issues of the Niger Delta region.
Dr Ojo spoke at a one-day Civil Society and Host Communities workshop for the Southsouth, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital.
He observed that the bill does not specify what constitutes environmental infraction and other issues to address the lingering Niger Delta crisis.
According to him, the key elements that brought about agitation in the Niger Delta, such as oil spill clean up and gas flaring, is not reflected in the bill.
In his view, the bill as presented, ” has not met the major criteria to address the issues it was met for such as the years of monumental devastation of the environment of Niger Delta, compensation, clean up and revenue allocation.
“I want us to remember that this is a conflict resolution bill to address the years of monumental devastation of the environment of the Niger Delta. The bill will address the issue of environmental pollution, the compensation, the clean up , the revenue allocation and how they are used in the development process and sadly this bill as presented has not met those criteria.
“This bill is pro-industry and seem to reinstate the statuesque. For example, the money to be receive are to go directly first to the local government authority where we know that the State and the local government have no level of independence”
“So that is a lacuna. The fact that the bill does not recognise local communities as the fundamental unity of planning is a flaw process, so we need to recognise that and ensure that the local government that need this should be dealt with directly”.
“The petroleum host communities fund appear to override cooperate social responsibility. The Secretary of the board is being proposed to be an oil company worker and that worker is also to be nominated by the oil company themselves”
“So they have one way abrogated the power of control over the fund. They put the money out their with the aim to maintain their interest and also control the process.”
He said the civil society organisation would come as a body to approach the National Assembly to address flaws in the bill.
Eruani Azibapu, President, Azikel Group of companies recently grabbed headlines with the formal launch of the first modular refinery in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State. Austin Ebuipade, in this piece, chronicles the giant strides being recorded by this uncommon investor.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo is not known for uttering effusive praise where none is deserved; thus, few weeks ago when he was commending the President of Azikel Group, Dr. Azibapu Eruani for taking the bold step of pioneering investment in what is now Nigeria’s first-ever modular refinery, the entire nation took note.
Indeed, of the 18 licences issued for such investment by the Obasanjo administration before its exit in 2007, none saw the light of day. Of the 22 licences issued by the President Muhammadu Buhari administration in 2015, only Azikel Refinery which was commissioned in Yenagoa , Bayelsa State on February 18, this year has become a reality.
Hence, the justifications for the lavish praise for the well-acknowledged capabilities of a serious investor like Dr. Azibapu Eruani whose investment is bringing much hope to the Niger Delta-a region which has seen unspeakable deprivation over the years in spite of its huge endowment of oil resources and arable land for cultivation of high yield agricultural produce for subsistence needs and exportation in order to generate foreign exchange for the nation.
Azibapu
Significantly, the region remains the economic lifeline of Nigeria and that positional advantage dates back to the pre-colonial and post-colonial era, particularly because of the abundance oil and gas reserve in the Niger Delta that has remained the mainstay of the nation’s economy till date.
Amidst these potentials, the region has continued to grapple with the dearth of infrastructures, unemployment and lack of industries, despite the fact that oil was first struck in commercial quantity in Oloibiri, Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa state, Nigeria.
However, it is also true that few elite, politicians and others, for fear of the unknown, limit themselves and see development as building houses, while others settled for rural hotel business which is not enduring and unsustainable therefore making it difficult to jumpstart the industrial growth needed in the Niger Delta.
The burning desire to change the status quo and re-launch the Niger Delta into prominence is the commitment of Eruani as a business leader with no desire for political participation. He is determined to re-invent the oil rich region and give her a pride of place on the global industrial map.
Dr. Eruani is the President of Azikel Group, a conglomerate in the business of Dredging, Petroleum Refining, Power Generation, Aviation, Construction and Engineering. It comprises of Azikel Dredging Nigeria Limited, Azikel Petroleum, Azikel Air Limited, Azikel Power and Azikel Construction as subsidiaries.
A medical doctor per excellence, Eruani’s work careers span through civil/public service, the oil and gas industry and the later politics which he quit some 12 years back. He is an industrialist, celebrated entrepreneur and a medical doctor by training from the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
In his quest to assume leadership in business and commence the journey of the re-industrialisation of the Niger Delta, he returned to class at the Lagos Business School (LBS) where he bagged the Own Management Program Certification. From there, he proceeded to the London Business School where he obtained Certification in Senior Executive Programme as well as Wharton Business School, University of Pennsylvania where he studied Advanced Business Management and Leadership.
He is a thoroughbred industrial leader, deep thinker, a focused leader imbued with strands of sagacity to re-industrialise the Niger Delta and Nigeria. He made a difference even while serving in government when he took up appointment as a Special Adviser on HIV/AIDS and Community Health and later Commissioner for Health in Bayelsa State when he was awarded the most innovative commissioner in his time.
With over a decade in the competitive world of business, Eruani’s trajectory started with the humble beginning of selling sand from an umbrella, then to caravan with the sand product sourced from local divers; and much later, driven by commitment to succeed and not despising the days of little beginning, he boosted the business with one dredging machine. Today the Azikel Group with the support funding from the Exim Bank and other International Financial Institutions has fleet of ultra-modern equipment with which it has continued to drive the wheels of industry in the Niger Delta region.
Pertinently, development in the region was slow particularly owing to the challenge posed by the terrain that is below sea level. However, the Azikel Group was able to stockpile and met the demand for aggregate sand supply. That underscores the several sand filling, reclamation and regeneration of land in the state and region, signifying how critical land preparation is if any meaningful development must thrive in the region. Azikel Dredging Limited successfully sand filled, reclaimed and regenerated several lost land to tidal erosion. Others which were below sea levels but had been reclaimed include the sand filling of the multi-purpose Peace Park for the Bayelsa State Government, provision of over three million cubic metres of sand for construction of the East/West road, reclaimed and regenerated massive landmass for the take-off of the Federal University, Otuoke, reclamation work to regenerate lost ancestral land in Abalama and Bakana, Rivers state and several others for the international oil companies (IOCs).
For Eruani, the critical success made in dredging propelled him into investing in other sectors. This gave birth to Azikel Air Azikel Power and Azikel Petroleum. It is no gainsaying that beneficiaries abound in the state, the entire Niger Delta and Nigeria as the detribalised Nigerian from Ogbia extraction of Bayelsa State continues the handshake across the Niger. Driven by the power of a grand vision, he is relentlessly pushing to fulfill his objective and goal centred on being the pivot of re-industrialising the Niger Delta, generating employment and creating financial freedom on a sustainable template for all Nigerians.
Azikel Air has also impacted many lives through employment generation as well as rendering quality services. It actually began operation by providing helicopter services for multinational oil chief executives and expatriates workers onshore and offshore oil platforms and rigs that traverse the Niger Delta region. Today, the firm has stepped up operations to satisfy her numerous clients/passengers by providing quality services with her ultra-modern and reliable fixed wings charter services within and outside the shores of the country.
Fired by the ‘Yes, we can’ conviction and a belief that electricity supply can be made stable in Nigeria, Eruani inaugurated Azikel Power during the Federal Government’s NIPP/Privatization process and made a bid for the acquisition of the Gbarain power plant. Unfortunately, he lost in the bid and came second as the reserved bidder. This lost bid, rather than dampen his spirit, challenged him to make a bid for a Greenfield licence. The resilience was to pay off as, in the last quarter of 2015, the Buhari/Yemi Osinbajo administration granted him a 500 MW on grid power licence.
At the ground breaking ceremony of the refinery some weeks back, an elated Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State said he was proud that a Bayelsan, a ‘son of the soil’, a major player in the private sector has chosen to re-industrialise the state and Niger Delta by investing at home. Dickson also signed the certificate of occupancy for the landmass designated for the Azikel Petroleum Refinery and the Azikel Power Project.
Explaining the motive behind the refinery project, Eruani said it was part of his big dream to re-invent and re-industrialise the Niger Delta region. When it finally takes off, the refinery will constitute its quota towards alleviating the sufferings of the Niger Delta people and Nigerians from the long human and vehicular queues at filling stations reduce acute short supply of petroleum products, importation of refined crude and the burden of incessant increase in pump price.
To underscore the importance of the day, the Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Baru Maikanti, noted that: “Of the initial refinery licences granted by President Muhammadu Buhari, Azikel Refinery is in the forefront on delivery of the refinery, having achieved the task in the Phase I, II and III and a record performance of attaining 65 % completion.
The significance of the ground breaking ceremony was underscored by former President Obasanjo who said he doubted the seriousness of the project at the initial stage as none of the 18 private refineries licences granted in his tenure moved to site. He described President Buhari to be very lucky to have committed persons, particularly Eruani, among the beneficiaries. He said, from all indications, Eruani has shown the way for every serious investor, be it local or foreign, to emulate, noting that there the space was larger enough to accommodate such coupled with a conducive environment provided by government.
For Eruani, the story wouldn’t be complete without highlighting how the refinery project would impact lives. He estimated that an unprecedented 10,000 jobs would be created in addition to the developmental activities that the state is bound to experience. The Azikel Refinery, he noted, would refine Bonny Light Crude Oil and condensate to produce Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), Kerosene, Jet A 1, Diesel , LPG and Heavy Fuel Oil among other by products.
“The race towards the finishing line is in sight. We are running with the baton to the finishing line and I am most confident that we will get there. We will be the first ever indigenous refinery to dispense refined petroleum product to Nigerians,” he announced to the guests.
Well, his hands are already on the plow and there is no going back until his lofty dreams become realities.
Stakeholders in the Niger-Delta have advocated improved technology as well as efficient communication between the federal government, oil companies and oil bearing communities to check oil pipeline vandalism in the oil industry.
These were the recommendations at the end of a one day sensitization workshop on education, good governance and peaceful coexistence in the Niger Delta organised by a non-profit organisation, Benaiah Care Foundation, which held weekend in Warri, Delta State.
Participants drawn from mostly the youths and women groups called for urgent intervention to avert imminent crises as the 2019 polls comes closer.
In a paper presentation titled ” Oil Theft and Pipeline Vandalism”, Oil Pipeline Management Expert , Mr. Ini Isong said ” oil majors must explore the use of modern technology to secure oil pipelines as well as establish right of way(RoW) to enable security personnel easily identify where there are such cases”.
According to him, the advocacy became necessary to raise the standard of security towards checking vandalism in the Niger Delta region.
He also advocated stronger synergy among the stakeholders stating that oil bearing communities should be engaged in the oil economy through what he described as ” open and frank communication to avert imminent crises”.
Mr. Isong who doubles as the Managing Director/Chief Executive officer of Kligz Energy, an oil pipeline survey outfit in Port Harcourt, Rivers state, said local communities have to select credible leaders in representative capacity and must also design a visionary template that will actualize concrete development of their areas.
This, he maintain ” will make the oil bearing communities maintain their commitment to stop oil pipeline vandalism especially among the youth ”.
He, however , condemned the deplorable conditions of the region occasioned by prolonged oil exploration activities stating that the issue of Corporate Social Responsibility needs to be reviewed to provide commensurate impact to cushion the effect of the exploration activities.
Also in a paper presentation titled ” Effect of Political Violence in Nigeria ”, a University of Port Harcourt Don, Dr. Celestine Nwanokwai said Nigerian youths have to move away from the culture of violence mostly associated with politics.
According to him, the recent electoral reforms have considered the place of the youth in political leadership and therefore urged that rather than take to the option of violence, youth must think towards taking the lead in governance.
Earlier , the programme facilitator, Mr. Okon N. Effiom remarked that the organization was concerned about improving the condition of the Niger Delta people through education
The Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme ( PAP ), Brig.-Gen. Paul Boroh (Rtd) says that the programme will train 2,000 ex-militants in various trades to ensure sustained development in Niger-Delta region.
Boroh, who is also the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta Affairs, made the disclosure in an interview on Monday in Abuja.
“We plan to train 2,000 ex-agitators in addition to the ones we have empowered before, to ensure continuous development of the Niger-Delta region.
“I believe that when these people are adequately trained and well empowered, the Niger Delta region will become a good place for all to live.
“The trainees will help boost economic activities of the region, because when the youths do not have a sustainable economic path, our families and communities suffer,” he said.
He said that the proposed training would be in various fields to enable the beneficiaries acquire different skills, in line with their areas of interest.
Boroh added that allowing them get trained in their areas of interest, would bring about passion for the skill, and ensure sustenance and ability to judiciously utilize the skills acquired.
The coordinator said the beneficiaries would be trained in agriculture, restaurant and bar, timber saw and milling, baking, interior decoration, boat construction, film making, communication skills and fine arts.
He explained that some of the trainees would prefer to go into artistic skill that would make them create something from nothing, something beautiful from something ugly.
According to Boroh, PAP is looking at manipulative skills, in which a person learns to handle objects with precision, speed and control.
“We can say that art is a skill obtained through practice. These largely involve physical activities with the use of hand and body coordination to execute a task,” he explained.
The presidential aide said that the ex-agitators would also be schooled in communication and literacy, decision making, occupational requirements, problem solving, time management and planning skills.
“These skills will help them cope easily with the daily challenges of life in terms of making decisions and expressing themselves.
“The empowerment will facilitate good leadership and entrepreneurship, to attaining meaningful development and make the beneficiaries to be financially independent.
“The training is part of the ongoing re-integration programme of PAP,’’ he said.
We recall that the Amnesty Programme had in the past trained and empowered over 6,000 ex- agitators in their choice areas of businesses.
President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday in Abuja assured the people of the Niger Delta that his administration would continue to support rapid development in the region by consolidating on all ongoing projects and initiating new ones to create more economic opportunities and jobs for the people.
He made the remark while receiving the Olu of Warri, His Royal Majesty Ogiame Ikenwoli, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
In a statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, President Buhari reiterated the Federal Government’s commitment to maintaining peace and security in the Niger Delta for economic and social activities to thrive.
He told the delegation led by the Olu of Warri that developing the region remained a priority for his administration, adding that under his watch every region in the country would witness increased investments in critical infrastructure.
The President appealed to the people of the Niger Delta to complement ongoing efforts by the Federal Government to bring more development to the region by maintaining peace, security and harmony.
He promised to look into some of the concerns raised by the delegation, including the dredging of Escravos bar for Warri and Koko ports, the gas revolution industrial park and EPZ project in Ogidigben, the ecological challenges in Ode-Itsekiri, Ugborodo, Orere/Yanagho and Ogheye-Eghoroke, among others.
The President also used the occasion of the visit by the Royal Majesty to commend Itsekiri people for producing men of strong convictions like Prof. Itse Sagay, the Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Anti-corruption (PACAC).
He said: ‘‘Thanks for producing a man like Prof. Itse Sagay who is defending us robustly and stepping on many toes in the process. If he’s not a man of conviction, he couldn’t have done that.
‘‘What he is doing is exceptional. Despite coming from a minority area, he’s showing overwhelming influence at the centre.
‘‘Prof, I never had the opportunity to thank you personally for all you’re doing. Thank you very much,’’ the President said.
The Olu of Warri, who commiserated with the President over the loss of his two extended family members, commended him for achieving his campaign promises on the fight against insurgency and corruption, as well as the successes recorded in reducing criminal acts of vandalism of oil and gas facilities in the Niger Delta.
President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday in Abuja assured the people of Niger Delta that his administration would continue to support rapid development in the region by consolidating on all ongoing projects and initiating new ones to create more economic opportunities and jobs for the people.
He made the remark while receiving the Olu of Warri, His Royal Majesty Ogiame Ikenwoli at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
In a statement by the Special Adviser on Media and publicity, Femi Adesina, President Buhari reiterated the Federal government’s commitment to maintaining peace and security in the Niger Delta for economic and social activities to thrive.
He told the delegation led by the Olu of Warri that developing the region remained a priority for his administration, adding that under his watch every region in the country would witness increased investments in critical infrastructure.
The President appealed to the people of Niger Delta to complement ongoing efforts by the Federal government to bring more development in the region by maintaining peace, security and harmony.
He promised to look into some of the concerns raised by the delegation including the dredging of Escravos bar for Warri and Koko ports, the gas revolution industrial park and EPZ project in Ogidigben, the ecological challenges in Ode-Itsekiri, Ugborodo, Orere/Yanagho and Ogheye-Eghoroke, among others.
The President also used the occasion of the visit by the Royal Majesty to commend Itsekiri people for producing men of strong convictions like Prof Itse Sagay, the Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Anti-corruption (PACAC).
He said ‘‘Thanks for producing a man like Prof. Itse Sagay, who is defending us robustly and stepping on many toes in the process. If he’s not a man of conviction, he couldn’t have done that.
‘‘What he is doing is exceptional. Despite coming from a minority area, he’s showing overwhelming influence at the centre.
‘‘Prof, I never had the opportunity to thank you personally for all you’re doing. Thank you very much,’’ the President said.
The Olu of Warri, who commiserated with the President over the loss of his two extended family members, also commended him for achieving his campaign promises on the fight against insurgency and corruption, as well as the successes recorded in reducing criminal acts of vandalism of oil and gas facilities in the Niger Delta.
Later at a separate audience with Dr Ado Ibrahim Atta 111, the Ohinoyi of Ebira land, President Buhari thanked the royal father for his continued support of his administration.
In his remarks, the Ohinoyi of Ebira land commended the President for his renewed interest in reviving the Ajaokuta Steel and expressed the hope that the project will come back to life and be inaugurated under Buhari’s administration.
‘‘You are a man of hope, courage and action. May all the good things you want for Nigeria come to pass,’’ the Ohinoyi said.
Speaking with State House journalists at the end of the meeting, the Olu of Warri, His Majesty Ogiame Ikenwole called on the Federal Government to activate the utilization of Warri and Koko Ports, stressing that it will reduce the restiveness in the area and also create jobs for the youths.
He also called for the actualization of the planned gas industrial park (gas city) that is valued at $20 billion, through a Public-Private Partnership model.
The Olu of Warri who led a delegation including the immediate past governor of Delta State, Emmanuel Uduaghan, decried the fact that while other ports in the country were active and contributing to the economic activities in their states, that of Warri and Koko have remained not utilized.
He said their area of concerns presented to the President was the rising insecurity, challenges in the Niger Delta area, ecological problems, infrastructure development, as well as lack of access to ports in the state.
He said “We presented some issues that affects our area most especially our ports. Our ports are not working, Warri Port and Koko Port are very good and solid ports that are not working. While other ports in other areas are working, ours are just left unutilised. So we want the ports to be activated so that there can start working, and that will mop up a lot of youths from the streets. When the ports were working there were no restiveness in the area.
“Apart from that there is also the gas city, it is a fantastic project. The last president did the ground breaking before he left but since then nothing has been happening. We want the federal government to hasten action on it because that will mop up over 300,000 unemployed youths from the streets. So when all of our youths are engaged the restiveness will be minimized.”
“We have the Koko road that needs to be fixed. That road will open up the area, allow economic activities to expand. We have the escravos road that also needs to be fixed. We also want the railway that is going on now, we want it to come to the area by that the economic activities will thrive better and Nigerians will be happy for it.”
On the President’s response was, the monarch said, “He assured us that they will do their best. His hands are tied because everybody demands his attention but that he will follow through our requests to ensure that the things are done.”
Also speaking with State House journalists, Uduaghan expressed satisfaction with President Buhari’s response to the request presented to him.
He said, “I’m here on the delegation of the Olu of Warri who is here to visit Mr. President.
“We are really encouraged with his response especially in the area we had a lot of challenges. Mr. President listened to the Olu of Warri.
“We presented the challenges of security, you know we are in an area in the Niger Delta where there has been a lot of insecurity challenges. We also have challenges of ecological problems; we also have the problem of infrastructure development, problem of access to ports which is very critical.
“Delta has six ports and to be able to get to the ports there is a place called escravos bar which has been very shallow. Even the water channel is highly stilted and so the Olu of Warri was appealing to the federal government to dredge the escravos channels so that the bigger ships will be able to come into the ports of delta especially the Warri Ports.” he said
The people of Rivers State’s communities covered by the Oil Mining Lease (OML) 58, being operated by the oil giant, Total Exploration and Production (E&P) Nigeria Limited, gathered at Elele-Alimini in Emohua Local Government Area of the Niger Delta State on February 16 to promote the creation of entrepreneurs in the region rich in crude oil and gas.
The gathering at the Elele Total E&P farm, which involved monarchs, top security chiefs and other eminent personalities, was the official transfer of special oil palm seedlings from the pre-nursery to nursery, thereby enabling farmers in the area to boost agricultural production, particularly the multinational’s novel programme in enterprise development for farmers in the OML 58 operational area.
The new oil palm seedlings have many advantages over the traditional oil palm currently used by farmers in Nigeria, as they grow to maturity in three years, against the five-year maturity period of the current seedlings, yield about 20 per cent more fruits and are shorter in height at full maturity.
The “Oil Palm Super Hybrid Malaysia” enables harvesting without climbing the palm tree and produces more juicy fruits at a shorter harvesting cycle, thereby enabling the farmer to receive more revenue at shorter intervals.
The Manager of Maclyns Global Resources Limited, Ugochukwu Mackintosh, while giving the details of the transfer of the oil palm seedlings from the pre-nursery to nursery, on being able to withstand sunlight, before eventually being moved to the farm around June this year, emphasised that the seedlings were not genetically modified and very safe.
Mackintosh noted that every part of the unique oil palm could produce money, but stated that planting the seedlings needed techniques, with special training required, since the pre-germinated seeds were imported from Malaysia, while describing workers of the oil giant at the Elele farm as hardworking and dedicated, calling on Total to sustain the initiative.
During the programme, which was spiced up with cultural displays and entertainment by guest artistes, the Supervisor for Agriculture and Natural Resources of Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Council of Rivers state, Azubuike Nwangwe, pointed out that holding the programme in the hitherto volatile area was a sign of return of peace, adding that his council had always supported agriculture, in order to diversify the economy, rather than relying on non-sustainable crude oil and gas.
The Commanding Officer of nearby 343 Artillery Regiment, Elele, Lt. Col. A. S. Ilelah, who was represented by Master Warrant Officer (MWO) Igwilo Igwilo, noted that adequate security had always been provided in the area by the Nigerian Army, with end being put to militancy, cultism, kidnapping and other criminal activities.
Manager, Business and Enterprise Development of Total, Philippe Desriac, in his welcome address, noted that the oil firm was committed to empowering people of its host communities, stressing that no nation could grow, without placing emphasis on agriculture.
The oil giant’s Community Relations Manager, Onshore, Chile Izim, urged Nigerians to embrace agriculture to make their lives better and ensure economic independence.
The Deputy Managing Director, Port Harcourt District of Total E&P Nigeria Limited, Mr. Francois Le-Cocq, in his keynote address, stated that the programme was the continuation of the oil giant’s desire to challenge the people to the positive reinforcement of the firm’s commitments on sustainability of the programmes introduced to the stakeholders.
He noted that the aim of the initiative was to create entrepreneurs who could use the resources available in the environment and chart new courses for the future of their people, pointing out that his company’s target was the future and how to begin today to prepare for it.
Le-Cocq, who was represented by Total’s Advisor on Community Affairs, Mr. Aniefiok Akpan, said: “The programme is what we call the ‘New Oil Palm Scheme for Grassroots Farmers in OML 58’ and it is designed to help farmers experiment with new brand of oil palm seedlings, called the Oil Palm Super Hybrid Malaysia.
“The decision by Total to introduce the new oil palm seedlings to farmers is to boost agricultural development as a viable and profitable business. To ensure the continuation of this scheme, we are not stopping at making the seedlings available, we have also included a technical training package for all the beneficiaries, to teach them how they can become good oil palm farmers.
“In order to ensure that the scheme is sustainable, we have also reserved an area within the Elele Seed Multiplication Centre (SMC) for the purpose of planting new germinated grains, which will be used to support future beneficiaries with the super hybrid seedlings. We envisage that the scheme will continue into the future and we need to prepare for the seedlings’ demands.”
The deputy managing director also stated that the oil company’s motivation was to ensure the continuous development of the value chains in different sectors of small and medium size enterprises, to grow the local economies of the host communities.
He said: “In introducing this scheme, we are building on the various programmes in agriculture extension services, including the provision of improved seedlings and cassava stems to farmers in OML 58.
“We see the need to continue to enhance the agricultural potential of this area as key to the food security of the area and the state at large.”
Le-Cocq also admonished all the beneficiaries of the improved seedlings to make good use of the inputs to become very successful oil palm farmers and to serve as good references for oil palm farming in Nigeria.
Analysts believe Total should be emulated by other multinationals, especially supporting agriculture and farmers, in order to ensure self-sufficiency in food production, empowerment of the people and moving the nation forward.
