The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Niger-Delta

  • Buhari’s new vision ’ll develop Niger Delta, says Osinbajo

    Buhari’s new vision ’ll develop Niger Delta, says Osinbajo

    Acting President Yemi Osinbajo said yesterday that the Muhammadu Buhari’s administration is promoting a new way of thinking and engagement that will secure the growth of Niger Delta and the country.

    The new approach, he said, involves an active and effective collaboration between the government, the private sector and the communities.

    He assured Nigerians that the new approach would ensure that the government complete whatever is started in the region.

    Osinbajo spoke during a meeting with members of a delegation from Bayelsa State regarding the $3.6 billion Brass Fertiliser & Petro-Chemical Company that is expected to come on steam soon.

    The delegation, which included executives of the company, was led by Governor Seriake Dickson.

    Osinbajo, in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Laolu Akande, lamented that only 12 per cent completion rate was recorded in several of the projects undertaken by the Niger Delta Development Commission in the past years, while the rest were abandoned.

    According to him, some of the projects were not designed to succeed, but just for some people to make money.

    Stressing that a new way of thinking is emerging, he gave instances of effective collaboration with the private sector.

    He named the NLNG as an example of such effective collaborations.

    “The Buhari administration is committed to finishing whatever we start. At the end of the day, we shall ensure that,” he affirmed, adding that the oil-producing communities have tremendous potentials.

    Hailing the governor for his proactive efforts, the Acting President commended the collaboration regarding the Brass company.

    He said: “This is what we describe as the New Vision: partnership between the Federal Government, the states, the communities and the private sector. This is the new way of thinking that is emerging, the New Vision.”

    Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Dr. Ibe Kachikwu described the idea of the Brass Fertiliser & Petro-Chemical firm as “a game changer that we need to encourage”.

    He said such ideas have the potential to change the economic model in the Niger Delta.

    The Acting President also received a delegation from the Seed Entrepreneurs Association of Nigeria (SEEDAN) led by its President Mr. Richard Olafare and the Director-General of the National Agricultural Seed Council, Dr. P.O.Ojo.

  • Buhari’s new vision will develop Nigeria – Osinbajo

    Buhari’s new vision will develop Nigeria – Osinbajo

    Acting President Yemi Osinbajo on Tuesday said that the Muhammadu Buhari’s administration is promoting a new way of thinking and engagement that will secure the development of the Niger Delta and the entire country.

    The new approach, he said, involves an active and effective collaboration between the government, the private sector and the communities.

    He also assured that the new approach would ensures that the government finishes whatever is started in the region.

    Prof. Osinbajo spoke during a meeting with members of a delegation from Bayelsa State regarding the $3.6B Brass Fertilizer & Petro-Chemical Company that is expected to come on steam soon.

    The delegation which included executives of the company was led by Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State.

    In a statement by the Senior Special Assistant on media and publicity, Laolu Akande, Osinbajo lamented that only 12% completion rate was recorded in several of the projects undertaken by the Niger Delta Development Commission in the past years, while the rest were abandoned.

    According to him, some of the projects were not designed to succeed, but just for some people to make money.

    Stressing that a new way of thinking is emerging, he gave instances of effective collaboration with the private sector, as he recalled the example of the NLNG being effective collaborations.

    “The Buhari administration, this government is committed to finishing whatever we start. At the end of the day, we shall ensure that,” he affirmed, adding that the oil-producing communities have tremendous potentials.

    While commending the Bayelsa State Governor for his proactive efforts, the Acting President commended the collaboration that is ongoing regarding the Brass company.

    He said “This is what we describe as the New Vision: partnership between the Federal Government, the States, the communities and the private sector. This is the new way of thinking that is emerging, the New Vision.”

    In his comments, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu described the idea of the Brass Fertilizer & Petro-Chemical firm as “a game changer that we need to encourage, “

    He said that such ideas have the potential to change the economic model in the Niger Delta.

    The Acting President also received a delegation from the Seed Entrepreneurs Association of Nigeria, SEEDAN led by its President Mr. Richard Olafare and the Director-General of the National Agricultural Seed Council, Dr. P.O.Ojo.

    In his remarks, Prof. Osinbajo assured the delegation that the Federal Government would do much more in the area of Agriculture, stressing that fertilizer and seed inputs are vital for the “agricultural revolution” that the Buhari administration is delivering.

    He told members of the association, “your visit and contributions are very important to us. The President has said we must grow what we eat. We must be able to grow everything we eat. This is very important to us, we are very committed to food security. It is important to hear your views as we shape policy.”

  • JTF nabs five pipeline vandals in Niger Delta

    JTF nabs five pipeline vandals in Niger Delta

    The military Joint Task Force (JTF) deployed to protect oil facilities in the Niger Delta says it has arrested five suspects for vandalising oil facilities in the area.

    Commander of the JTF, Rear Admiral Suleiman Apochi, told journalists on Tuesday in Yenagoa that two suspected kidnappers were also killed in multiple raids conducted in the area last weekend.

    Apochi said that the vandals had disrupted oil production by sabotaging the Tebidaba-Ogboinbiri-Brass Pipeline operated by Nigeria Agip Oil Company.

    “Our efforts in tackling the activities of pipeline vandals resulted in the arrest of suspects that detonated dynamites resulting in the breach of an oil facility, located at Tebidaba-Ogboinbiri-Brass Pipeline in Bayelsa.

    “Troops, who were acting on a tip-off, spotted a suspected hideout at a fishing camp along Isonogbene, in Southern Ijaw LGA of Bayelsa, where three suspects were arrested for complicity in the vandalism incident.

    “Similarly, troops deployed at Beneside location, Ekeremor LGA of Bayelsa also apprehended two persons, who were alleged to have been responsible for sabotage and theft of wellhead 6 actuator devices, an oil wellhead tool.

    “Their criminal action led to disruption of the operations of the oil firm. The wellhead is currently under repairs,” he said.

    Col. Jibril Abdullahi, who spoke on behalf of the JTF Commander, noted that the successes recorded by the team was largely due to the support of residents and urged them to do more.

    The commander said that troops deployed at Omoku Forest in Rivers also engaged some suspected armed kidnappers in a gun duel leading to the rescue of the kidnapped victim.

    According to him, the incident led to the death of two of the suspected kidnappers, while the victim is currently receiving treatment at a medical facility in Port Harcourt.

    The Commander said that troops also raided a suspected pirates’ hideout at Eleme in Rivers and recovered several items, including ammunition.

    He listed some of the items recovered to include 23 rounds of 7.62 mm Ball special ammunition, one generating set and a 40 Horse Power Suzuki speed boat engine, amongst others.

    The suspects, however, escaped, he said.

     

  • Kidnappers move Lagos pupils to Niger Delta creek

    Kidnappers move Lagos pupils to Niger Delta creek

    •Parent left waiting with ‘N2m ransom at Odogunyan’

    There were fears yesterday that the six abducted Lagos State Model College pupils might have again been moved by their kidnappers.

    It was the second time, sources told The Nation that the pupils would be relocated since they were kidnapped in May 25.

    It was learnt that they might have been moved to a creek in Niger Delta, following their parents alleged failure to pay the N2million ransom demanded on each child.

    But the kidnappers were said to have failed to show up yesterday to collect a N2million ransom allegedly taken to a designated spot in Odogunyan, Ikorodu.

    It was gathered that the kidnappers had since Friday asked the parent to take the money to different spots, but each time he went, no one came to collect it.

    They were also said to have told the parent to wear the same dress he wore the first time they asked him to bring the money, so that their emissary could identify him.

    Despite complying with instructions, the parent, it was gathered, was kept waiting for over four hours, after which he was asked to return home, once again.

    The Nation gathered that the kidnappers initially accused the parent of not keeping the appointment but when he described some of the things he saw at the locations, they told him to go home that they would get back to him.

    It was learnt that the parent demanded to speak to his child but he was not obliged.

    The pupils were first moved last weekend, two days after their abduction.

    But, three members of the gang who went to survey the waterways before the relocation were arrested in Benin, the Edo State capital, by the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Intelligence Response Team (IRT) operatives last Tuesday.

    Policemen comprising those from the Lagos State Command, Marine Unit and the IRT, who stormed the first camp where the pupils were kept, engaged some kidnappers there in a gun duel.

  • Ex-militants urge Osinbajo to wade into arrears of unpaid stipends 

    Ex-militants urge Osinbajo to wade into arrears of unpaid stipends 

    Niger Delta ex-militant leaders, Thursday, implored the Acting President Yemi Osinbajo to consolidate the Federal Government’s peace efforts in the region by resolving many months of their unpaid stipends.

    The ex-militant leaders under the Phase two Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) lamented that the Coordinator of the Programme, Gen. Paul Boroh (retd) had not paid them their stipends since January this year.

    Six of the phase two leaders, who spoke in Yenagoa, commended the peace initiatives of the government in the Niger Delta, but claimed that the activities of Boroh if not checked could truncate the existing peace in the region.

    They, however, mentioned one Major Bernard, who they said work in the office of Boroh, as a major obstacle to the coordinator’s desire to address their plight.

    Some of the leaders, who expressed their frustration, are Paul Ebibokefie, John Esuku, Joseph Alfred, Esau Amaebimo, Goddy Kaduna, Clement Wodo and Passman Golukumor.

    Ebibokefie, insisted that the amnesty office had failed to complement the efforts of Osinbajo to ensure peace in the Niger Delta.

    He said: “The Federal Government has not paid our stipends since January 1st, 2017. We are, therefore, calling on the appropriate body, the good people of Nigeria and President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to order retired Brigadier-General Paul Boro to pay us our stipends.

    “I can remember that the acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, came here two months ago saying he wanted peace in the Niger Delta on behalf of the Federal Government, and there has been peace since then.

    “But, unfortunately, we have not been paid our stipends for five months and we are begging the government to look into the issue. There is hunger in the society but peace in the region”.

    Also, Alfred, faulted Boroh’s management approach saying he had failed to convene regular meetings of leaders from different camps, like his predecessor, Mr. Kingsley Kuku, did quarterly, to discuss issues affecting the ex-militants.

    “We do not know the reason he is refusing to call for meetings. We know he normally hold meetings for others in Calabar and Abuja but not for the second phase leaders.

    “We are appealing to him to call the leaders for a meeting. We, therefore, appeal to the Federal Government to call him to order so it will not lead to an uproar”. He said.

    In his reaction, Amaebimo, alleged that while Buhari and the vice-President were doing their best ensure peace in the region, one Major Bernard was instigating Boroh to work in cross purposes with the government.

    He said of nothing urgent was done to address their problems, they would lock down Abuja in protest.

    “Major Bernard should leave that office because he is not from Niger Delta. Federal Government should go to the schools and confirm what the ex-militants are saying.

    “We have been enduring that Is why we have decided to come out so the public can hear. We are going to take action if Federal Government refused to act. We are coming to Abuja”, he said.

     

  • Modular Refinery: FG approves 56 licenses to operators

    Modular Refinery: FG approves 56 licenses to operators

    No fewer than 56 licenses have been approved by the Federal Government (FG) for the setting up of modular refineries in the Niger Delta region to end the era of illegal refining activities and youths agitation in the region, but no indigene of the region was given the approval.

    This was disclosed by a Lawmaker representing Omoku constituency in River state House of Assembly, Hon. Christian Ahiakwo in Port Harcourt the Rivers state capital Monday.

    Ahiakwo spoke ahead of the forthcoming Port Harcourt environmental Summit, scheduled to hold Port Harcourt, between June 13 and 14, 2017.

    He expressed doubt on the motive behind Vice President Yemi Osinbajo’s fact finding tour of the region and the promise to approve the setting up of modular refineries for the operation of the restive youths of the region when they have issued the approval to those they want to give none of who is from the region.

    “As we speak, 56 companies have been given licenses to operate modular refineries in Niger Delta region, but none of the companies is owned by indigene of the region. “Bearing in mind that militancy sprang up in the region following the perception of marginalization and exclusion of the people of the region in oil and gas business and now thus number of approval have been given without the application of any indigene of the region scaling through, I don’t know what that means,” he noted.

    The lawmaker continued and said, “These licenses were issues nine days after President Muhammadu Buhari assumed office. The Vice President only came to the region to affirm what they has already discussed and concluded.

    The Niger Delta boys that are operating illegal refining business have got the experience, they are not doing anything different from what is being done in the modern refineries, the only thing us that while they used very crude method in carrying out the work, the approved refineries use modern technology.” He explained.

    Ahiakwo was optimistic that if the Niger Delta youths are given the license to operate the modular refineries, the era of pull fire will be over and its consequent release of dangerous black sot menace in the state will gradually clear from the air.

    “On the issue of black sot in the environment, I thank the state government for the proactive steps he took in addressing the concern by setting up a committee headed by the Commissioner for Environment to identify the emission sources.

    The committee has completed the first phase of the assignment, which is the identification of possible emission sources and where they are, the next thing is to ascertain the pollutant substance each source is emitting before moving to confront them with the view of stopping it.

    Earlier the Lawmaker who is the Chairman House Committee on Environment and also the chairman Summit steering committee, Said the Summit among other issues would review environmental issues in the state with the view of possible enactment of new laws to accommodate areas of environmental concern that were not captured in the existing laws.

  • Road to sustainable amnesty programme in Niger Delta

    THE recent motion by the Senate calling on the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, to release the sum of N15 billion being the backlog of allowances and payments for the training and education of former Niger Delta militants under the Amnesty Programme, which was provided for in the 2016 budget, is a welcome development. The House of Representatives had, a day earlier, passed a similar motion.

    The timely release of the outstanding funds without further delay would save the country an international embarrassment that may arise from protests by beneficiaries of the programme, especially those receiving training in various institutions in different parts of the world. While presenting the motion on the floor of the House, Minority Leader, Leo Ogor, had drawn attention to plans by some of the beneficiaries in the United Kingdom to stage demonstrations at the Nigerian High Commission in that country to protest the delay in releasing the funds to enable them to meet their financial obligations to the institutions where they are undergoing training. Reports from South Africa, United States, Philippines, Malaysia, and other countries where former militants are also undergoing trainings indicate a similar level of restiveness, with some facing the threat of expulsion from their institutions.

    Certainly, the country can do without any untoward development that could have negative impact on its image. It is gratifying to note that the Senate does not only want the money released as soon as possible, it has also set in motion a machinery to unravel the cause of the delay, with a view to guarding against a reoccurrence in the future. Without prejudice to the findings of the Senate committee, the cause of the delay in meeting government’s obligations to the amnesty beneficiaries may not be located too far away from the government’s commitment to ensuring accountability and transparency in the disbursement of funds under the programme. A similar delay occurred in the first few months of the current administration, and only a timely intervention by the government averted an ugly situation. Without doubt, the return of permanent peace to the troubled Niger Delta hinges partly on solutions to the unemployment problem that has fuelled militancy in the region for more than a decade.

    That was what the Amnesty Programme of the late president, Umar Musa Yar’Adua, unarguably the most ambitious programme by any administration before it to address the problem of unemployment in the region, set out to achieve. Timi Alaibe, the then presidential adviser and chief executive officer of the programme, is said to have achieved the feat of not only disarming and rehabilitating the militants, about 26, 000 in number, but also succeeded in reintegrating them into the society through a hitch-free implementation of the programme. Reports claim that under Alaibe, there was a measure of transparency and accountability in execution of the programme.

    That’s why we did not hear stories of delay in paying the militants – those that are placed on monthly allowance of N65, 000 – and those in various institutions around the world for different trainings. And, by extension, no stories of demonstrations by militants over unpaid allowances. The reason for the relative ease with which Alaibe and his team executed the programme may not be unconnected with the fact that it was the responsibility of one agency, the one he headed.

    This promoted transparency, accountability and easy management in the manner funds were disbursed. It is therefore possible that problems set in when other non-concerned agencies began to dabble into execution of amnesty programmes for the militants. For instance, the mandate of the Nigerian Maritime and Safety Administration (NIMASA) does not include execution of amnesty programmes for militants. But we saw during the tenure of the immediate past administration of the agency how it reportedly got involved in sponsoring repentant militants on training programmes in different parts of the world, apart from other amnesty programmes.

    It may not be farfetched to suggest that during the immediate past dispensation, the two agencies – Amnesty Programme Office and NIMASA – may have been working at cross purposes. While it is necessary to separate the wheat from the chaff through painstaking investigation into the management of resources meant for sustenance of the amnesty programme during the previous dispensation, care must be taken to ensure it does not in itself constitute a clog in the wheel of progress in current efforts to find long and lasting solutions to the problem of unemployment in the Niger Delta region – an important component of the whole package. If need be, the federal government may find it necessary to look into the handling of the amnesty programme by Alaibe.

    It may be safe to assume that he did not execute the programme in abstract terms. He must have designed a template for its execution. This is more so because he authored the Niger Delta Development Master Plan, of which the amnesty programme is a part. There must be something on paper others can learn from. It must not be forgotten that the amnesty programme is just an aspect of what should be a holistic approach to resolving the issues of the Niger Delta. The highly commendable dialogue approach of the federal government in solving the problem of the region once and for all is evident in the relative peace that has reigned in the region in the past few months. This is just the first step. Subsequent steps should involve a more streamlined and sustainable approach to executing the amnesty programme to ensure it achieves the objectives for which it was designed, in a hitch-free manner. •Tijani, a social commentator, wrote in from Kaduna

  • Niger Delta Report causes Benin Ring Road’s clean-up

    Niger Delta Report causes Benin Ring Road’s clean-up

    Benin City centre, the Oba Ovoranmwen Square popularly called Ring Road, is now wearing a new look. Adjoining streets, such as  Lagos Street, Oba market road,Ibiwe, Ebo Street, Omo Street, Lagos Street, Mission Road, Iguisi and Palm Palm, notorious for street trading, have also been cleaned up. All the street traders, hawkers and squatters have been sacked.

    The cleaning-up of the Ring Road and adjoining streets happened seven days after Niger Delta Report published a report on its dirty state despite millions of naira spent by government to beautify it.

    Heavy vehicular traffic that used to characterise the Ring Road has been removed as commercial drivers were barred from entering the place. All motor-parks erected at the Ring Road and all adjoining streets have been closed.

    Before the state government’s recent action, the Ring Road was an eye-sore. Millions of naira spent to plant flowers, built several gardens around the Ring Road appeared to have been wasted as dirts littered everywhere. The gardens were overgrown with weed. Traders took over all spots around the Ring Road to display their wares. Efforts to chase the commercial drivers and traders away were unsuccessful.

    In preparation for the sacking of the traders, Governor Godwin Obaseki set up the Clean Up Edo Project Committee headed by Secretary to the State Government,  Osarodion Ogie. The committee carried out several sensitisation street walk on the need for the traders to stop trading on the walkways as well as leave the streets.

    Perhaps the streets traders had hoped that like in previous administrations,  government officials would attempt to clear them during the day by the use of force and destroying of wares. What the traders had expected that they would gain public sympathy during the destruction or seizing of their wares, especially with television cameras around but they were mistaken.

    Obaseki, instead, delivered a surprised upper cut that the street traders are yet to recover from. On May 8,  the street traders and squatters were shocked to see that all illegal structures they erected were demolished over night and set ablaze. What they saw were burnt tables, chairs, umbrellas, make shift stores among others. Obaseki engaged the services of the Chairman of Akugbe Ventures, Comrade Tony Kabaka, who brought his boys to join officials of the Waste Management Board for the night operation. They started the operation at about 10pm on Sunday till 7am on Monday.

    At dawn, traders who came to sell at the streets and walkways were perplexed and confused. It was not an operation they had expected. Some had already gone to buy goods from nearby villages not knowing that they have been dislodged.

    The displaced street traders expressed divergent views on whether shops were available at various markets in Benin City. Some said available shops at markets were owed my middlemen who are not traders but demanded as high as N150,000 annually while others insisted that all shops at the Oba Market have been occupied.

    They said they were not given any notice to quit the streets and walkways before they were displaced.

    Taju Bamidele, one the displaced street traders, thanked the government for taking the steps to sack them but urged Obaseki to help reduce the cost of securing a shop at the Oba Market.

    Kingsley Okeke said they bought a land at Uteh village to build an international market but the community leaders have stopped them from carrying out the project.

    Acting General Manager of the State Waste Management Board, Prince Aiyamenkhue Akonofua, said five mobile courts were stationed at various locations within the Ring Road to prosecute anybody who flouts the directives.

    Prince Akonofua, in an interview, said the traders were warned several times to quit the walk ways and the Ring Road but the traders refused and explained that the midnight action was to stamp out illegal squatters, hawkers and street traders.

    He urged the displaced street traders to take up empty shops at the Oba Market, Agbodo market and other places.

    His words: “This is is the centre of Benin City and we cannot allow it to remain dirty. Civil society groups were involved in the sensitisation. Illegal squatters, hawkers and street trading have been prohibited. We have stamped it out. They have been outlawed.  We warned them, begged them and adviced them to leave the walk ways but they did not heed the warnings and directives of government.

    “All the market women leaders are in agreement with our move. They have been ordered to make shops available to any trader looking for shops. They are ready to provide space. We have five mobile courts to try offenders. Any offender will be dealt with. They should go into the main market where they are supposed to do business.”

    Ogie said said the action was to send a message that government would no longer tolerate what he described as a “disorganised Benin City”.

    Ogie told reporters that besides the street traders that were sacked, some arms were recovered during the clean-up at the Lagos Street.

    His words: “You recall that about a month ago we had a stakeholders meeting which we invited residents from the streets around the King Square, Ebo Street, Tebite, Ugboagbe and others. We told them that we cannot continue business as usual and there was need to clean up Benin City. In doing that we also agreed that the existing markets have enough spaces for our traders. The governor inspected Oba Market and we found that half of the shop there are unoccupied.

    “The same thing Agbada market. Infact the whole of Uwa Market is empty. So today we started with Ring Road and Lagos Street, we intend to follow it up to other streets. All traders on the walk way are prohibited. We will not allow it, our roads must become passable again, traffic must flow on the Ring Road, Lagos Street and other roads. For over ten years now, Lagos Street has become impassable, but the government has resolved in clearing those areas.

    “Government has identified bus terminals so that buses do not park on Ring Road. And you recall that during the administration of Governor Adams Oshiomhole, certain roads were rehabilitated around Oba market to make traffic movable. We intend to put on ground enforcement units within our traffic agencies to make sure that buses and other vehicles do their businesses without obstructing traffic at Ring road.

    “We have a market coming up at Ute, Ikweniro, one in Oredo, another one at Sapele Road near Ekae, we have several markets in Benin but people choose to abandon them to trade on the roads. Our markets are empty, we are cleaning up all the markets for them to do their businesses but not on the roads anymore”.

    Several traders and commercial drivers who attempted to sneak back to the Ring Road have been prosecuted and sentenced to various jail terms or an option of N50,000 fine.

    This is not the first time Edo State Government would be chasing traders and commercial drivers out of the Ring Road and adjoining streets. The traders and drivers always make their way back as election approaches. The coming months will tell if Obaseki can sustain the policy of keeping the Ring Road clean and free of street traders.

     

     

  • Ekpeye people seek unity in Niger Delta

    Ekpeye people seek unity in Niger Delta

    In a bid to create a more conducive atmosphere, the Ekpeye people of Rivers State recently held a public lecture titled Towards Consciousness For Collective Development; The Peace Imperative.

    The chairman of the event, Dr. Ndubisi Adhikema, said the aim of the lecture was to bring back all Ekpeye people who were displaced, and fled their homes due to restiveness in the land for the past five years.

    “Our people were killed, harassed, and kidnapped by youths in the area, who destroyed buildings and landed properties in time past. People’s buildings were pulled down because of the continuous crisis in the region,” he said.

    Contributing to the discourse, Dr. Ahamefula Vincent Elemaya said so many died due to crisis in Ekpeye land and therefore the need to foster unity among our people.

    He also recounted how he escaped being killed by people who ambushed them at the community, leaving him with machete cuts.

    “We are trying foster of unity among our people so as to heal and treat the wounds and broken bridges between them after several years of hostility in the land. Some lost loved ones, friends, family, husbands, wives, children in cause of it,” he added.

    He said that there is a need for the community to unite again in coming together as an entity.

    “You can’t find us in any other part of the world unless where we are today,” he concludes.

    In his remark, the publisher of the Post Express, Mr. Ibezin Green, said going into journalism was a gift from God, especially as he was given a natural flair for writing, and compilation of information, and happenings around the globe.

    “I wish to elevate the standard of the publication to a National Paper by circulating nationwide and making it a tabloid of interest. Therefore, I call for a new dawn in the land as we sheath our swords for a better growth and development in the environment,” he stated.

  • ‘Militancy affecting our operations in Niger Delta’

    The Managing Director of West African Gas Pipelines Company (WAPCo), Mr Walter Perez, says militancy is affecting smooth operations of the company in the Niger Delta.

    Perez spoke at the inauguration and handover of Ajido Health Clinic, Badagry.

    News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports the clinic was built by the company for the Lagos State government.

    The managing director said supplies to other countries, such as Ghana, Togo and Benin had been affected by militant activities in the Niger Delta, adding that the issue was being addressed.

    Perez said the clinic, which cost over N80 million, was part of the company’s social project for communities where it operates.

    “This is not the first time we are building clinic or schools in our host communities.

    “We have built markets, boreholes, toilets and schools, depending on the needs of the host community,” he said.

    Perez appealed to the residents to make use of the clinic, saying the company would do more for them.

    The traditional ruler of Ajido Kingdom, Aholu Topon Toyiagai, hailed the company for the project.

    “We, the people of Ajido and its environs, express our appreciation for the honour done to us.

    “As Oliver Twist, Ajido wants more of people-oriented projects that will improve their living standard.

    “Today, history is being made and the entire citizens of Ajido at home and abroad are appreciative of this laudable gesture,” he said.

    Inaugurating the clinic, Dr Olufemi Onanuga, the special adviser on Public Health to Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode praised the company for the gesture.

    He said adequate personnel would be deployed in the clinic for  operations.

    Onanuga urged other companies to emulate WAPCO’s good gesture.