The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Niger-Delta

  • For healthy living in Niger Delta

    As part of its corporate social responsibilities, Total Exploration and Production (E&P) Nigeria Limited organised a week-long free health programme for Opobo community and its environs. SOUTHSOUTH BUREAU CHIEF BISI OLANIYI reports that the event which took place at Opobo General Hospital on Wednesday had far-reaching benefits to the people.

    Until late last year, travelling to Opobo Kingdom, the coastal ancient domain of the great King Jaja of Opobo, which is also the headquarters of Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area of Rivers State, had always been by boat; from Kono-Ogoni Waterside in Khana Local Government Area.

    The journey of about 20 minutes from Kono-Ogoni to Opobo had always been risky and dangerous. Passengers had been attacked by armed sea pirates, who rob them of their money, mobile phones and other valuables. The pirates also seized boat operators’ expensive engines and paddles with which they (pirates) move the boats to the shore.

    Aside this, some female passengers were also raped inside the boats, even as passengers who had no money or any valuables must have been seriously beaten.

    Quite unfortunately, after stealing the boat’s engine which costs about N500, 000, the criminals would sell it cheaply to ready buyers. The attacks continued unbridled, despite regular patrol of the waterways by security personnel.

    With the Ogoni-Andoni-Opobo/Nkoro Unity Road nearing completion, criminal activities on the Kono-Opobo route may be history; and soon too.

    Vehicles easily drive into Opobo. Passengers seldom patronise boat operators as travelling by river is becoming less attractive. As a result of this, boat operators have begun to lament the prospect of being out of business, even as the pirates are said to have started relocating to other parts of the oil and gas-rich Niger Delta.

    The strategic road, linking Khana, Andoni and Opobo/Nkoro local government areas of Rivers State, was initiated by the then Rivers Governor, Dr. Peter Odili (1999-2007), whose deputy, Sir Gabriel Toby, is indigenous to Opobo.

    The project was adequately supported by the administration of Rotimi Amaechi (2007-2015), now Transportation Minister, whose Commissioner for Works, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, currently the Director-General of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), also hails from Opobo.

    The present administration of Chief Nyesom Wike (from 2015) is almost completing the road despite its swampy terrain. The original soil was excavated and evacuated then sand-filled to enable it to last longer.

    In its resolve to reach out to the people of its host communities and their environs, Total Exploration and Production (E&P) Nigeria Limited has organised one-week free health programme at Opobo General Hospital as part of its Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR). The event took place on Wednesday.

    In his goodwill message, the Chairman of Rivers State Council of Traditional Rulers, His Royal Majesty King Dandeson Douglas-Jaja, who is also the Amanyanabo of Opobo Kingdom, urged the people to take issues of their health serious.

    The first-class monarch, who was represented by the Vice-Chairman of Opobo Council of Traditional Rulers, HRH Alabo Princewill Dappa, stated that health should be taken seriously by the people to enable them to live longer.

    The monarch also urged the oil giant to extend the programme to other communities in the area, even as he praised the firm for the initiative. He thanked the volunteers for attending to the people, saying many people had benefited from the programme.

    Also speaking, the Women Leader of Opobo, Mrs. Felicia Pepple said she was excited to be part of the programme, even as she commended Total for the gesture. “Health is better than wealth,” she said.

    Pepple noted that if health is lost, everything is lost, but when wealth is lost, all things are not lost. She urged the oil company to make the programme a regular one.

    “Things are very hard. No money to access quality health care. You can see the crowd here,” she said.

    One of the beneficiaries, Mrs. Rosemary Wilcox said: “The free health programme is very encouraging. It is timely and good for many of us who do not have money to go to the hospitals for checkups or treatments of various ailments. But here, we are being treated free and given free drugs, including surgeries for critical cases.”

    Another beneficiary, Miss Ibelema Oko-Jaja, praised Total for the programme which she described as so beneficial to the less privileged individuals.

    In his welcome address, the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) Community Representative, Alabo Godwin Bupo revealed that many development projects by Total were ongoing in the area. He expressed gratitude to the oil giant for the gesture.

    The Programme Facilitator, Dr. Daniel Onyetulem, stated that he had passion for saving lives and medical missions.

    Onyetulem said: “One of the major reasons people don’t go to hospitals for treatments is lack of money to settle hospital bills. The Opobo medical mission is coming at the right time, as the patients are leaving happier than they came.

    “Unwanted pregnancies, rape cases and substance abuse are rampant in this area and other parts of Rivers State, and they must be quickly addressed, especially by creating awareness through continuous campaigns.”

    The medic also praised the oil giant for the initiative, even as he praised the people of Opobo for their co-operation and warm reception.

    Chairman of Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area, Eugene Joseph Oko-Jaja pleaded with Total to consider some qualified youths of the area who are currently jobless for employment opportunities.

    Oko-Jaja, who was represented by a top official of the council, Francis Allison, called on Total to make the free health programme an annual event, while assuring that he was ready for synergy with development agencies, to move the LGA forward.

    In his keynote address at the third day of the week-long free medical service for Opobo and Nkoro communities, the Deputy Managing Director, Port Harcourt District of Total, Mr. Francois Le-Cocq revealed that it was the first time the life-saving medical outreach was holding in the LGA.

    Le-Cocq, who was represented by Total’s Community Affairs Manager, Offshore and Port Harcourt, Okechukwu Obara said: “As a company, Total E&P Nigeria Limited believes in the universal saying that healthy people make a wealthy nation.

    “We are sustaining the noble efforts of the joint venture to reach out to the critical needs of our people and support both preventive and curative health care delivery policies and programmes of government, despite the challenging business environment.

    “After two days of this programme, available statistics indicate that 450 patients have so far been attended to. Eighty-five were pediatric cases, 112 ophthalmological, four ante-natal cases, while four patients have already undergone successful surgeries. Others are awaiting further review, preparatory for surgery.

    “The figures will rise as the days go by, which is a testimony that the programme is very popular and it is highly patronised by the people.

    “The project has helped a lot of individuals and families who could not afford the cost of health care in our private clinics, against the backdrop of the current challenges facing public health sector of our states.”

    The Deputy Managing Director also hailed the joint venture partner, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), for the continuous support. He also thanked the Rivers State government for approving the team of medical personnel and volunteering its facility for the programme. He also commended other partners for the success of the event.

    In order to have healthy citizen, other oil companies, multinationals and other critical stakeholders should emulate Total to make health care accessible and affordable for the poor.

  • PIND moves to save Niger Delta with technology

    The Foundation for Partnership Initiative in the Niger Delta (PIND) has received accolades for its efforts in uplifting the poorest and most vulnerable in the  region. In this report, Shola O’Neil and Bolaji Ogundele examine the new frontier in the foundation’s war on poverty – using simple, affordable technologies to address primal challenges.

    In 2015, PIND Foundation made a bold statement on its intent to help tackle global warming with the inauguration of the Appropriate Technology Enabled Development (ATED) Centre in Egbokodo-Itsekiri, Warri Delta State.

    Then ATED Programme Manager, Nancy Gilbert explained at the unveiling ceremony what drove the construction: “They say a picture is worth a thousand words. And I would venture to add – an experience is worth a few thousand more! Being able to see, learn, and experience innovations will hopefully lead to interest, knowledge, and change.”

    The assertion aptly described ATED Centre, constructed by the Foundation for Partnership Initiative in the Niger Delta (PIND). She said PIND hoped “this building can in some small way help raise awareness of the challenges we face, and suggest solutions.”

    Nearly four years later, when a team of Niger Delta Report visited the centre, the ATED dream to use “appropriate technology – that makes sense in the Niger Delta” was in full bloom. The PIND centre has become a Mecca of sort of researchers, universities and those driven by the curiosity of what the ATED Building is all about.

    Last month PIND signed a partnership with the Ambrose Ali University, Ekpoma, Edo state, allowing the university access to its knowledge resources on appropriate technology. According to the foundation’s statement, the collaboration is aimed at promoting ATs as economic enablers in the region.

    The PIND Foundation has become one of the most innovative and forward-thinking nongovernment organisations because of its efforts to find a solution to the age-long conundrum of living in penury amidst plenty. Founded in the USA in 2010 by Chevron Nigeria Limited, PIND radical approach is encapsulated in the parable of teaching people to fish rather than giving them fish.

    The ATED Project follows the curve: although not deliberately established to address economic, health and other challenges, its works and innovations and training of ‘facilitators’ to provide useful services with ATs has not only found solutions to these problems but in doing so is imparting knowledge and creating employment through value chains.

    The idea to construct a house to communicate the diverse uses Appropriate Technologies could be put – to tackle global warming, drive attitudinal changes on how exhaustible resources are used, at the same time help the poor, lift millions out of extreme poverty and save lives in the Niger Delta – not a few sniggered.

    But the ATED team has delivered on those lofty targets.

    A cursory glimpse of the simple ATED Center from outside piques the imagination; it is captivating and demanding of a second glance. Its attractions are apparent despite its simple, and subdued elegance amidst other towering edifices in the neighbourhood, The ATED Building is alluring and captivating, not because of its simplicity, but in spite of it. From the brown brick walls to its high roof, and almost floor to roof window, everything about the building seems different.

    Adroit combination of local materials to supports the dream of energy-efficiency (using less than 75percent of a normal similar building), ensures a low maintenance house. Every material was carefully chosen to leverage on the environment, use minimal energy for cooling, cooking and lighting.

    For a nation battling with epileptic power supply, these are irresistible features and it is no wonder that pilgrims are searching it out. ATED Project Manager, Dr Teslim Giwa, an internationally certified architect and renewables expert, told Niger Delta Report that the centre is the hub for everything the ATED team does. Giwa, an advocate for sustainable environment through ATs, glows when he talked about the building and ATED projects and what they portend for the future.

    “The ATED Centre is where everything crystalizes. The vision at the beginning is that this is a centre where you go to and find all these soft knowledge, just the same way when you come to the Economic Development Centre should have experts to answer questions like what they should be investing in.”

    The building houses a library with over 1,500 materials and works on appropriate technology, yet it doesn’t just answer questions on economic and sustainable development issues; it is by itself a fountain of knowledge and empirical evidence of the numerous use of ATs.

    ATED Centre Manager, Florence Agbejule, who took our reporters and other visitors on a tour of the centre a fortnight ago, spoke about it as a loving mother would about a prodigious child.

    She explained how the choice of materials worked towards achieving its set goal. From the use of hydraform interlocking blocks moulded from laterite, ubiquitous building materials, to minimal use of cement both in moulding and erection of the walls. But in spite of using less cement, she explained that the compressed earth from which the bricks were constructed make them stronger and more resilient.

    “If you get tired of the house and feel like moving away, you can pull it down by block by block removal,” she said, stressing that the detached units could be used to build anywhere the owner chooses.

    The use of timber along with the hydroform blocks, double-glazed window panes etc. reduces heat and eliminates the need for constant use of Air Conditioners to a minimum. The compressed earth brick ensures that heat is kept out, while the use of two-layered timber roof instead of conventional ceiling boards create a buffer from heat generated by the sun beating down on the roof.

    The roof extends several feet from the external walls, this protects the wall from direct sunlight and raindrops and splashes, thereby ensuring the walls remain clean, while also keeping the heat at bay.

    Floor-to-ceiling size, the double-glazed window makes the rooms soundproof; it also helps conserve energy as coolness from just a few hours use of air-conditioner is protected from going out. This is because while the chill is trapped inside, the hot air can’t find a way through the multilayer window glass.

    The larger-than-normal windows ensure that the innermost space receives sunlight from dawn to dusk, minimizing the need for electric illuminations.

    WASTE-TO-GAS – BIO-DIGESTER

    The most astounding technology on display at the futuristic ATED Centre is the Bio-digester that converts human and food wastes to clean gas, used for cooking and powering a rarely used standby generator.

    The bio-digester provides clean and very safe energy for cooking and similarly eliminates the issue of waste management. Unlike conventional houses where the problem of filled up septic tank gives residents cause for concerns, the waste tank is tapped and then emptied for use as gas.

    It is not only human wastes that are not allowed to go to waste in this innovative building, but rainwater is also harvested and used to flush toilet and for other hygienic use. This is achieved through the connection of drain that channels every drop of rain that hits the aluminium roof into two gigantic plastic tanks. The water is then piped back into the restrooms. Agbejule said rainwater harvested into two megaliter plastic tanks lasts the all-year round.

    W.A.S.H – Bio-sand water filter

    For about six million (6,000,000) in the Niger Delta, especially inhabitants of rural communities, the dilemma that compelled the sailor in Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s “Rime of The Ancient Mariner” to cry out “Water, water everywhere nor any drop to drink” is a sad reality. Several government agencies and NGOs have made efforts to address this problem – from solar-powered water to sinking hundreds of boreholes, which mostly dry up as soon as they are ‘commissioned’ – with fanfare. Safe and accessible water remains a pipedream.

    It is against this background the PIND introduced a very simple and effective technique known as the bio-sand filter. It was first displayed in Amatu Community in Bayelsa. The apparatus, like others pioneered by ATED is so simple that it so easily undervalues its impact and importance. It is comprised of commonplace materials like a plastic bucket, pipes, pebbles/gravel and sand. The apparatus uses a very simple filtration system, which purifies the water through the biological and physical system.

    The head of ATED’s Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Project, John Nwamuo, told our reporter that PIND’s takes special interests on WASH because of its impact on hygiene, health and wellbeing of rural community dwellers. He explained that when water-borne diseases infect them, it exerts a huge toll on finances of sufferers and put their dependents at risk.

    Nwomua said the bio-sand filter takes 21 days for the process to reach t maturity after being newly constructed, stressing, “If it is constructed today, every day you pour at least 20 litres of water until 21 days and after that, the water is safe for drinking.”

    Buoyed the acceptance and success of the bio-sand filter, PIND is now working with Bayelsa state Rotary Club to install seven of the facilities in 10 primary and secondary schools in the state.

    The foundation is also working with several other organizations to implement the programme in 30 schools in rural areas. At the time our reporter visited PIND, it had reached 17 schools and benefited more than 14,000 pupils/students.

    Chorkor Oven: Fish smoking made easy

    The Chorkor oven is a fish drying technology, which was fallout from PIND’s intervention in the aquaculture value chain. In our earlier report on fish farming, operators said increased yields from the adoption of best management practices led to a glut in the market, which put them at the mercy of fish trader after every harvest.

    Chorkor Oven, which can be constructed using local materials like clay bricks, cement blocks, burnt bricks and compressed earth, dries fish faster and more efficiently. Dryers who use chorkor oven smoke as much as 200kg of fish and they get more even toned end product as heat is evenly spread.

    Besides, the technology uses less wood, as the materials and its construction ensure that heat is retained and put to maximum use.

  • EFCC raid: Niger Delta fraudsters go underground to avoid arrest

    Internet fraudsters (Yahoo Boys) in the Niger Delta have gone underground, following last weekend raid on their colleagues by security operatives in Calabar and other parts of Cross River State.

    The raid by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the police command resulted in the arrest of suspected fraudsters, including one of their suspected kingpins, Akpojivi Onoriode, 29, a graduate of Fine and Applied Arts from the Delta State University, Abraka.

    EFCC officials arrested Akpojivi, who claimed to be a shareholder of Eleme Petrochemical Company. His fate sent shockwave down the Internet underworld in the region.

    Our findings yesterday showed streets of major towns devoid of flashy cars, especially Mercedes Benz cars and Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs), which are usually the trademark of operators of 419 rackets.

    Akpojivi, who goes by a number of sobriquets, including ‘Onos B’, ‘Mr. Blinks’, and ‘Mr. White’, because of his love for white cars, clothes, houses, etc, was described as one of the ‘most highly connected operators’.

    He claimed on his Instagram page to be the chief executive officer of companies, and also a shareholder of ERPC, Port Harcourt, but security operatives and sources at the EFCC said they were just façade for illegitimate businesses.

    Those who knew him from his DELSU days told our reporter on the phone that he was a very bright student and a good painter, but made his mark as a blinker (wearer of flashy and expensive jewellery) during his undergraduate days.

    “We did not expect that he could be found out in a faraway place like Calabar, where he has being living for years now,” a source told our reporter.

    The suspect, it was gathered, left Asaba, Delta State, for Calabar and settled in the serene satellite town, a growing suburban settlement adjoining the University of Calabar shortly after he got married in 2014. He lived there with his wife and two children before his arrest last Saturday.

    Read also: EFCC arraigns ex-bank manager for N187m fraud

    “During his days in Abraka, he was very popular, along with some of his friends because of his expensive lifestyle and love for white clothes, cars and houses – his best friend (name withheld) was also popular, but his choice was red cars.

    “To celebrate his engagement to his then girlfriend (now wife) in December 2014, he bought her a white Toyota Rav4 SUV.

    “Last year, to commemorate the engagement, he bought his wife a N20million Mercedes Benz GLE and flaunted it on his Instagram page, just as he did the Toyota Corolla he bought for his mother,” the source said.

    Akpojivi’s social media pages tell the story of wealth, taste for luxurious clothes, jewellery, white cars and houses, for himself and his wife, popularly called LePosh.

    He, his wife and two daughters made regular vacation trips to exotic locations in Africa and the Middle East.

    However, yesterday in Calabar, ‘Mr. White’s house, a white duplex located in a developing area of Calabar, was deserted, as only a guard was seen loitering in an uncompleted bungalow.

    The gate was locked and it appeared no one was in, but the guard would not be drawn into discussion about the fate of the house owner.

    A resident in the area, who preferred anonymity, said the suspect’s luxurious lifestyle had always piqued his curiosity.

    “He was very quiet, but we suspected he was into something fraudulent. This is because of the kind of life we saw him living. But based on the kind of life he lived, it was not easy for him not to be noticed. I mean he is a very young man, in fact a boy, who owns such a big and fine house in an area considered a highbrow.

    ”He drives expensive cars. He has expensive items and so on. We wonder what kind of job he is doing that he has such money at such a young age. It was not really our business, so we did not go about probing. We only suspected that he was into this kind of business.

    “Most times we ran into him at a popular hotel around here and this further fuelled our suspicion of him, because of the way he spent money. As I said, he is a quiet person. We know that other boys who we suspect do these kinds of business are always loud, pouring expensive drinks and making noise. But he is not like that. He is always calm and gentle. But he is always spending money freely.”

    Police spokesperson Irene Ugbo said eight boys were arrested last week in the same area for alleged involvement in Internet fraud.

    She said they got intelligence report on the activities of the suspected fraudsters and carried out a sting operation where the boys were arrested.

    Ugbo said they were being profiled and investigations were ongoing, after which they would be arraigned.

    She said laptops and other items were recovered from them.

    It was learnt that similar raids have been planned for major cities, especially Asaba, Warri and other parts of the region where the illicit trade is prevalent.

     

     

  • JTF confirms six suspected vandals of Nembe creek pipeline explosion dead

    The Joint Military Task Force (JTF) in the Niger Delta has revealed the masterminds of the April 21 fire outbreak at Aiteo’s OML 29 oilfields died in the inferno.

    Rear Admiral Akinjidie Akinrinade, the JTF Commander, disclosed this shortly after inspecting the site of the incident in Awoba area along the 97 kilometer Nembe-Bonny oil export pipeline in Rivers.

    Akinrinade, accompanied by Rear Admiral David Adeniran, Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Naval Command, visited the site of the explosion which destroyed hundreds of metres vegetation stretch.

    He expressed regret over the fire which led to outage of crude supply from the high pressure 150,000 barrels per day Nembe Creek Trunk Line.

    The commander of the joint task force, Operation Delta Safe, however, noted that troops deployed to the area responded immediately the incident occurred.

    He explained that troops on surveillance at a nearby houseboat which arrived in the scene confirmed that all the vandals who breached the pipeline died from the explosion and fire that followed.

    On arrests, he said that although the vandals died in the act, efforts were underway to track their collaborators because the criminals involved in oil theft operated in groups.

    Akinrinade said that the joint military force would redouble its efforts against oil theft and pipeline vandalism and assured oil firms in the Niger Delta of safety of its personnel and facilities.

    “I am here for an on-the-spot assessment following the fire incident on the Nembe creek trunk line, which is a critical national asset and to restate our commitment to protecting oil facilities in the Niger Delta region.

    “This incident has adverse economic implications and the military high command is concerned; that is why I am here with my component commanders and we shall continue to provide security to the oil firms.

    Read Also: Bandits kill 50 civilian JTF, others in Zamfara

    “I assure the oil firm of security to ensure that the breached point on the line is traced and fixed,” the commander said.

    The remains of the suspected vandals and oil thieves were being recovered in the creeks when the commander visited the area.

    Local divers were seen searching for more bodies along the creeks.

    Aiteo had shut oil injection from the line following the incident and absolved itself from liabilities of not meeting the contractual obligation of crude supply due to incident.

    The trunk line had earlier been shut on March 1 and restarted on March 6, following an explosion from a well head in Nembe creek which also resulted in a fire outbreak.

    NAN

  • Using bacteria and blockchain to clean up oil spills in Nigeria

    Since the dawn of Nigeria’s oil boom era in the 1970s, the people of the Niger Delta region have had to face its devastating consequences. With more than 12,000 oil spills in the last 50 years, the region’s formerly pristine environment has turned into the oil pollution capital of the world.

    The World Health Organization has found that in Niger Delta, the drinking water supply is contaminated with benzene at levels up to 900 times WHO’s recommendation. As a result, this region in southern Nigeria risks a 24 percent increase in the prevalence of childhood malnutrition and infant death.

    A study conducted by Dr. Best Ordinioha of the University of Port Harcourt claims that the oil spills “lead to a 60 percent reduction in household food security” in the region. The problem is magnified by an increased rate of unemployment due to the emergence of Niger Delta militants who vandalize pipelines and kidnap oil workers for ransom.

    However, the national government has done little to address the oil spills in Niger Delta, despite a UN 2011 report saying it would take up to 30 years to clean up the pollution and calling for an investment of USD 1 billion to pay for it. The Nigerian government finally pledged to allocate this amount to a cleaning and regeneration program in 2016, but so far little has changed.

    Believing that 30 years is not soon enough to save the people of the region from the devastating effects of oil pollution, Chinyere Nnadi, a Nigerian entrepreneur based in the United States, founded the nonprofit Sustainability International in 2007 to revitalize the Niger Delta.

    His main goal was to clean oil spills one village at a time, and to enable young women and ex-militants to secure employment by fighting corruption. “The root of the problem is systemic corruption and the lack of transparency within society,” Nnadi said. “What we’re looking to do is to activate the locals, and arm them with new skills and tools to support their community.”

    A UCLA theater and film graduate and former MTV VJ, Nnadi is using a newly approved technology called Bioclean to conduct the cleanups. Developed by a research team led by Nnadi’s mother, Dr. Fidelia Nnadi, at the University of Central Florida School of Engineering, Bioclean is an organic, non-toxic, bacteria-based technology that degrades and restores contaminated sites in less than 30 days. It destroys the availability of hydrocarbons at a molecular level, basically killing the oil, and leaves behind nutrients that catalyze the ecosystem’s restoration.

    In 2012, the biotechnology was successfully used in the Colombian town of Chinácota to decontaminate its soil, water and vegetation in four weeks after an oil duct fracture.

    Convinced that Nigeria’s cleanup scheme was failing due to mistrust and lack of transparency and accountability, Chinyere Nnadi brought blockchain technology to the table, too. In mid-2017, Sustainability International started receiving the support of the Brooklyn-based blockchain venture studio ConsenSys and its Blockchain for Social Impact Coalition. Together they created a platform, Sela Labs, which uses cryptocurrencies to ensure that the cleanup process remains corruption-free.

    “I brought blockchain to Niger Delta because the centralized institutional nodes of accountability have been compromised,” said Nnadi. “When a system is sick, and the actors don’t trust each other, no work can be done.”

    Blockchain —a digital, decentralized, virtual ledger— provides a transparent, instantaneous and indisputable record of transactions, which is publicly accessible and verifiable. Using this technology, Sela acts as a secure payment platform, fostering trust among stakeholders and ensuring that local workers get a fair salary for their work.

    “Distributed accountability could be the way to serve the interests of all of the community stakeholders, including citizens, government and businesses,” Nnadi said.

    The nonprofit started conducting the first cleanup pilots using cryptocoins one year ago in K-Dere, a village in southern Nigeria. They expect to deploy full-scale cleanups of the Niger Delta in May.

     

    This article is being published as part of Earth Beats, an international and collaborative initiative gathering 18 news media outlets from around the world to focus on solutions to waste and pollution.

  • Imo monarchs demand implementation of Niger Delta master plan

    Traditional Rulers from the oil producing communities in Ohaji/Egbema Council Area of Imo State on Friday called on the Federal to fully implement the Niger Delta Master plan.

    They said that the full implementation of the Master Plan will cushion the hazardous effect of the oil exploration in the area.

    The monarchs, in a communiqué at the end of their meeting by the chairman of the Imo State Oil Producing Communities of Nigeria, Eze Sylvester Okwudo, frowned at “total and deliberate neglect of oil producing communities in the state for the past 50 years by various administrations”

    They warned the oil prospecting companies to stop “provoking the members of their host communities through their nonchalant attitude”.

    The traditional rulers stated most of the oil companies operating in Ohaji/Egbema LGA have flouted all the agreement reached with the oil producing communities, adding that such action and others were responsible for the growing tension and youths restiveness in the oil producing communities.

    They called on the federal government, as a matter of urgency, to give Imo State their due share as one of the coastal states in the country, adding that other coastal states in the country have received their shares of projects and other entitlements from the Federal Government.

    They appealed to the oil companies to fully implement all the agreement reached with oil producing communities in the areas to reduce tension in the communities

    The monarchs also demanded immediate commencement of repair of all Federal Government abandoned projects especially the Egbema Power Plant.

    They opined that if the Power Plant is completed, residents of the area will enjoy steady power supply like other oil producing communities in other parts of the country.

    On the earlier ultimatum by the Ohaji/Egbema Elites over the abandonment of projects in the oil producing communities, the royal fathers gave their total support, while calling on the group to remain calm.

  • FG building N’ Delta not defined by oil and gas – Osinbajo

    Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo has revealed that the federal government is building a Niger Delta that will not just defined by oil and gas, but other human capital resources.

    Speaking through his Special Assistant, Mr. Edobor Iyamu, at the first matriculation ceremony of the Nigeria Maritime University, Okerenkoko, Warri South-West council area of Delta state, Saturday, the VP noted that this is part of the development plan mapped out in the New Vision of the Niger Delta (NVND).

    Professor Osinbajo stressed that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government is “serious” about the happenings in the oil-rich region, hence its embarking on several infrastructural development such as the flagship of the Ogoniland cleanup exercise in Rivers state, the construction of modular refineries, four of which are at varying levels of completion across the region, as well as the gas flare commercialization programme aimed at seeing to the end of gas flaring in the Niger Delta.

    Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety (NIMASA), Mr. Dakuku Peterside emphasized the need for more funds to facilitate infrastructural development for the school. He said: “Work is going on at the permanent site in Okerenkoko. In addition, we are going to hold a number of engagements with the office of the vice president. All of us must work collaboratively to support the success of NMU. Again we need to inject more funds if we want this university to stand and take off on a solid note.”

    Read also: Osinbajo, Oshiomhole, others for APC summit in Anambra

    Acting Governor of Delta state, Barr. Kingsley Otuaro while commending all stakeholders for ensuring the establishment of NMU, noted its fruition is a collective aspiration of the Gbaramatu kingdom and people of the Niger Delta. Vice Chancellor, Engr. Professor Maureen Etebu urged the students to strive for excellence.

    She recalled the efforts made by various entities, including the Vice president and the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, to ensure the establishment of the learning citadel.

  • Returning the lost glory of palm oil farming in the Niger Delta

    In a quest to change the fortunes of local palm oil farmers in the Niger Delta region, PIND Foundation has trained over 6,000 farmers and facilitated deployment of multimillion naira farming technologies to the region. South-south Regional Editor, SHOLA O’NEIL, and BASSEY ANTHONY report on the foundation’s laudable palm oil intervention.

    Nigeria’s demand for palm oil is estimated at about 1.8million tons per annum, a figure which outstrips the current local production capacity of about 970,000 tons. As result, over 800,000 or about 47percent supply deficit is bridged through importation.

    Economic experts say Nigeria is expending scarce foreign exchange of about $500m on the importation of the vital commodity that could be produced locally. The development is a stark contrast of the country’s past and fall from its past as that was number one oil palm producer in the 1960s.

    It is against this backdrop that the Foundation for Partnership Initiative for Niger Delta (PIND) is receiving rave reviews from palm oil farmers for its intervention in changing the narrative of the palm oil subsector.

    The Chevron Limited funded NGO, which has invested heavily in the training of fish, cassava and poultry farmers all over Niger Delta region, has so far trained 6,206 oil palm farmers in the region. It has facilitated the acquisition of thousands of advanced technical tools like Malaysian knives, mechanical adjustable harvesters and Small-Scale processing Equipment (SSPE) for local oil palm farmers in the Niger Delta region.

    Why the concentration on the palm oil in the crude oil-rich region? PIND Foundation’s palm oil expert, Nezah Obio-Odu, told Niger Delta Report that 50percent of the about one million (1,000,000) palm oil farmers in Nigeria operates in the nine states of the region.

    Mr. Udeme Bassey is one of the lead oil palm farmers in the region. He hails from and farms in Ibesikpo Asutan, an Ibibio area, which is famous for palm oil farming in very fertile Akwa Ibom state. Bassey boasted that PIND’s intervention has opened his eyes and his colleagues’ to the fact that “farming smart is better than having extensive hectares of farmland that yield very little.”

    “You know that this is what we have been using in those good old days. You hear of Ibibio Scholarship Union, that was being done through the proceeds of the oil palm.”

    That was a long time ago, but today as population grew, the demand for palm oil has increased, and sadly too, the lure of the ‘black gold’ (crude oil) has deflected attention from oil palm farming.

    But Bassey believes that the palm oil intervention of PIND foundation is already reversing the trend. He said the state’s oil palm farmers have benefited tremendously from the PIND initiative since 2017 when they were exposed to the foundation.

    As a result, he said rather than be overawe by the guest to have vast expanse of oil palm farmland to cultivate thousands of trees to make enough money, he would rather farm in a small, more

    Nezah Obio-Odu is PIND’s Market Development Adviser who is saddled with the Palm Oil Value Chain Project.  When our reporter met her at the PIND office in Warri, she was calm and soft spoken. But when she was asked about the oil palm programme, her face lit up and she spoke with much passion and enthusiasm.

    She said the foundation’s intervention was because it saw potentials for job creation and lifting more people in the region out of poverty.

    ”The palm oil sector is made up of over one million (1,000,000) actors, out of which more than 50percent is located in the Niger Delta. That is why PIND Foundation saw it as a sector to go into to support in the economic development.

    “You know what we (PIND Foundation) do: we are looking for opportunities to create jobs and increase income for the vulnerable people and for low-income earners.

    “As part of the solution to the palm oil supply gap, PIND carried out a value chain analysis of the sector. PIND strategically looked at the whole value chain, and what is involved in the value chain. We have seedling, we have harvesting, we have processing and we have management of the farm.”

    The analysis revealed that farmers like Bassey still relied on, not just age-long practices handed down, but on the use of the same seedlings, that are not as productive as new versions, for cultivation.

    ”The overall problem why there was a gap (between demand and supply) is that the yield that farmers had is low because they don’t have the right knowledge and technology. That is why they don’t have the maximum yield. In a hectare of land, for example, a typical farmer is producing four tons of palm fruits, fresh fruit bunches (FFB). Meanwhile you can get up to 16-25tons in that same hectare of land if you use the right technology.”

    “So we started off with best management practices that are how can they take care of the farm better? How can they prune it better? How can they harvest it better? And how to harvest on time too, these small details are very important. How they clear their farms so that when the palm fruits starts falling down they can pick it up, because if the farms are not cleared, when the fruits starts falling down, you will not see them,” she said.

    At the time of this report on Tuesday evening, our findings showed that farmers are already adopting the BMP in Abia, Akwa-Ibom, Edo, Imo and Ondo states. In fact, it was learnt that more than 4,000 of the 6,206 trained have adapted the best practice. One of them, an AIC Alaoma in Imo state, told our reporter that he has been very busy spreading the knowledge. “As I am talking to you now, am on my way to Orlu for a demonstration,” he told our reporter on the phone.

    The benefiting farmers have also increased their proceeds by as much as 50percent, with yields-per-hectare climbing from the paltry four tons 10 and 12tons.

    Speaking to our reporter in his farm, Udeme Bassey said, “This is a one hectare farm which contains 150 stands. You cannot compare what you have on this farm, which operates the best management practice, with a farm that has not been given attention, even if it is three hectares.”

    “So the recent studies show that if we continue on the best management practices, applying the fertilizers four times in a year we can do harvesting every eight days.”

    “We harvest every two weeks. Initially we could not do that, but because of the training we have been able to have our harvest every two weeks and we see the yield, the FFB increase.”

    To further consolidate on the benefits of the BFP, farmers are now coalescing to take advantage of their training and numbers. “In Ibesikpo Asutan, we have a cooperative that is called Oil Palm Plantation Owners MPCS. It is the umbrella body of all the oil palm farmers in Akwa Ibom. We flagged off the first oil palm summit in the state and this was done to create awareness of this new development. This year too we will be doing it,” Bassey added.

    But if our findings are anything to go by, it is not only in the area of farming that opportunities have been created. Hundreds of jobs are now being created through the adoption of technologies in oil palm farming.

    PIND Foundation is helping the farmers switch to technologies that make farming much easier and less strenuous.

    Some of the advancements involved the use of technologies to ease the burden of farmers. Hitherto, climbers who were hired by farmers to harvest fruits from trees – some as high as 25 meters – would abandon them and harvest shorter ones without letting their employers know that they abandoned several trees because of height. As a result, farmers were losing up to fifty percent of their fruits, because those fruits would later fall off and are eaten by rodents.

    The solution to that problem, Nezah said, was a special sickle-shaped knife, known as the Malaysian knife. “It is used for very long trees so they can harvest. We also introduced them to the mechanical adjustable harvester, which is also used for harvesting; (now) they don’t need to climb anymore.”

    ”We don’t go directly to the farmers and give them these machines, we sort out equipment dealers, entrepreneurial-thinking equipment dealers who will be interested in doing this technologies because they are not always found here in Nigeria. So we started working with two organizations and they started bringing the adjustable harvester. Over 354 technologies have been sold in the Niger Delta through PIND’s support.”

    The foundation, working with the NIFOR trained local engineers and fabricators from farming clusters in Imo on the manufacture of SSPE, which help farmers extract more oil. This added additional 50percent to 10percent that they were able to achieve using the old system.

    However, oil palm farming goes beyond clearing of the bush and harvesting after about five years. Farmer told NDR that one of challenge, apart from finance, was getting the right type of seeds to plant.

    Niger Delta Report in an earlier investigation a couple of years ago had learnt that unless the right seedlings are distributed to farmers the country will continue to play second fiddle to more advanced international producers like those in Malaysia.

    Our recent findings showed too that most of the oil palm seedlings that distributors claim to be the high-yielding Tenera are actually Dura.

    Nezah told our reporter that PIND is working to promote the use of improved seed.  ”We have done promotional activities with Palm Elites, and they were in Nigeria last year. So we are providing the region with good seeds and we are linking farmers with producers.

    “Right now we are working with Allissee so that farmers will know what they are planting and be sure that what they are planting is true.”

    It was further gathered that the new seeds being promoted will producer quicker than those being used by the older generation of farmers, as they can start producing from three years, against seven of the past.

    Beyond helping farmers get the best seed, farm practice and harvest technologies, PIND is also ensuring that the old extraction methods, which give farmers very little reward for their hard works are also being replaced with more efficient technologies.

    Nezah noted that the foundation’s investigation revealed that when farmers harvest their bunches, they are only able to extract 10 percent.

    “We identified the better technology that could give between 15 and 18. The machines are called the small scale processing equipment, and also the high-capacity mill. These technologies are improved technologies than what they used to use. With these, the farmers now have 60 percent increase income,” she said.

    Working with NIFOR, the lead agency for oil palm in Nigeria, PIND has been train fabricators on how to produce and improve the system. Nezah said 114 of such machines have been deployed in the Niger Delta.

    Still, for farmers like Bassey, having the right technologies and the best seedlings are good, but the best for them is having access to the fund to make their dreams a reality.

    ”We do not have the fund in getting these improved seedlings called tenera and the fertilizers are on the high side. We are also calling on the Federal Government as well as the state government and the local government authorities to look into the oil palm sector,” he said.

    To address the challenge of finance, efforts are being made by PIND to link farmers to Central Bank of Nigeria Agric SME Scheme, which has a low interest rate of 5percent per annum.

    On the bright side, these interventions are already yielding dividends with over 4,100 (60%) of the 6,206 BMP trained farmers now adopt best practices to increase their yields and income.

    Similar success stories are being told in the n the area of processing, where processors and millers are gainfully employed and offering services to other processors.

  • Queen Diette-Spiff begins clean-up of Brass in Bayelsa

    The President of the Royal Queens of the Niger Delta and Queen of Twon Brass Kingdom in Bayelsa State, Dr. Josephine Diete-Spiff at the weekend commenced the cleanup of the oil rich community.

    She engaged 40 youths to clean up shores, river banks and canals in the kingdom as part of activities of her pet projects.

    The queen at the inauguration distributed brand new sanitation materials and equipment comprising garbage buckets, storage bowls, wheelbarrows, rakes glove, helmet, vests and others to the 40 beneficiaries.

    The queen, who is the founder of Lady Josephine Diette Spiff Foundation, said the programme was designed to enhance the hygiene of the kingdom.

    She said  the initiative would promote lasting peace on the island through community service and encouragement of the youths to appreciate the value of hard work.

    She commended the youths for their enthusiasm and determination saying the programme was appreciated by the participants and other community members.

    Read Also: Crisis rocks Ijaw Youths Council in Bayelsa

    She urged wealthy individuals and corporate organisations to identify with the programmes to ensure peace in the troubled kingdom.

    She, however, acknowledged the support of some notable members and corporate citizens of Twon Brass to the project including the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC).

    She said: “The subsequent cleanup exercise is ongoing. So far the clean up exercise is excellent. This is my promise kept and kudos to my able precious youths. They are working hard and I am very proud of them. It’s a test project that has no time frame for now. We are on a weekly plan and we hope to continue.

    “We encountered many teething  problems at the beginning but wisdom did prevail and the youths are beginning to understand the concept of team work and earning a living. It’s a pet project and any support is welcomed.”

    The Youth President of Twon-Brass Kingdom, Ebiegberi Aboh said the project helped the environment, the community and the youths.

    He said the lives of the youths had been transformed and called on political leaders to emulate the queen’s kind gesture.

    He said: “Before now, most of the youths have been wondering about, jobless and no form of engagement. Most of them are well educated though but because there was no opportunity to get them engaged in meaningful activity, they end up been involved in drugs and other violent acts.

    “But this one month they have been involved in this activity, a lot of difference have been seen in their lives by their way of living and their activities. If every leader can come out in a small capacity to pick the  youths from the creeks, it will reduce the unemployment level and the joblessness of the youths.

    In a response, one of the beneficiaries, Dennis Ebiegberi said the youths had not been given such opportunity for a long time, adding that the cleanup project initiated by the queen engaged them in meaningful ventures.

    “The queen mother has been so good to us. She is trying to help us out by giving us a token. It has been a huge benefit for us and we are very grateful to her for bringing this to our door step. We just need more so that this thing can move forward so that our younger ones can also benefit”, he said.

     

  • Entrepreneur seeks empowerment in Niger Delta

    An entrepreneur in the oil and gas sector, Mr Keniebi Okoko, has urged the government to empower the Niger Delta people.

    He identified poor mental disposition of many people in a state like Bayelsa as the cause of poverty in the midst of plenty.

    Okoko, who spoke in Yenagoa, said poverty of the mind is worse than material poverty.

    He said it was ironical that while the state is endowed with abundant natural resources, the people have not been exposed to the right kind of education to develop their mental abilities.

    “Well, I believe that Bayelsa as a whole needs to focus on education. Mental poverty is worse than financial poverty. If a mind is not developed and equipped, a man cannot give what he does not have.

    “Our people are not completely exposed to good education systems. Our people are not well travelled like other tribes, if you look at our rich natural endowments, you wonder why we cannot harness and turn them to wealth.

    “If you look at Singapore, it is an Island with no oil deposit, but it has oil refineries. Our state, Bayelsa, is larger than Singapore and we have so much oil and gas deposits and other minerals, yet development seems to have eluded us because we lack the right mentality, we need to think right.

    “The Ijaw man is determined to succeed. If you give the Ijaw man the right playing ground, he will perform, I can assure you. So, I believe that what we should do as a people is to focus on education,” Okoko said.

    He, however, said the emphasis on education should not be restricted to classroom education, but should include skill acquisition for the less privileged, who might not be able to afford university education.

    “Creating skill acquisitions with the right personnel to man them, gives you the opportunity to train the less privileged on the skills that can develop them,” he said.

    Read also: Buhari to senators-elect: avoid pitfalls of Eighth Senate

    He commended the Seriake Dickson-led government in Bayelsa for the investment it has made in the education sector and called for more of such efforts in the sector.

    “I think the governor has given it a good try. I think that the intentions are good. I believe that he has genuine intentions for the job, and I believe he has tried his best.

    “My duty as a leader is to try and add to what he has done; to build in any way we can help the government to improve where they have stopped in any capacity we find ourselves with good suggestions,” Okoko said.