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Tag: Oredo

  • PDP clears Oredo, Esan North East/Esan South East

    Candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party have been declared winners for Oredo Federal Constituency and all the seats in Edo Central Senatorial district.

    In Oredo, incumbent Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama defeated candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Osaigbovo Iyoha.

    Ogbeide-Ihama polled 32,895 votes to Iyoha’s 23,352 votes.‎

    Returning Officer, Prof. Elizabeth Omotunde Ogbechukwu who announced the results said “having met all requirements, I hereby declare him winner of the election”.

    Read also: Atiku wins at Kaduna Deputy Governor’s LG

    In Edo Central, Hon Segius Oguns polled 25,581 to defeat Joseph Ikpea of the APC who scored 18,687 votes.

    Hon Oguns was declared winner of the Esan North East/Esan South East constituency by INEC returning officer, Dr Francis Abiegue.

  • Polls: Obaseki hails process, says turnout, security impressive

    Edo State Governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki, has commended voters in Edo State for coming out en masse to cast their votes, describing the voting process as smooth and impressive.

    Obaseki and his wife, Betsy, both arrived their polling unit (Ward 4, Unit 19) in Emokpae Primary school, Oredo Local Government Area of the state, at exactly 9:55am and voted at about 10:17am. His wife voted earlier at exactly 10:15am.

    The governor who also expressed delight at the conduct of security personnel at the polling unit, said: “The voting process has been smooth and orderly so far and the turnout is good.

    Read Also: Oshiomhole, Obaseki meet APC leaders in Edo

    “We have not received any security incidents so far. We have made provisions for aerial, land and water surveillance and I am optimistic that the process will be peaceful all through”.

    He assured that there would be no voter apathy in the state as his party, the APC, had sensitised voters in the state to participate in the elections.

    It was gathered that voting materials arrived Emokpae Primary School as early as 7:30am while accreditation and voting commenced at 8:10am.

     

  • PDP leaders defect to APC in Oredo

    PDP leaders defect to APC in Oredo

    Notable leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party in Oredo Local Government Area yesterday defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    They said they will not want to sink with the PDP in Edo State.

    Among the PDP leaders were Dennis Evbuomwan, Rose Aguebor, Madam Golden Penny, Tony Ailile and Dr. John Ebima Ogbeide.

    The former PDP leaders were received by the National Chairman of the APC, Chief John Oyegun.

    Dr. Ogbeide said he resigned from the PDP because he was used and dumped.

    Ogbeide said he found Godwin Obaseki to be an astute financial manager when they worked together in the finance committee for the election of Governor Adams Oshiomhole in 2006/2007.

    He called for their immediate integration the APC at the unit level for the purpose of defeating the PDP at the poll.

    Former PDP leader in Oredo Dennis Ebvuomwan said: “When the ship (PDP) is sinking, you don’t sink with it. We will deliver APC on September 10.”

    The Chairman of the APC, Anslem Ojezua, said the defectors were the remaining significant armour left in the PDP.

    His words, “These are the real caucus of the PDP. The backbone of the PDP is broken today. I have been praying that Dennis should come to join me in the APC.”

  • ‘The state in which I met Oredo was appalling’

    ‘The state in which I met Oredo was appalling’

    That was the state of Oredo when you came in?

    It was nothing to write home about but because of my orientation, I swung into action. I felt that before we start our environmental sanitation outside, we must have our environment clean. That is what informed the renovation and the building of more offices around the council secretariat.

    How much was the IGR when you assume office and what is the amount presently?

    When I got in, there was nothing in the IGR account because they said some group of people who felt they have monopoly of power put a stop on the revenue collection hence there was no money in the treasury. I immediately called the staff and they briefed me on what had been happening. I then set-up an 18-man committee to serve as agent to collect the revenue and in the first month we got over N7m. We are still trying to improve on it. I actually met nothing in the account.

    You said nothing from IGR but there were revenue from the cemetery, marriage registry and others. What happened?

    Money was paid in from these areas but there was nothing in the IGR account. The hand-over paper was clear about it. The money from those areas I guess was being used to manage the day to day running of the council.

    When are we going to start seeing the council working on the streets?

    I am barely four months old in the office and the season will not allow me embark on grading and road construction. We just awarded construction of six roads including drains to create a long term span for them. We intend to do more as the cash comes in. We have also awarded (contract for) the renovation of the cemeteries. In three months, you will begin to see work going on.

    We see agents harassing people to pay taxes against your campaign promise that individuals would not be used to collect revenue for the council.

    I didn’t say I was not going to give revenue to agents but I promised to eliminate monopoly when one man will hold onto the resources of the local government. I said the idea of paying council 10% of the revenue whereas they got 80% will not be tolerated. When I got here there was nothing but today I have been able to generate N7m in the second month from the day to day collections. We have gotten N30m from tenement rate we collect yearly. We have billboards which we have given to a consultant to handle for us because of the fraud taking place before now. We have the liquor committee being put in place. By next year, our IGR would have improved. I did not meet any structure on IGR.

    What about what you get from the federation account?

    That is nothing to write home about. A lot of people read on the papers that Oredo got over N100m from the Federation Account and they would not put into consideration the presence of teachers which collect N118m as salaries and the wage bill is about N53m. By the time these monies are paid out, I am left with nothing to deliver on my electioneering promises. I decided to look inwards in line with the law in trying to ensure we tap our IGR legally to enhance the financial situation of the council. I believe in effecting change.

    What legacy do you want to leave?

    We have awarded contracts that will bring better life to our people. This is the first time Oredo local council is awarding road construction contracts after a long time. With what we have done, we are going to leave a beautiful council in a positive aspect. What I intend doing is to create accessible road during the dry season to the rural areas. We want to open up the rural roads. My programme for agriculture is to create a processing factory and a ready market for the products. I am discussing with a company in Italy to set-up a processing factory. We have also discussed that our equity would be the land we are giving to them. In another few months, go to the cemetery and you will appreciate what we are doing. We are emulating the western standard of how cemetery should look. We want to create a different dimension.

    Are you taking your boys off the street following directives by the Ministry of Transport in terms of wrong parking charges?

    I looked at the law and it was clear that wrong parking charges are a function of the local government and not the state. There is a misinterpretation of wrong parking charges and traffic control by the Ministry of Transport. Anybody that parked in a place not designated for parking, it is the local government purview according to Local Government Law as amended. The Permanent Secretary should look at the law before making comments.

     

  • Alison-Madueke praises Net-Work Oil for Oredo gas project

    Alison-Madueke praises Net-Work Oil for Oredo gas project

    The Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke has commended Net-Work Oil and Gas Limited, and indigenous oil service company, for the completion of the construction of the first phase of the Oredo Integrated Gas Handling Facility (IGHF).

    The facility owned by the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), is located at the Oredo oil field in oil mining lease (OML) 111 in Edo State, has begun to deliver 65 million standard cubic feet per day (scf/d) of gas for domestic use, especially the power plants under the National Integrated Power Project (NIPP).

    When the project is completed, it will have the capacity to deliver 100 mmscf/d of gas.

    The minister commended the Managing Director of Net-Work Oil and Gas, Mr Clifford Osawaru and the NPDC for exceeding the government’s expectation in the project’s delivery. The facility is a 100 per cent local content facility.

    The Minister said since the Nigerian Content Act was signed into law in 2010, indigenous marketers, operators and service providers in the downstream sector of the oil and gas industry have developed capacity. She said: “I think the Oredo gas plant is a fantastic example of this sort of indigenous enterprise where a wholly indigenous crew has worked with the NPDC to bring a gas plant to fruition within the shortest possible time; and to make good Mr. President’s 12 month emergency gas supply plan.

    “It is wonderful for us and very satisfying for me and the Group Managing Director of NNPC to see that by the end of 2013, this plant alone will be supplying to the domestic gas market a hundred million standard cubic feet of gas per day. Already, as we speak, it has ramped up and is supplying 76 mmscf/d of gas, and I think that is quite amazing.”

    She stressed that with the commissioning, the country will be getting gas for power supply as well as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for domestic consumption. The spin off effect will further assist in moving the economy forward by opening up the service sector to indigenously owned companies to be able to produce a facility like the IGHF.

    The Group Managing Director of NNPC, Andrew Yakubu, said the Oredo IGHF is unique and dear to NNPC because it is the first major gas development project which is aimed at the realisation of a strategic road plan of being an integrated and oil and gas company. It is also special because it symbolises our response to the Federal Government’s gas to power initiative.

    He said: “NPDC produces an average of 130, 000 barrels per day and ranks as the fifth largest oil producer in the country. NPDC is poised to surpass its target of 250 barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2015.

    “Where we are standing today in Oredo covers a block of about 460 square kilometres consisting of three fields with an average production of 6, 000 barrels per day and with more prospects for further development. The average production from this field in the past 15 years was stagnated at less than 1,000 barrels per day. This facility also has the capacity to eliminate gas flaring in compliance with the Federal Government environmental requirements. Furthermore NNPC, NPDC are pursuing with vigour the development of more resources in order to provide gas to Pan Ocean Oil Company limited to optimise the utilisation of its Ovade Ogharefe gas plant.”

    Osawaru thanked the minister and the NNPC chief for giving the company the opportunity to prove that Nigerian companies have all it takes to excel. “I want to express my appreciation to President Goodluck Jonathan, the minister, the NNPC group managing director and the Federal Government for giving us the opportunity to showcase our capabilities. With this plant, there will be no doubt that Nigerian companies have come of age in the oil and gas sector.”

    The Managing Director of NPDC, Victor Briggs said the oil and gas reserves in the Oredo asset has increased by almost 400 per cent. “Today, NPDC has two rigs on location. One completing the Oredo South well, which is part of the 100 million scf/d of gas that will be supplied through the Pan Ocean facility. The other rig is in our offshore location in OML 119. By the end of 2013, a total of four drilling rigs, that is one offshore, two land and one swamp will be working for us. We are set to meet the target set for us to attain 250,000 barrels per day of oil production by 2015.”

  • Sacked Oredo council chief reports to work

    THE Transition Committee Chairman of Oredo Local Government Council, Mr. Ekpen Erediauwa, yesterday resumed duty at the council secretariat, despite the House of Assembly’s resolution, which dissolved caretaker committees in the 18 local government areas.

    Last Wednesday, the lawmakers directed the committee chairmen to hand over to the Head of Service of their various councils.

    Governor Adams Oshiomhole, at a meeting with the transition committee chairmen, said he was yet to receive copies of the resolution.

    When The Nation visited Oredo Council Secretariat yesterday, Erediauwa and other members of the caretaker committee were in their offices.

    Effort to get comments from them was unsuccessful.

    The Head of Service was said not to be on his desk and officials in the office of the Head of Personnel Management refused to comment.

    Majority Leader of the House Phillip Shuaibu, on a live television programme, said the resolution stands.