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Tag: Port Harcourt

  • Ogoni cleanup fund intact says BOT

    …will not be diverted, FG assures stakeholders

    The Federal Government has assured indigenes of Ogoniland in Rivers state the the funds meant for the implementation of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Report, is sacrosanct to the project.

    The Minister of State for Environment, Ibrahim Usman Jubril gave the assurance at the 2nd stakeholders meeting on the implementation of the UNEP report on Ogoniland cleanup project by the Federal Ministry of Environment through the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP), in Port Harcourt, the state capital on Friday.

    Represented in the event by a head of department in the ministry, Dr.  Ishaku Mohammed,  Jubril insisted that no part of the fund meant for the cleanup of the oil impacted sites in My homeland would be diverted into any other use, noting that Ogoni cleanup exercise will serve as a template for the cleanup of the entire Niger delta region.

    He said: “Funding is the area of concern. We have opened EXCO account. We assure that the money for the project are sacrosanct for the project and will not be diverted for other uses.

    “The structure of the process is formidable that no single member or individual can withdraw without going through the due process.

    “Provide credible feedback as concerns the clean up that is the only way we can appreciate the federal government for having the political will to implement the remediation.”

    Corroborating the Minister, the President of KAGOTE, a social cultural organization in Ogoniland, who is also a member of Board of Trustee (HYPREP), Dr. Peter Medee, disclosed that the board has successfully opened an account with a foreign bank, adding that the success would guarantee security of funds for the project.

    “The Ogoni Trust Fund has been incorporated. Two Ogonis are trustees in the fund. Ogoni can use the fund without interference from the federal government and it is done in such a way that change in administration will not affect the project.

    Read Also: Ogoni cleanup

    “No part of the fund for the cleanup is missing. We have received the fund from the International Oil Companies (IOCs) led by Shell. The first part of the money has been received and is now in the Ogoni Trust Fund. An Ogoni son is one of the three signatories to the account.

    “We have successfully opened an account with Standard Chartered Bank of London. We are now sure that the fund is secured. The structures for the cleanup are serious,” Medee said.

    Also, the President of Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People, MOSOP and Member of the Governing Council, Leborsi Pyagbara, stated that Ogoni people want clean environment.

    He said: “We asked a question to stop Ogoni environment from devastation. It is only our collective will collective support that will make the project a success. For us, we I’ll continue to raise alarm.

    “I got news that all the funding for this year for the project have been provide. It is left for us to see house we can put things in place to see that the cleanup is carried out.”

    FG also assured that all the money so far paid for the sake of the process were intact in a designated account, adding that Ogoni Trust Fund has been incorporated.

    For Prof. Ben Nannen, a member of the governing council for the exercise,  peace is paramount to the desired success in the project, but noted that this could only be achieved when the livelihood aspect of the Report is implemented with people economically empowered to be able to fend for themselves while the exercise lasts.

    “I appeal for peace in Ogoni. Now that the project is on we need peace so we can achieve the process.

    “We also need livelihood. It is as much important to us as the cleanup itself. We must find a way of putting food on the table of Ogonis.

    “What is there should be leveraged with donor agencies support to give a robust livelihood to the people.” he said.

  • NSITF will no longer be a cash cow – Ngige

    Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige has said that despite the huge financial scandal uncovered at the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), the agency will no longer be used as a cash cow for any individual or group.

    The Minister who spoke when he inaugurated a Seven-Man Implementation Committee on the Report of the Administrative Panel of Inquiry into the financial affairs of the fund, said the government will do everything possible to re-position the fund to save it from going the way of other agencies like it that have gone under as a result of mismanagement.

    Addressing the members of the committee drawn from the office of the Accountant General of the Federation, Office of the Auditor General of the Federation, the Private Sector and the Ministry of Labour and Employment with Permanent Secretary, Mrs Ibukun Odusote as Chairman, Sen. Ngige recalled said the government places high premium placed on the religious implementation of the report by the Federal government.

    He described the implementation committee as key to charting a new course for the agency, adding that its constitution is a presidential directive.

    “The Federal Government finds it desirable that that report of the Administrative Panel of Inquiry into the financial affairs of the NSITF be religiously implemented in order to give the agency a new lease of life.

    “The President gave approval for this Inter-Ministerial Committee because of the humongous nature of the problem so as to ensure broad participation of experts from other ministries and preclude any accusation of narrow interest.

    “You are aware that in the last seven months or so we have directly tried to salvage that agency from going the way of similar Federal agencies like National Economic Reconstruction FUND (NERFUND) where massive looting became an albatross, sinking the organization.

    Read Also: Be guided in your utterances, Ngige tells Oshiomhole

    “In case of the NSITF, there is no law and order as per financial spending, no vote book, no internal audit mechanism, no transparent procurement plan that gives government value for money , no audited account for the last six years, occasioning massive loss of funds, inability to pay compensation, death benefits , and even investment on behalf of the organization.”

    The Minister charged the committee to strictly abide by the directive of the President to work expeditiously and round off assignment within two weeks from the date of inauguration so as to pave way for the inauguration of the board.

    “We want to create a new NSITF that will be financially stable to fulfil its objectives,” he said, warning members to be steadfast and shun distractions and overtures from interested parties.

    He further charged them, “You will look into the Auditor General’s Check Report which we engaged the relevant section of the constitution to obtain because there has been no audited account in the agency for six years.

    “You will also consider the fate of some of the staff members sent on compulsory leave to allow for an unfettered access to the books of their departments.

    “The innocent will be re-instated while those who corruptly enriched themselves or neglected their responsibilities won’t come back. We shall engage the necessary government mechanism in disengaging such staff in such a way that we don’t breach the public service rule.”

    He also urged the committee to work out concrete plans for the creation of tax desk in the agency, the lack of which he said, resulted in the billions of Naira in tax deductions not remitted to relevant government agencies, in turn, leading to the closure of the agency’s branches in Port Harcourt and Onne in Rivers State as well as in Owerri, Imo State. “The problems dogging the agency are gargantuan and unknown to many armchair critics,” he added.

    Speaking on the ownership of the NSITF, Senator Ngige said the fund was “one hundred percent Federal Government organization”, explaining however that its tripartite nature is a result of workers and employers involvement.

    He said “I am explaining this because there is an insinuation in some quarters that NSITF contains workers’ money. The contributions therein are premium paid on behalf of workers by employers and nothing more. The workers benefit from the fund just as their employers. Ignorance of this fact has made some people assert unnecessary rights over its management.”

  • NiMet predicts thunderstorms, rains, cloudy weather for Monday

    The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has predicted morning thunderstorms over cities in the Central States of the country such as Ilorin, Minna, Abuja, Jos, Lafia and Bauchi on Monday morning.

    NiMet’s Weather Outlook by its Central Forecast Office in Abuja on Sunday also predicted day and night temperatures in the range of 25 to 33 and 18 to 23 degrees Celsius respectively.

    It added that there were chances of thunderstorms over Gombe, Lafia, Jos, Kaduna, Abuja, Makurdi and Lokoja axis later in the day.

    The agency predicted that southern states would experience prospect of cloudy morning with chances of rains over places like Awka, Ikom, Abakaliki, Obudu, Ogoja, Port Harcourt, Eket, Warri, Calabar, Ijebu-Ode and Lagos.

    It also predicted chances of thunderstorms and rains over most parts of the region with day and night temperatures of 27 to 31 and 21 to 24 degrees Celsius respectively.

    According to NiMet, Northern States will experience cloudy condition over the Inland of the south west with possibility of light rains over the remaining parts of the region in the morning.

    It also predicted thunderstorms and rains over the entire region with day and night temperatures in the range of 27 to 32 and 20 to 25 degrees Celsius respectively.

    “Cloudy conditions with prospects of thunderstorms and rain in varying intensities are anticipated over the country within the next 24 hours” NiMet predicts.

  • Rivers residents laud govt, navy over declining hydrocarbon pollution

    Some residents of Port Harcourt and Bolo communities have lauded the Federal Government, Rivers Government and the Nigerian Navy for taking steps to end hydrocarbon pollution in the state.

    A cross section of respondents who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday said the soot emission had suddenly disappeared from their homes and places of work.

    NAN also reports that Rivers has been grappling with soot emission blamed on the activities of illegal oil refiners as well as indiscriminate burning of tyres and certain activities in abattoirs that affected the ecosystem.

    “It is gratifying to note that the soot menace which we have all been worried about has all of a sudden vanished from the atmosphere,” Joseph Ada, a civil servant, said.

    Lucy Offor, a banker, said reduction of the soot was timely in view of the grave health risk the air pollution had on the health of the people.

    “My hope is that government and particularly the Nigerian Navy continue to do whatever they are doing to avoid resurgence of illegal refining sites in the state.

    “It is too real to be true that we are again breathing seemingly quality clean air after several months of breathing contaminated oxygen and hydrocarbon particles,” she added.

    Chibuzor Obiora, a spare part dealer in the popular Ikokwu Market, described the declining soot as a welcome development to business in the market.

    Etim Udoh, a teacher, however, said the rainy season might have contributed to the reduction of soot in the atmosphere, pointing out that the situation would become clearer during the dry season.

    An operator of one of the destroyed illegal oil facilities in Bolo community, Abgede Oloye, attributed the soot reduction to ‘Swam Buggy’ operation launched by the navy in the destruction of illegal refineries.

    Oloye, who expressed mixed feelings over destruction of his illegal bunker site, agreed the site and other illegal refineries commonplace in the area were partly responsible for the soot.

    “The Navy has reduced our sites to scrapes. However, the air pollution has reduced and we no long take drugs to treat ourselves of the smoke we inhale at the sites,” he explained.

    Capt. Victor Choji, Executive Officer, Nigerian Navy Ship Pathfinder Port Harcourt, said the navy was winning the war against oil theft and soot pollution in the state.

    He explained that the swam buggy approach was a strategy that completely crushed metallic tanks and reduced capability of oil thieves to revive their illegal oil refineries.

    “We are using a multi-faceted approach in tackling the soot knowing that unlawful refining of crude oil was major source of funding for sea pirates and other criminal elements.

    “If people could build illegal refineries; they can equally use same ingenuity to create legitimate means of livelihood for themselves,” he said.

    The Rivers Commissioner for Environment, Prof. Roseline Konya, agreed that the soot had reduced, thanks to joint efforts of the State Government, the navy and other stakeholders.

    “Government set up a technical committee; task force and employed the services of experts to tackle the soot. We thank God that the soot has reduced,” she noted.

     

  • Port Harcourt hosts hearing on corporate governance code

    Stakeholders at a one-day public hearing on Nigerian Code of Corporate Governance (NCCG) have advocated for the adoption of the code by companies and organisations in the country to strengthen their businesses and position them for growth and longevity.

    The event held in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, was organised by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) of Nigeria.

    The FRC presented was the draft of the Nigerian Code of Corporate Governance, 2018, a review of 2016 draft.

    The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SEPLAT, an indigenous oil and gas company, Austin Avuru, and the President Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, (PHCCIMA), Dr. Emi Membere-Otaji, said the code was the panacea for incessant death of businesses.

    Avuru, who was the special guest of honour, hailed NCCG for the outstanding recognition and acceptance it has accorded to his business.

    Represented by the company’s Legal Adviser, Mrs. Obianuju, Avuru said: “Good corporate governance is not the easiest way of doing business but it takes discipline to observe, but when applied correctly,  it gives you bulk, it gives you backing. Good corporate governance is an international investors safety measures against in-country risks.”

    Dr.  Membere-Otaji expressed the optimism that the guidelines would promote ease of doing business and reduce unemployment rate in the country.

    He said:  “When companies and organisations imbibe good corporate governance, they will do things right, their survival rate will be higher, when this happens, employment generation and sustainability will be higher.

    “This code does not necessarily apply to just big companies, but also small scale companies and industries as well as NGOs. It will certainly help them to do better and possibly outlive their founders.”

    The Executive Secretary of FRC, Daniel Asapokhai, said the code would attract local and foreign investments and enhance the integrity of the capital market by entrenching a culture of disclosure, transparency and accountability.

    According to the FRC boss, the code was developed based on a comprehensive review of the suspended 2016 code of corporate governance by a 15- man technical committee and extensive consultative and collaborative engagement with a wide range of stakeholders and other regulators.

    He said the NCCG would apply to all public companies, whether listed or not, all private companies and other regulated entities, concession and privatised companies as well as regulated private companies.

     

  • No disquiet in Customs, says PRO

    …says Hameed Ali doesn’t limit performance 

    The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) Public Relations Officer (PRO), Mr. Joseph Attah on Thursday  said that the Comptroller-General, Col. Hameed Ali (rtd) debunked online publication that there was disquiet in. 

    He noted that the CG does not limit legitimate performance of duty in the service.

    According to him, who spoke with The Nation on phone, the report claimed that the anxiety was among top echelon of the service: the Deputy Comptroller-Generals and Assistant Comptroller-Generals.

    The report, he said, also claimed that “a person around me (PRO) told them in confidence the CGC is starving me of logistic to do my job. They added that I cannot complain publicly.”

    Read Also: Customs Strike Force goes tough

     Attah, who noted that the Customs boss does not limit legitimate performance, however, pointed out that that it was the same Comptroller-General that approved his official trip to Port Harcourt, where he was when the mischievous story broke.

    His words: “Incidentally, my attenuation was drawn to this mischievous publication when I was even outside the headquarters performing my official duty. So, who approved my journey? Is it not the same Comptroller-General?

    “The Comptroller-General that I know is not a man who limits you or dictates to you once he is convinced that he knows what you are doing. He gives you free hand to do your job.”

    Describing it as laughable for one to conjecture disaffection in the Service at the moment that it is progressing than ever, he said that compliance with the policies of the NCS has never been optional.

    He said that “there is no disquiet in the service, loyalty in the service is not an option. Nigeria Customs Service is a para military organization and therefore loyalty is not an option. I have personally tried to investigate all the boys that work under me and nobody said so. If they said somebody around me said so, they should be bold enough to tell me the person. They cannot cry more than the bereaved. 

    Continuing, the spokesman insisted that “cheap display of an agenda cannot fly in the place of a man whose antecedent is predicated on discipline, truth and integrity.”

  • NDDC resumes foreign scholarship scheme

    Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) says it has concluded plans to resume its Post-Graduate Foreign scholarship to qualified indigent youths in the Niger Delta.

    Mr Ibitoye Abosede, NDDC’s Director of Corporate Communications, announced this in a statement in Port Harcourt on Wednesday.

    He stated that the Governing Board and Management of the company had met and approved the commencement of the 2018 award process worth about 30,000 U.S. dollars per annum.

    He noted that the programme was cancelled earlier to allow the commission to carry out comprehensive restructuring of the scheme.

    He stated that “NDDC regrets the cancellation of the inconclusive 2017 award process and the inconveniences suffered by students who applied for the scholarship.

    “To this end, all outstanding tuition for recipients of the scholarship have been cleared. This is to provide a fresh start and a seamless process.

    “However, any student who has proof of non-receipt of payment should feel free to contact the commission immediately.”

    Read Also: NDDC Resumes Post-Graduate Foreign Scholarship Programme

    Abosede explained that the scheme covered disciplines in engineering, medical sciences, computer science technology, geosciences, environmental sciences, agriculture, environment, oil and gas law and project management.

    He added that advertisement for the scholarship would be published in national media and the commission’s website.

    Established in 2010, the scholarship is designed to produce top level professionals with technical manpower, capacity and expertise to compete in oil and gas industry and in other sectors.

    So far, 1,409 students have benefitted from the programme, including Charles Igwe, whose unique redesign of the Turcot Interchange road saved the Montreal Area Municipality (Canada) over one billion dollars.

    Igwe is a Ph.D student of Construction Engineering at Concordia University in Canada.

    Similarly, Mr Ubong Peters won a global three-minute thesis competition.

    The NDDC spokesman, therefore, urged interested and qualified candidates to take advantage of the opportunity to apply for the foreign scholarship.

  • Rivers LG Polls: We are on standby – Army

    The Nigerian Army on Friday said soldiers would be on standby to forestall possible violence in Saturday’s council elections in Rivers.

    Col. Aminu Iliyasu, Spokesman of the Nigerian Army 6 Division, Port Harcourt, told our reporters that  soldiers would be deployed at strategic points several kilometres away from polling centres.

    He explained that the army was adopting that position because “we are not directly involved in the election and no soldier is going to be deployed for any election duty’’.

    Read Also: Army re-strategising to end insecurity, says Buratai

    According to Iliyasu, it is only the Police and Department of State Security that have the constitutional responsibility to provide security in the election.

    “However, we are always on alert whenever there is election. We will only be on standby at the periphery in case our services are needed,” he said.

    Iliyasu said that soldiers were banned from going into polling centres and escort polling materials to the centres.

    The Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) will conduct the elections in the 23 local government areas of the state.

    NAN

  • NiMet predicts cloudy skies, rains, thunderstorms for Saturday

    The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has predicted cloudy weather conditions over the central states of Nigeria on Saturday morning with prospects of thunderstorms and moderate rains over Niger and Yelwa.

    NiMet’s Weather Outlook by its Central Forecast Office in Abuja on Friday also predicted day and night temperatures in the range of 28 to 36 and 17 to 24 degrees Celsius, respectively.

    It added that thunderstorms were expected to prevail over Mambilla Plateau, Abuja, Ibi, Yola, Lokoja, Makurdi and Ilorin in the afternoon and evening hours.

    The agency further predicted that the southeastern states would experience cloud weather condition in the morning with prospects of moderate rain showers over Port Harcourt, Calabar and Yenagoa with day and night temperatures of 31 to 33 and 22 to 26 degrees Celsius, respectively.

    Read Also: NiMet predicts cloudy skies, thundery activities for Sunday

    It also predicted thunderstorms and moderate rain showers over Ekiti, Benin, Akure, Osogbo, Enugu, Owerri and the coastal cities later in the day.

    According to NiMet, Northern States will experience cloudy to partly cloudy morning with prospects of moderate thunderstorms over Gusau, Katsina, Bauchi, Gombe and Kano.

    “Northern States are also expected to have day and night temperatures in the ranges of 34 to 42 and 23 to 27 degrees Celsius, respectively.

    “Cloudy skies with prospects of isolated thunderstorms and rain showers are expected over some part of the country with varying intensities in the next 24 hours”

  • Highlife duo, Obiligbo Brothers, headline Legend show in PH

    AS pan Nigerian concert train, the Real Deal Experience makes its next stop in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, the organisers have announced that popular Igbo Highlife music group, the Obiligbo Brothers will headline the show.

    Scheduled for June 10, 2018 at the Xmas Carnival Ground, Elekahia Road, Port Harcourt, this is the second time in a row that the artistes will be treating fans to an exciting concert.

    Sponsored by Legend Extra Stout, the Port Harcourt show follows the singer’s critically acclaimed performance in Onitsha during the May edition of The Real Deal Experience.

    Organisers say the Obiligbo Brothers who are fast becoming fans’ favorites in the entire South-East and South-South, are returning by popular demand.

    Speaking ahead of the show, the two brothers who have enjoyed massive success with the release of their latest studio album “UDO GA DI”, said: “First we want to thank Legend Extra Stout for creating the Real Deal Experience show. For us, every opportunity to perform in front of our fans is a big deal and the feeling that comes with doing it on Real Deal Experience stage is even more exciting. We are glad to be performing two times in a row after our last show in Onitsha. We can’t wait to step on stage and bring the best of highlife music to the Port Harcourt audience.”

    Portfolio Manager – Mainstream Lager & Stout Brands NBPlc., Mr. Emmanuel Agu while commenting on the upcoming Port Harcourt event said: “In our usual tradition of giving the best to Nigerians, we are glad to bring the thrills, fun and excitement of Legend Real Deal Experience to Port Harcourt. Besides giving the residents of the city an unforgettable experience with music and entertainment, we will also be interacting directly with our customers in the beautiful city.”

    The Legend Real Deal Experience show which involves music, comedy, role play, brand education, eulogy, games, prizes and lots more, will see former BBNaija 2018 housemate and lover of the brand Ifu Ennada co-host the event alongside popular comedian De Don.

    The Real Deal Experience show also features the ‘taste, tell and win’ competition which is a blind taste test wherein consumers identify Legend Extra Stout as the Real Stout and winners get to win exciting prizes.

    Over the years, the show has had some of Nigeria’s biggest stars such as Timaya, 9ice, Kcee, Oritsefemi, and others entertain fans across different cities including Lagos, Ibadan, Onitsha, Umuahia, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Abakaliki, and Owerri.