The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Stakeholders

  • Stakeholders urge Fed Govt to review FADAMA 111

    Agro-allied investors, agricul-turists, and farmers have urged the Federal Government to review the Third National Fadama Development Project for better impact on the agriculture sector.

    A cross section of stakeholders made the call in Abuja.

    They said the project could be managed properly to spur widespread interests in farming and associated agro-allied businesses.

    According to them, the present project is not having expected impact as farmers and agriculture stakeholders are no longer the central focus.

    The development objective of the ‘Third National Fadama Development’ (Fadama III) Project for Nigeria is to increase the incomes of Fadama users.

    Chief Executive of Tamole Farms Nig. Ltd, Mr Bolanle Akogun, said the entire policy framework of the project need to be reviewed to capture more clusters.

    Akogun said the project should be used to boost mechanised farming instead of the present heavy concentration on “negligible grants’’ to rural farmers.

    “The World Bank assisted project is elitist on paper and pedestrian in practice thereby leaving room for misappropriation of funds.

    “President Muhammadu Buhari would be doing the agricultural sector the needed service if the project is further reviewed to reposition it well enough to drive the non-oil sector,’’ he said.

    Mallam Musa Keffi, an agriculturist, said the project, no doubt, had the basic impact in rural farming, adding that it could be made to achieve food security for the country.

    “We are very good in developing policies, but I think we should show more seriousness in the implantation of the ideals of the project.

    “We have many people in my locality that are captured and had benefited from the project in one way or the other but there is not feasible large scale impact,’’ he said.

    On his part, a food exporter, Chief Anabi Oko , said “the fundamentals of the project appears to be fading away as the handlers across the country have developed ways for funds leakages.’’

    The National Coordinator of the Fadama III project, Tayo Akinwunmi, expressed delight on the implementation of all identified elements of the project.

    Akinwunmi expressed satisfaction at the approval of the project’s work and procurement plans by both the World Bank and Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

    The Federal Government in 2013 approved $200 million (N39 billion) loan for the additional financing of the ongoing Fadama III project.

    According to him, the World Bank supports project stands to increase income for users of rural lands and water resources within the Fadama areas.

    He said it would also improve the value chain of agricultural commodities in line with the need to boost the non-oil sector.

  • Stakeholders reject NSE’s premium board over vague criteria

    Stakeholders reject NSE’s premium board over vague criteria

    Barely a week after it was launched, the newly introduced premium board of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has come under heavy criticisms from stakeholders in the capital market, with many describing the new board as unnecessary.

    Corporate executives, market operators and shareholders, who spoke on the new board, said the criteria for the board were vague and dependent on external third party not registered by capital market authorities.

    They argued that by abandoning compliance with its post-listing requirements, code of corporate governance by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Code of Corporate Governance by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and nexus of the market as the ultimate valuation of corporate performance, the Exchange is indirectly undermining the market it seeks to promote.

    The NSE on Tuesday, August 25 launched the NSE Premium Board and the NSE Premium Index. Three companies- FBN Holdings Plc, Dangote Cement and Zenith Bank, were moved to the newly created premium board. The NSE described the premium board as a platform for companies with large capitalisation, good corporate governance and liquidity.

    According to the NSE, the premium board is for issuers with minimum market capitalisation of N200 billion and highest corporate governance standards. Companies aspiring to be listed on the premium board must achieve a minimum score of 70 per cent on the stringent Corporate Governance Rating System (CGRS), a corporate governance rating being administered by the Convention on Business Integrity (CBI).  In addition, they are required to maintain a minimum free float of 20 per cent of their issued share capital or a free float value equal to or above N40 billion.

    Market stakeholders said the criteria were vague, unstable and unquantifiable and could not form the basis for the creation of a new board.

    Corporate executives and market operators who spoke on the issue craved for anonymity because such public comments on sensitive issues had earlier led to regulatory backlash. Shareholders’ leaders openly expressed displeasure with the criteria.

    National President, Constance  Shareholders’ Association of Nigeria, Mr. Mikail Shehu, expressed concerns over the exclusion of some companies known for high corporate governance, large capitalisation and diverse shareholders’ base. Shehu, particularly cited the exclusion of Guaranty Trust Bank, Nigeria’s most capitalised and highest-priced quoted bank widely regarded as the premium stock in the banking industry.

    National Coordinator, Independent Shareholders Association (ISAN), Mr Sunny Nwosu, said the Exchange built its new platform on a shaky ground.

    “All they are doing are shrouded in secrecy; the market belongs to all of us. They should have consulted critical stakeholders before embarking on this effort. If you say one of your criteria is market capitalisation, what happens if the share price goes down, do you demote them to the second tier and promote them again when the prices go up?” Nwosu said.

    Shareholders’ activist and founding executive of Nigeria Shareholders Solidarity Association (NSSA), Alhaji Gbadebo Olatokunbo, said the new board has failed to live up to expectations with the exclusion of major companies that should have showcase the new board.

    He said market development initiatives must not be driven by pecuniary interests but the overall interest of the stakeholders.

    According to him, corporate governance can only be adjudged by clearly stated principles, such as those contained in the CBN and SEC’s codes and the listing requirements.

    “Until we are told what they mean by corporate governance, we reject this new board, “Olatokunbo said.

    Market operators said the NSE was shifting the goal post to suit its own definitions rather than clearly defined rules that should guide such a platform.

    Market reactions to the new premium board have been muted and below average. For instance, one of the premium stocks slipped below the N200 billion mark last Thursday. It closed the trading session at N193.8 billion. The NSE Premium Index, which tracks the premium board, recorded above-average loss of 3.93 per cent last week as against average loss of 3.56 per cent indicated by the market-wide All Share Index (ASI).

    The NSE tied the minimum capitalisation for the premium board to $1 billion. This implies that besides price fluctuation at the Exchange, the qualification of companies for the new board will also be affected by foreign exchange fluctuation. At the initial stage of announcement of the evaluation, Naira/Dollar exchange rate was N165/$1. The recent depreciation in Naira affected many stocks.

    However, seven other companies closed August with market value above the N200 billion mark. These included Guinness Nigeria, N209.3 billion; Forte Oil, N328 billion; Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, N338.5 billion; Lafarge Africa, N455 billion; Nestle Nigeria, N665.8 billion; Guaranty Trust Bank, N674.6 billion and Nigerian Breweries, which closed with market value of N963.31 billion.

    When asked about the cost implication of the assessment and movement to the new premium board, the chief executive officer of the NSE, Mr. Oscar Onyema, said the cost should be looked at in terms of value to the company rather than cost.

     

     

  • Stakeholders advocate sustenance, modifications of agric reforms

    Stakeholders in the agric sector from the Southwest have expressed confidence on the ability of the reforms implemented by the former Minister of Agriculture, Dr Akinwumi Adesina to boost food production.

    The reforms, according to them, will ensure abundant food production.

    They urged the President Muham-madu Buhari-led administration to adopt, adapt and upgrade the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) blueprint of the former administration and sustain its gains.

    This was their resolution at the end of a one-day town hall meeting anchored by AgroNigeria, a media organisation promoting agriculture and its value chain. It held at the conference hall of the University of Ibadan.

    A stakeholder and Chief  Executive Officer (CEO), Agric House, Mr Kayode Ehindero, advised that President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration should avoid policy summersaults in agriculture, refine and sustain good policies and frameworks put in place by the former agriculture minister.

    He advocated that migratory cattle herdsmen should be incorporated as an integral part of the policy and frameworks to be put in place by the new administration. This, he said, is to forestall needless clashes between crop producers and herdsmen, adding that all are working to ensure a food-secure Nigeria.

    Another stakeholder and Chief Executive Officer, Aquatech, Dr George Sheguna, identified challenges faced by farmers in Nigeria and other parts of developing world as finance, management and marketing.

    He said farmers should be able to show financiers what they need the money for and faithful in the implementation of financial proposal to engender trust in the industry.

    Sheguna also advocated that youths should be attracted into agriculture by making training in management, land and farm tools available at subsidised prices.

    A University of Ibadan (UI) post-graduate student, who  attended the conference, Miss Michele Opinache, said graduates of agriculture and allied disciplines were not interested in agriculture because they opted for such studies because they couldn’t secure admission into their chosen disciplines.

    Prof Rasheed Awodoyin, of the Department of Crop Protection and Environmental Biology, UI, said public universities in Nigeria are overwhelmed with lopsided admission applications, with over 70 per cent applying to study popular programmes, such as Medicine, Law, Accounting, Economics, among others, while Agriculture and allied disciplines are usually not applied for.

    This, he said, informs giving candidates courses they do not apply for. He urged agricultural graduates and others to develop interest in agribusiness as their contributions would reduce unemployment, poverty and associated vices.

    Another participant, Chief Executive Officer of Fagna Consult, an agricultural service provider, Mr. Ajadi Bolade, while lamenting poor financing of youths in agriculture, encouraged them to ignore all odds, explore agriculture with passion, plans and determination to make a difference with quality products, good agricultural practices and cost-cutting strategies.

    Representative of Oyo State Agricultural Development Programme (OYSADEP), Mr Akinola Dauda, said although youths should be incorporated into schemes of things in agriculture, most of them entrusted with facilities are not usually faithful based on experience.

  • Stakeholders dialogue on education standard

    Determined to ensure qualitative education in Nigeria, the Directors of Education Quality Assurance (DEQA) in federal and state ministries of Education, parastatals and agencies, have held a four-day workshop at the National Institute for Educational Planning and Administration (NIEP) in Ondo town, Ondo State.

    At the event were representatives of ministries of education from the 31 states and the Federal Capital Territory(FCT), including participants from the National Examination Council (NECO), National Business and Technical Examinations Board (NABTEB) and other bodies.

    The platform gave participants the  opportunity to rub minds on the theme of the conference: “Education quality assurance: A panacea for equity, access and accountability in education.”

    Over 10 problems were identified as reasons the standard of education has fallen and various solutions were suggested.

    Participants also designed two broad levels for the factors affecting the quality of education. These include: “The level of learners, who have diverse experiences, characteristics, skills and conditions; and the level of the education system, with its managerial and administrative system, implementation of good policies, human and managerial resources and the means to measure learning outcome.’’

    Participants noted that Nigerians have the perception that education has a poorly coordinated supervision, is underfunded and has inadequate data for planning as well as general poor learning environment.

    “Many states in Nigeria are yet to implement the quality assurance programme prescribed by the Federal Ministry of Education and therefore, internal quality assurance procedures are not being applied in schools in such states.

    “Quality Assurance Departments and Agencies, where they have been established, are sometimes staffed with officers who are not trained in that field.They are poorly funded and, generally, lack requisite operational facilities.

    The Director-General, NIEPA, Dr. Peter Ojedele, said:  ” We value development of skills of educational planners and administrators through strengthening of human and institutional capacity in educational management in the five Girls’ Education Project (GEP) states of Katsina, Sokoto, Zamfara, Bauchi and Niger.

    “There should be provision of support for effective monitoring and evaluation through capacity building of monitoring and evaluation officers in Delta and Kaduna states, and the FCT using the notion of Whole School Inspection Approach.”

     

  • Stakeholders condemn IAAF probe

    Stakeholders condemn IAAF probe

    Some stakeholders in international athletics have condemned a recent call for “urgent’’ investigation of allegations of covering doping made against the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) by some international sports media based in Germany and England.

    The allegations no doubt were aimed at tarnishing the image of the outgoing IAAF President, Lamine Diack, whose outstanding

    performance in office could position him to influence who could emerge as the next president of the body.

    Apparently, the recent attack is because an earlier attack over the finances of the body could not stand the test of time.

    Even, his son, Papa Massata Diack, who was retained as marketing consultant (Emerging Markets) had also risen to stoutly defend himself against festering allegations of wrongdoing levelled against him.

    The Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) in solidarity with the IAAF on Sunday through Abdou Kalkaba, its President, issued a statement on Sunday criticising those media seeking to create sensation by accusing the IAAF of doping allegation cover up.

    The statement said the CAA was completely in agreement with the IAAF in condemning what the confederation referred to as “trial by the media at which they illegally obtained blood samples via the Athletes Biological Passport (ABP) from its database’’.

    It said also that they had engaged some two Australian experts who carried out the analysis based on which they aimed to discredit IAAF. The statement noted that the media in question had written the articles to create sensation and misrepresent facts.

    “The fact is that the ABP is not made up of the results of anti-doping tests. It is a system for following up athletes’ blood profiles over many months and years and the objective is to identify the normal characteristics of athletes and to make sure they remain in those boundaries.

    “If the trend of the individual athlete over months is not maintained, this will then lead to official tests by WADA-accredited laboratories that have the strictest controls to ensure accuracy and no false results.

    “The CAA is disturbed that allegations have been aimed against athletes from African countries like Kenya when the overwhelming majority of athletes have never tested positive for any banned substance.’’

    Arne Ljungqvist, a former International Olympic Committee (IOC) Medical Commission Chairman also condemned the attacks.

    The former member of WADA Medical Commission from 1987-2002, who released a statement in solidarity with IAAF, described as

    “unfair’’ attacks on IAAF, saying they had done more to stem doping from its sports.

    “The IAAF has historically been at the forefront of all important developments in the fight against doping and has always taken its responsibilities seriously when it comes to catching cheats and protecting the integrity of its sport.

    “The IAAF has been involved in all major developments of the fight against doping, including the introduction of the first blood tests

    for anti-doping purposes back in the early 1990s.’’

    According to Ljungqvist, IAAF pioneered investigations more than 20 years ago when blood sampling for anti-doping purposes was judged to be impossible on a global basis for ethical and religious reasons.

    “The study clarified that this was not the case, and it was published in J. Sports Med. 1997. IAAF’s contribution to the development of the ABP was absolutely key and it has, since then, undeniably played a leading role in this field together with the UCI.

    “The IAAF did more than others but it is now criticised by people, who have no insight into the work of IAAF for not having done enough,’’ it him as saying.

    The statement said: “regrettably, I did not hear any criticism against the many sports and anti-doping organisations who have never implemented a robust blood testing programme as part of their anti-doping programme.

    “This is highly unfair to the IAAF, an institution, which should be regarded in high esteem for its countless efforts and investment throughout its history of tackling doping in athletics in the most efficient and  intelligent way’’.

    Meanwhile, IAAF says it does not claim to be perfect, but strongly believes that historically it has developed the most robust anti-doping programme in sport.

    “We want to catch the cheats and have a history of punishing high-profile athletes like Marion Jones even where it hurts the reputation and revenues of the sport, but we must have legally sound evidence of wrong-doing.’’

    It adds: “We work within the structure of the WADA Code. We have the support of WADA and co-operate fully with them. We always want to do more to protect clean athletes and catch cheats, and are currently doing everything that our resources allow. We have pushed successfully for four-year bans.’’

    It noted that private information on blood sampling was taken out of context and we would continue to fight for the principle of confidentiality in this specific area.

  • How to curb accidents dominates stakeholders’ meeting

    How to curb accidents dominates stakeholders’ meeting

    Worried by the incessant occurrence of road mishaps on the Oka-Akoko/Abuja Road, stakeholders in road safety and prevention of car accidents had converged on Oka-Akoko, headquarters of Akoko South West Local Government Area of Ondo State recently to deliberate on ways of preventing accidents which have become common phenomenon on the highway.

    The convergence aimed at curbing accidents on the ever-busy road which is said to be prone to road accidents. The deliberation lasted for 10 hours. After the meeting which featured arguments, intrigues and technical submissions, the stakeholders proffered measures that could help in preventing road accidents on the road which links the Southern part of the country with the North.

    Fatal accidents are said to occur on the Oka-Akoko/Abuja Road on daily basis. According to statistics presented by the representative of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) who was one of the discussants at the stakeholders’ meeting held at the Franklin Adefarati Hall in the centre of the ancient town, more than 250 lives have been lost on the road.

    This year alone, 45 accidents had occurred on the road, with an average of six accidents happening each day and at different locations of the highway.

    Accidents on the busy road are said to be caused majorly by the topography of the road which was constructed on a valley between hills.

    Another cause of accidents on the road which links the Southwest with Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, is heavy-duty trucks, especially those belonging to construction companies that ply the road both in the day and at night times. This, the residents say, is responsible for the killing of many members of the community.

    At the stakeholders’ meeting attended by representatives of the Oloka of Oka-Akoko, Akoko Descendants Union (ADU), the police, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the FRSC and other Para-military organisations, the discussants agreed that accidents would continue to occur on the road unless the Federal Government reconstructs it.

    Also, a member representing Akoko South West/East Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Babatunde Kolawole and other top government functionaries at local and state levels attended the meeting. They called for Federal Government’s intervention on the road to prevent further loss of lives.

    The people of Oka-Akoko, Akungba-Akoko and Ikare-Akoko who claimed to have been the major victims of the accident on the road attended the meeting in droves, even as they also called for the intervention of the Federal and state governments in curbing the occurrence of accidents on the road.

    While addressing the people, the convener of the meeting, Wale Gidado said the

    stakeholders’ meeting was called to present a common position to the Federal Government through the National Assembly on the challenges the people of the area are experiencing, urging the Federal Government to urgently construct the road for the benefit of the people of the communities where the road traversed in Ondo State.

    He noted that the road has caused the untimely death of many residents of Oka-Akoko, recalling that “on a single day, six accidents occurred at different locations on the road and members of the families of those who died in the accidents are still living with the ugly memory at present.

    “This is the reason why we are calling on the Federal Government to do something urgently to prevent further deaths on the road.

    “Our children cannot go out the way they want both in the day and at night. We can’t allow our children to go to school on their own, all for the fear of accident on the highway that passed through here to Abuja. Particularly, trucks plying the road are often responsible for many of the accidents on the road,” he said.

    Gidado recalled that the Federal Government had awarded contract for the construction of the road in 1996, saying “we had thought that the road would bring development to our town and other communities around us, but the road has brought untold problem and calamity to us as a community as it had caused the deaths of many of our dear people.

  • Stakeholders to Buhari: Be committed to agric

    Stakeholders have urged President Muhammadu Buhari to avoid policy somersault on the agricultural sector.

    They spoke in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital during a town hall meeting on agriculture.

    They urged the government to ensure more commitment to agricultural development, noting that policy inconsistency by successive governments had affected reduced foreign direct investments.

    Kwara State Chairman, Agriculture and Allied Employees Union of Nigeria (AAEUN), Mr. David Ehindero, said the government must not pay lip service to agriculture.

    He noted that agriculture is a strategic sector that can transform the  economy and create massive jobs, urging for greater commitment from the government to agricultural development.

    He said farmers are not well- funded, adding that past funding intervention of the government did not really reach farmers who are the target for the funding.

    “The government should not make agriculture a political jamboree. Government should focus in areas that Nigeria has comparative advantage which is agriculture.

    Ehindero added that “the government should ensure that the good policies of the past administration should be continued. Agricultural personnel should be well taken care of in terms of tax relief, loans and incentives.”

    The Chief Executive Officer, AgroNigeria, Mr. Richard-Mark Mbaram appealed to Buhari to appoint as a matter of urgency a minister for agriculture.

    His words: “There should be no policy somersault. We have the Agricultural Transformation Agenda which is a well-thought out strategy for reforms in agriculture.

    “It has worked for the past four years and it is the basis for which we feel that the new government should build its agriculture. Implementation of it should be strictly in accordance with what is captured.

    “We do need an agriculture minister like yesterday. Agriculture is a different ministry from others.  You could afford not have other ministers but you cannot function effectively with a permanent secretary as the leader for the agric ministry.

    “The need for government to apportion sufficient resources to the agricultural sector in terms of budgetary funding cannot be over-emphasised.

    “We insist that minimum of 10 per cent of the entire budget of Nigeria should be allocated to the agricultural sector. We must start from the next budget. We have signed to the Maputo declaration.

    “For all we know, we have been implementing that position in the bridge.  Nigeria has at no point allocated up to five per cent of its entire budget to agriculture.  The sector is in dire need for funding.”

    He also called for adequate funding of agriculture, saying the Federal Government should make available at least 10 per cent of the national budget for the agriculture sector.

  • Osun Stakeholders’ summit advocates true federalism

    The Osun Stakeholders Summit was held in Ile-Ife, Osun State, yesterday with participants calling for true federalism.

    The conveners had scheduled to hold the summit at the Leisure Spring Hotel, Osogbo, the state capital, but relocated to an event centre in Ile-Ife because of an alleged police siege.

    All Progressives Congress (APC) described the summit as a non-event.

    Its spokesperson Kunle Oyatomi, said: “Their claim that the police stopped them from holding the event in Osogbo is ridiculous. They came to Leisure Spring Hotel, the venue of the summit, where they saw police security and they fled to their hideout in Ile Ife.

    “If their intentions were good, why did they run away from the police? If their intentions were good, why did the police presence scare them? Did the police officially prohibit the summit? The answer is no. The police are to provide security for the summit. Those guys should not be taken seriously.

    “We will look at what they want to offer as solution to the financial and education ‘problems’ in the state before we respond fully.”

    The summit was attended by the former Head of Service and governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Elder Segun Akinwusi, spokesperson for the Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere, Yinka Odumakin, former Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice  Niyi Owolade, a professor of Sociology, Tunde Lawuyi, who was the chairman and a representative of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade.

    One of the active organisers of the summit, the former board chairman of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology Teaching Hospital, Dr. Muyiwa Oladimeji, was absent.

    In the communiqué signed by Odumakin and Owolade, the summit said the federating states should not be begging for bailout from the Federal Government but should rather be allowed to tap abundant resources they have and use them to develop.

    The summit urged the anti-graft bodies, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) to investigate the alleged financial recklessness of Governor Rauf Aregbesola.

    Delivering his paper, Akinwusi alleged that the Aregbesola administration was manipulating the state’s salary figures.

  • Kwara council workers seek stakeholders’ intervention

    The striking local government workers in Kwara State have urged stakeholders to intervene by appealing to the government to pay their five-month salary arrears.

    The National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) last Thursday embarked on strike over unpaid salaries.

    NULGE Secretary, Comrade Abayomi Afolabi, who was a guest on a programme at a private radio station in Ilorin yesterday, said members had suffered, following unpaid salaries.

    He said most members had withdrawn their children from schools, as they could not afford school fees, adding that they were indebted to food sellers and landlords.

    The President, Kwara State College of Education Multipurpose Cooperative Union, Alhaji Ayinla Jimoh, said the cooperative spent N5million to buy food items for members, to cushion the effect of non-payment of salary.

  • Stakeholders discuss new vision for Ijaw nation

    Stakeholders discuss new vision for Ijaw nation

    Worried by several problems including environmental degradation, health hazards and perennial pollution confronting Ijaw ethnic nationality, stakeholders under the aegis of Ijaw Professionals Association (IPA) last weekend organised a seminar at the Banquet Hall of the Bayelsa State Government House, Yenagoa, to fashion a new vision for the Ijaw nation.

    At the seminar with the theme: Translating the Ijaw Vision into Reality: The Leadership Challenge’, participants deliberated on the possible alternative means of diversifying the economy of the region from over dependency on oil revenue.

    The Secretary-General of IPA, Mr Efiye Bribena, explained that the aim of the seminar was to promote professional excellence among Ijaw people. He said the seminar was a follow up to the one earlier held in May, 2015 at Eko Hotel and Suites, which attracted eminent personalities like the former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godsday Orubebe.

    The President of the association and Executive Secretary, Nigeria Contents Development & Monitoring Board, Arc. Denzil Amagbe Kentebe, flayed the neglect and marginalization of the region by the successive governments but urged the people to take their destiny into their own hands and avoid unnecessary lamentation.

    He said: “We need to go beyond the usual complaints, protests and lamentations. We should objectively discuss a new Vision 2025 for Ijawland.”

    The chairman of the event, Chief Doukpolagha, commended IPA for its commitment to the course of the Ijaw people. He urged the participants to embark on intensive search for good leadership and new economic agenda for Ijaw nation.

    His words: “Hard work is a necessary prerequisite for leadership. Leaders in Abuja should be our ambassadors. To this end, they are to fight for opportunities for the Ijaw man. It is important to look inwards when the question of leadership is raised. It has also become imperative for the people to key into critical areas of oil production to fulfill the destiny of the Ijaw nation as an active player in the Nigerian project.”

    The guest speaker, Dr Tom-George, in his presentation entitled: “Rethinking Leadership and Development in the Niger Delta,” challenged Ijaw leaders to harness available human and material resources for the common good of the people.

    He said: “A leader is as happy as the least happy person. In sum, a leader should ensure service delivery to the people through self-sacrifice and leadership. A leader must galvanise the best genius of our people; be community minded and be surrounded with people of peculiar interest. An example is John Kennedy who made his brother, Robert Kennedy the Attorney-General when he was President of the United States of America.”

    George said the need for capacity building for the youths saying: “There is a dominant negative trend among the Ijaws, which is the wrong notion of thinking that the Ijaw man is defined by the natural resources in his environment. The Ijaws are more than oil and gas and should therefore focus on capacity building. The greatest resource is the human intellect. It is paramount to build the human knowledge economy and invest in the human capital development of the Ijaw man,” he added.

    In a communiqué issued at the end of an interactive session, IPA emphasized the urgent need for an effective and futuristic Ijaw Vision.

    The statement reads in part: “The Ijaw nation should develop vision 2025 aimed at building a united, inclusive, prosperous, peaceful and influential nation within the Nigerian and global context; Ijaw vision 2025 should be actionable and serve as a blueprint for all sections of the Ijaw nation to build a united and prosperous entity based on shared values and a common destiny; the vision should be dynamic, acceptable to the majority and adaptable to current realities; It should also incorporate the basic core values.”

    Stakeholders at the seminar included the Chairman, IPA Board of Trustees, Gen. Paul Alaowei Toun (rtd), Dr. Chris Ekiyor,  Chief Boma Obuoforibo, Chief (Mrs) Veronica Bamuza-Mutu and Charles Ambaowei.

    Others were: Chief Francis Doukpola, former traditional ruler of Agbere community, Lady Anne, Secretary of the Elders Council of Bayelsa State, Lady Meg Agidi, a member of the Ijaw National Congress, Moses Siasia, a member of the Nigerian Young Professionals), Engr Ambaowei, Acting President of the Ijaw National Congress, and Iniruo Wills, the Bayelsa State Commissioner for Environment.