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Tag: Uduaghan

  • Industrialisation key to Delta’s economy, says Uduaghan

    Industrialisation key to Delta’s economy, says Uduaghan

    Delta State Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan has outlined a comprehensive and attractive package for private investors.

    A five-year tax holiday, duty draw back for export-oriented concerns and tariff incentives on value chain enterprises were some of the incentives dangled before investors at the 2014 African Finance and Investment Forum (AFIF) in Cologne, Germany.

    In his presentation, “Investment Opportunities to Enhance Economic and Development”, the governor listed other incentives as land acquisition concessions, reduced stamp duty charges, permits and licence cost cutting and timeliness and liaising with federal regulatory agencies to facilitate operational licencing procedures.

    Explaining that industrialisation remains the key driver of his Delta Beyond Oil initiative, Uduaghan said the private sector is leading the establishment of industries in the state through harnessing the economic potentials of the environment and leveraging on  the state’s comparative advantage.

    With a population of 5.1 million and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $24.88 billion last year as well as huge investments in physical infrastructure development, security and human capital development, he said Delta  offers an exceptional and profitable haven for investors.

    Using the Delta Beyond Oil initiative, the governor identified five key investment opportunities in Delta State.

    They include power, manufacturing, agriculture, infrastructure and tourism.

    He emphasised that Delta State is the most viable destination for investors, a situation boosted by its status as a leading oil and gas producer, a coastal state with access to four seaports, having a young, educated and active population and continuous investment in security.

    AFIF brings together expert financiers, bankers, investors, public sector and entrepreneurs from across sub-Saharan Africa to the rest of the world.

    The forum is designed for public and private institutions interested in securing finance for projects; investors (private and institutional) looking for projects to invest in; as well as policy makers, financiers/bankers, to build partnership.

  • Uduaghan, Aliyu reaffirm faith in PDP

    Uduaghan, Aliyu reaffirm faith in PDP

    THE governors of Delta  and Niger states, Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan and Dr Babangida Aliyu, have reaffirmed their faith in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), saying that the dark days of the party were over.

    Speaking in Asaba Thursday evening, the governors said there was crisis in the party which had been resolved and that the PDP had  re-positioned itself to win  in the 2015 general elections.

    According to Governor Uduaghan who played host to Governor Aliyu and members of his team, “our party is now stabilised; people are happier and we are more united in the PDP,” observing that Governor Aliyu took a wise decision by not abandoning the party during the crisis.

    “You kept saying and reassuring us that you are a PDP man for life. Some people do not believe in running away from challenges and you are one of them,” Dr Uduaghan told his Niger State counterpart stressing that the answer to challenges was not to run away, but to “remain inside, tackle the challenges and effect the changes you desire.”

    The governor used the occasion to call on leaders to always take politics at the grassroots very important, asserting that lives of the people at the grassroots must be transformed.

    “Politics is about getting to the people at the grassroots; we must transform their lives because the little things we take for granted like provision of water means a lot to the ordinary Nigerian in the rural communities,” Uduaghan said.

    He described Governor Aliyu as a man who is playing strategic roles in uniting the country as the Chairman of the Northern Governors’ Forum (NGF), assuring that Nigeria would remain one indivisible entity.

    In his remark, Governor Aliyu said Nigeria would witness a peaceful election in 2015 and the PDP would remain strong and victorious in the elections.

    According to him, “2015 will come and pass peacefully, and it will be to the success of the PDP,” adding that the PDP is at the grassroots and the people at the grassroots are fully in support of the party.

    He expressed satisfaction with the roles Governor Uduaghan is playing in the PDP, stating that his stand on issues has saved the PDP from crises and his  wisdom is an asset to the party.

  • Homosexual club found in Delta

    A homosexual male club has been found in Uvwie local government area of Delta state.

    This was disclosed on Sunday by the state governor, Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan, while delivering the Easter Sunday Message at the First Baptist Church, Warri.

    Governor Uduaghan who also charged the people of the state to be vigilant about threatening visitors among them, also encouraged parents guardians to keep an eye on their wards not to be led into bad practices.

    “These youths who engage in criminal activities are our children. Right here in Delta State, at Enerhen Junction we just discovered that we have children between 15, 16, 17 and 18 years old who rent rooms around Enerhen Junction and at night men come out to look for them. These are boys and men come to sleep with them in their rooms. These boys called themselves ‘Yansh’.

    “So they belong to a cult called Yansh. This is right in our society here. It through the Edu Marshals Programme that we now discovered homosexual homes right here. We used to know about female harlots but we now have male harlots. Unfortunately they are young boys. They are our children. Yes, there much the government can do, but there is much we can do as parents”, he said.

    According to him, the citizenry and parents also have tremendous roles to play in stemming the rising insecurity, explaining that there was the compelling need for people to be watchful and vigilant.

    He admitted that Delta State was facing the challenge of herdsmen whose activities have prevented some farmers from going to their farms, but observed: “We are taking measures to deal with those issues.”

    Uduaghan who has inaugurated a committee on the movement of cattle rearers in the state, indicated that the state government would in the coming days take drastic measures to curtail the excesses of herdsmen.

    “Those who will come and will not make us comfortable, we will not allow to stay. Those who will come and will give us problem we will not allow them to stay.

    “So when you see me acting, please know that whoever you see me taking that action against is somebody that I am not comfortable with coming to stay in our midst.

    “These are very trying times. Yes there is much the government can do. But there is a lot you can do as parents. What role are you playing as a parent’” he said.

  • Uduaghan, others bid farewell to true Warri Boy Pa Akporiaye

    Uduaghan, others bid farewell to true Warri Boy Pa Akporiaye

    Last Saturday, prominent Nigerians and dignitaries from all walks of life turned up at the First Baptist Church on Mission Road, Warri, Delta State, to pay their last respects to Pa Nawe Eric Akporiaye, who passed away at a ripe age of 92 years.

    Leading the long list of eulogies for the late Pa Akporiaye, who was the father of Dr Leslie Akporiaye, Medical Director of the Delta State University Teaching Hospital, Oghara, Governor Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan said the late Pa Akporiaye lived his life as a true “Warri Boy”, who eschewed tribalism and worked for the peace and unity of the Oil City.

    Those who knew the deceased spoke eloquently about his dedication to society causes, his dedication to the Rotary Club and Boys Scout as well as his zeal and love for the Oil City of Warri.

    One of his children reflected: “He never failed to attend a Rotary meeting, even when he was travelling away from home.”

    Governor Uduaghan commended his steadfastness to peace and unity among all the ethnic groups in Warri and environs.

    The governor remarked that the late Akporiaye represented a generation of Warri indigenes that stood for unity and harmony among the ethnic groups that dwell in the city.

    He urged the various ethnic groups in the country to forge a common front towards making Nigeria a great a prosperous nation.

    Lamenting the ethic distrust and suspicion that now prevails in the city, Uduaghan noted that Warri became famous not necessarily because of industrialization but because of people like Akporiaye, who he said “were worthy ambassadors of the city.”

    He urged the various ethnic groups in the state and Warri in particular to borrow a leaf from their progenitors and learn to live in unity and join hands with his administration’s determination to restore the lost glory of the city.

    The Governor assured that his administration was committed towards transforming Warri into a modern city that would be the envy of others in the country.

    Dr. Uduaghan explained that the State Government was executing an agenda, ranging from traffic control, junction improvement, road rehabilitation and expansion, general improvement in transport infrastructure, waste management as part of measures towards transforming the urban areas and cities in the State.

    Uduaghan decried poor sanitary habits, indiscriminate trading and parking on walk ways and on streets, warning that the State Government would soon come out sternly against such practices.

    In a sermon, the officiating minister, Reverend Justin Okoroji (Junior) charged the living to take the biblical water of life and live right to enjoy divine favour.

    He emphasised that man would certainly account for his days before God hence the need to be sure we finish well on earth.

    In his homage, the DELSUTH Medical Director, Dr Akporiaye noted that the news of the death of his father, who died just eight years short of a century, did not come unexpectedly after years of ill health, but noted that it still “hit us like a ton of bricks.”

    He recalled that his fathered worked hard during his life time and “always put in 100%. This is one of the most important lessons we learnt from him. He taught us to be self-sufficient and to work hard to realise our dreams.”

    ”Friends and associates knew dad as a gentle soul with quiet sense of humour. But even though he was gentle and reserved, he had a distant serious side that sometimes kept those around him at a distance,” he added.

    Speaking further, Dr Akporiaye said his father was no yeller, but still had his way of ensuring discipline. “His silent treatment was more effective than the worst beating one could imagine.”

    He may have been soft spoke, but he loved to tell stories and teach us songs from his childhood. We cherish those special weekend outings, bird hunting, taking photographs and if we were lucky, eating his “pepperless” Sunday lunches.”

  • Crude oil theft: Uduaghan talks tough

    Crude oil theft: Uduaghan talks tough

    THE Delta State government has said it would not hesitate to deal harshly with persons or groups who are in the habit of sabotaging oil facilities in the state in the name of protest, tagging them as saboteurs. It will be recalled that a group of youths in Warri North council area of the state, last Tuesday, boldly owned up to sabotaging a major oil pipeline in Dibi, belonging to Chevron Nigeria Limited, vowing to do more if the state government and the oil company fail to meet certain conditions. In a warning to the Egbema Radical Group, which claimed responsibility for the Dibi pipeline explosion, the state governor, Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan, said the Delta State government and the Federal Government would be blackmailed by acts of sabotage, vowing that the culprits would be dealt with. Dr Uduaghan, who was addressing the state’s Council of Traditional Rulers in Warri yesterday, also charged the royal fathers to be vigilant and watch out for invading Fulani herdsmen, whose activities he said is one of the security challenges facing the state. The governor said the administration had already made plans to carefully handle the threat of the herdsmen, adding that the state’s police command and the Department of State’s Service (DSS) had been briefed on the need to watch out for strange movements. On the activities of saboteurs of oil facilities in the state, the governor observed that excuse had always been woven around one grievance or the other, but advised anyone with genuine case to channel such through legitimate routes and get them sorted out. “Crude oil theft and kidnapping have been substantially reduced, but some unscrupulous persons have now made a new habit out of sabotaging oil and gas facilities in the state. There had been a prevalence of this in the last two weeks. “Neither the Delta state government nor the Federal Government would be blackmailed through these acts, anyone who has a genuine grievance should channel such through the appropriate avenues and get them addressed. Those who want to use any reason to sabotage oil facilities, the Delta state government is ready to go after them”, the governor said.

  • Don’t politicise security matters, says Uduaghan

    Don’t politicise security matters, says Uduaghan

    Delta State Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan yesterday warned politicians not to politicise security matters.

    He gave the warning at the inauguration of four Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC) and five vehicles refurbished by the police.

    The governor, who was represented by Deputy Governor Prof. Amos Utuama, said security remains a priority of his administration, adding that police officers require the right tools and gadgets to fight crime.

    “When it comes to security, we must sink our political differences and rise up in one voice against crime and criminality.

    “As patriots, we have to bury our differences, whatever that may be, when serious national challenges, such as the ones in certain parts of the country arise, because we have no other country we can call our own.”

    Uduaghan assured Deltans that the state was prepared to confront security challenges.

    He said since 2007, he had given out 110 vehicles, including two APCs to the police.

  • Uduaghan mourns aide

    Uduaghan mourns aide

    DELTA State Governor, Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan could not hold back his emotion on Friday during the funeral service of one of his close aide, late Mrs. Ngozi Ebonka, when faced with the grim reality that he would not be seeing her again. An emotional Governor Uduaghan told the congregation at Alizomor, Ika North East Local Government Area, that he and the late Mrs. Ebonka, who was his Adviser in-charge of Abuja office, discussed several times, but never envisaged her untimely death. Uduaghan, who viewed life as transient, filled with the good, the bad and the ugly, described her death as not only a painful loss, but one of the ugliest sides of life. The late Ebonka, who died at the age of 48 during child birth, was also the wife of the first Deputy Governor of Delta State, Evangelist Simeon Ebonka. “Life is transient. There is the good, the bad and the ugly and we are here for the very ugly,” Governor Uduaghan said during the funeral service. Speaking further, the Governor said: “The husband is my friend, classmate and my brother. Your wife is gone, but God knows why,” adding, “she desired a child, God gave her a child but took her life.

  • Tambuwal, Uduaghan for lecture in Warri

    Delta State Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan, House of Representatives Speaker Tambuwal and legal luminary, Prof. Itse Sagay are among the dignitaries expected to join prominent Itsekiri Sons and daughters at a One-Day Public Lecture with the theme; “ The Itsekiri Ethnic Nationality: Challenges of Minority in a Multi-Ethnic Nigeria.”

    At news conference in Warri ahead of the one-day lecture, the National Association of Itsekiri Graduates (NAIG) said the lecture is aimed at creating a paradigm shift and re-orientation of the socio cultural value system of the Itsekiri youth.

    The National President of NAIG, Comrade Alero Tenumah , said the gathering would afford youths to meet Itsekiri sons and daughters’ who have distinguished themselves in their various area of endeavours.

    According to her, “we have observed with great concern the great lacuna between our youths, and the Itsekiri leadership. This association knowing full well that ‘the task of a leader is to take his people from where they are to where they have never been’ has packaged this public lecture to bridge that gap.”

    She added further that the lecture is expected to give the Itsekiri people in general, and the Itsekiri youths in particular the opportunity to take a cursory look at the various challenges facing the Itsekiri Ethnic Nationality as a minority as well as proffering solutions to them.

    The lecture will hold Saturday, March 1, 2014 at Wellington Hotel, Effurun, Delta State.

    Expected to deliver keynote address at the programme are; Prof. Oritsegbemi Omatete, Prof. Tony Mene Afejuku from University of Benin, Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), an erudite and accomplished legal luminary, Dr. J. O Ireyefoju from Delta State University, Abraka and Dr. Alex Ideh.

    Others are: Temisan Omatseye, a former Director General NIMASA, Hon. Patrick Fregene, Dr. Akaruse (UNIPORT) and Chairman of Delta State Oil Producing Area Development Commission (DESOPADEC), Hon Oritsuwa Kpogho.

    Chief (Mrs) Rita Lori-Ogbebor will be the mother of day.

     

  • How to end oil theft in Niger Delta, by Uduaghan, Okorocha

    How to end oil theft in Niger Delta, by Uduaghan, Okorocha

    Governors Emmanuel Uduaghan (Delta State), Rochas Okorocha (Imo State) and other stakeholders from five oil producing states have suggested ways the nation could protect its oil installations and end crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism.

    To them, government’s involvement of host communities in its security and development plans was one of the best ways the country could protect oil installations, stop oil theft and aid development in the region.

    Uduaghan, Okorocha, Delta State’s Commissioner for Oil and Gas, Mofe Pirah, Chairman, Chevron Nigeria Ltd, Andrew Fawthrop and others spoke in Abuja at an event tagged: “The Global Memorandum of Understanding (GMoU) Fair”, organised by Chevron, operator of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)/Chevron Joint Venture.

    Other speakers at the two-day event included development expert, Dr. Ikem Tolar and leaders of community development groups from Rivers, Ondo, Imo, Delta and Bayelsa states. The event was to examine the successes and shortfalls of Chevron’s community development concept, which allows host communities to drive development initiatives.

    Uduaghan said he was part of the negotiations, which resulted in the signing of the first GMoU between Chevron, Egebma/Gbaramatu Central Development Council (EGCDC) and Delta State government on October 5, 2005.

    He said the initiative has not only enhanced participatory partnership among communities, development agencies, the oil company and the government, but it has also ensured an era of accountability and transparency in the administration of community resources and execution of development projects.

    “The GMoU has helped to reduce disharmony and disunity among communities, which would have arisen due to alleged embezzlement of community funds, since the communities are engaged in the day-to-day running of the programme.

    “The Chevrom GMoU model has also contributed to the success of government’s peace and security agenda, as conflict in the region, which hitherto resulted in the destruction of some communities, is now a thing of the past,” the governor said.

    Uduaghan urged the Federal Government to explore the option of domiciling the contracts for pipeline surveillance by engaging contractors in the host communities.

    He said this would ensure effective protection of such facilities, adding that it would enhance collective responsibility on the part of the communities.

  • Excitement as Uduaghan drives first car into his hometown

    Excitement as Uduaghan drives first car into his hometown

    The joy and excitement in Abigborodo community in Warri North Local Government Area of Delta State was palpable last Wednesday. Inhabitants of the Itsekiri community hugged one another ceaselessly. Some with tears of joy in their eyes while others just stool still, a look of insuppressible pride in their eyes as the convoy of Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan rode into the peaceful town from Sapele, headquarters of neighbouring Sapele LGA.

    It was the first time any vehicle would drive into the community. And with the historical journey, Abigborodo community became one of only a handful of communities in the local government area that is accessible by road.

    It was a feat long overdue for the people of the fishing and trading community. An unfriendly terrain and government neglect have conspired over the years to isolate the community from the mainland of the state.

    However, with the near completion of the Sapele-Abigborodo road and bridge project, inhabitants of the riverside communities are hopeful that their days of relying only on speedboats and kpekpekpe – a crude, locally fabricated boat analogous to the heavy duty trucks on land – would soon become a thing of the past.

    Even the governor, who has a home in the town, was excited. “This is the very first time we are going to the village by road. For me it is historical and very encouraging and I am so sentimental about it. A car has not been to Abigborodo before but with this bridge that is now a thing of the past and we are very happy,” he told newsmen.

    He said the road would not only cut the time of transportation from the main towns to the agrarian community, but would also remove the risk and discomfort associated with river transport.

    Civil engineers and other experts said the contractor handling the project had conquered the most arduous tasks. The two bridges, including one that is 120 metres long and towering 10 metres above the river to allow passage by tugboats and bigger vessels, have been completed. A long span of the road had also been completed and stone-based.

    A prominent Sapele-based Abigborodo women leader, Mrs Rebecca Woweh (aka Ugbekoro), described the day as an important one that would not be forgotten by indigenes of the community both within and outside the country.

    “The road will help our community develop faster. People who have not been able to come home because of fear of river, those who say they don’t like travelling by boat would no longer have excuse. For this we are grateful to this government,” she added.

    However, Niger Delta Report learnt that the project was nearly stymied on the first month of its existence after its award in October 2010. It would be recalled that the project had just been awarded weeks earlier when Uduaghan was swept unceremoniously out of office by an Appeal Court ruling in November 2010. The judgment followed a petition challenging Uduaghan’s victory in the April 2007 election. It was filed by Chief Great Ogboru of the Democratic Peoples Party (DPP).

    “When that incident happened, our joy that we could one day be able to drive our cars into our community was cut short. All hopes seemed to have been lost because of the conspiracy and opposition against the governor. But we thank God that he won the re-run election and after that his re-election,” an indigene of the town told our reporter.

    In spite of the governor’s victories, doubts persisted on whether he could muster the political will to complete the important road and bridge project because apart from the Abigborodo road, there was also the road leading from Warri metropolis to Ode-Itsekiri (Big Warri), the ancestral home of the Itsekiri people, through the Warri River.

    The specter of doubt was laid to rest on that sunny Wednesday morning, which contrasted strikingly with the mood of the people in November 2010 after the governor was removed from office by a tribunal.

    Mr Godwin Utineyin, a former Treasurer of Abigborodo Community Trust described the day as too surreal. “It is unbelievable that this dream would come to pass. In the past, it was only Koko that vehicles could drive into in this local government, but now we have Abigborodo. It is auspicious for us that we have a brother and son who is governor and we are grateful to him for this feat.”

    The governor, who addressed his kinsmen at the town hall, used the opportunity to reassure the people of the state about his determination to complete all ongoing projects before the terminal date of his administration in May 2015. Already, he disclosed that the Abigborodo road project was about 70percent completed, adding that it had so far gulped N7.2bn.

    “We are determined to complete the all important Abigborodo Road project before the end of 2014. This road is historical and I am very sentimental about it because this is the first time that vehicles can now drive to the community,” he said.

    The elated people of Abigborodo commended the governor for the road and other projects that are going on in the community. A cross section of community members who spoke with our reporter said that road has started impacting positively on their social and economic lives. The people were particularly hopeful that the road would open up the area for property boom because of its nearness to Sapele and other parts of the state.

    Hon Christian Okonedo, a leader of the community, told NDR that the people were determined to offer the state government and the contractor all the support needed to achieve the governor’s determination to complete the project by the end of the year.

    He said, “You can now drive into Abigborodo. The people, women children and elders, are very excited about this. They are willing to do all that is necessary to complete the road project. All the support that is needed would be given.”

    Okonedo commended the state executive council and House of Assembly members for their supports for the work done so far and appealed for their continued support towards the completion and delivery of the road to the people.

    Speaking in the same vein, Utienyin, while commending the governor, appealed that links should be built into other communities on the path of the road in order for the state and the Warri North LGA to reap the full benefit of the government’s investment.

    Meanwhile, Uduaghan also inspected other ongoing projects including the Model school, Alema secondary school and Abigborodo Polytechnic in the town and expressed delight at the pace and quality of work.

    He however expressed displeasure and frustration about the attitude of the students in the area to their education pursuits, lamenting that they were not making adequate use of the schools.

    He particularly lamented that the schools were still mostly deserted nearly two weeks after resumption and vowed to revert the trend by sending ‘Edu-Marshals’ to the area to sensitize parents on the need to send their children to school.

    He also directed top government officials from the riverine areas to join in the education crusade by going to their respective communities and create awareness on the importance of education.

    The governor also announced plans to encourage education in the riverside areas by sending boats to convey pupils to and from schools daily. He however warned parents of dire consequences if they refuse their children the opportunity of going to school.