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Tag: Bayelsa State

  • JTF, Shell deny coercing Bayelsa community to endorse spill report

    The Joint Task Force (JTF) in the Niger Delta and oil major, Shell on Monday denied allegations of coercing the leadership of Aghoro 1 community in Bayelsa to sign a disputed report on oil spillage.

    A disagreement in the areas impacted by an oil leak on the Trans Ramos Pipeline within Shell’s oilfield at Aghoro communities in Bayelsa has stalled the release of a Joint Investigation Visit (JIV) report of the oil spill.

    Community leaders, who participated in the JIV to determine the cause of the spill reportedly refused to sign the report.

    The refusal was attributed to wide disparity between the impacted areas claimed by Shell and the community.

    Mr Victor Akamu, Chairman of the Community Development Committee of Aghoro 1, had alleged that Shell connived with the JTF to force and intimidation, to compel the community to sign the report.

    Akamu told News Agency of Nigeria on Monday in Yenagoa that JTF summoned the community’s leadership to Yenagoa on Aug. 23 to force them to sign the JIV report but that the leaders refused to sign.

    He said the team from Aghoro were labelled pipeline vandals and were profiled into the database of the JTF.

    “We were taken to a room where detailed profiles of all of us were taken, including our finger prints, biometric details and our photographs.

    “We were temporarily held down for almost three hours profiling before we were eventually told to go.

    “I wanted to ask if it is part of JTF’s job to force a community to sign a JIV report.

    “Shell should stop using JTF to intimidate our community. For the past 20 years, there is no history of pipeline vandalism.

    “This leak was due to a ruptured pipeline, due to corrosion yet they call us vandals, it is unacceptable,” Akamu said.

    However, reacting to the allegation of intimidation, Mr Bamidele Odugbesan, Media Relations Manager of Shell, denied use of force to compel the company’s host communities to sign the JIV report.

    “Yes, there are issues with the JIV report. The representative of Aghoro 1 community did not agree with a portion of the JIV report but we have not used force.

    “SPDC does not coerce parties to sign JIV reports,” Odugbesan said.

    Similarly, the Commander of the JTF, Rear Adm. Apochi Suleiman, dismissed the allegations of intimidation made by Aghoro community.

    He said that the military waded into the crisis to encourage both parties to adopt dialogue to resolve their differences to avert breach of peace.

    “We conduct our duties in compliance with our rules of engagement. We invited the parties to mediate and encourage them to dialogue and use the established channels of resolving conflicts.

    “I told them to resolve their differences on the negotiating table so that the operation is not disrupted. Our mandate is to safeguard oil facilities and we do not want the disagreement to degenerate further.

    “We got reports that some persons were disrupting ongoing repairs of the ruptured pipelines and that was why some people were profiled.

    “I was emphatic that we cannot tolerate anyone taking the law into his hands,” Suleiman said.

    NAN investigations showed that the leak, which occurred on May 17 this year, discharged about 1,114 barrels of crude oil into the environment and polluted the Ramos River and farmlands.

    The draft JIV report said the 1,114 barrels of crude impacted a total land area of 113.3 hectares in Aghoro 1 but the community claimed that the impacted area was 1825 hectares.

     

  • Shell, Bayelsa community disagree on spill impact

    Shell, Bayelsa community disagree on spill impact

    A disagreement in the areas impacted by an oil leak on the Trans Ramos Pipeline within Shell’s oilfield at Aghoro communities in Bayelsa has stalled a joint investigation of the spill.

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the leak , which occurred on May 17, 2018 discharged a yet to be ascertained volume of crude oil into the environment and polluted the river, farmlands and surroundings.

    Shell said a Joint Investigative Visit (JIV) to ascertain the cause of the oil leak had been concluded but that the report was yet to be signed by all the parties.

    Mr Bamidele Odugbesan, Media Relations Manager at SPDC, told NAN on Saturday in Yenagoa that the joint investigation was conducted by the oil major, representatives of the host community, government and regulatory agencies.

    Odugbesan, however, said that report of the JIV, which commenced early last month was ready and awaiting signing by the communities but declined to give reasons for the delay in releasing the JIV report, adding that the oil firm had commenced clean up of impacted sites.

    The JIV report is expected to unravel the cause of the spill, volume of oil discharged and the area adversely impacted, and volume of oil recovered in the spill incident as well as serve as a basis to determine compensation.

    NAN learnt that Shell and representatives of the host communities had a sharp disagreement on the size of areas affected by the spill and hence refused to sign the report, which had disrupted ongoing clean up of the site.

    Mr Sunday Benjamin, Chairman, Community Development Committee, Aghoro 1, who participated in the JIV said that the communities had argued that the spill had spread to wider areas and affected more places than the JIV covered.

    “The cause of the stalemate is that Shell refused to accommodate satellite communities. They did not allow the JIV to be extensive. They excluded the satellite communities and fishing settlements.

    “They only captured Aghoro 1 and 2, leaving other fishing settlements impacted by the crude oil that leaked into the waters. They recorded 33 acres for Aghoro 1 and 113 acres for Aghoro 2.

    “We eventually signed our portion because we did not want delays in the process and our land affected was not much but Aghoro 2 people refused to sign that is why the JIV report is delayed.

    “Everyone agreed that the spill was traced to ruptured pipeline on three points, due to corrosion on the Trans Ramos Pipeline,” Benjamin said.

    Reacting to the development, Dr Peter Idabor, Director-General of the National Oil Spills Detection and Response Agency, told NAN in a telephone interview that the JIV was `‘inconclusive’’, following the disagreements.

    “ From the feedback from our officers in Yenagoa, the JIV is inconclusive,” Idabor said.

     

  • Bayelsa imposes curfew on Twon Brass over killing

    Bayelsa imposes curfew on Twon Brass over killing

    The Bayelsa Government on Friday imposed a curfew on Twon Brass in the Brass Local Government Area of the state, where three were killed on Aug. 15.

    The Deputy Governor of the state, Rear Adm. Gboribiogha Jonah retired, told a news conference in Yenagoa that the curfew would last from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. daily.

    He condemned the killing, which was blamed on political thugs at Ada-Ama Square in Twon Brass, saying that the curfew would be lifted only when peace returned to the community.

    “The State Government has gathered that the violence was sponsored by some individuals for political purposes.

    “We have direct law enforcement agencies to carry out thorough investigation into the activities of the hoodlums and ensure the prosecution of all persons that may be found culpable,” Jonah said.

    The spokesman of the Bayelsa State Police Command, DSP. Asinim Butswat, had earlier said that the incident involved suspected thugs, who claimed to be members of the APC and PDP in Brass.

    “We have commenced investigation to ascertain the remote and immediate causes of the crisis. We advise people to go about their normal activities,” said Butswat.

     

  • Okowa, 2 other South South Governors nominated for Niger Delta Award

    Okowa, 2 other South South Governors nominated for Niger Delta Award

    Three governors in the South South are being considered for the Niger Delta Governor of the Year Award 2017 by GbaramatuVoice Newspaper, a multi-media organisation in the region.

    The governors are Nyesom Wike of Rivers, Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta and Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa.

    Mr Jacob Abai, the Publisher of the newspaper, said in Lagos on Sunday that the award was to reward excellence in governance.

    “The three governors were shortlisted for the award in view of their contributions to development and impacting positively on lives of the people of the Niger Delta region, particularly in infrastructure, education, health and empowerment.’’

    Abai said that a committee to select the choice of the newspaper had been set up and the nomination would be announced soon.

    He said that the award presentation would be part of the grand finale of the third anniversary of the GbaramatuVoice newspaper.

    Abai said that presentation of the award would take place take place on Tuesday, September 11 at KFT Place in NNPC Housing Complex, Ekpan, Delta.

    A lecture on “Niger Delta Beyond Oil: Searching for Sustainable Development” will be delivered by Prof. Charles Quaker Dokubo, Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta Affairs and Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme,
    will be followed by the Award of Recognition/Induction into the Gbaramatu Voice Hall of Fame.

    Gbaramatu Voice is a multi-media newspaper in the Niger Delta established in Effurun Sapele in 2015.

    The newspaper is a public trust dedicated to the pursuit of the truth as it affects the South-South region of Nigeria and the larger society.

     

  • Breaking: Bayelsa Governor loses mother to cancer

    Breaking: Bayelsa Governor loses mother to cancer

    Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson has announced the passing away of his mother, Mrs Goldcoast Dickson.

    TheNewsGuru (TNG) reports Governor Seriake said Goldcoast succumbed to death on Wednesday after months of battling cancer at the University of Texas, M. D. Anderson Cancer centre, Houston, USA.

    According to the Governor, his mother was aged 72 years when she passed out.

    “It is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of my dear mother, Mrs Goldcoast Dickson who succumbed on the 8th of August 2018 after months of battling cancer at the University of Texas, M. D. Anderson Cancer centre, Houston, USA.

    “She was aged 72 years,” he stated.

     

  • Group faults frequent change of Bayelsa CPs

    A pro-democracy group, Bayelsa Good Governance Watch, has taken a swipe at the police hierarchy over the frequent changing of the Commissioners of Police in Bayelsa State.

    The group expressed concern that no fewer than four new CPs have been deployed to the state in less than two weeks.

    Convener of the group, Ebitimi Igori, who spoke to journalists in Abuja, said it is worrisome that the police administration was causing confusion in the state by the frequent and irregular deployments.

    Igori raised the alarm that the frequent change of guards was part of a plot by the All Progressives Congress (APC) leaders in the state to politicise security ahead of the 2019 elections as well as create panic.

    “It is becoming clear that the police has become partisan in Bayelsa. From all indications, the police authorities have pandered to the whims and caprices of desperate politicians in the state. Their aim is to foment trouble and destabilise our state ahead of the 2019 elections. These politicians have no future in our state and as far as they are concerned, they must destabilise the state and return it to the old days of the swarming locust when Bayelsa was like a killing field.

    “It is equally very embarrassing that in less than two weeks no fewer than four CPs have been posted to the state to replace CP Don Awunah, who has been redeployed to the Force Headquarters in Abuja.

    “First, it was CP Joseph Mukan who took over from Awunah. Within hours, he was replaced by Ahmed Bello before Ahmad Abdurahman was announced as the latter’s replacement. Shortly afterwards, Austin Iwar was named as the new CP. Curiously, at the moment Bayelsa has no CP,” he said.

    The group fingered two prominent opposition politicians in the state, one of whom it said is desperate to return to power, of being behind the manipulation of the police authorities. He however expressed optimism that Bayelsans will resist him.

    “We are observing the manipulation of the police and the security situation with grave concern. The police should not aid politicians to create confusion and cause mayhem in Bayelsa,” Igori warned.

    The group urged President Muhammadu Buhari to call the Inspector General of Police to order so as not to ignite another round of crisis in the state.

    It said the state government working with the security agencies has succeeded in ensuring peace across the state, which ought to be enhanced and not allowed to be scuttled because of the interest of selfish and violent politicians.

     

  • Bayelsa Gov. backs calls for restructuring

    Bayelsa Gov. backs calls for restructuring

    Gov. Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa on Thursday backed calls for restructuring in the country.

    He spoke at the Distinguished Guest Lecture of the Faculty Arts, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, which had as theme: “ Restructuring and the Search for a productive Nigeria.’’

    ” If we were to conduct a referendum, majority of Nigerians will vote for the unity of Nigeria because the unity of Nigeria is desirable in the best interest of all,’’ he said.

    The Bayelsa governor, however, admonished Nigerian leaders to return to true federalism which was agreed on by the founding fathers of the country.

    “For this nation to be positively restructured, the issue of constitutional amendment should be addressed.

    ” Political leaders are more militant than the military and more intolerant of adverse opinions or criticisms.

    “ Nigeria’s unity cannot be sustained merely by constitutional provisions that we know are ineffective,’’ he said.

    Earlier, Dickson had visited the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, where he lauded him for upholding the tradition and culture of the Yoruba.

    In his remarks, Ogunwusi sued for unity across the country, saying he was optimistic of a day party leaders would shun politics of bitterness.

    He also warned youths across the country against acts of violence.

     

  • Oil spill: NGO seeks medical aid to Bayelsa community

    Oil spill: NGO seeks medical aid to Bayelsa community

    The Oil and Gas Producing Areas Enlightenment and Empowerment Initiative (OGPAEEI), an NGO, has called for urgent medical assistant and supply of relief materials to Aghoro Community affected by oil spillage in Bayelsa.

    Recall that the community, Aghoro 1 and 2, were affected by a spillage from the oilfield of Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) on May 17.

    The affected communities are located in Ekeremor Local Government Area of the state.

    President of the NGO, Mr Jackson Igbabiri, told NAN in Yenagoa on Wednesday that the medical attention and other relief materials became necessary to ameliorate the suffering caused by the spillage on the people.

    He explained that after their assessment on the incident, about 53 communities including fishing settlements were affected.

    He said that the community based group was desirous of building a harmonious relationship between oil firms and host communities with a view to reducing conflicts and friction.

    Igbabiri said that the most affect communities were those in Aghoro 1 including Famous Ama and Garden of Eden, among others, and urged the oil firm to make a comprehensive assessment of damages caused by the oil leak.

    According to him, supplying the medical items would go a long way to curtail the spread of coughing and other related diseases usually caused by oil spill.

    “We have conducted an assessment and we found out that many homes have been affected; we have met with SPDC but they are yet to respond; the water in those areas has been polluted.

    “The farmland has been affected; fishing nets destroyed; coconut farm, plantain and other crops have been destroyed; source of water damaged because they drink from the rivers,’’ he said.

    His Majesty, King Enimikem Famous of Famous Ama Community in Aghoro, urged the oil firm and Federal Government to assist the people with potable water and other relief materials.

    “I have advised my people not to take the law into their hand, though, it has been very awkward on us but we want the whole matter to be settled in peace.

    “We don’t want to cause any violence, what we want from the SPDC, federal government and other relevant bodies is to come to the aide of our people. Many of our children have been affected by cough and other diseases,’’ the traditional ruler said.

    Reacting to the development, Dr Alice Aje, Manager, Stakeholder Relations, SPDC, said the oil firm was responding to the spill incident and sought the understanding of the community.

    “We regret the spill because it has adversely affected our operations and business, we have shut operations and stopped the spill and we are in talks with our relevant stakeholders.

    “It is our responsibility to clean up the spill and if it was found to be case by equipment failure, we shall pay compensation to those affected, that is our process,” Aje said.

    She described the spill as “regrettable and unfortunate’’, adding that efforts are underway to convene a joint investigative visit with community representatives to probe the cause of the spill.

     

  • JTF to partner volunteer groups, community leaders to fight crime in Bayelsa

    JTF to partner volunteer groups, community leaders to fight crime in Bayelsa

    Commander of Joint Task Force (JTF), Operation Delta Safe, Rear Admiral Apoche Suleiman, says the force will partner volunteers and community leaders in Bayelsa to rid Niger Delta of criminals.

    Suleiman made the pledge when the Chairman, Bayelsa Volunteers, Mr Lucky Asanakpo and the local government coordinators of the group paid him a courtesy visit on Tuesday in Yenagoa.

    He said the military alone could not undertake the onerous task of fighting crime without the positive input of agencies like the volunteers and community leaders.

    According to him, most of the crimes are community based, perpetrated by persons who live among the people.

    The commander assured of JTF willingness to collaborate with the volunteers to curb crime in the state.

    In his remarks, Asanakpo said the visit was to inform the commander and his field officers of the existence of the volunteers.

    He said it was also to seek strategic ways of partnership to safeguard government installations, lives and property in Bayelsa.

    The volunteer chairman said since he assumed office two months ago, he had tried to fine tune and redefine activities of the agency in line with the present political environment in the state.

    He assured the JTF commander that his team would not disappoint having been trained to uphold integrity, good moral standards, commitment and loyalty to the present administration.

    Asanakpo said the volunteers would not be involved in any act capable of bringing shame and disrepute to JTF in particular and the state government at large.

    He observed that it was only in an atmosphere of peace, devoid of crime that investors and tourists could be encouraged to invest in the state.

    The Bayelsa State Volunteers is a security outfit established by the state government in 2003 and backed by law.

     

  • JTF stops burning illegal refineries

    The Joint Military Force (JTF) in the Niger Delta, says it has adopted environmentally friendly methods in combating oil theft and illegal refining in the region

    Brig.-Gen Kevin Aligbe, Land Component Commander of the joint force code-named “Operation Delta Safe,” disclosed this on Sunday in Yenagoa.

    Alighe said that troops of the command had introduced the use of swamp buggies in destroying illegal refineries as opposed to setting the camps ablaze.

    He said the force used special equipment to crush the accessories and materials used at illegal refining sites.

    He further said that the method had made it economically unviable for such sites to spring up again after raids by the joint force.

    The commandant noted that the adverse impact of pollution caused by illegal refineries was enormous.

    He commander said that some people’s perception that the destruction of illegal refineries was doing damage to the environment was erroneous.

    Aligbe said it was the processes in the illegal refining that actually degraded the Niger Delta environment.

    According to him, the crude distillation process used by illegal refineries is inefficient and causes a pollution of the environment.

    He said that only 30 per cent of the volume of crude stolen by illegal refiners is converted to products.

    The commandant said the remaining 70 per cent was wasted and dispersed in the surrounding environment near the camps.

    “Our operations are always carried out with the environment in mind; we deploy methods that are environmentally friendly and safe and we do not burn stolen crude as believed in some quarters.

    “In fact, burning of products either refined or crude is out of question because it is the evidence that is required to prosecute the suspects that are arrested during raids of illegal refineries.

    “We seize the products and after using them as evidence they are disposed in accordance with the oil industry safety regulations.

    “We are conscious of the fact that the environment sustains the people’s livelihood.

    “The damage that illegal refineries do to the environment is colossal and that is part of the reasons we are fighting to stamp it out.

    “The operators are fighting back and we remain resolute,” he said.

    Aligbe noted that the joint military force was committed to its mandate of safeguarding oil facilities and preventing sundry criminalities in the region.

    The commandant said that the aim was to pave way for economic progress and solicited the support of Niger Delta people.