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Tag: Niger Delta

  • Navy launches operation chase thief in Niger Delta

    The Eastern Naval Command of the Nigerian Navy said it would on Thursday commence “Ani-Oforifori’’ exercise in Niger Delta creeks to rid the area of bad elements.

    “Ani-Oforifori’’ means “Chase Thief’’ in Kalabari language in Rivers.

    The command announced this in a statement by its Information Officer, Commander Thomas Otuji, on Wednesday in Calabar.

    According to the statement, the objective of the exercise is to assess the operational readiness of ships, gunboats, helicopters and other platforms of the Eastern Fleet.

    The statement added that the exercise was also to test the skills of personnel in tackling maritime threats within the command’s Area of Responsibility.

    “The Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Naval Command, Rear Adm. David Adeniran, has announced that the Eastern Naval Command will commence exercise Ani-Oforifori meaning Chase Thief in Kalabari language.

    “In view of this, members of the public, particularly the good people of the Niger Delta, are advised not to panic but go about their normal businesses.

    “They should not panic when they see large body of war ships, gunboats, helicopters and other naval platforms in the area as the exercise is for routine purposes,’’ the command explained.

     

  • Amnesty Office distributes noodles, other items worth N90m to flood victims

    Amnesty Office distributes noodles, other items worth N90m to flood victims

    The Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) has begun distribution of relief materials worth N90 million to some communities ravaged by flood recently in the Niger Delta.

    Mr Murphy Ganagana, Special Assistant (Media) to PAP Coordinator, Prof. Charles Dokubo, said in a press release on Monday in Abuja that the distribution would last for a week.

    He listed items being distributed to include: rice, beans, indomie noodles, groundnut oil, Maggi cubes, tomatoes, detergents, bathing soaps, disinfectants, and medicals.

    “The gesture is to provide succour for inhabitants of the affected communities who live in terrible conditions since their homes and sources of livelihood were affected by the flood.

    “The Amnesty Programme is meant for the people of Niger Delta, and whatever affects communities in the region affects us.

    “So far, we have spent N90 million on purchase of the relief materials we are distributing to various communities which include Bomadi, Oboro, Okpokunou, Esanma, Akugbene, Ogodobiri and Ezebiri.

    “The others include Ayakoromo, Tuomo, Ogbobagbene, Kpakiama, Obotebe, Ofonibeinghan, Gbekebo,Ogbeingbene, Patani, Aven, Kolowari and Gbaregolor, among other communities in Delta.

    “In Bayelsa, relief materials are being distributed in Adagbabiri, Odi, Trofani, Kaiama, Esampou, Zarama, Ogbeinbiri, Opuama, Ofunama, Shekelewu, Ogbudugbudu, Arogbo, Safa-Arogbo, Agadagba Obon, Ajakoroama and Opugbini,’’ he said.

    Ganagana also said that some communities in Edo and Ondo states would benefit from the distribution.

    Meanwhile, at Trofani, Bayelsa State, the Ebedaowei of Kabowei Kingdom, Aserifa Hope Torru, hailed Dokubo for humane, responsive and caring leadership.

    Torru said that the coordinator was committed to the interest and welfare of Niger Delta people.

    “It is on record that we have had several flood disasters in the past; I remember what happened in 2012 and thereafter. This is the first time the Amnesty Office will share in our pain and take steps to ameliorate our plight.

    “This is commendable; I urge other public and private organisations to take a cue from what the Amnesty Office has done to give us succour,” the monarch said.

     

  • Ogoni cleanup: CISLAC wants repair of idle oil installations in Niger Delta

    Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), a civil society organisation (CSO) has called for repair or removal of non-producing oil installations in the Niger Delta region.

    The Executive Director of CISLAC, Malam Auwal Ibrahim, made the call during a courtesy visit to Mr Peter Idabor, the Director-General, National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) in Abuja on Friday.

    Represented by Mr Salaudeen Hashim, the Senior Programme Officer of the centre, Ibrahim said the repair or removal of idle oil facilities was key in any environmental remediation.

    The appeal comes ahead of the commencement of the much-awaited cleanup of Ogoni land in December.

    ‘‘Oil assets in the area still have the tendency of repoluting the environment when they are not serviced or decommissioned.

    ‘‘So, we believe that we need to strengthen collaboration and coordination, among agencies of government, toward the realisation of a successful remediation, restoration and rehabilitation of Ogoni land,’’ he said.

    Ibrahim also said that getting multinational oil companies to properly handle their facilities in the region was part of an advocacy partnership deal that CISLAC was seeking with NOSDRA.

    The proposed partnership is aimed primarily to support implementation of the United Nation’s Environment Prgramme (UNEP) report on the Niger Delta.

    Under the proposed collaboration, the CSO is asking NOSDRA to institutionalise regular interface between the oil corporations operating in the region and civil society organisations.

    ‘‘The objective is to strengthen collaboration and coordination among agencies of government toward the realisation of a successful remediation, restoration and rehabilitation of Ogoni.

    ‘‘Such forum would enable stakeholders to further review remediation techniques,where necessary, and appraise the performance of the emergency measures to see where gaps exist and the available alternatives.

    ‘‘It would also support regular and objective feedback on what is happening and what needs to be done toward creating a safe and healthy Ogoni in particular and the Niger Delta in general.

    ‘‘NOSDRA can do this under its mandate of striking partnership with internal and external stakeholders, including multinational oil companies, private interest, communities and civil society groups,’’ he said.

    Responding, Idabor lauded CISLAC for the idea which he said was a commendable departure from the antagonistic disposition of most CSOs to government.

    Idabor said NOSDRA was willing to partner with CISLAC, noting however, that the agency role in the Ogoni cleanup was mainly regulatory.

    He immediately directed his officials to raise a three-man team to liase with CISLAC to work out the proposed partnership deal.

    The NOSDRA boss sought the assistance of CSO in producing database of abandoned installations in the Niger Delta to guide the anticipated engagement with the companies concerned for necessary action.

     

  • Army begins ‘Crocodile Smile III’ in Niger Delta

    The Nigerian Army says it has commenced Operation Crocodile Smile III exercise across the states of the Niger Delta to stem the tide of pipeline vandalism in the region.
     
    This is contained in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Uyo on Tuesday by the Acting Assistant Director, Army Public Relations, Tayo Oluwafemi, of 2 Brigade Nigerian Army.
     
    According to him, the exercise which started on Monday October 22 would last till November 22, 2018.
     
    “In line with the Army Headquarters Training Directive for Year 2018 which tasked Headquarters 6 Division, Port Harcourt to organize above mentioned exercise, the exercise is going to take place within the States in the Niger Delta Region including Akwa Ibom State.
     
    “In view of this, Headquarters 2 Brigade, Uyo will from Monday 22 October to 22 November 2018 conduct Exercise Crocodile Smile III.
     
    “This is aimed at stemming the tide of pipeline vandalism, illegal refineries/bunkering, kidnapping, cultism and other related crimes, “ he said.
     
    He added that other activities to be carried out include medical outreaches, sanitation exercise, distribution of items to orphanages, distribution of sporting equipment to schools, distribution of items to market women and sinking of boreholes.
     
    He warned members of the public that there would be movement of troops and equipment and advised them not to panic.
     
    He urged members of the public especially residents of Ikot Abasi and Mbo Local Government Areas in Akwa Ibom to keep away from the exercise area.

  • NDDC 2018 budget: Senate refers N364bn proposal to committee [Breakdown]

    The Senate has referred to its Committee the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) 2018 statutory budget proposal sent to the House by President Muhammadu Buhari.
    TheNewsGuru (TNG) reports this followed a motion moved by Senator Ahmad Lawan that the Senate do consider the request of President Buhari for the approval of the NDDC 2018 statutory budget proposal.
    President Buhari in an executive communication requested the Senate considers approval of N346 billion as the 2018 budget proposal of the NDDC.
    The figure is N18 billion lower than the N364 billion budget approved for the Commission in the 2017 fiscal year.
    A breakdown of the proposed amount shows a total recurrent expenditure of N32 billion and cumulative capital provision of N314 billion.
    The president listed sources of revenue for the Commission in 2018 to include Federal Government contribution (N81.8 billion) and unpaid arrears by the Federal Government (N33.9 billion).
    Others are contributions from oil companies and others (N220 billion) and other “realized income” (N150 million).
    While Senator Biodun Olujimi seconded that the Senate do consider the request of Mr. President, Senate President Bukola Saraki referred the executive communication to the Committee on Niger Delta for further legislative investigation.
    TNG reports the Niger Delta Committee has as its Chairman: Senator Peter Nwaboshi, and Senator Abdul Abubakar as its Vice Chairman.
     

  • I dumped PDP to promote peace, dev. in Niger Delta – Uduaghan

    Former governor of Delta State, Mr Emmanuel Uduaghan has said his defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to All Progressives Congress (APC), was informed by the desire to promote peace and development in the Niger Delta.

    Uduaghan, the immediate past governor of Delta state under the platform of the PD between 2007 and 2015, stated this when he fielded questions from State House correspondents at the end of the meeting of APC Caucus held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Tuesday night.

    The ex-governor was among those that attended the APC National caucus meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari and other party members.

    According to him, he also moved to APC because of the massive development being witnessed in the Niger Delta region under the APC-led Federal Government.

    “Politics is about interest. I’m from the Niger Delta and I managed a lot of crises in Niger Delta.

    “Sometimes I went to the creeks and engaged the boys, and my principle when I was managing the Niger Delta was out of engagement, and the current APC government has succeeded in managing the crisis they have met through engagement.

    “The President was seeing a lot of leaders from the Niger Delta while the Vice President went from state to state of oil producing states, making a lot of engagements, and agreements were reached.

    “Nobody at that level had gone from state to state before in Nigeria, this was the first time and of course if that is happening, they need to be supported by those of us from the Niger Delta who are passionate about Niger Delta so that in moving forward we can have solutions to the crisis of Niger Delta.

    “If a new person comes he would start putting agreements up again and all that,’’ he said.

    Uduaghan further explained that he was attracted to join the APC because of the massive infrastructural projects embarked upon by the Buhari administration in the Niger Delta region.

    He cited the recently rehabilitated rail lines in Delta state and the inauguration of a committee to actualize the Gas City project in the area.

    He said: “Secondly in the area of infrastructure, this government has done very well.

    “Talking about my state, for the first time a rail line came to Delta, for the first time the gas city which we have been talking about, a committee has been officially inaugurated and for the first time we have human capital development projects, school feeding; a lot is happening in Niger Delta.

    “So for me, let me join the party to be able to effect changes because we cannot achieve anything by working from the outside in the Niger Delta.

    “Some of us have to join the APC train and many people are going to come with me so that we can achieve a lot more in the Niger Delta for the APC government.

    “Politics is about regional interest and I’m interested in the Niger Delta.’’

     

  • 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.

     

  • Amnesty office to partner NOSDRA on disaster reduction in Niger Delta

    The Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta and Coordinator, Amnesty Programme Office, Prof. Charles Dokubo, says the office will collaborate with the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) on disaster reduction programmes in the Niger Delta.

    Mr Murphy Ganagana, Special Assistant Media, to Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta and Coordinator, Amnesty Programme made this known in a statement on Thursday in Abuja.

    Dokubo said that this partnership would include sensitisation campaigns on environmental hazards occasioned by decades of oil exploitation and safety measures.

    He assured the agency on the readiness of his office to partner NOSDRA towards curtailing the effects of environmental degradation on communities in the Niger Delta.

    According to him, plans are underway for a conference on oil exploration and environmental degradation to look into the geological background of the Niger Delta and impact assessment.

    “I think we have to look at the ripple effects of environment; environmental degradation and economic resurgence is one issue we should always look at.

    “It has taken a long time and now that the government has decided that clean up period has come, it is commendable

    ” I face a peculiar problem in the sense that whenever there is a crisis, most of the people I deal with will go and blow up pipelines.

    “I always tell them that they are not blowing up pipes that are in Kaduna; they are blowing up pipes that are in their own environment and that children yet unborn will suffer from these activities.

    “Oil pollution are not things that we hear in developed countries; new technologies are available that we can use now, but for our environment, it is already devastated”.

    He said that to resuscitate the environment, there was need to create awareness that this environment belongs to us, adding and if we do not take care of it, it would affect us negatively.

    Mr Peter Idabor, Director General, NOSDRA said the agency was concerned about the health of people living in the Niger Delta, especially the infusion of toxic substances through food chains.

    Idabor commended Dokubo for his efforts at deepening peace and stability in the Niger Delta.

    He called for the conversion of deep pits created during the construction of major roads in the Niger Delta to fish ponds to create jobs and wealth for beneficiaries of the Amnesty Programme.

    “We have noticed that your activities have drastically reduced cases of vandalism of pipelines in the Niger Delta, and we commend you for that.

    “We are responsible for the national oil spill contingency plan which is geared towards the third-tier oil spills in the country.

    “We are very much concerned about the health of our people; our greatest concern is the infusion of some of these toxic substances through the food chains and the effect on the health of our people.

    ” So, one of the things we do is to help create awareness; sensitise people on how to deal with this problem of having oil spillage in their immediate environment.

    “At this stage, there is little anybody can do, but if we can prevent people from getting too close to the substances, contaminated areas or eating foods that are contaminated, it will go a long way to educate the people.

    “That is why we have come to see if we can partner with you, and also have an opportunity to present resource persons from our own agency for you in any area that you require,” he said.

     

  • How we will tackle oil theft, vandalism in Bayelsa – NSCDC

    Mrs Christiana Abiakam-Omanu, the Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Bayelsa, says the command will leverage on inter-service collaboration to curb oil theft and vandalism

    Abiakam-Omanu, who spoke on Tuesday during a courtesy visit to Gov. Seriake Dickson in Yenagoa, gave an assurance that the corps would work closely with other security agencies in carrying out the corps’ mandate.

    She said the corps’ mandate of checking pipeline vandalism and protection of other government facilities and assets require the support of all security agencies as well as members of the public.

    Abiakam-Omanu assured Dickson that the command under her watch would ensure that the strategy of the NSCDC on intelligence and technology-driven security operations were actualised to make the state safer.

    The commandant said NSCDC’s strategies, which include intensified patrols on land and waterways, had ensured that no case of vandalism was reported in the last one month.

    She pledged to work harder to ensure that the prevailing sense of security on oil fields and facilities was maintained and sustained.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that Abiakam-Omanu was deployed to Bayelsa Command in June.

    Responding, Dickson thanked the commandant for the visit and assured her that the state government would render assistance to the command.

    Dickson, who frowned at the activities of some politicians who connive with security agencies to perpetrate crime in the state, advised the commandant to follow due process in carrying out the operations of the corps.

    NAN

  • Osinbajo to address stakeholders at 3rd National Council on Niger Delta

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo is to address stakeholders at the third regular meeting of National Council on Niger Delta in Umuahia, Abia, from 22nd to 27th July, 2018.

    Mr Marshall Gundu, Director Press, Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs said this in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja.

    Gundu noted that the council would address issues such as infrastructural development, environmental management, human capital development, security, agriculture, among other issues affecting the Niger Delta region.

    According to him, the National Council has its theme as: “Fostering synergy and institutional coordination for development in the Niger Delta region”.

    He said that since the creation of the Ministry in 2008, the Ministry only held its First National Council on Niger Delta in 2013 until the present administration held the second edition four years after in 2017.

    He said that the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, while addressing stakeholders at the Second National Council held in Akure, Ondo State in September 2017, directed the Ministry to hold the council regularly.

    He quoted the vice president as saying, “the council’s meetings will fast-track the development of the oil-rich Niger Delta region”.

    He said that the determination of the President Muhammadu Buhari led administration to ensure consistency of the meeting of the Council on Niger Delta has resulted in the planned 3rd National Council.

    Gundu said that various stakeholders, civil societies, development partners saddled with the responsibility of developing the Niger Delta region would feature at the meeting.

    He said that the meeting would be chaired by the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Pastor Usani Uguru Usani, while the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Aminu Aliyu will lead the technical sessions.