TheNewsGuru

Tag: Niger Delta

  • Niger Delta now witnesses less oil theft, illegal bunkering – Buratai

    Niger Delta now witnesses less oil theft, illegal bunkering – Buratai

    The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai says contrary to notion in some quarters, illegal bunkering, refinery and oil theft in the Niger Delta had reduced.

    Fielding questions from journalists in Uyo, on Tueswday, Buratai said with the establishment of new army formations in the region, illegal activities were being checkmated.

    The army chief was on tour of army formations in Aka Ibom, including the newly established 2 Brigade in Uyo.

    “Strictly speaking, there is no rise (in illegal bunkering and oil theft) because of the efforts of all the stakeholders, the military and other security agencies, working hard to make sure that the sabotage is checked.

    “That is why you see so many arrests, so many moves to stop the illegal bunkering. It is a new drive, new effort put by all the security agencies.

    “You know that we have a new 6 Division (of the Nigerian Army) that has been established.

    ‘’By that establishment, we have more areas which hitherto have not been touched.

    ‘’We have an experienced General Officer Commanding–GOC of the division, who has gone virtually to those areas that hitherto have been isolated,’’ he said.

    According to Buratai, there is heightened activity to stop oil theft and other illegal activities in the region.

    At the headquarters of the 2 brigade and 6 Battalion at Wellington Barracks, Ibagwa in Abak Local Government Area of the state, he called on officers and men to be loyal, patriotic and diligent in their duties.

    He said there be a lot of activities and intervention in the state, with the establishment of the brigade.

    Buratai, who has visited army formations in Cross River and inaugurated some projects is also to visit formations in Bayelsa on Tuesday, including the newly established 16 Brigade in Yenogoa.

    Earlier when he paid a courtesy visit to Gov. Udom Emmanuel, he said the 2 Brigade was relocated from Port Harcourt to Akwa Ibom for strategic reason.

    “The decision to relocate 2 Brigade from Port Harcourt to Uyo is a strategic reason. The strategic location of Akwa Ibom to the overall security architecture of the country is quite fundamental’’..

    He commended the governor for his support to enable the brigade take-off properly.

    Responding to another question, Buratai described the ambush attacked against troops in the North-East as isolated incident that was expected in a war situation.

    “We have been in war, so you cannot avoid such incidents. Mind you, these guys – terrorists are on the run but we will continue to pursue them.

    “They have been boxed sort of because most of their supplies have been blocked.

    ‘’So, they are trying as much as possible to find weak links to be able to get some supplies in terms of ammunition and weapons and then food stuff.

    “The situation is not out of control, we may continue to have these isolated attacks but by and large, we are pursuing them and the final phase of this operation is not far.’’

  • We’ll establish N20bn gas industrial park in N/Delta – Osinbajo

     

    The Federal Government says it plans to establish N20 billion gas industrial park in the Niger Delta, following a renewed interactive engagement with oil bearing communities in the region.

    The Acting President, Prof.Yemi Osinbajo, said this on Monday when some international developers and investors of the project met with him at the Presidential Villa.

    Tagged the Gas Revolution Industrial Park (GRIP), Ogidigben, and envisaged to be a regional hub for all gas-based industries, the public private partnership project will cover 2,700 hectares.

    It will also have with fertilizer, methanol, petrochemicals, and aluminium plants located in the park already designated as a Tax Free Zone by the Federal Government.

    Addressing the investors, Osinbajo stated that the Buhari administration “is committed to the development of the Niger Delta, and the importance of this project is underlined by the presidential attention it is attracting.’’

    He declared the presidency’s interest in the project.

    The acting president said, “We already have a Steering Committee in place, chaired by Minister of State for Petroleum Resources,that shows the level of our commitment; we are unwavering.

    “We take the project very seriously and glad to see you are committed and ready to make several other commitments.This is a process that we intend to see happen.”

    Before he went on vacation, Buhari had mandated Osinbajo to visit oil-producing communities, to demonstrate the resolve of the administration to the pursuit of a new vision for the Niger Delta.

    The building of an industrial gas hub in Ogidigben, Delta, was revived during the visit to the states.

    The investing consortium comprised fortune 500 companies such as the GSEC of South Korea, the China Development Bank, Power China and several other global operators from Asia and the United Arab Emirates.

    Under the plan presented by the consortium, about $20 billion would be invested to develop the Gas Revolution Industrial Park to generate 250,000 direct and indirect jobs.

    The park, originally conceived by NNPC, is located about 60 kilometres from Warri, and about 1kilometre from the operational base of Chevron Nigeria Ltd.

    It will be connected to over 18 trillion Cubic Feet of gas reserves in fields such as Odidi, Okan and Forcados, located within a 50-km radius.

    The park will also be connected to Nigeria’s most dominant gas pipeline network-ELPS to enable supply of gas to and from the park.

    In his speech at the occasion, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, expressed confidence that the GRIP would bring the much needed succour to the people of the Niger Delta.

    The minister also said that the oil-producing states would benefit from the project.

    Earlier, the leader of the group of investors and developers, Sheik Mohammed Bayo, stated the commitment of the consortium, adding that the project remained important to solving the Niger Delta crisis.
    NAN

  • Dialogue with Niger Delta youths, Itsekiri chief urges Osinbajo

    Dialogue with Niger Delta youths, Itsekiri chief urges Osinbajo

    Mr Clement Maleghemi, the Udefi Oba Oloye of Warri Kingdom in Delta, has appealed to Acting President Yemi Osinbajo to fulfill his promises of meeting with the Niger Delta youths.

    Maleghemi made the appeal on Saturday while speaking with newsmen in Warri on the significance of the “Udefi Day” celebration.

    He said that the recent fact-finding visit of the vice president to Delta was an indication that the Federal Government was listening to the yearning of the people in the Niger Delta region.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the vice president had on Jan. 16 promised to meet with the youths in the Niger Delta to enable them express their feelings and suggest ways to restore peace in the region.

    He made the promise when he met with traditional rulers, opinion leaders and other critical stakeholders in Delta at the Petroleum Training Institute (PTI) hall, Effurun, Delta.
    “The only one visit of the vice president is not enough to solve the problems of the region; but it is an encouragement to know that government is listening to our demands.

    “The last time the vice president came, he promised to summon the youths, create time to meet with them as a follow up in February.

    “The Federal Government is exploring every possibility to ensure that peace returns to the Niger Delta region.

    “I am confident that with all these moves, peace will definitely return to the region,” he said.

    Maleghemi, a business magnate, also commended the Nigerian Armed Forces for effectively checkmating illegal bunkering and other criminal activities in the creeks.

    The Itsekiri chief, however, urged the government to create employment opportunities and enabling environment to end hostilities in the region.

    Maleghemi, who was conferred with the title: “Udefi” on Oct. 8, 2016 by the Olu of Warri, Ogiame Ikenwoli, said the “Udefi Day” was marked every February 10.

    “It is a day that all Udefi descendants from all the 14 towns and villages founded by them in Iwere Kingdom come together at Ugbolokposo, our ancestral home to remember and honour our ancestral father Udefi.

    “This day is symbolic because it marks a dramatic departure from the hitherto aged-long practice of only a few people gathering annually on 10th of February to remember our ancestral father,” he said.

  • Nigeria loses $80bn annually to vandalism in Niger Delta – Kachikwu

    The Minister of State for Petroleum, Mr Ibe Kachikwu, has said Nigeria loses over $80bn annually due to vandalism of oil facilities in the Niger Delta.

    Kachikwu made this known in Friday in Yenagoa at the resumed dialogue with Niger Delta stakeholders as part of the visit of Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, to Bayelsa.

    He said that no fewer than 10,000 sabotage incidents were recorded annually at oilfields across the region.

    He regretted that within the last decade, estimated 30 billion dollars revenue accrued to the Niger Delta area by way of derivation, but that the region had continued to wallow in abject poverty.

    Kachikwu urged people of the area to contribute ideas toward the resolution of crises in the zone “and add value as well as derive some gain from the natural endowments of the region’’.

    He said that the challenges of the region could be turned into opportunities when peace was achieved, and called on Niger Delta people to give peace a chance for the growth of the region.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that the Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo is currently on a working visit to the Niger Delta in continuation of peace talks with aggrieved militants in the region.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that also on the train for the visit with the Acting President is Minister of State for Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu, Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Mr Usain Usain, and Minister of State for Agriculture, Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri.

  • Niger Delta Regional Development master plan ready for submission – Boroh

    Niger Delta Regional Development master plan ready for submission – Boroh

    The people of Niger Delta region will soon breathe a sigh of relief following on-going efforts by the present administration of President Muhammadu Buhari to improve their livelihoods.

    The Niger Delta extends over about 70,000 km (27,000 sq miles) and makes up 7.5 per cent of Nigeria’s land mass.

    Historically and cartographically, it consists of present-day Bayelsa, Delta, and Rivers States. In 2000, however, Ex President Olusengun Obasanjo’s regime included Abia, Akwa-Ibom, Cross River State, Edo, Imo and Ondo States in the region.

    Some 31 million people of more than 40 ethnic groups including the Bini, Efik, Esan, Ibibio, Igbo, Annang, Oron, Ijaw, Ikwerre, Itsekiri, Isoko, Urhobo, Ukwuani, Kalabari, Okrika and Ogoni, are among the inhabitants of the political Niger Delta, speaking about 250 different dialects.

    Nigeria used to be West Africa’s biggest producer of petroleum, as some two million barrels (320,000 m) a day were extracted in the Niger Delta.

    It was estimated that about 38 billion barrels of crude oil still reside under the delta as of early 2012.

    But that has changed due to youth restiveness, militancy and agitation in the region.

    This has slowed down the pace of development in the area as attempts made in the past to improve the lives of the people of the region had ended with very little results to show for the time and resources spent.

    To this end, the Federal Government had designed a master plan to ensure the development of the region.

    Brig-Gen. Paul Boroh, Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta Affairs, said the plan tagged; “Niger Delta Regional Development Master Plan’’ was ready for submission to the President.

    Boroh, who is also the Coordinator, Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), made this known in an interview with the newsmen in Abuja on Wednesday.

    According to him, the Master Plan is basically conceived as a tool that the people of the region could use to actualise their common vision and build their future to the standard they desire.

    “The Master Plan is designed to offer stakeholders at all levels individuals, groups and communities the opportunity to participate fully in the planning and decision making process.

    “The coordinating consultants require the ideas and opinions of stakeholders as basis for defining focus areas for development and for producing a vivid picture of what the people want the region to look like in the future.

    “This implies that the input of stakeholders today is what will determine the state of affairs both for individuals and communities in the region years to come,” he said.

    The coordinator said the Master Plan, covers demography, environment and hydrology, agriculture and aquaculture with focus on economic activities biodiversity, transport and infrastructure.

    Other areas he said includes rural, urban, regional planning and housing, community development, governance and capacity development, health, small and medium enterprises, water supply, and electricity.

    The reast are telecommunication and vocational training with focus on employment generation, waste management and sanitation, large-scale industry, solid minerals, tourism, social welfare, arts, sports and culture among others.

    According to him, it is understandable that the people of the region are quite disillusioned with plans at this time.

    “The disenchantment of the people notwithstanding, it must be stated that the Niger Delta Master Plan is different in its goals, focus and approach, and will not suffer the fate of the others before it,” he said

    The Federal Government recently held a National Summit on Niger Delta to secure Executive buy-in on the evolved Niger Delta Plan and Niger Delta Master Plan.

    The summit also looked at ways to ensure implementation of the Niger Delta Sustainable Development Compact (NDSDC).

     

    NAN

  • Sack NDDC board now or we make Niger Delta ungovernable – Militants tell Buhari

    A militant group known as the Niger Delta Revolutionary Crusaders, NDRC, has warned the Federal Government to sack the board of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, or it will make the region ungovernable.

    NDRC gave the call in a statement issued by its spokesperson, WOI Izon-Ebi, on Friday.

    The statement reads in part, “We want The Federal Government to allow the people of Niger Delta region to choose their leaders and control their God -given resources.

    “We want the appointment of directors of all Federal Government agencies and parastatals in the Niger Delta to be apolitical; we want the federal government to allow the people of the Niger Delta to recommend the best brains and technocrats to occupy the various offices if truly they are sincere and committed to the wellbeing, peace and development of the Niger Delta.

    “We want the Ministry of Niger Delta to be probed from the tenure of former minister, Elder Godsday Orubebe to date and the East-West Road in particular.

    “We want also the NDDC to be probed from the time of Dan Abia to the present Board.

    “We want the present board of the NDDC to be sacked immediately because they lack vision and focus.

    “We want the EFCC to swing into action to probe the present NDDC board because with the facts available to us, which we would publish next, it will be shameful.

    “If this present administration that rode to power with the slogan of fighting corruption refuses to hear to our plea, we, on our own, will make that place ungovernable for them because NDDC was created by the sacrifices and blood of the Niger Delta people. We would not sit and watch some group of unpatriotic Niger Deltans that lack vision of the NDDC to continue to enrich themselves to the detriment of the Niger Delta.”

    TheNewsGuru.com recalls that the Acting President, Yemi Osibajo was recently in the Niger Delta to meet with the various groups and leadership of the union to find long lasting solutions to the unrest that has engulfed the region for many years.

  • Osinbajo’s visit to Niger Delta is meaningless, says ex-Minister, Kenneth Gbagi

    A former Minister of State for Education, Olorogun Kenneth Gbagi, has said the visit by the Vice President to Niger Delta on Monday to understudy the challenges battling the region fails to address the core issues that can ensure lasting solutions to that troubled part of Nigeria.

    Gbagi said Osinbajo’s visit doesn’t come with any policy statement from the government addressing the issues at hand.

    He added that oil well in the Niger Delta will not dry up in the next 100 years.

    He made the remark in response to Osinbajo’s call for diversification of the nation’s economy because the value of oil would drop in the next 20 to 30 years.

    Addressing reporters in Abuja, Gbagi frowned at Osinbajo’s visit to Olu of Warrior, His Majesty, Ogiame Ikenwoli and not going to Urhobo land.

    He claimed that the federal government took the people of Urhobo for granted for not visiting the area which was the hob of gas production.

    Gbagi alleged that the refusal of the Vice President to visit Ughelli in Urhobo land, was a replay of what happened in 1971 when the then Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon scheduled a visit to the land but the secretary, an Itsekiri did not allow the visit to materialise.

    According to Gbagi, “While we are looking for peace, the sensibility of Urhobo people should not be taken for granted, the Urhobo people have been taken for granted for too long in the scheme of things.

    “A similar situation happened in 1971 when Gowon was to visit Midwest which is now Delta, the Secretary then was an Iteskiri man and they crafted a similar visit to exclude the Urhobo nation, it is on record that Urhobos hold the bedrock of gas company, that is the major source of electricity in Nigeria today, not to talk of all the oil wells, pipelines across the entire Urhobo nation. Urhobos being the 4th largest nationality in Nigeria have been for sometimes now neglected and relegated to the background because of their peaceful nature.

    “While it appears that trouble makers get greater reward in Nigeria, the school of violence, agitations does not belong to any ethnic group. I see the visit of the Vice President as irresponsibly put together as it is not in the interest of the much desired peace; I congratulate the Orodje of Okpe Kingdom and all those who walked out from that gathering of shame.

    “I was reliably informed that the Programme which originally was to see the Vice President’s visit to Gbaramatu, the Olu of Warri and the visit to Ughelli where the oldest traditional ruler, the Owhorode of Olomu who is 100 years resides, to host all the traditional rulers in conjunction with a meeting with the Vice President, was truncated by the governor of the State and the deputy.

    “We should root for genuine peace to support the good initiative of Mr. president and stop playing lip service or waste the economic base of Nigeria.

    “Quoting the Vice President, at least 97% of the economy today is rested on oil and gasj his claim that oil will soon finish or dry up is a political statement without foundation, the gas situated on Otolobo at least will last for another 100 years, tax payers’ money earners like the Vice President and persons in government must seek information where they don’t have them and stop heating the polity.

    “I will grant a statement on the second year of the administration in Delta as I have done in all previous governments. Urhobos will make our position known to the government at the Centre.

    “The visit of the Vice President is meaningless, made no statement; it is akin to a personal visit to the Olu of Warri as there is no policy statement from the government addressing the issues at hand.”

     

  • Exclusive: Osinbajo secretly meets Tompolo other N/Delta agitators

    The presidency’s fact-finding team, headed by Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo , yesterday had a closed door meeting with ex-militant leader, Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo and other Niger Delta agitators.

    The fact finding team was set up by President Muhammadu Buhari to visit the troubled Niger Delta region and obtain first-hand information from the people in order to understudy the problems and frequent conflicts between the region and government

    TheNewsGuru gathered from a very reliable source that the Osinbajo-led team which started its job at Oporoza, traditional headquarters of Gbaramatu Kingdom [home base of Tompolo], had a meeting with the ex-militant leader.

    According to our source the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta and Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Paul Boroh had earlier held a meeting with the militants to prepare the ground for Osinbajo’s visit to N/Delta.

    Our source added, “Prior to Osinbajo’s visit several other meetings took place between federal government representatives and the militants at Benin, Abuja and other places before the militants finally agreed to meet with the vice president.”

    The meeting between Osinbajo and Tompolo our source said had in attendance Minister for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu, Boroh, Tompolo himself, Itsekiri’s Ayiri Emami, representatives of the Niger Delta Avengers among other agitators in the region.

    Full details soon…

  • Osinbajo visit: Niger Delta youths list condition for peace

    Osinbajo visit: Niger Delta youths list condition for peace

     

    The youths in the Niger Delta region on Sunday released a 22-point demand ahead of a visit by the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo scheduled to hold on Monday, (today) to proffer a long lasting solution to the crisis in the oil rich region.

    The youths amongst other demands, stated the Federal Government must facilitate the immediate release of detained activists and ex-militants arrested by operatives of the Nigerian army in the region.

    They also declared their support for the Chief Edwin Clark-led Pan Niger Delta Forum to negotiate between the people of the region and the Federal Government to ensure sustainable peace in the region.

    The youths made the demand in seprate statements by the Ijaw Youth Council, IYC and the Urhobo Youth Leaders Association, UYLA.

    The statement by the IYC was signed by the group’s spokesman, Mr. Eric Omare, while the one by UYLA was signed by its National President and Secretary, Mr. Francis Arhiyor and Mr. Vincent Oyibode respectively.

    The two groups maintained that the release of those being held by security agencies would signal government’s readiness to engage in dialogue with the people.

    Omare of the IYC said, “Ahead of Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo’s visit to the Niger Delta starting from Oporoza in Gbaramatu Kingdom of Delta State on Monday, January 16, 2017, the Ijaw Youth Council has called on the Federal Government to release all the Niger Delta activists and ex-agitators in detention without trial.

    “The IYC believes that releasing those in illegal Federal Government’s detention would be evidence of the government’s sincerity to peacefully resolve the Niger Delta crisis. Several Niger Delta activists and ex-agitators, including Bounanawei Smith, Ezekiel Daniel, Alex Odogu, Aboy Muturu, Monday Ebimene, Churchill Oghoneye and others, are in different military detention centres without trial.”

    The IYC pointed out that the Niger Delta people could not meaningfully dialogue with the Federal Government in the face of intimidation, arrests and militarisation in the region, urging the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration to respect the wishes and position of the oil-rich region by immediately demilitarising the region.

    On its own part, UYLA, while thanking the Federal Government for initiating the visit, called for true fiscal federalism as well as an increase in derivation benefit to the region from 13 to 50 per cent within every period of five years.

    The group also demanded an urgent repeal of all unjust and oppressive legislation, laws, policies that vested ownership and control of oil and gas resources in the country on the Federal Government.

    However, other stakeholders in region as described the Vice-President’s proposed visit as timely, saying if recommendations reached at the visit is followed to the letter, the long awaited peace in the Niger Delta will be achieved soonest.

     

  • Fuel scarcity looms as NUPENG declares 3-day nationwide strike

    The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has declared a nationwide strike beginning from today.

    The strike which will affect the flow of petrol to filling stations, has shut down seven crude flow stations in the Niger Delta, a union official said on Wednesday.

    The strike is in protest over pay and job losses. NUPENG is one of several labour unions that have criticised oil companies for sacking workers in the last few months.

    “Filling stations, petrol tankers and all NUPENG members are involved,” Cogent Ojobo, NUPENG’s Warri zonal chairman, said.

    The union said the strike would last for three days and involve around 10,000 workers.

    Ojobo said union officials would hold talks with the labour minister in the capital, Abuja, later on Wednesday. “If the issues at stake are resolved and a communiqué signed, the strike would be called off,” he said.

    He also said workers had gone on strike at seven crude oil flow stations in and around Oleh, a town in Delta state, which is in the Niger Delta.

    “Seven flow stations belonging to NPDC were shut by the workers and they are still shut now,” Ojobo said. He also said the workers, who are employed by contractors, say they have not been paid. The flow stations were shut on Tuesday.

    The Labour ministry spokesman was not immediately available to comment.

    Nigeria has been hit hard by a slump in crude oil prices in the past two years, which helped to push the country into recession. A wave of militant attacks in the southern Niger Delta oil hub throughout 2016 has hampered production.

    Ndu Ughamadu, a spokesman for Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), a subsidiary of the state-run oil company NNPC, said checks were being made to establish whether the Niger Delta flow stations had been affected.

    Last week, NUPENG held a strike at Total’s fuel depots in a protest over sackings, but it was suspended after one day after an agreement was reached. No details have emerged about the deal.