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Tag: Niger Delta

  • Military arrests 210 suspects for oil theft in Niger Delta

    Military arrests 210 suspects for oil theft in Niger Delta

    No fewer than 210 persons have been arrested in the Niger Delta for crude oil theft following intelligence gathering and military operations carried out in the region.

    This piece of information was  made available to newsmen by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed in Abuja on Friday.

    Mohammed had a meeting with officers of Nembe Creek Trunk Line and Bonny Oil and Gas Terminal that have been under force majeure since March 2022.

    He said 365 illegal refining sites were destroyed, with about 1,054 refining ovens, 1,210 metal storage tanks, 838 dugout pits, and 346 reservoirs destroyed.

    The minister disclosed that the campaign by the Military has also led to the confiscation of 20.2 million litres of AGO, 461.8 thousand litres of petrol, 843.6 thousand litres of DPK, and 383.5 thousand barrels of crude oil.

    It was reported that Nigeria loses 00,000 barrels of oil per day in the Niger Delta due to oil theft.

    However, Mohammed reiterated the government’s resolve to end crude oil theft in the country from vandals and economic saboteurs, adding that their impact have negatively affected the production of crude oil and natural gas in the country.

    “We have witnessed first-hand a number of illegal refineries destroyed by our military in the course of our aerial surveillance.

    “Several vehicles, crude mining and bunkering equipment like speed boats, wooden boats, market boats, trucks and tankers have been confiscated by the government security agencies,” Mohammed said.

    Meanwhile the NNPC has set up a central command and control centre to enable it effectively carry out a real time monitoring of petroleum activities including movement of all vessels within the Nigerian Exclusive Economic Zone.

    The General Manager National Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), a subsidiary of NNPCL, Bala Wunti,  stated this while briefing the minister.

    He said the control centre has also launched the Crude Sales Document Validation Portal to enable the public to validate all crude sales, particularly those illegally exported.

    “The thinking is that a lot is being exported. If it is exported it is illegal crude. Yesterday the GCO in New York asked the international community to declare that kind of crude as blood oil. And for us to be able to make sure we do that we have to set up what we call crude validation portal,” Wunti said.

    He said the portal will ensure that all the crude oil exported from Nigeria has an entry number that will enable a potential buyer to get details about the quantity and genuineness of such a product  by using a special code available on the portal for verification.

    He said over 97 incidents have been reported on the portal, while a whistle blower portal also allows the public to report unwholesome activities. According to him, 35 whistle blowers are reported on the average daily.

    TheNewsGuru (TNG) had earlier reported that Angola and Libya have overtaken Nigeria in the production volume output in crude oil.

    Read Also: https://thenewsguru.ng/nigeria-news/nigeria-overtaken-by-libya-angola-in-oil-production-opec/

     

  • PENGASSAN accuses Military, Police, others of oil theft

    PENGASSAN accuses Military, Police, others of oil theft

    The President of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Comrade Festus Osifo, has hinted that the heads of the Nigerian Military, Police and other security agencies collude to steal crude oil in the Niger Delta.

    This revelation was made known during his appearance at the one-day public hearing of the Senate Ad-hoc Committee to investigate oil lifting, theft and the impact on petroleum production and oil revenues

    The seminar was presided over by Senator Albert Bassey Akpan at the floor of the Red chamber.

    Osifo   lamented the involvement of security who post their personnel to the Niger Delta to serve their interest illicitly.

    “The stakeholders all know clearly what is happening. It is not that people don’t know the problem.

    “One of the greatest problems we have, which nobody has highlighted, is that there is a strong collusion of our security forces. There is no doubt about it.

    “From our Army to our Naval officers, we have some information that they pay their superiors to post them to some areas in the Niger Delta.

    “I think the people who have solutions to this problem are not even the ones sitting here. They are the ones you will invite behind the camera.”

    Prior to Osifo’s revelation, the Committee Chairman, Senator Albert Bassey Akpan expressed disappointment and displeasure over endless oil theft  ravaging Niger-Delta  communities.

    He disclosed that committee members have paid a visit to the Niger Delta on sight seeing, stressing that after the inspection of some terminals, they left Port Harcourt.

    Akpan said, “As a Committee of the Senate, we have the privilege of carrying out extensive on the spot assessment of where we found ourselves. It might interest you to know that we spent over seven days in Port Harcourt trying to find out the conditions of onshore and offshore being briefed by the relevant stakeholders.

    “The first thing we needed to do is get a convincing understanding of what the institution is passing through and nobody was happy when we left.

    “As a Committee, when we talk about oil theft, it’s on a daily basis. It’s also not good that the short fall based on our inability to meet the oil quota is as a result of oil theft.

    “Mr President, my distinguished colleagues, we share instances of Bonny terminal which is run by Shell Petroleum. This terminal over a year ago was exporting 60 tankers of crude oil with a minimum of one million barrels of crude oil per tanker per month.

    “But in the last seven months, not one barrel of crude oil has passed through that terminal, so you can imagine the huge loss and we are here as a country struggling to meet up with our economic challenges.

    “The MTEF that has been submitted to us, the Federal government is seeking a budget deficit of over N11 trillion and here we are as a country shutting oil production over 700 million barrels.”

    The committee will draft its report and forward to the appropriate quarters for measures to be taken to stop oil theft in those communities.

     

  • Go and occupy Sambisa, not our land – N’Delta group to Nigerian Military

    Go and occupy Sambisa, not our land – N’Delta group to Nigerian Military

    The Ijaw Peoples Development Initiative (IPDI) has called for the immediate evacuation soldiers occupying their land and send them to Sambisa.

    The call is contained in a statement signed by its national president, Comrade Austin Ozobo.

    The copies of the statement were made available to journalists on Tuesday.

    The group alleged that military have occupied Udouda and Okobe communities in Egene kingdom in Ahoada West Local Government Area of Rivers State, and denying homeless and defenceless residents to return to their homes.

    The body said it has not seen any provocation in the South-South or Niger Delta region currently to have made the military bombard, kill and conquer a residential community compared to the glaring provocations in northern Nigeria which the military is sentimentally ignoring.

    It noted that residents of Uduoda and Okobe communities were not at war with the Nigerian military and, as such, needed not to be haunted, killed gruesomely, and conquered by Nigerian troops.

    According to the statement, “If the Nigerian military is looking for somewhere to conquer and occupy, it should be the Sambisa forest and not residential communities whose common trade is fishing and farming.

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    “We want to make it abundantly clear that Uduoda and Okobe communities in Rivers State are not militant hideouts or camps and can’t be shelled or bombed with crude military intelligence because these are communities that have Government schools, churches, MTN mast, government power lines, and others.”

    IPDI called on the Nigerian military authorities to prevail on the Chief of Army Staff to evacuate soldiers out of Udouda and Okobe communities without further delay to allow the fleeing residents to return to their homes “as hundreds of persons have been made homeless and suffering as a result of these invasions.”

    “Again, we call on the Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, the Chief of Defence Staff, and Chief of Army Staff to prevail on the military task force, Operation Delta Safe in Rivers and Bayelsa State to stop further invasions in Niger Delta Communities and ensure the military personnel who have perpetrated this heinous crime against Uduoda and Okobe communities be made to face justice,” the group said.

    IPDI, however, urged Niger Delta communities to sue the Nigerian military for at least N100 billion for any unlawful military torture, harassment, and invasion “to check the excessive militarization of Niger Delta communities.”

    The group insisted that “mere suspicion that some people are carrying a gun or doing bunkering business in a community is not enough reason to bombard such community, because it should be remembered that as people, carrying a gun is being targetted, there are also good people in that community who are not carrying gun or doing bunkering.

    The statement reads in full; “The military should tell Nigerians why ancient Udouda and Okobe communities were bombarded and who are they looking for and the crime committed by such persons should be told.

    “The way the Nigerian military invades and bombards defenceless communities in Niger Delta, if they had replicated it in fighting terrorism, banditry and Islamic militants, by now, Nigeria might have been free completely from Islamic Taliban.

    “Even the Bible is against clearing the weeds and the wheat together. Jesus said live with them to grow together but on the last day, they will be separated. If what we call military intelligence nowadays is now mere hearsay. When you want to attack a residential community, you should know first, whether the place is a residential area, what the population size of those being hunted for, and other lawful residents in the community because you must avoid collateral damage.

    “The weak needs to be protected in all operations, but the case of Niger Delta is different. It is wrong to embark on any operation especially in a residential community to kill the weak. Why the weak? because the strong ones will always escape unhurt.

    “It must be made clear that no force is expected to destroy her people with weapons of mass destruction or meant for external aggression because of some provocation arising from a community. This is an act of war crime and abuse of the fundamental rights of innocent citizens.

    “There is no city or town in the world that does not harbour a criminal element or is completely free from criminal activities.

    “If the barbaric military invasions and bombardments in the Niger Delta are embraced, then the military should invade the entire world for consciously or unconsciously abhorring criminal elements or activities.

    “If Nigeria military is not lopsided or sectional, Kaduna, Zamfara, Sokoto, Abuja, Yobe and other cities and towns in the northeastern part of the country abhorring large presence of bandits and terrorists should have all been heavily air-raided by now.

    “We are seriously provoked, and we don’t care to know the crime in which the Rivers communities were shelled, because thousands of such crimes are perpetrated in the cities and towns of northern Nigeria and no raid has been carried out. This shows that Nigeria’s military operations are selective and lopsided.

    “Again, we are not moved by these lopsided attacks against Niger Delta communities in whatever coloration the military wants to paint it to justify their inimical action.

    “Currently, Abuja is under siege of Islamic terrorists and we expected Abuja to be bombed with the Islamic Taliban including all innocent people thereof, as it is being done to peaceful law-abiding Udouda and Okobe communities in Rivers State in recent times.

    “We want to state unequivocally that the suspicion that a community abhors some suspected criminal elements do not mean that there are no good people in the community. So the military should be brave enough to avoid causalities if there should be any such operation at all. If you say the good people should evacuate such a community, we will ask why the people in the northeast, Abuja, Kaduna, and others have not relocated despite the heavy presence of bandits in such communities.

    “Sadly, the military in Nigeria wants to wipe out Niger Delta communities, they protect innocent citizens in northern Nigeria but in Southern Nigeria, they kill the innocent together with suspects.

    “We want to make it abundantly clear that Uduoda and Okobe communities in Rivers State are not militant hideouts or camps and can’t be shelled or bombed with crude military intelligence because these are communities that have Government schools, churches, MTN mast, government power lines, and others.”

  • Pains of Niger Delta run through my veins – NNPP Senatorial candidate

    Pains of Niger Delta run through my veins – NNPP Senatorial candidate

    Candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) for Delta South Senatorial District for the 2023 elections, Commodore Omatseye Nesiama (rtd) has said the pains of the Niger Delta region run through his veins.

    Nesiama, who said this during a consultative visit to the President of the Ijaw National Congress (INC), Professor Benjamin Okaba in Bomadi on Tuesday, lamented that the development of the Delta South Senatorial District is not commensurate with the resources domiciled in the district.

    He ascribed this to the inabilities to influence positive developments from the centre to the district, while also alluding to the fact that the people have resorted themselves to fate with the belief that they cannot change the tide to their favour.

    “The truth is that the Delta South Senatorial District, despite the resources, is still very poor when compared to some other senatorial districts in the country. Why it is so is not farfetched. There are certain things that have been in place for a while, and we have started growing used to those things being that way. We are made to believe that it is impossible for us to make changes that will better our well-being. But I dare say today that it is possible for us to get up and go higher,” Nesiama said.

    The NNPP candidate who further said that “the pains of the Niger Delta run through my veins” appealed to the INC President to help him carry the message of hope in the language the people understand and that all hope is not lost as his candidacy, which is running with the slogan “It Is Possible,” is focused on a quality representation that is leveraged on the many years of his expertise and experience for the general benefit of the district.

    In his remarks, Professor Okaba commended Nesiama for exhibiting competence and for his vision of quality representation in his drive to represent the people of the oil-rich Delta South Senatorial District at the Red Chambers come 2023.

    Okaba noted that one of the major problems, among others facing the country is poor leadership-cum-representation. He promised to set up political machinery in a couple of weeks to engage political contestants to “let us know what they want to provide for the Ijaw Nation”.

    Presented with the manifesto of the NNPP’s candidate, the INC President noted that though the country’s constitution is skewed to favour a section of the country, the issue of the south is worsened by those who offer poor representation in the centre.

    “We have people who are lily-livered, we have people who are ignoramus going there to serve the interest of the people worsening the situation. Even if we don’t have the majority, we should have the say and be heard. Look at Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State giving quality representation to the Niger Delta on issues because he has the mental capacity, the experience and all,” Okaba said.

    Speaking further he added: “I have accessed you; you have displayed content and you have displayed competence. You have the dexterity to move on, the assurance I want to give to you is that we are taking very serious note of you and what you represent. We have taken serious consideration of the quality representation you are, and we are going to provide another platform where you will address the wider section of the Ijaw people of Niger Delta”.

  • Niger Delta stakeholders demand board approval for NDDC

    Niger Delta stakeholders demand board approval for NDDC

    Stakeholders in the Niger Delta region have appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to approve a board rather than a sole administrator for the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

    The stakeholders, under the auspices of the Niger Delta Movement for Development (NDMD), made the appeal in a statement signed by its Publicity Secretary, Mr Ogbakiri Yanga, on Thursday in Yenagoa.

    The NDMD members said that they would only accept the current management team led by Dr. Efiong Akwa as the commission’s last interim administrator.

    The stakeholders said their call became necessary because they recently “observed with dismay another selfish plot to make the NDDC an appendage of the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs with full powers to dictate the direction of the commission.”

    The statement said the NDMD emergency meeting, where their resolution was taken, held in Oporoza, Delta and was attended by youth leaders and elders from the region.

    Members of the NDMD resolved that they would not accept another sole administrator for the NDDC.

    The NDMD maintained that any other change in the management of the NDDC should be the appointment of a board rather than a sole administrator, as directed by the Act establishing the commission.

    “This is the least we expect from The Presidency and the Ministry of Niger Delta.  Any announcement of another interim administrator other than the inauguration of a substantive board will be viewed by us as provocative and the highest level of insensitivity.

    “We have stomached this outright neglect of our opinions and feelings for a long time because we believe that Dr. Efiong Akwa will be the last sole administrator of this commission.

    “Any other change of management must be the inauguration of a board.

    According to the body, any administration other than a substantive board will lead to a revolution of unimaginable proportion in the region, saying the entire Niger Delta was watching with keen interests and was prepared to rise to defend its common interests.

    Members of the NDMD described as “utter wickedness” the plot by some few selfish individuals to want to institute and perpetuate the status quo.

    “We want to believe that some selfish individuals are bent in totally damaging the image of President Muhammadu Buhari in the Niger Delta.

    “Already, the way some of these individuals have handled the affairs of the NDDC has left much to be desired, “ the statement said.

    It said the people were quiet because they believed that the next change of leadership would be the announcement of a board.

    “Don’t taste the wrath of a lion by touching its tail. Any attempt to appoint another interim administrator will be likened to waking up a sleeping dog.

    The group then urged Buhari to urgently constitute the board for the commission.

    They also said it was unacceptable the moves in some quarters to reduce the powers of NDDC and make it subservient to the Ministry of the Niger Delta Commission.

    The NDMD said it was keenly monitoring the situation, adding that the planned selfish move by these unnamed persons was not in the best interest of the region.

  • Lawyer drags Buhari, AGF, Umana to court over alleged unlawful interference in NDDC

    Lawyer drags Buhari, AGF, Umana to court over alleged unlawful interference in NDDC

    Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari, Attorney General of the Federation, AGF, Abubakar Malami, and Niger Delta Affairs Minister, Umana Umana, have been dragged before a Federal High Court in Abuja, by a lawyer, Oladimeji Felix Ekengba, over alleged unlawful interference in the operations and management of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

     

    In the suit filed before the Federal High Court in Abuja, Ekengba accused President Buhari, the AGF and Umana of flouting the NDDC Act in recent appointments and actions.

     

    The lawyer claimed that Umana unlawfully assumed the position of the Managing Director of the intervention agency in the running of its affairs, contrary to the provisions of the law that established it.

     

    In an affidavit supporting the suit, the plaintiff averred that the President, having sworn to uphold the provisions and tenets of the Constitution, is under obligation to ensure the enforcement and compliance with all Acts of the National Assembly, including that of the NDDC.

     

    He added that Umana was aiding and abetting the President in allegedly breaching the provisions of the Constitution by seeking to interfere or usurp the powers of the board and management of the NDDC, contrary to Section 4 of the 1999 Constitution and Section 2 of the NDDC Act.

     

    The plaintiff asserted that President Buhari, by administrative fiat, allegedly amended the provisions of Section 2 of the NDDC Act by appointing the Niger Delta Minister, Niger Delta Ministry and the Permanent Secretary in the ministry as governing board members of the commission without amending the law to accommodate them.

     

    He added that in carrying out the unconstitutional fiat, Umana and the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs wrote a letter to the NDDC, seeking to interfere and usurp the powers of the board on August 8, 2022, by requesting for personnel audit and bio-data of the commission.

     

    The plaintiff also averred that Umana, the ministry and its Permanent Secretary inaugurated a committee on the compressive staff audit of the NDDC via a letter, dated August 15, 2022.

     

    He added that Umana, on August 17, issued directives on the day-to-day running of the NDDC, contrary to the clear position of the law.

     

    Ekengba prayed the court to restrain the defendants from further interfering or issuing directives to the management and workers of the NDDC, arguing that doing so violates Section 4 of the 1999 Constitution, among others.

     

    On why he sued, Ekengba, who claimed to be an indigene of Imo State, said s a stakeholder, he was affected by the mismanagement of the NDDC.

     

    The lawyer stressed that he is not being sponsored by anybody or group, saying “as a lawyer, it was incumbent on me to ensure that the Constitution is complied with by all.”

  • Buhari will soon appoint NDDC board – Minister of Transportation

    Buhari will soon appoint NDDC board – Minister of Transportation

     

    President Muhammadu Buhari with name a new management and Board for the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) soon with the commencement of the implementation of the Report of the Forensic Audit already taking place in phases.
    This was revealed by Minister of Transportation, Muazu Sambo at a retreat for management of Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, held at the State House Conference Center, Presidential Villa Abuja.

    Buhari who was represented by Sambo at the event noted that the essence of the retreat was to sensitize and educate the Management of the Ministry and Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) on how to function collaboratively to achieve their respective mandates targeted at improving the living conditions of the Niger Deltans.

    He said the Federal Government had made huge commitments to the Niger Delta Region in line with his administration’s resolve to give the people a new lease of life.

  • See list of Buhari’s new Ministers and their portfolios

    See list of Buhari’s new Ministers and their portfolios

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday reshuffled his cabinet with newly-designated ministers given portfolios.

    Below is the list of the ministers’ new portfolios:

    1. Adeleke Mamora – Minister of Science and Technology (formerly Minister of State, Health)
    2. Mu’azu Jaji Sambo – Minister of Transportation (formerly Minister of Power)
    3. Umanna Okon Umanna – Minister of Niger Delta
    4. Sharon Ikeazor – Minister of State, Niger Delta (formerly Minister of State, Environment)
    5. Gbemisola Saraki – Minister of State, Mines and Steel Development (formerly Minister of State, Transportation)
    6. Umar Ibrahim EI-Yakub – Minister of State, Works and Housing
    7. Goodluck Nanah Opiah – Minister of State, Education
    8. Ekumankama Joseph Nkama – Minister of State, Health
    9. Ikoh Henry Ikechukwu – Minister of State, Science and Technology
    10. Odum Udi – Minister of State, Environment
    11. Ademola Adewole Adegoroye – Minister of State, Transportation

    What President Buhari told new Ministers

    Meanwhile, President Buhari on Wednesday charged the new ministers to serve the nation diligently, maintain unalloyed loyalty to the country and office of the President.

    Speaking at the swearing-in ceremony, which preceded the virtual Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, the president also announced the reassignment of portfolios in his cabinet.

    According to him, the new redeployment is aimed at reinvigorating certain sectors where the government desires to accomplish improved results, saying his administration is now on the home-stretch of its second term, more work still needs to be done in diverse areas of the economy and national life.

    Buhari urged the newest members of his cabinet to consult and collaborate with older cabinet colleagues and focus on driving key programmes already initiated by this administration.

    He also warned all members of the cabinet against corrupt practices, reiterating that public officers must be above board and those caught in corrupt practices would face the full wrath of the law.

    ‘‘I begin this address by welcoming on board, all newly sworn-in members of the Federal Executive Council. I also congratulate you because the process that you all passed through to reach this stage has been rigorous and meticulous.

    ‘‘The appointment of these new Ministers is in line with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which prescribes that the Federal Executive Council shall be made up of members from every state of the Federation.

    ‘‘I therefore urge you to consider your emergence out of millions of equally qualified Nigerians within the purview of selection from your State, as a call to duty which imposes the obligation to serve the nation diligently and presents to you the unique opportunity to work hard in service to the Government and the country.

    ‘‘At the valedictory session for six former Ministers that left to pursue other political careers, I promised that their replacement shall be a matter of priority so that the business of governance would not experience delays or setbacks.

    ‘‘This administration has been in the saddle since 2015 and is now on the home-stretch of its second term, as the nation prepares for the 2023 general elections.

    “All through, it has vigorously pursued the three main electoral objectives namely: Securing the nation; Diversifying & growing the economy as well as fighting corruption.

    ‘‘You are all coming on-board at this time with new energy, ideas, experiences and vigour, to join the existing team so that the implementation of policies, programs and projects associated with these electoral objectives would be escalated and accelerated.

    ‘‘There is still so much to be done for our country in the areas of infrastructure development, energy, access to finance, access to justice, technology and innovation, trade, agriculture, education and security. The list is inexhaustible,’’ he said.

    Buhari urged the newly appointed ministers to be conscious that time is of the essence as they assume office.

    ‘‘As I assign you portfolios, therefore, I expect you to carefully study your sectors, take wise counsel, reach out to key stakeholders, consult and collaborate with older cabinet colleagues and focus on driving key programs already initiated by this administration. Above all, be loyal to your President and your country.’’

    While underscoring the need for the old and new members of his Cabinet to work with common objectives of leaving indelible legacies for Nigerians and ending strongly with verifiable accomplishments, the president warned:

    ‘‘You must resist bad counsel, resist temptation and be circumspect in your utterances and conduct. You must totally eschew corruption and be above board because if caught there will be no sacred cows.’’

    The President told the newly appointed ministers to await further communication on their appropriate Ministerial Mandates from the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

    Prior to the commencement of the FEC meeting and swearing-in ceremony, the Council observed a minute of silence in honour of the Secretary-General of Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Mohammed Barkindo, who died on Tuesday in Abuja.

  • Nigeria, EU partner to address instability in Niger Delta

    Mr Milland Dikio, the Interim Administrator, Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), says the programme is partnering with the European Union (EU) to address the causes of instability in the Niger Delta.

    Dikio stated this when the Head of EU Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Ambassador Samuela Isopi, visited him in Abuja on Thursday.

    Newsmen reports that the Ambassador was represented by Mr Thomas Kieler, Head of Political affairs, EU.
    Addressing newsmen after the meeting, Dikio said that part of the meeting was to find a lasting solution to the issue of instability in the Niger Delta region.

    According to him, there is relatively peace in the region at the moment.
    “We are doing everything possible to ensure that peace remains among the citizens.
    “We want to collaborate with the EU in addressing the root causes of instability in the region.

    “The framework for doing that is to focus on the young people ages between 12 to 18 years,” he said.
    He expressed the belief that giving them a new outlook of life would stem the tide that leads to deviate behaviour in the region.

    “We are using what is called heart and mind to conflict resolution. We don’t believe in every problem needs nail and hammer to solve them. We are in peace with our people now.

    “We listen to their problems and proffers solutions to them. We do not meet all their problems but we are pointing other ways to ensure they express their grievance to the right channels, ” he said.

    On her part, Isopi said that EU had been offering a long standing partnership in the Niger Delta region since 2008, 2009.

    “We have been active in that region with big development projects and programme such as the Niger Delta Support Programme (NASP). We have invested 250 million euros in the region.
    “There are other projects but essentially, those projects are coming to an end but we will like to keep our focus on the Niger delta to address the current situation and assist the local areas, the local population towards prosperity development.

    “That’s why we are here today to discuss with them on how we might support them in the future. That was the basis of our discussion today.
    “We agreed with the current assessment on the need to address root causes and the underlying issues in the region,” she said.

  • NDDC revokes 20-year-old unexecuted contracts, orders contractors to refund monies received

    NDDC revokes 20-year-old unexecuted contracts, orders contractors to refund monies received

    The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has revoked contracts awarded between 2000 and 2019 where the contractors did not move to site.

    “Consequently, all affected contractors are advised to note that all monies earlier received by way of mobilisation for any of the projects are to be promptly refunded.

    “The contractors are to refund the monies to the commission’s account with the CBN,’’ NDDC’s Director of Corporate Affairs, Dr Ibitoye Abosede, announced in a statement issued in Port Harcourt on Sunday.

    Abosede stated that the Presidency directed the projects’ cancellation following recommendations in the recently-concluded forensic audit report on the NDDC.

    “This is to bring to the notice of all contractors engaged by the NDDC, as well as stakeholders and the general public, the implementation of the forensic audit report.

    “The Presidency has directed that all contracts awarded by the NDDC from 2000 to Dec. 31, 2019, for which the beneficiary contractors are yet to mobilise to site, are cancelled,’’ he stated.

    Abosede added that the cancellation was subject to any future re-award in accordance with the Public Procurement Act.

    “The cancellation is also in line with the terms of the contracts for the award of the said projects,’’ Abosede also stated.