News
…Set To Combat Oil Spill In N’Delta …As NOSDRA Fines Agip Oil
The Minister of Environment, Mrs Hadiza Mailafa on Monday said the Federal Government was ready to reduce cases of oil spillage to its barest minimum in the Niger Delta region.
The minister said this in Lagos at the fourth Biennial Global Initiative for West, Central and Southern Africa (GI-WACAF) regional conference and workshop on oil spill preparedness and response.
Mailafa said that the National Oil Spill Detention and Response Agency (NOSDRA) was set up by the Federal Government to clean up the oil spill in the regional.
“Environmental problems are dynamic. The Federal Government already has an effective agency with statutory responsibility to ensure that those oil spills are cleaned up.
“The Federal Government is up to the task in ensuring that we have a clean environment and reduce the impact of oil spillage in the country.”
The minister called for the stakeholders’ participation in combating the problem of oil spill.
“ We are sitting together to brainstorm and we should ensure we find a lasting solution to this problem.’’
Mr Peter Idabor, Director-General of NOSDRA, said that there was collaboration among the countries to adequately prepare to combat oil spill.
Idabor said that Nigeria recognised the current trend of offshore oil exploration and production, the national oil spill detection and response agency.
He said that the activation of the National Oil Spill Contingency Plan (NOSCP), after its review by other relevant stakeholders in July, was successful.
“The exercise brought out areas of strength and challenges, while the recommendations derived from this exercise are being incorporated in the NOSCP.
“It is expected that the national drill would be conducted before the next biennium conference in 2013.”
The Minister of Transport, Mr Idris Umar, said the gathering would strengthen the oil spill preparedness and response capability of the 22 countries in West and Central and Africa sub-regions.
“The West and Central African region is a major maritime route for transportation of oil as well as very active area in the field of oil exploration and production.
“These activities have posed a serious and permanent risk of oil pollution in the region. There is therefore the constant need for efforts to protect our rich maritime environment and consequently organise and prepare responses to marine pollution incidents.”
In a related development, the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) has ordered the Nigeria Agip Oil Company Ltd to pay N1 million as fine for failing to remediate oil impacted sites in its area of operation.
A statement issued by NOSDRA made available to newsmen in Eket, Akwa Ibom, and signed by the agency’s Head of Public Affairs, Mr Henshaw Oguwike, said the agency had informed Agip of its decision in writing.
It said: “The fine was imposed on Agip for the lack of response and failure to immediately contain, recover and clean-up oil spill impacted sites at its OB/OB Gas Plant in Obrikom Omoku, Rivers.
“In a letter to Agip dated September 19 over the incident, the Director-General/Chief Executive of NOSDRA, Mr Peter Idabor, said the action of the company amounted to contravention of Section 6(3) of the NOSDRA Act.
NOSDRA further directed Agip to mobilise to the oil impacted site already destroyed by the inferno resulting from the oil spill, for immediate clean-up and remediation, so as to prevent further degradation of the environment.
It further said that the director-general had informed the company that the quantum of compensation to be paid would be determined by the outcome of the damage assessment to be conducted by NOSDRA.
The letter also directed Agip to pay the fine N1 million into NOSDRA account within 14 days from the date of receipt of the letter or face stiffer penalty.
Vice President Kashim Shettima has arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for an official State visit at the invitation of the Prime Minister, Dr. Abiy Ahmed.
Upon arrival yesterday, Shettima was received at the airport by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Dr. Gedion Timothewos, and other members of the Ethiopian and Nigerian diplomatic corps.
Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Communication, Stanley Nkwocha, revealed this in a statement he signed yesterday, titled: “VP Shettima arrives in Ethiopia for official state visit.”
During the visit, Vice President Shettima will participate in the official launch of Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Programme, a flagship environmental initiative.
The programme designed to combat deforestation, enhance biodiversity, and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change targets the planting of 20 billion tree seedlings over a four-year period.
In line with strengthening bilateral ties in agriculture and industrial development, the Vice President will also embark on a strategic tour of key industrial zones and integrated agricultural facilities across selected regions of Ethiopia.
News
RSG Tasks Farmers On N4bn Agric Loan ….As RAAMP Takes Sensitization Campaign To Four LGs In Rivers
The Rivers State Government has called on the people of the state especially farmers to access the ?4billion agricultural loans made available by the State and domiciled in the Bank of Industry.
This is as the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) of Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP), a World Bank project, took its sensitization campaign to Opobo/Nkoro, Andoni, Port Harcourt City and Obio/Akpor local government areas.
The campaign was aimed at enlightening community dwellers and other stakeholders in the various local government areas on the RAAMP project implementation and programme activities.
The Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Maurice Ogolo, said this at Opobo town, Ngo, Port Harcourt City and Rumuodumanya, headquarters of the four local government areas respectively, during the sensitization campaign.
Ogolo said apart from the ?4billion, the government has also made available fertilizers and other farm inputs to farmers in the various local government areas.
The Permanent Secretary who is the Chairman, State Steering Committee for the project, said RAAMP will construct roads that will connect farms to markets to enable farmers and fishermen sell their farms produce and fishes.
He also said rural roads would be constructed to farms and fishing settlements, and warned against any act that will lead to the cancellation of the projects in the four local government areas.
According to him, the World Bank and Federal Government which are the financiers of the programme will not condone such acts like kidnapping, marching ground and other acts inimical to the successful implementation of the projects in their respective areas.
At PHALGA, Ogolo asserted that the city will benefit in the areas of roads and bridge construction.
He noted that RAAMP was thriving in both the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; Lagos and other states in the country, stressing that the project should also be given the seriousness it deserves in Rivers State.
Speaking at Opobo town, the headquarters of Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area, the project coordinator, RAAMP, Mr.Joshua Kpakol, said the programme would reduce poverty in the state.
According to him, both fishermen and farmers will maximally benefit from the programme.
At Ngo which is the headquarters of Andoni Local Government Area, Kpakol said roads will be constructed to all remote fishing settlements.
He said Rivers State is lucky to be among the states implementing the project, and stressed the need for the people to embrace it.
Meanwhile, Kpakol said at PHALGA that RAAMP is a project that will transform the lives of farmers, traders and other stakeholders in the area.
He urged the stakeholders to spread the information to their various communities.
However, some of the stakeholders at Opobo town complained about the destruction of their farms by bulls allegedly owed by traditional rulers in the area, as well as incessant stealing of their canoes at waterfronts.
At Ngo, Archbishop Elkanah Hanson, founder of El-Shaddai Church, commended the World Bank and the Federal Government for bringing the projects to Andoni.
He stressed the need for the construction of roads to fishing settlements in the area.
Also, a former Commissioner for Agriculture in the state and Okan Ama of Ekede, HRH King Gad Harry, noted that storage facilities have become necessary for a successful agricultural programme.
Harry also stressed the need for the programme to be made sustainable.
In their separate speeches, the administrators of Andoni and Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Areas, pledged their readiness to support the programme.
At Port Harcourt City, the Administrator, Dr Arthur Kalagbor, represented by the Head of Local Government Administration, Port Harcourt City, Mr Clifford Paul, said the city would support the implementation of the programme in the area.
Also, the administrator of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Dr Clifford Ndu Walter, represented by Mr Michael Elenwo, pledged to support the programme in his local government area.
Among dignitaries at the Obio/Akpor stakeholders engagement is the chairman, Rivers State Traditional Rulers Council and paramount ruler of Apara Kingdom, HRM Eze Chike Wodo, amongst others.
John Bibor
President Bola Tinubu has ordered the commencement of personnel audit and skill gap analysis across all cadres of federal civil servants.
The president gave this directive in Abuja, yesterday, while speaking at the International Civil Service Conference, reaffirming his resolve to achieve efficiency and professional service delivery in the civil service.
“I have authorized the comprehensive personnel audit and skill gap analysis across the federal civil service to deepen capacity. I urge all responsible stakeholders to prioritize timely completion of this critical exercise, to begin implementing targeted reforms, to realize the full benefit of a more agile, competent and responsive civil service,” the president announced.
Tinubu further directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), to prioritise data integrity and sovereignty in national interest.
He called for the capture, protection and strategic publication of public sector data in line with the Nigeria Data Protection Act of 2023.
“We must let our data speak for us. We must publish verified data assets within Nigeria and share them internationally recognized as fruitful. This will allow global benchmarking organisation to track our progress in real time and help us strengthen our position on the world stage. This will preserve privacy and uphold data sovereignty,” Tinubu added.
President Tinubu hailed the federal civil service as the “engine” driving his Renewed Hope Agenda, and the vehicle for delivering sustainable national development.
He submitted that the roles of civil servants remain indispensable in modern governance, declaring that in the face of a fast-evolving digital and economic landscape, the civil service must remain agile, future-ready, and results-driven.
“This maiden conference is a bold step toward redefining governance in an era of rapid transformation. An innovative Civil Service ensures we meet today’s needs and overcome tomorrow’s challenges.
“It captures our collective ambition to reimagine and reposition the civil service. In today’s rapid, evolving world of technology, innovation remains critical in ensuring that the civil service is dynamic, digital” the President said.
Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack in her welcome address told the President that his presence and strong words of commendation at the conference has renewed the morale and mandate of public servants across the country.
Walson-Jack described Tinubu as the backbone of driving transformation in the Nigerian civil service, and noted that the takeaways from past study tours undertaken to understudy the civil service in Singapore, the UK and US under her leadership, is already yielding multiplier effects.
Walson-Jack assured Tinubu that her office, in collaboration with reform-minded stakeholders, will not relent in accelerating the implementation of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan, FCSSIP 25.
She affirmed that digitalisation, performance management, and continuous learning remain key pillars in strengthening accountability, transparency, and service delivery across MDAs.
Walson-Jack reaffirmed that the civil service is determined to exceed expectations by embedding a culture of innovation, ethical leadership, and citizen-centred governance in the heart of public administration.