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Niger Delta

Bayelsa Trains 500 On Agric In Benin Republic

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11 years ago

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Bayelsa State Government is sponsoring 500 Agric trainees on a six- month Agricultural Development Programme at Songahi Farm in Republic of Benin.

The State Governor, Hon. Seriake Dickson, stated this in Government House, Yenagoa while speaking at the second send-forth ceremony in honour of the beneficiaries, said the people were expected to acquire skills in different areas of agriculture, adding that on their return, they are expected to man massive farms that government is planning to set up in the State.

According to him, ‘when we set up these farms, there are people who will run them. we have technical partnership agreement already signed for massive cassava production with Denmark and Hungary. We are in the process of working with Israelis and others to set up big fish farms. We are going to have the biggest fish farms in Bayelsa. This State is going to be number one in Agriculture very soon.

‘We are currently working with people to set up poultry farms and setting up facilities to buy up everything that will ever be produced in the state. We are working with the people to create the market and develop the storage capacity.’

Describing the programme as first of its kind, the Governor said it is in line with the present administration’s Restoration Agenda to boost food production and as well fulfill the administration’s vision of diversification from the Oil and Gas sector of the economy.

He disclosed that in the actualisation of this policy, the Government had entered into bilateral agreement with Denmark, Israel and other technical partners across the globe for the establishment of fish farms, noting that in no distant time, Bayelsa will be a leading state in the agricultural sector of the economy.

As a proactive measure against acute shortage of food, the governor said his administration was developing storage facilities across the state for local consumption and exportation which was why the government in collaboration with the Federal Government is constructing an airport to facilitate transport of farm produce.

With the signing into law of the 2013 appropriation bill, Dickson said the government was set to establish a School of Agriculture in the state and urged the youths to take advantage of the opportunity provided by the government to develop themselves.

In his charge, he called on the beneficiaries to make the best of the training by becoming captains in their chosen careers as well as good ambassadors of the state and their respective families.

His words, ‘you are the real partners we want to have in building a great future for our people and that is why we have come up with various programmes to give you the skills that you need to operate successfully in an increasingly competitive environment.’

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Niger Delta

Eno Approves N2bn For Gratuity Payment 

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6 hours ago

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May 8, 2024

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Akwa Ibom State Governor, Umo Eno, has approved the sum of N2 billion for the payment of gratuities for April, 2024.
Eno announced the approval while addressing workers at the 2024 May Day celebration in Uyo.
He said the State Government had so far disbursed about N16.1 billion for the payment of gratuities to retired civil servants in the state.
”We disburse money every month for the payment of gratuities to our retirees. I have approved another N2 billion for gratuity payment for April”, he said.
The Governor promised to implement the national minimum wage to workers in the state, once approved by the Federal Government.
”We are waiting for the process to be concluded and approved. We shall pay the new minimum wage to our workers”, he said.
According to him, Akwa Ibom State Government would recruit more healthcare workers to ensure effective service delivery in the health sector.
Eno pledged his administration’s commitment to promote the welfare of workers.
”I urge workers in the state to key into our government’s development agenda in the interest of our people”,  he said.
Earlier, the State Chairman, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Sunny James, urged the Governor to implement the national minimum wage in the state.
He urged governments at all levels to take steps towards cushioning the effect of the current economic hardship on the people.
The NLC Chairman urged Eno to provide vehicles for civil servants to lighten the burden of transportation on them.
Also speaking, the Chairman, Trade Union Congress, Comrade Dominic Abang, urged the Governor to tackle fraud in pension administration in the state.
Abang also called for the expansion of the state’s social register to accommodate more persons and ensure wider reach during the distribution of free food items.
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Niger Delta

Monarch Fingers Political Class On Community’s Socio-economic Woes

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6 hours ago

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May 8, 2024

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Paramount Ruler of Owei-wari Community of Biseni Clan in the Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, HRH Elijah Opia Churchman, has alleged that some members of the political class in the clan were against the socio-economic prosperity and development of his community.
The royal father stated this recently at the State Secretariat complex, Yenagoa, the state capital, during an interview with Journalists shortly after his exit from the Federal High Court, Yenagoa, where he said he was currently pursuing a case the community instituted against some alleged anti-development agents.
He said while the Owei-wari Community used to be a compound in one of the communities of the kingdom, some years ago as landlords and host of an oil firm operating in the area, the compound having been overwhelmed by the constant outcry of marginalization by its people, moved for recognition as an autonomous community in the clan.
The monarch, who also bared his mind on the intentions of a group called “the Progressive Minded forum of Biseni clan”, said the group has been a strong advocate of the creation of more clans for the people of Biseni in which his community would also be a clan.
He reaffirmed his commitment to the continued pursuit of peace, progress and development of his community and the entire clan, noting, however, that for years now some members of the political class in the area have conspicuously been working against the realization of the dreams and yearnings of the Owei-wari Community.
“We’re working assiduously to see that at least six clans are created in the current Biseni clan so that Owei-wari Community with over 13 settlements becomes one of them, but some politicians and a few of their followers in the clan are working against us for no obvious reasons.
“We’ve advised the King of Biseni Clan that his scope of domain should extend to all Biseni communities and lands from the Orashi River, River Nun, through River Niger so that he can oversee the entire six clans that we plan to create in the kingdom.
“In our thinking as it were, now that we’ve Okordia/Biseni/Zarama in Yenagoa Local Government Area for the state House of Assembly constituency, when more clans are created in Biseni in which communities like Egbebiri, Tein, Toboru, Akpede and Owei-wari would become clans, then as a kingdom, whenever it’s our turn to produce the Assembly member we can then rotate it amongst the clans in Biseni Kingdom and not as it were presently”, the royal father said.
He continued that, “We think that it’s going to be of political, social and economic advantage to us as a clan, but some members of the political class were bent on undoing Owei-wari Community and the clan in general.
“As a community, recently we’ve written to the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) to develop all the satellite villages and fishing camps to modern cities in Owei-wari and make them economically viable.
“So, by our expectations, some are to have the status of academic cities, industrial cities, etc.”.
Ariwera  Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa
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Niger Delta

N40,000 Minimum Wage Disappoints C’River Workers

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6 hours ago

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May 8, 2024

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Some workers in Cross River State have expressed disappointment at Governor Bassey Otu’s announcement pegging the new minimum wage for workers in the state at N40,000.
The workers shared their displeasure in separate interviews with The Tide’s source in Calabar.
It will be recalled that Otu, while addressing workers on Wednesday, said that the State Government would pay N40,000 as the new minimum wage to its workers.
The Governor had listed lean allocation from the centre and unfavourable Gross Domestic Product to debt servicing ratio as some of the reasons for the decision.
Eno said the State Government would rely on the realities of the time in making decisions towards the implementation of the new minimum wage.
Speaking to the source, Mr Emmanuel Ekanem, a civil servant in the state, described the N40,000 announced by the Governor as “far below” the expectations of workers.
He said such pronouncement did not showcase the Governor as a leader who understood the yearnings of his people.
”At a time when a bag of rice is sold between N70,000 and N80,000, declaring N40,000 as minimum wage is terribly poor and unacceptable”, he said.
Mrs Isu Ewe, a judiciary staff, said she was disappointed at the pronouncement, and urged the Governor to take another look at the decision.
”I expected to hear at least N60,000 as the new minimum wage for the workers in the state. The hardship is too much.
”What can N40,000 buy? Workers have school fees to pay, parents to take care of and rent to pay.
”The Governor should really look at the situation of things in the country and do something about the take-home of workers”, she said.
Another civil servant, Mr Edem Enoh, said  workers did not expect such pronouncement from the Governor, describing it as hasty.
He urged the State Government to avoid over-dependence on federal allocation, look inwards and devise other sources of income.
”The welfare of the people should be top on the government’s priority list. This pronouncement is hasty and unacceptable”, he said.
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