Niger Delta
Militants Blow Up Oil Pipeline In Bayelsa
A crude oil pipeline in
Bayelsa operated by the local subsidiary of Italy’s Eni was attacked on Thursday night, a state lawmaker in the state House of Assembly claimed while talking to Assembly reporters.
This is the second major attack on the oil installation within the Niger Delta region since an arrest warrant was issued this month for former militant leader Government Ekpemupolo, known as Tompolo.
The hits follow years of relative calm in the country’s oil-producing region after a 2009 amnesty halted a spate of attacks on oil installations and kidnappings of expatriate workers.
“I want to condemn the latest attack on the Agip pipeline at Kpongbokiri. This is a clear sabotage by economic saboteurs,” Israel Sunny-Goli, a member of the Bayelsa State Assembly, said after preliminary investigations had been concluded.
He said attackers hit a crude pipeline near Brass, a coastal city and site of a crude export terminal. Eni operates in Nigeria through its subsidiary Nigerian Agip Oil Company.
A spokesman for the oil company said he could not yet say whether exports would be affected.
President Muhammadu Buhari who won last year’s election vowed to crush endemic corruption in the West African nation. Former government and military officials have already been charged, while Tompolo is the first high profile former militant whom the security services have gone after.
Following the amnesty, many former militant leaders were enriched through lucrative pipeline protection contracts under former president Goodluck Jonathan but oil theft reached an industrial scale.
Fyneface Aaron, Yenagoa
Representative of the sponsor of Go Round/SWAN Secondary School Athletics Championship. Chief Ike Chukwu (2nd left), cutting the tape to unveil new branded buses donated to the Main Organising Committee (MOC) of the championship in a brief ceremony, in Port Harcourt, yesterday. With him are the MOC Chairman, Honour Sirawoo (2nd right), Media/ Publicity Chairman, Gabriel Nwanetanya (left) and Chairman, Transport/Logistics Committee, China Acheru . Photo: Chris Monyanaga
Niger Delta
Make God Your Anchor To Fulfill Destiny, Cleric Charges Christians … As Jaja Marks 70th Birthday
The Lead Pastor at Jesus Appointed People’s Bible Church, Ozogbe, Ikwerrengwo-Etche, in Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State, Pastor Promise Nwaelele, has urged Christians to make God the anchor of their lives in whatever position they find themselves, in order to attain the destinies set for them by God.
Pastor Nwaelele, who gave the charge recently in a sermon he preached at the 70th birthday anniversary thanksgiving service of Sir Donald Michael Jaja, a veteran journalist in Rivers State, said this is because any genuine child of God is a permanent target for destabilization and destruction by the devil.
Taking his text from the Bible book of Mark 4:16-17, the preacher stated that fulfilment in life for a child of God required faith, obedience to God’s word, humility and grace to withstand trials and temptations.
According to him, temptations and afflictions are bound to happen in the lives of those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
“No wonder the Bible said that those that endure till the end shall be saved”, he said.
The Clergyman said God prospers believers who are humble, not proud and conceited, and leads them to destiny fulfilment.
“David said in Psalm 51:17, that the sacrifices acceptable to God are a broken spirit, not an impatient or proud spirit”, the preacher said.
He called on Christians not to allow persecutions and afflictions to sway them from the love and blessings of Jesus Christ.
On his part, Jaja, a seasoned Journalist who retired as an Acting Editor of the Rivers State Government-owned The Tide Newspaper, gave thanks to God for honouring him by giving him the grace of attaining 70 years.
“I cannot capture what the good Lord has done for me in my entire life in this fleeting moment of thanksgiving. But, I know that without Him, I wouldn’t have been who I am today, in all spheres. Therefore, my joy knows no bounds as I give thanks to my creator today, alongside my family. Praise be His holy name”, Jaja said.
