Niger Delta
Groups Caution Against Killings, Oil Production In Ogoni
Foremost social cultural organisation in Ogoni, KAGOTE, an acronym for the four Ogoni LGAs of Khana, Gokana, Tai, and Eleme, in Rivers State has cautioned against the unmitigated cult-related killings in Ogoni, particularly in Khana Local Government Area, and called for the intervention of security agencies to save the communities from untold deaths.
The group said the onslaught of cult-related activities in Ogoni has led to wanton wastage of lives and displacement of indigenes of the affected communities, and urged perpetrators of the killings to desist from the dastardly acts or face the full wrath of the law.
President of KAGOTE, Hon Emmanuel Deeyaah, who disclosed this while briefing newsmen in Port Harcourt, said the organisation, in collaboration with other Ogoni stakeholders, would work with the state government and security agencies to put an end to the killings.
The group also cautioned against the planned resumption of oil exploration and production activities in Ogoni by the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), stating that such plans without due consultations with Ogoni stakeholders and the state government was an insult on the sensibilities of Ogoni people who were still contending with issues of environmental degradation and pollution of their natural environment by decades of oil exploitation.
He said, “Plans are on the way to organise an Ogoni stakeholders’ conference where key issues bordering on Ogoni development would be discussed. If the Federal Government is desirous of resuming oil exploration activities in Ogoni, then, there has to be dialogue with the government and people of the state, particularly the immediate Ogoni people. No individual or single group has the mandate to decide over matters affecting Ogoni development, including oil resumption in the land”.
Deeyaah expressed regret that NPDC, a subsidiary of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), would visit Ogoni without going through the right channel.
He said, “Lately, in Ogoniland, we have had this issue of cult-related killings. So, we have come to say enough is enough. We are talking with the relevant security agencies so that henceforth, anyone caught shooting even crackers, they should visit such person with the full weight of the law. They should do everything within their powers to apprehend such persons.”
Deeyah said, while the people were pondering on how to tackle insecurity in the area, that they were again inundated with the report of the visit of NPDC on their planned resumption oil mining in Ogoni.
KAGOTE president said any company that intends to explore oil in the area must meet with critical stakeholders, chiefs and opinion leaders in Ogoniland.
He added that Ogoni was not ready to make the same mistakes it made in the era of Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC).
Deeyah said, “The truth about it is that nobody in Ogoni owns the means of the facility to mine oil. We belong to the federation, that is, Nigeria, and we are also bound by the laws of the country.
“We can’t decide which company comes and which will not come. But we have a long history when it comes to oil exploration. We have lost our bests and there have been killings and all kind of things, and we believe that such a process, if the government is actually desirous of mining oil in Ogoinland should consult. There should be a process of dialogue with the people.
“We have our son, Senator Magnus Abe, who is on the board of NNPC, the parent company of NPDC. He is not in the picture of this development. We also have Senator Barry Mpigi, also an indigene, and others; they are not in the picture of this development.
“Those people who claim to come from NPDC, do they actually come from Nigeria? Don’t they come from places? We even have local government chairmen on ground. We have never heard that any of the council chairmen was involved in any of those processes. We also have the state government. Why would they just enter Ogoni without interacting with these layers of leaders?”
He disowned Ogoni Liberation Initiative (OLI), the organisation that championed the visit of NPDC, stating that the body does not have the mandate to speak for Ogoni people.
He said, “I would like to say that the OLI as they call them, don’t have the legitimate mandate to invite any group to come and mine oil in Ogoniland, and we want to say to them that, henceforth, they should stop all such activities.
“In the next few days, we are going to call a broad-based meeting of Ogoni people, so that we chat the way forward. It is in that meeting we are going to agree on what we expect.
“We rejected Shell, so if another organisation is going to come, we should know what other things they are going to do better than Shell.”
Similarly, the Ogoni Elders’ Forum, Gbokabaari, has also warned against alleged moves to resume oil exploration in Ogoni.
A statement signed by the Chairman of the body, Chief Monday Abueh, said there was a sinister motive behind the plan, as the Federal Government was plotting another round of killings in the land, similar to the instigated killings that led to the decimation of Ogoni elite class in the 90s.
The statement called for calm in Ogoni, adding that the NGO fronting for oil resumption in Ogoni, Ogoni Liberation Initiative (OLI), lacked the pedigree and mandate to do so.
The Tide gathered that following moves to resume oil exploration and production activities in the area, stakeholders and opinion leaders in Ogoni ethnic nationality have agreed on a broad-based meeting to address the resurgence of cult-related killings and the visit of Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), to the area without official notice to the leaders.
Also, the leaders of Ogoni have regretted the visit of NPDC, and vowed that no company would resume oil business in the area without due consultations with the people.
By: Taneh Beemene
Ayama Community of Gbarain Clan, Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State has joined the league of communities which have been lit-up by the solar-powered street light projects of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
The community has praised the successful completion of the project, while also thanking the Managing-Director/CEO of the commission, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, and the entire management of the interventionist agency for considering the community amongst many others which have benefitted from the ongoing projects being executed by the commission across the Niger Delta region.
The Tide learnt this, Sunday, while speaking with the Ayama Community leadership during a tour of select communities across Bayelsa State which have been impacted by the NDDC’s “Operation Light Up Niger Delta”.
Speaking with newsmen, the trio of the paramount ruler of the community, HRH Kawari Apina-Owei, his Deputy, HRH Jeremiah Selesai, and Chairman, Community Development Committee (CDC), Comrade Geseye Apina-Owei, commended the NDDC Management for not only awarding the project to the community, but for also awarding it to a contracting firm, Doncont Nig.Ltd, who, according to them, delivered the project timely and within specifications.
Ayama is one of the communities in the twin clans of Gbarain/Ekpetiama oil and gas hub of the Yenagoa Local Government Area of the State.
“Some relief came our way when the NDDC awarded the solar-powered street lights to this community. This is the first time we’re feeling the impact of the leadership and management of the NDDC from inception.
“We thank the Manging-Director/CEO of the NDDC, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, and the entire management of the Commission for remembering our community, Ayama, in the award of this solar light project.
“Before now, we’ve been in total darkness, and so snakes and other dangerous reptiles were roaming at night. We couldn’t move at night before the execution of this solar light project once it’s night in this community, but now from here to Okotiama, Ogboloma we can move at anytime of the night.
“This is the first NDDC project this community is benefitting. As we speak, we don’t have water, no health facility, no good school. We also need internal roads in this community.
“We call on the NDDC management led by Dr Samuel Ogbuku, the hardworking MD/CEO of the NDDC, to reconsider this community on these other infrastructure we don’t have”, the community said.
The trio, who also expressed their appreciation to the Vicar, St. Luke’s Anglican Church, Ayama, Rev. Paul Edidi, described him as God sent, noting that the clergy facilitated the award of the project by the NDDC to the community when they least expected.
“We also want to thank God for the life of Rev. Paul Edidi, who facilitated the award of this project by the NDDC to our community. Rev. Edidi is God sent to our community.
“We thank the contractor, High Chief Osigwe Bayefa, of Doncont Nig.Ltd for the timely execution of this project according to specifications.
“We’ll continue to pray that whenever the NDDC want to award other projects it should consider Doncont Nig. Ltd and High Chief Osigwe Bayefa, the contractor for this solar project for doing a great job”, the community added.
Similarly, in separate interviews, the Chairman, Gbarain/Ekpetiama Rural Development Authority (RDA), Hon.Tolumona Engedefa, the community’s Woman Leader, Mrs Kuro Apina-owei, and the community’s Youth President, Comrade Mieyeseigha Selesai, reiterated the resolve of the community towards continuous cooperation with contractors of the NDDC and others in the future for timely execution of projects in the community.
They emphasized that the seamless execution of the solar-powered project by the contractor was a direct result of the community’s cooperation and readiness to partner for development.
On their part, Rev. Paul Edidi, who the community described as facilitator for the award of the project, and Prof. Benjamin Teibowei, Senior lecturer, Bayelsa State Medical University (BMU), Yenagoa, have described the NDDC management headed by Dr Samuel Ogbuku as a committed institution with willingness to fasttrack the developmental processes of the Niger Delta region.
The duo noted that the award of the project by the NDDC to the community which they alleged do not have any known political or economic heavy weight to lobby a project of that magnitude to, has again demonstrated that the commission under the stewardship of Ogbuku was in for a paradigm shift.
In the same vein, the Operations Manager of the contracting firm, Doncont Nig. Ltd, Mr Pereowei Bayefa, who spoke on behalf of High Chief Osigwe Bayefa, Chairman Board of Trustees, Doncont Nig.Ltd, has said the firm was noted for executing projects within specifications and timelines, thanking the NDDC and the community for the confidence reposed on the firm.
By: Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa
The Registrar of University of Calabar, (UniCal), Mr Gabriel Egbe, has said the institution had no record of failed accreditation.
Egbe, in a statement on behalf of the university’s management, was reacting to a warning allegedly made by the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) in a publication.
He said the alleged warning was over the accreditation of engineering courses in the university.
According to the Registrar, the title of the alleged publication credited to COREN is “Get Properly Accredited or Risk Blacklisting, Engineering Council warns UniCal, Adamawa Varsity”.
The Registrar noted that the publication was untrue and also wondered why COREN should allegedly be credited with such publication.
He stressed that this was more pertinent as COREN was saddled with the responsibility of ensuring professional accreditation of Engineering programmes in Nigerian Universities.
According to him, when COREN’s agitation for professional accreditation last came up, the professional body was duly informed that the National Universities Commission (NUC) must first conduct its accreditation before any professional body.
Egbe said this was in line with the established procedure.
“In November 2023, NUC visited the institution for accreditation of all programmes that were due for the exercise including programmes in the five departments of the faculty of Engineering.
“The result of that exercise is still being awaited. The University has no record of failed accreditation with its engineering programmes as COREN is making people believe.
“It is on the strength of the outcome that COREN will be officially invited by the university to come for its professional accreditation.
“If COREN feels that it cannot wait for the NUC results then it should write to the University like other professional bodies are doing, giving us dates for their visits”, he said.
The Registrar asserted that using the public space to promote a campaign of ill-will and damage to the name of UniCal under the guise of rolling out a recommendation at its 181st Ordinary Council Meeting was not acceptable.
He called for caution from COREN adding that as a professional body they should be more concerned with promoting and nurturing their would-be professionals.
The Principal Veterinary Officer, Bayelsa State Ministry of Agriculture/Medical Director of the state-owned Veterinary Hospital, Yenagoa, Dr Maxwell Philips, has commended the State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, for his desire to continuously improve health infrastructure across the state.
Dr. Philips, who also lauded the Governor’s predecessor, Senator Henry Seriake Dickson, for his foresight in establishing the hospital, described the two leaders as worthy Ambassadors of the Medical and Health profession.
He gave the commendations Tuesday during an interview with newsmen in Yenagoa, the state capital, during an assessment tour of the animal health infrastructure.
According to him, upon the establishment of the facility, through its awareness and sensitization activities, more members of the public, especially owners of pets and farm animals, have become more aware of the importance of animals’ health in connection with their personal health.
The Veterinarian noted that from 2014 to date when the facility was established, the hospital has attended to over 4000 registered patients (animals).
It would be recalled that the Bayelsa State Governor’s predecessor in 2014 built a Veterinary hospital in the Edepie axis of Yenagoa, the state capital.
The animal health Doctor, who also described the facility as the biggest and first state-owned veterinary hospital in the entire South-South zone, warned unsuspecting members of the public against the consumption of meat produced from uninspected and unapproved abattoirs in the state.
According to him, this became necessary because about 90% human diseases were contracted from animals, saying also that humans obtain over 80% of their food stuffs from animals, hence the need to thread with caution in the patronage of abattoir operators.
“Animals serve as pets and foods, so people need to be very careful in their relationships with animals, especially when these animals are sick or bought for consumption.
“In Bayelsa State, there’re currently only two Government approved abattoirs. One is the Bayelsa Palm abattoir, while the other is the Swali ultra-modern market abattoir. We want to advise against meat patronage from uninspected and unapproved abattoirs in the state.
“Veterinary Drs from the state-owned Veterinary hospital visit the Swali and Bayelsa Palm abattoirs on daily basis as early as 6am for inspection of the health statuses of animals and give approval if certified fit for human consumption before they’re butchered for sale around 7am”, he said.
He continued that “it’ll interest you to note that as a direct result of the importance the Government places on establishing this facility, the Bayelsa State College of Health Technology, Otuogidi, during the past one year has been bringing its students of the Department of Public Health for studies on animal health and diseases to this hospital.
“And, currently, the Niger Delta University’s (NDU) Faculty of Pharmacy has also made an arrangement with the management of the hospital in which it would be bringing its students to under study animal pharmacy in this facility.
“So, the effort the Government of the state has put in building this veterinary hospital is yielding very positive result. We thank His Excellency, Senator Douye Diri, Governor of the state, for his commitment and dedication towards ensuring that this hospital remains functional”, he added.
By: Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa
-
Oil & Energy3 days agoElectricity Tarrif Is Flexible – Power Minister
-
Niger Delta3 days agoCommunity Lauds NDDC, Cleric On Project Execution
-
Education3 days ago2023 UTME Notification Slips: Police, JAMB Raise Alarm Over Fraudulent Sites
-
Sports3 days agoAthletics: Ofili, Nathaniel Qualify For Paris Olympics
-
News3 days agoFubara Restates Support For Tinubu
-
News3 days agoMonarch Lauds Fubara Over Road Project
-
Politics3 days agoFubara’s Victory Thanksgiving: Semenitari Challenges Okocha Over Funding Allegation
-
Nation3 days agoAnglican Bishop Urges Politicians To Lead With Integrity