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Continue From Where Birabi, Saro Wiwa Stopped, Amaechi Tells Ogonis
Rivers State Governor, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi has charged the people of Ogoni ethnic nationality to set aside individual differences and work together to propel the development of the area.
Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi made the call yesterday, during a Town Hall meeting with Ogoni people at Bori, the traditional headquarters of Ogoni Kingdom, which was called to intimate Ogonis on United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) activities in Ogoniland.
The Governor, who said that the state government expects the leaders of Ogoniland to be selfless in their service to the people, recalled the great contributions of late Paul Naakuu Birabi and late Ken Saro Wiwa to the development of Ogoni and urged others to continue from where they stopped.
He explained that the state and Federal Governments have worked hard to actualize the request for an international organization like UNEP to carry out cleaning and remediation of oil spill sites in Ogoniland.
The governor, therefore, urged the people to cooperate with UNEP to enable them achieve their mission of cleaning and remediating oil spills in Ogoniland, noting that the state government is determined to ensure that the project is successful.
Governor Amaechi said that the Ogoni people were the first, after Isaac Adaka Boro, to start the Niger Delta struggle, pointing out that the state government’s decision to develop Ogoniland was based on their pioneering efforts in the Niger Delta struggle.
The State Chief Executive enjoined the leaders of the Ogonis to stop their children from further destruction of their environment, through illegal bunkering activities as it would damage the ecosystem, emphasizing that “we need you to check crime among the people”.
He urged them to cooperate with the state government to develop the area and announced that the Bori General Hospital would be renovated and equipped in next year to serve the people in addition to the health centres located in various parts of Ogoniland.
Also speaking, the representative UNEP, Mr Mike Cowing said the organization, which has been in Ogoniland on the invitation of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua since 2006, had carried out series of consultations and is now set to commence the study of the environment as requested by the Ogoni people.
The study, according to him, would be carried out with the highest international standard, stressing that it would be the building block for a comprehensive cleaning and remediation of spills in Ogoniland while examination of about 350 contaminated soil samples in the area would commence next week.
Mr Cowing, who lauded the support UNEP has received from the President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, State Governor, Chibuike Amaechi and other stakeholders, added that they would partner with the Rivers State Polytechnic, the Rivers State University of Science and Technology and the University of Port Harcourt in the implementation of the challenging project.
Earlier, in an address presented by the Ogoni people and read on their behalf by the former Commissioner for Education, Mr Tom Orage, the Ogonis expressed confidence that with the visit of the Governor, the intervention by President Umaru Musa Yar’ Adua and UNEP is on course and that their legitimate expectation will be given proper attention.
The people who stated categorically that the process of the cleaning and remediation by UNEP was not in any way paving way for SHELL’s re-entry into Ogoniland, used the occasion to request for infrastructural development such as electricity, water, industrial poles and roads among others.
Niger Delta ex-agitator Endurance Amagbein has cautioned the leadership of the Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, against politicising the plight of the Niger Delta people over issues surrounding renewal of pipeline surveillance contracts with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL.
In a statement on Saturday, Amagbein condemned IYC leaders who took a protest to Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, demanding the sack of Bayo Ojulari, the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Limited.
The IYC had claimed that the protest was due to non-performance, financial mismanagement and other allegations, but Amagbein refuted the claims.
Amagbein accused the IYC of derailing from its core mandate and delving into partisan oil surveillance politics.
“Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, the Minister of State for Petroleum (Oil); Dr Samuel Ogbuku, MD/CEO of NDDC; and Chief Dennis Otuaru, the Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, are all Ijaw people, but sadly, nobody remembers this to thank Mr President.”
“It is so said that oil politics in the Niger Delta has infiltrated into the affairs of the IYC, and its leaders have allowed surveillance contractors to direct policy statements of the youth body.”
The Tide source reports that Ojulari had said NNPCL is under attack over his leadership stance.
The National Orientation Agency, NOA, has begged Nigerians to be patient with President Bola Tinubu’s administration, saying that his reforms and initiatives would in no distant time transform the nation’s economy, security and social landscape.
The Akwa Ibom State Director of NOA, Mkpoutom Mkpoutom, made the appeal in Uyo at the weekend during a sensitization programme organized by the Federal Information Center with focus on the milestones of Tinubu’s administration.
Mkpoutom, who was represented by Mrs Atim Otoyo, Deputy Director Planning, Research and Strategy, recalled that Tinubu on assumption of office on May 29, 2023, had embarked on ambitious reforms and initiatives that would better the lives of Nigerians.
He said the President’s focus is on revitalizing Nigeria’s economy by swiftly addressing the fuel subsidy crisis that had long plagued the nation’s finances.
According to him, by removing fuel subsidies, resources are now reallocated towards critical areas such as infrastructure and social welfare programs.
“This bold decision, although met with public discontent due to rising fuel prices, was a necessary step towards fiscal responsibility,” he said.
Mkpoutom also stated that security remains a paramount concern in Nigeria, stressing that Tinubu’s administration has prioritized the issue since the onset of his administration.
“His administration has focused on strengthening the military and security agencies to combat terrorism, banditry and separatist movements. This includes boosting funding for the Armed Forces and implementing community policing strategies to foster better relationships between law enforcement agencies and local communities.
“President Tinubu’s administration has championed various projects aimed at improving transportation networks, electricity supply, and public amenities as well as initiating programs to create technological hubs to promote digital literacy among young Nigerians,” the NOA official said.
The Managing Director of the Nigeria Railway Corporation, Kayode Opeifa, has apologised to the Nigerian Union of Journalists, Federal Capital Territory Chapter, over his assault on its member and a staff of the Nigerian Television Authority, NTA, Ladi Bala.
Opeifa apologized at a press conference at the NUJ FCT secretariat in Abuja on Sunday.
The apology comes after NUJ FCT condemned the unwholesome treatment meted out to its members who were covering the recent Abuja-Kaduna train derailment incident.
The NUJ demanded a public apology from Opeifa over the incident.
In his apology on Sunday, Opeifa said he was carried away in the heat of the moment.
“I wish to offer my apology for the regrettable remarks I made, which were not only directed at a seasoned journalist but also reflected unfavourably on the NUJ FCT and the Nigeria Association of Women Journalists, NAWOJ.
“Acting in the heat of the moment under pressure, and in my attempt to ensure safety, I made certain unkind statements. For this, I take full responsibility, and I am sorry.”
Chairman of NUJ FCT, Grace Ike, had called for calm among journalists over the incident.
Recall that six passengers were injured after the Abuja-Kaduna rail derailed in Jere on Tuesday.