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S’South Biz Leaders Endorse Jonathan
The Business community in the South-South zone has expressed support for President Goodluck Jonathan to run for the presidency in next year’s election.
The president of the Forum of South-South Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, Mr. Billy Harry, told our correspondent in Port Harcourt that the community wanted him to contest because he was focused.
‘’ The South-South business community is encouraging President Jonathan to contest next year’s election because we have seen a man that is focused and is willing to take a well thought-out plan to solve the problems of the nation.’’ he said.
Harry said that Jonathan had taken time to brainstorm and get answers to some problems facing the nation, instead of adopting half baked solutions to such problems.
The chamber boss said that Jonathan had used such method to tackle incessant fuel scarcity in the country.
“We do encourage him to contest because we have seen a level-headed man that his thinking is thorough”, he said.
Harry, who is also, the National Vice President of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture urged the President to remain focused if he won the election next year.
‘’My advice to him if he wins the election is to remain focused in taking Nigeria bit by bit and get to the roots of all problems facing the nation.
‘’ Such issues as corruption, the Niger Delta, power and others, there should be a focus in tackling these problems and not ad hoc solutions. Ad hoc solutions we tried in the last 50 years have not helped us.
‘’If he gets in there with support of all Nigerians ,he should be focused in leading the country out of the doldrums’’ he said.
Meanwhile, Mr Udengs Eradiri, former Secretary-General of Ijaw Youths Congress has pledged to pay attention to capacity building for youths if elected as a federal lawmaker next year.
Eradiri is a House of Representatives aspirant for the Kolokuma Opokuma/and Yenagoa federal constituency.
He told newsmen in Port Harcourt that the highest socio-cultural body in his area had given him the green light to contest and represent them at the federal level next year.
‘’ If we are able to build the capacity of our people, they can come back and build new projects for the community. We will give our people proper education that will give them the capacity to function in any part of the world,’’ he said.
He said if elected, he would introduce a scholarship programme that would take youths to the best schools in Nigeria and abroad to make them more relevant when they were back.
Eradiri said the scholarship would be for graduates and under graduates to encourage specialisation in various skills and trade.
He said that as a youth activist, it would be proper to get elected into the National Assembly to make laws that would impact positively on the people of Niger Delta.
‘’ We abhor violence and crisis. The best way to solve our problem is to get elected and make laws that will favour our people and bring them out of poverty and marginalisation’’ he said.
He urged other youth leaders to seek the mandate of their people and get elected into legislative posts to make laws that would change their lives instead of resorting to use of force or violence to seek redress.
‘’ That era is gone and we need to use democratic means to fight for our rights this time’’ he said.
Rivers State Head of Service, Dr (Mrs) Inyingi Brown, has called on rural communities in the State to embrace the Rural Access and Agricultural marketing project (RAAMP) with a view to improving their living conditions.
This follows the ongoing sensitization campaign by the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) visits to Degema, Abonnema, Afam headquarters of Degema, Akuku Toru and Oyigbo Etche and Omuma local government areas respectively.
Dr Brown who was represented by the Deputy Director, Special Duties in her office, Mrs Dein Akpanah, said RAAMP was initiated by the Federal Government and World Bank to economically empower rural dwellers.s
She said the World Bank understands the plights of rural farmers and traders in the State, and therefore came up with the programme to address them.
According to her, RAAMP will improve the conditions of farmers, traders and fishermen, and therefore, behoves on every rural communities in the State to embrace the programme.
The Head of Service also said the programme would support the youths to be gainfully employed while bridges and roads will be built to link farms and fishing settlements.
Also speaking, the State project coordinator, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the programme has the potential of creating millionaires among farmers and fishermen in the State.
Kpakol who was represented by Engr. Sam Tombari, said RAAMP would help farmers and fishermen to preserve their produce.
According to him, the project will build cold rooms and Silos for preservation of crops and fishes while access roads will also be created to link farmers and fishermen to the market.
He, however, warned them against any act that will lead to the suspension of the projects by the World Bank.
Kpakol particularly warned against acts such as kidnapping, marching ground, gender based violence and child labour, adding that such acts if they occur may lead to the cancellation of the project by the World Bank.
During the visit to Oyigbo local government area, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the team was there to let them know how they will benefit from the Raamp.
The coordinator who was personally at Oyigbo said the World Bank introduced the project to check food insecurity in the State.
He said already 19 states in Nigeria are already benefitting from the project and called on them to embrace the project.
Meanwhile, stakeholders in the three local government areas have commended the World Bank for including their areas in the project.
They, however, complained over the incessant attacks by pirates on their waterways.
At Degema, King Agolia of Ke kingdom said land was a major problem in the kingdom.
King Agolia represented by High Chief Alpheus Damiebi said many indigenes of the kingdom are willing to go into farming but are handicapped by lack of land.
Also at Degema, the representative of the Omu Onyam Ekeim of Usokun Degema kingdom, Osoabo Isaac, said Degema has embraced the programme but needed more information on the implementation of the programme.
Similarly, while High Chief Precious Abadi advised that the project should not be narrowed to only crop farming, a community women leader, Mrs Orikinge Eremabo Otto, called for the construction of cold rooms in all fishing settlements in the area.
At Abonnema, Mr Diamond Kio linked the problem of the area to incessant piracy along waterways.
He also expressed fears over the possibility of the project being hijacked by politicians.
Also at Abonnema, a stakeholder, Ikiriko Kelvin, called on the World Bank to design an agricultural project that will suit the riverine environment, while at Oyigbo, HRH Eze Boniface Akawo expressed satisfaction with the project.
John Bibor
The political mudslinging between the Senate leadership and Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan continued yesterday as the Senate named Senator Aniekan Bassey as the new Chairman of the Committee on Diaspora and Non-Governmental Organisations.
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, announced the appointment during yesterday’s plenary, confirming Bassey’s replacement of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who is currently on suspension.
Akpoti-Uduaghan was reassigned to the Diaspora and NGOs Committee in February after she was removed as Chair of the Senate Committee on Local Content during a minor reshuffle.
Bassey is the senator representing Akwa Ibom North-East Senatorial District.
Although no reason was given for her removal yesterday, the change is believed to be connected to her unresolved suspension.
In May, Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court ordered her reinstatement and directed her to tender an apology to the Senate.
However, the Senate has insisted it has not received a certified true copy of the court judgment.
Akpoti-Uduaghan who represents Kogi Central, has yet to resume her legislative duties despite a recent court ruling that voided her suspension.
In a televised interview on Tuesday, Akpoti-Uduaghan said she was awaiting the Certified True Copy of the judgment before officially returning to plenary, citing legal advice and respect for institutional process.
Although the Federal High Court described her suspension as “excessive and unconstitutional”, a legal opinion dated July 5 and attributed to the Senate’s counsel, Paul Daudu (SAN), argued that the ruling lacked any binding directive to enforce her reinstatement.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, one of only three female senators in the current assembly, said the continued delay in allowing her return was not only a denial of her mandate but also a blow to democratic representation.
“By keeping me out of the chambers, the Senate is not just silencing Kogi Central, it’s denying Nigerian women and children representation. We are only three female senators now, down from eight,” she said.