Nation
THE STATES
Borno
The Federal Government said recently that it had put in
place adequate security for all Nigerians before, during and after the forthcoming general elections.
Alhaji Mohammed Wakil, the Minister of State for Power, said this in Maduguri at a town hall meeting with different socio-cultural groups who were in support of the re-election bid of President Goodluck Jonathan.
This is contained in a statement issued in Maiduguri by Mr Olawale Rasheed, the Special Assistant to Wakil on Media.
It said the minister called on Nigerians living in different parts of the country to remain in their respective places and cast their votes toward the victory of President Jonathan, rather than flee to their home states.
Ekiti
Farmers in Ikole-Ekiti and its environs, have expressed
concern with the indiscriminate logging that is fast degrading forest and destroying their tree crops in the area.
A cross section of the farmers expressed this concern in an interview with newsmen in Ikole-Ekiti, recently.
The farmers said the illegal activities of some timber contractors, who cut down trees indiscriminately in the area, were becoming worrisome.
They urged the Forestry Department in the state to step up efforts to curb the menace, so as to reduce the level of deforestation and save tree crops from total destruction.
A cocoa farmer, Mr Ezekiel Ojo, decried increase in the number of timber contractors indulging in the felling of trees with impunity in the area.
Ojo warned that cocoa, Kola, palm trees and other cash crops in the area might soon go into extinction, if urgent steps were not taken to address the situation.
FCT
The Nigerian Navy last Tuesday disclosed that the country
lost an estimate of N 433 billion annually to crude oil theft due to poor law enforcement presence on the water ways.
The Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Usman Jibrin, made the disclosure while defending the 2015 Budget Proposal in Abuja.
Jibrin, who was represented by the Chief of Logistics, Rear Admiral Peter Agba, credited the statistics to recent revelation made by the Chatham House, London.
He said the statistics did not include the amount of oil suspected to have been stolen from export pipelines, cost of oil spillage cleanup, loss of income to fishing communities and environmental degradation.
“The Nigerian Navy is constitutionally tasked with the protection of our maritime assets and recently the Chatham House revealed that Nigerian crude oil is being stolen at an industrial scale.
“It conservatively estimates that about 100,000 barrel per day, valued at N1.18 billion is stolen daily due to poor law enforcement presence, which is translated to N433.62 billion annually,” he said.
Kaduna
Commissioner of Police in Kaduna State, Alhaji Umar
Usman-Shehu, said the success of the forthcoming elections depended on the level at which politicians would abide by the law.
He stated this while addressing newsmen shortly after the signing of peace accord by candidates of some political parties in Kaduna North Senatorial District at Sabongari.
Usman-Shehu, “we expect to conduct peaceful elections and this can only be achieved if politicians conduct themselves in accordance with the laws of the land.
“We are here to sign a peace accord following similar ones held in Abuja and Kaduna.
“All Police Area Commands are directed to have this kind of gathering for politicians to sign peace accord,” he said.
He said that the police would not spare anybody who contravened the treaty, stressing, “Anybody who goes contrary to it will definitely be arrested and charged to court.
“Nobody is too big to be arrested if he goes contrary to the law; I assure you that there is no body that is untouchable in the state.
“The only person exempted by the law is the governor and his deputy; beside that, nobody is untouchable according to the Constitution,” the police boss said.
Kogi
The First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, last Tuesday,
said the Federal Government was currently constructing special secondary schools for girls in 27 states.
Jonathan, who spoke at the PDP Women rally in Lokoja, said the project was a fulfillment of part of President Goodluck Jonathan’s social contract with Nigerian women.
She said Jonathan, who is a friend of the women, believed in the capabilities of Nigerian women hence the implementation of the 35 per cent affirmative action.
The First Lady said Jonathan’s administration had created various opportunities for women to contribute their quota to nation building.
She urged the women of Kogi to ensure that they collected their Personal Voter Cards (PVCs) to enable them vote for Jonathan at the Presidential election in March 28.
Governor Idris Wada lauded the First Lady for inspiring and creating awareness among Nigerian women.
Lagos
The PDP governorship candidate for Lagos State, Mr Jimi
Agbaje, recently promised to build a pedestrian bridge for use by traders in the Ladipo Auto Spare Parts Market in the state.
Our correspondent reports that the PDP candidate made the pledge when he took his campaign to markets in Ladipo, Idi-Oro, Oshodi and Ikeja.
A crowd of admirers, including commercial motorcyclists and traders from Mushin and Oshodi converged at the Matori area and blocked the nearby Apapa-Oshodi Expressway.
Addressing the crowd of traders at the Ladipo rally, Agbaje also promised to improve sanitation in the market and improve the welfare of the traders.
He said that he would build a pedestrian bridge at the Toyota Bus Stop as well as establish a system for overnight waste management.
Nasarawa
Senator Abdullahi Adamu, has urged Nigerians to vote
only leaders of proven integrity in the interest of peace and rapid development in Nigeria.
Adamu, (APC-Nasarawa West) also appealed to his people to collect their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) before closing date.
He made call during his campaign tour to Udeni Magaji community in Udege development area of the Nasarawa State.
Adamu said the importance of PVCs in any election cannot be overemphasised, hence the need for all registered voters to collect their PVCs in order to exercise their franchise.
“I am here to solicit for your support and votes to enable me and other APC candidates of our great party to win during the forthcoming March 28 and April 11 elections in order to ensure continuity in the provision of more dividend of democracy.
Niger
The Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives
Party (APC) in Niger State have signed a peace pact at the Police Area Command headquarters in Bida.
The event was attended by the PDP and the APC House of Assembly candidates from the zone.
The members representing Lavun and Gbako Local Government Areas in the house, Mr Jacob Majin-Gana and Mohammed Alkali, were present.
The exercise was observed by CSP Umar Ango, Divisional Police Officer (DPO) ‘A’ Division, Bida, who represented the Area Commander, ACP Micheal Gbenga.
Others are DPO of Mokwa, Lavun, Edati, Gbako, Katcha, Doko and ‘B’ divisions, Bida, and all heads of other sister security agencies in the area.
Gbenga, who addressed the politicians, warned youths against any act that would breach the existing peace in the area before, during and after the forthcoming general elections.
Plateau
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Plateau
Statehas pledged to build two modern staff quarters in two selected Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) in Pankshin Local Government.
It says another five selected PHCs in the council will be well equipped to serve the people of the council better.
Mr Peter Nyam-Gai, Plateau MDGs’ Project Coordinator, said this yesterday during inauguration of a free medical outreach at Nyelleng town in Pankshin.
“MDG has chosen two medical centres here in Pankshin, where in the next two weeks, we shall start building a modern staff quarters, twin quarters, each with a solar power in the centres.
Sokoto
The First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, has declared that
the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) will continue to rule Nigeria for the next 60 years.
Jonathan, represented by the Minister of Women Affairs, Hajiya Zainab Maina, spoke at the party’s women rally in Sokoto recently.
She said that Nigerian women had got their fare share and attention in Jonathan’s administration by holding about 50 per cent of the posts. “The president has fulfilled all the promises he has made to Nigerian women in 2011 and he will do more if re-elected,” she said.
The first lady also said that the president had 13 women in his cabinet, and had empowered women in a myriad of ways.
She further said that the president was also working tirelessly to curb the menace of insurgency.
“We have also picked five PHCs in Pankshin which will be supplied with all the necessary Medical equipment,” he said.
Nyam-Gai said, “We will continue to ensure that the little resources we have will be deployed to help the people, especially the rural dwellers.”
Chairman, House Committee on Works, Hon. Ogbuefi Ozomgbachi, Minister of Works, Mr Mike Onolememen, Enugu State Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Mr Goddy Madueke and others, at the inauguration of the rehabilitated Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway, Section Three, from Enugu To Lokpanta in Enugu State, yesterday.
A professor of English linguistics at the Rivers State University (RSU) Nkpolu Oroworukwu Port Harcourt, Prof. Isaac Enyi Ngulube, has advocated for better and improved funding for language centres in Nigeria, such as NINLAN Aba and Nigeria French Language Village, Badagry, for optimum value and effective local languages development.
He also called for funded research on the development of orthographies and language documents across the country to rescue local languages from extinction, as well as having a well-planned and implemented mother tongue education in all institutions in the country, from primary to tertiary.
Prof. Ngulube made with these assertions while presenting his inaugural lecture at the university’s 121st inaugural lecture with the topic “The Career of Rough Beats: Language, Literature and the Development of our Common Humanity” held in Port Harcourt, Wednesday.
The erudite scholar, in the lecture, stressed that the study of English language, linguistics, and literature is very broad, large, and difficult, adding that he overcame the rough roads through resilience and determination.
He described language as “a purely human and non-instinctive means of communicating ideas and emotions,” noting that “the word is a fundamental need in language; you cannot study language without the use of language.”
He urged parents to be cautious with their utterances, warning that “what they refer to their children as is what they will automatically end up becoming.”
He recommended a branded English language for every profession or course of study, stressing that embedding oral literature in the teaching of students from primary to tertiary level will enable them to know their traditions and roots of origin.
“Tell them the folk stories and moonlight tales; you are sending them back to their people. You must be a human being first before becoming a medical doctor, engineer, or anything else,” Ngulube said.
He also called for better and improved production of quality language and literature teachers, provision of modern teaching/instructional materials, improved welfare packages for teachers, and provision of better infrastructure at both primary and secondary school levels.
He used the opportunity to appreciate the Vice Chancellor for the approval of the Department of English Language and Literature, adding that it had been his long-held dream for the university.
In his speech, the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Isaac Zeb-Obipi, while highlighting the lecture, opined that the lecturer x-rayed the lecturer’s journey into the study of English language, linguistics, and literature, describing the field as broad, large, and difficult, but with determination and focus, he was able to defeat the beasts he encountered on his way.
Zeb-Obipi agreed with the lecturer’s recommendations on ways to improve indigenous languages in the country and directed that modalities be worked out for the university to have the Department of English Language and Literature, among others.
He highlighted RSU’s recent victory in the Bilingual Community Project organized by the French Embassy, describing it as proof of the university’s rising excellence in language studies.
The Federal Government through the implementation of the various projects of the Ogoni cleanup programme is demonstrating a strong commitment to national peace and the development of Ogoniland.
The Project Coordinator of the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project(HYPREP), Prof Nenibarini Zabbey, who made this assertion at a two-day training on Mechanism for Alternative Dispute Resolution(ADR) and other Peacebuilding Techniques for Community Leaders In Ogoni, held in Port Harcourt, said through the ongoing environmental restoration effort, potable water provision, livelihood restoration, public health interventions, and the Ogoni Power Project, HYPREP is contributing to national peace and development.
He explained that by improving the living conditions in communities and creating new opportunities for young people, the Project is also reducing the social pressure that often fuels conflict, stressing that the Project is proud of this service to the Ogoni people and the nation.
Describing traditional leaders and stakeholders as peacebuilders and guardians of community harmony, Zabbey noted that the workshop would strengthen their capacities and reinforce the Ogoni dialogue process, which HYPREP continues to support in line with its mandate on peacebuilding.
He said HYPREP is actively promoting ADR alongside other mechanisms across its project sites and other areas of operation aimed at fostering unity, fairness, mutual respect and faster dispute resolution, stressing that these are qualities necessary for the future of Ogoni people and their communities.
He further indicated that the Minister of Environment and Chairman of HYPREP’s Governing Council, Malam Balarabe Abbas Lawal is disposed to promoting peace and stability across Ogoni communities and HYPREP project sites.
The Project Coordinator, therefore, charged Ogoni leaders to be mindful of their actions, words and body language, as what they say or do can either promote peace or fan the embers of conflict.
Continuing, he stated thus,”We must always ask ourselves: Is my position on this matter in the people’s interest? Does it promote unity and progress? Will it enhance development?”
The Project Coordinator assured the participants that HYPREP is working tirelessly in line with the directive of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda for the accelerated implementation of the Ogoni cleanup programme and ensure that its benefits reach the grassroots where they are needed most.
Stressing the need for Ogoni leaders and stakeholders to explore communication and trust options to prevent disputes from degenerating into violence, the Project Coordinator noted that it was time for all Ogonis to be united for development, leaving behind perceptions that do not serve collective progress.
Similarly, the Director of the Centre for Peace and Security Studies of the University of Port Harcourt, Prof Chioma Daisy Onyige, said the workshop is a strategic platform aimed at strengthening the capacity of traditional institutions and community leaders to sustain peace, foster dialogue and promote non-adversarial engagements in the implementation of the Ogoni cleanup programme.
Prof Onyige noted that the Ogoni leadership structure commands deep respect and legitimacy, and strengthening their capacity in ADR methods such as mediation, negotiation, dialogue, facilitation, and consensus building means strengthening the foundation of peace in the region.
Participants, comprising traditional rulers and key stakeholders in Ogoni, commended HYPREP for the initiative, and assured it of their continuous support to the Project by providing an enabling atmosphere for the smooth implementation of the cleanup project in Ogoniland.
Resource persons who presented thought-provoking lectures at the workshop included the Dean of the Faculty of Postgraduate Studies of the University of Port Harcourt, Prof Kinikanwo Anele; Prof Olariwanju Lawal; Prof Chioma Daisy Onyige; and Dr Gbenemene Kpae; among others.
With significant achievements recorded across thematic areas of the Ogoni cleanup programme being executed by the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP), the Project Coordinator of the Project, Prof Nenibarini Zabbey, has said that all these are enabling pathways to the development of Ogoniland.
This is coming on the heels of milestone achievements in the following areas and their impact on Ogoni communities. They are mangrove restoration which is 94 percent complete; shoreline remediation which stands at 67.1 percent; and the phase 2 land remediation progressing to 36.55 percent.
Moreso, HYPREP has constructed 14 water facilities, providing potable water to 40 communities. With the commissioning of the water schemes in Bane and Gwara communities, the number of communities with access to clean and safe drinking water will be 45. The process of operationalising the Centre of Excellence for Environmental Restoration (CEER) which is at 92 percent complete, is ongoing. The same for the Ogoni Power Project which is progressing with wayleave compensation and construction works at Bodo and Wiiyaakaara substations ongoing
Similarly, the Ogoni Specialist Hospital and Buan Cottage Hospital are at 76.8 percent and 98.7 percent respectively.
This is alongside other public health interventions and the Human BioMonitoring Survey also in progress.
Under the livelihood
programme, over 7,000 direct jobs have been created for Ogoni women and youths, while over 5,000 have been trained in multiple skills and provided start-up kits, workshops, education grants, scholarships and other empowerment programmes. This quarter, training will commence in other demand-driven skill areas, such as cybersecurity, full-stack development, mud logging, software development, commercial diving, and underwater welding.
Zabbey had reeled out these achievements, during the third quarter interactive session between the Project Coordination Office engagement with Ogoni youths in Port Harcourt on Friday, in line with HYPREP’s strategic stakeholders policy to provide an interface opportunity to abreast Ogoni youths on the Project’s activities, while garnering their feedback.
Zabbey noted that, “This
quarterly engagement was,therefore, designed as an inclusive strategy to ensure that youth voices are heard, concerns are addressed, and progress updates are provided transparently. Also, it reflects our firm belief that a project of this magnitude must be people-centred, accountable, and participatory”.
” I am delighted to inform you that the Project remains on course to achieve its mandate as outlined in the UNEP Report on the Ogoni environment and the official gazette establishing HYPREP. HYPREP is committed to transparency and accountability in the implementation of the cleanup projects and activities”, he said.
He stressed that HYPREP’s achievements are pathways to a better Ogoniland, assuring that the Project’s goals are aimed at benefiting all categories of Ogoni youths, whether in business, farming, advocacy, education, entrepreneurship or community development.
”This Project belongs to all of you, and its success depends mainly on your participation, unity and constructive engagement. And with your support, we are confident that all challenges will be addressed in the overall public interest,” Zabbey said.
The Project Coordinator urged Ogoni youths to continue to support the Project by promoting peace, discouraging misinformation, and collaborating with project teams working in the communities, and address challenges through dialogue, rather than confrontation.
Prof Dinebari Badey, a Professor of Development Sociology in the University of Port Harcourt, delivered the keynote address, linking the nexus between HYPREP and youths in the development of Ogoniland through unity of purpose while Engr Solomon Akere, gave a talk on Ogoni youths in business.
Participants raised questions concerning the maintenance of the water projects, remediation efforts, and compensation for the Right of Way (RoW), among others.
In attendance were management staff of HYPREP who provided responses to the interventions.