News
Army Reads Riot Act Over Renewed Militancy
The Defence Headquarters, has read the riot act to the Niger Delta Avengers and other militant groups, saying it will not condone attacks on oil installations.
The Director of Information, Brig.-Gen. Rabe Abubakar, in an interview in Abuja, said the military would ensure the protection of the critical national oil facilities.
The Niger Delta Avengers had last Friday, in a statement posted on its website, said it has launched two simultaneous operations to disrupt oil and gas activities in the region.
The operations were identified as “Operations Wall of Jericho” and “Hurricane Joshua.”
The military described such plans and actions as “an unwelcome development and sabotage.”
Abubakar said, “This is our country and it is the responsibility of all citizens to work for its peaceful well-being and development.
“The military and other security agencies will continue to ensure the protection of lives and property of citizens in the Niger Delta or any other part of the country.
“Any act of sabotage by any group will not be condoned. We will leave no stone unturned in our efforts to maintain and protect our critical infrastructure in line with our mandate.
Speaking further on the militants’ planned attacks, the Army spokesman said, “All citizens should cooperate with the military and other security agencies in the area by providing timely information and report any suspicious persons or groups that threaten the economic activities anywhere in the country.
“We are not targeting anybody or group. Therefore, there is no need for any group to work against the country, no matter their grievances. Political leaders have embarked on negotiations with the stakeholders.”
In the statement, the Niger Delta Avengers, had threatened to renew hostilities in the oil rich region, saying it will hit President Muhammadu Buhari very hard in 2017.
The group said the threat was necessary following government’s inaction towards the peace talk agreed with the region last year.
The Avengers had last year agreed to cease hostilities following Federal Government’s decision to enter into negotiations with leaders of the region.
However, there has been no concrete negotiation between the government and leaders of the region.
In a statement by its spokesperson, Mudoch Agbiniho, the Avengers accused the Federal Government of rejecting genuine dialogue and negotiations.
In the statement, the secessionist group warned that it will resume hostilities since government has decided to politicise the negotiation process.
The statement quoted the group as saying, “the year 2017 will be filled with surprises, a reconfiguration of the struggle for the liberation of our motherland.”
The statement reads in part: “As we get prepared for the challenges ahead 2017, We make bold to tell the people of our Niger Delta, sane minds in Nigeria and the comity of nations that the remaining 11 months and couple of weeks in 2017 will be filled with surprises and a reconfiguration of the struggle for the liberation of our motherland.
“Since, the declaration of cessation of hostilities in the region by all fighters and affiliates, it has been evidently clear that the Nigerian state is not ready for any form of dialogue and negotiation with our people to addressing the issues sustaining the unending sufferings and deprivation of the people of the Niger Delta.
“The world is aware that, after listening to calls from our royal fathers, community leaders, stakeholders and members of the comity of nations, especially the governments of the United States of America, Great Britain and the European Union, we halted all actions.
“The world knows that PANDEF, as team of critical stakeholders, was mandated to engender a genuine dialogue and negotiations process that will be made up of apolitical Niger Deltans to engage with the government and people of Nigeria, representatives of the International Oil Corporations (IOCs) and neutral observers.
“But this government decided to go around to politicizing the process to forestall any genuine dialogue and negotiations.
“It is our belief that the 2017 national budget is not based on the crude oil production output from the Niger Delta, but on the newly found oil deposits in the North and the new pipelines constructed from the Niger Republic.
“That is the way to discuss with the deaf, when he cannot understand your soft massage. We are determined to hit him very hard and deadly that even his eyes will shed blood, his ear will be more deafened and his heart shall quake when he sees, hear and feel the outcome of our next activities.”
Earlier last Thursday, another militant group, Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate, had issued a statement, warning that it was running out of patience, and urging the Federal Government to resume genuine dialogue with serious leaders of the region, or face fresh orgy of attacks.
The statement, signed by Also Agbalaja, the group noted their lack of confidence in the crop of leaders currently dialoguing with the Federal Government, and added that new list of selfless leaders to represent the region would soon be made public.
Similarly, the leader of the Niger Delta Peoples Democratic Front, General Playboy, has said the promise by the Federal Government to pay the backlog of allowances owed ex-militants will not stop the Niger Delta struggle.
Playboy said in a statement last Saturday that the Niger Delta struggle was beyond the stipends being paid former militants.
He added that most of those benefitting from such allowances were not part of the oil-rich region’s struggle.
“The problem of Niger Delta is not about paying stipends or allowances to former militants. Some of the people, who embraced amnesty, were not the real agitators and so, they are not part of the struggle,” the militant said.
Maintaining that there cannot be Niger Delta without Biafra, the militant leader expressed the need for the Federal Government to release the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu.
“The Niger Delta issue is beyond the payment of backlog of allowances. That is not what we are looking for. If you want peace, release Nnamdi Kanu. There can never be Niger Delta without Biafra.
“The Federal Government should face the real issue. Allowance payment or declaring a new amnesty programme is not the issue.
He said further, “For President Buhari to continue to hold Nnamdi Kanu, even when the whole world has told him to release him, shows that he (President) is not ready for peace.”
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.
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