Niger Delta

‘Amnesty Programme Aides Peace In N’Delta’

Published

9 years ago

March 17, 2017

The Coordinator, Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Brig.-Gen. Paul Boroh (rtd), said amnesty programme has aided efforts to achieve peace in the Niger Delta, resulting in zero pipeline vandalism.
Boroh, also the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta Affairs, disclosed this to newsmen yesterday in Abuja.
He said the programme had not only succeeded in helping to stabilise the region, but had also worked in synergy with all government agencies.
He listed the agencies as Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Local Content Board, Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), and Ministries such as the Niger Delta Niger Affairs, Agriculture and Environment.
According to him, the programme has also domesticated most of its education and training programmes in order to ensure sustainability, development of local organisations and conservation of funds and foreign exchange.
“Perhaps the greatest impact we have created in the last one year is the reorientation of beneficiaries to agriculture and aquaculture as an alternative to revamp the ailing economy.
“Presently, we have youths undergoing advanced agriculture technological training in these fields while various state governments in the region have made lands available to us for extensive farming or have promised to do so.
“Our Model Farming Initiative is designed to provide 5,000 sustainable jobs in the region; to key into Mr President’s programme of creating employment and wealth through farming as well as ensuring food security,” he said.
Boroh said the winning strategy was President Muhammadu Buhari’s hands-on approach to the region.
The coordinator noted that the visits of the Vice President to most oil producing states, with the full participation of the state governments and people, is a winning formula.
He explained that the visits had solidified the relationship between the region and the present administration.
Speaking on the 2015/2016 academic year programme, he said the office deployed 1,294 delegates to various universities in the Nigeria.
“We have recorded 681 graduates with 14 of them graduating with First Class and 84 with Second Class Upper.
“In fact, the Benson Idahosa University retained four of our students as lecturers, who had First Class.
The coordinator said that the performance of the students abroad was even more stunning.
“A total of 454 of them graduated mainly from British universities with 20 graduating with First Class and 41 with Second Class Upper.
“Also, we have ensured the effective management of our students abroad through the collaboration of the Amnesty Office and our embassies and High Commissions,” he said.
Boroh said that this had led to remarkable reduction in students. agitations.
According to him, from 2015 to 2016, the programme deployed 1,603 delegates to Training Centres across the country, where 1,230 of them graduated.
The coordinator said that a total 196 delegates are currently in training, but regrettably, the training of 177 of them is on hold due to logistical reasons.
Boroh said that during the period under review, the Amnesty Office empowered 1,453 delegates with various starter-packs including shop rents, while 966 of them were taken through refresher training,” he added.

Niger Delta

Stakeholders In Delta Seek Stronger GBV Action, Women’s Leadership

Published

2 days ago

March 2, 2026

The Tide

Stakeholders in Delta State convened in Asaba for a leadership workshop organised by Otdel Health Heritage and Environmental Initiative (OHHEI), focusing on Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and women’s participation in decision-making processes.

OHHEI Project Director, Mr. Peter Olayinka, represented by a consultant, Juliet Obiajulu, urged participants to contribute meaningfully toward advancing women’s leadership and combating GBV across communities in the state.

He said the workshop aimed to strengthen participants’ capacity to influence policies, challenge harmful cultural norms, and reinforce initiatives designed to prevent and respond to GBV.

Olayinka said women often faced bias even when they occupied leadership positions, and stressed that gender diversity improved the quality of decision-making and promoted innovation and accountability in governance structures.

Speaking, the Chairperson of the Association Against Child Sexual and Gender-Based Violence, Mr Eris Jewo-Ibi, identified cultural norms, domestic responsibilities, political resistance, and grassroots barriers as constraints to women’s participation.

Delta State GBV Desk Officer, Mrs. Rosemary Okpuno, emphasised that effective decision-making required women’s perspectives, adding that inclusion remained critical to addressing persistent gender-based challenges.

Voke Angbagh of the Delta State Ministry of Justice outlined penalties for rape and called for the establishment of special courts to handle sexual offences cases.

Angbagh said frequent adjournments delayed justice for survivors, stressing that dedicated sexual offences courts would ensure timely trials and stronger protection for victims in Delta State.

The Tide’s source reports that facilitators identified cultural acceptance of violence, unequal power relations, discrimination, poverty, limited education, and low self-esteem as major drivers of GBV.

They emphasised that violence and exclusion resulted in social, physical and emotional harm, imposed economic costs, reinforced harmful stereotypes, and widened existing gender inequalities.

The source also reports that OHHEI, a local non-profit organisation, focuses on education, health, environment, and social justice, promoting sustainable development initiatives with gender equality at the centre of its interventions.

Niger Delta

C’River Suspends Taskforce Activities Over Drivers’ Protest

Published

2 days ago

March 2, 2026

The Tide

The Cross River State Government has suspended all taskforce activities connected to commercial transportation and ticketing across the state.

The State Governor, Bassey Otu, announced the suspension at an emergency stakeholders meeting on Friday in Calabar.

It would be recalled that commercial drivers in Calabar metropolis took to streets on Thursday to protest alleged multiple taxation and extortion by government agencies.

During the protest, the drivers alleged that taskforce groups claiming to represent the state government openly harassed and extorted them.

Represented at the meeting by Ekpenyong Akiba, his Special Adviser on General Duties, Otu said the suspension would subsist pending further review of the situation.

The Governor stated that the state government did not commission anyone to extort drivers in the name of task force.

He urged commercial drivers and other road users to remain law-abiding while government worked out a lasting solution.

On his part, the Chairman, Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria, Calabar Metropolis, Mr. Sunday Dennis, expressed optimism that the dialogue would yield positive results.

He said the meeting had provided an opportunity for the aggrieved commercial drivers to present their concerns directly to the state government.

Also speaking, the Chairman, Unified Drivers Association, Mr. Nta Henshaw, described the harassment on drivers as worrisome, and urged the state government to be decisive in resolving the matter.

Niger Delta

A’Ibom Assembly Urges More Private Investments In Agriculture

Published

2 days ago

March 2, 2026

The Tide

The Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly Committee on Nutrition and Food Security has called for more private sector investments in agriculture.

The Chairman of the Committee, Mr. Moses Essien, made the call when the committee visited Aviclaire Farms, a private establishment in Usung Idem, Uruk Usoh in Abak Local Government Area.

Essien, who represents Ibiono Ibom in the Assembly, commended the Management of the farm for partnering an NGO, ECEWS, to promote private investment in agriculture.

He commended the partners for adopting climate-smart agriculture initiatives in their operations, adding that such move would promote food security.

“Your interest in using transformative intervention to promote food security is a veritable way of complementing the efforts of the state government,” he said.

The lawmaker continued that adopting practical climate-smart agriculture model would help to generate employment, improve nutrition outcomes, and strengthen food sufficiency.

He further said he was impressed with the strides recorded by the partners, saying, “your investment has created jobs for no fewer than 2,000 youths.

”You are an example of an environment-friendly investor. I urge Akwa Ibom residents to embrace environment-friendly and technology-driven agriculture models,” he said.

Earlier, the Chief Executive Officer, ECEWS, Dr. Andy Eyo, who conducted the committee round the farm, said the collaboration was conceived to demonstrate the viability of climate-smart farming in ensuring food sufficiency.

Eyo said the farm, which commenced operations with four greenhouses, had expanded to 14 within two years, and currently supplying high-quality produce to major markets in Uyo and neighbouring communities.

He said ECEWS was exploring cooperative frameworks to enable rural farmers and women’s groups to adopt greenhouse technology for sustainable livelihoods.

In her remarks, the Chief Executive Officer of Aviclaire Farms, Mrs. Victoria Eyo, said the controlled-environment ensured precision cultivation and consistent yields.

She further said the farm served as a capacity-building centre for students, interns, and agri-business trainees.