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Shell Inaugurates N.2bn Projects In Abia …As Communities Give Firm Knocks
The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) has inaugurated 15 Corporate Social Responsibility projects worth over N200million located in 13 autonomous communities in Ukwa West Local Government Area of Abia State.
The sustainable development projects were executed by the Ukwa West Cluster Development Board (CDB) under the Global Memorandum of Understanding (GMoU) driven by SPDC in Etitioha, Isi-Etitioha, Igiriukwu, Ipu West, Uzuaku, Umuorie, Umuahala, Umuokwor, Isi Obehie, Isi Nteke, Okohia, Umuelechi, and Umunteke.
The projects and programmes include installation of 2km low voltage distribution network at Igiriukwu; installation of solar power borehole water scheme and construction of convenience facility at the market square at Umuelechi; installation of low 500KVA transformer and 2km electricity extension line with 50 street lights at Uzuaka; and procurement of Toyota Hiace bus for Etitioha Transport Scheme for Etitioha community.
Others include award of undergraduate scholarships to indigenes of Isi-Etitioha; construction of 48 open market stalls, convenience building and solar powered water scheme at Igiriukwu; installation of one 500KVA Transformer for HV Transmission and LV Transmission Lines at Igiriukwu; rehabilitation of water scheme at Umuahala; installation of 2.5km HV Transmission Line from Omuma Junction to Azanmogo at Igiriukwu; construction of 12 open stalls at Umuelechi market; and construction of 100-capacity town hall at Isi Nteke.
Speaking during the ceremony at Owaza, headquarters of Ukwa West, last Thursday, SPDC General Manager, External Relations, Mr Igo Weli stated that this was the first time the company was bringing together communities in Ukwa West to collectively execute and take delivery of sustainable development projects as key testimony of the SPDC GMoU success story in the Niger Delta, explaining that the model places ownership of development projects in the hands of the communities.
Weli who was represented by Dr Chibuzor Anyim, commended the wisdom of members of the CDB in the selection of the projects, including undergraduate scholarship programme; power supply improvement; construction of market stalls; sanitation; water and town hall, among others, adding that the projects were pillars of building blocks for sustainable growth and development in the area.
While noting that the GMoU model, introduced by SPDC in 2007, has spread to 37 active clusters, with only one in Abia State, Weli enjoined the people of the area to sustain the peace which enabled the delivery of the projects to the communities.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum in Abia State, Mr Anthony Ojinji, commended SPDC for the GMoU and projects in host communities.
He said the Abia State Government expects SPDC to capture more communities hosting oil facilities in the next GMoU expected to take off in 2018, and urged the benefiting communities to protect the facilities and ensure peaceful environment for businesses to thrive.
On his part, the Chairman, Community Cluster Development Board, Comrade Martins Noah lauded SPDC for delivering on its commitment to the communities, including the addition of surveillance contracts to the GMoU, and pledged the readiness of CDB members to ensure that pipeline vandalism was reduced to its barest minimum in the area.
Also speaking, Secretary of the Asa Development Union, Dr Gabriel Ikechi Ajuzieogu stated that although SPDC has done well for the communities, but regretted that the value of the projects was not commensurate with what the company has gained from the area over the last 60 years.
In his remarks, Chairman, Abia State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (ASOPADEC), Chief Samuel Okezie Nwogu, while agreeing with Ajuzieogu’s position, called for prudent management of funds accruing to the CDB and host communities.
Nwogu, who also doubled as the representative of the Abia State Governor, Chief Okezie Victor Ikpeazu, however, thanked SPDC for delivering the projects that would improve the living conditions of the people, thereby reducing pipeline vandalism and other negative vices in the area.
He disclosed that the Abia State Government would soon establish a firm to provide security cover for oil pipelines in Imo River area, saying that the initiative would create over 200 job opportunities for the youth and help reduce the spate of criminality, including pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft in the area.
Susan Serekara-Nwikhana
Vice President Kashim Shettima has arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for an official State visit at the invitation of the Prime Minister, Dr. Abiy Ahmed.
Upon arrival yesterday, Shettima was received at the airport by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Dr. Gedion Timothewos, and other members of the Ethiopian and Nigerian diplomatic corps.
Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Communication, Stanley Nkwocha, revealed this in a statement he signed yesterday, titled: “VP Shettima arrives in Ethiopia for official state visit.”
During the visit, Vice President Shettima will participate in the official launch of Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Programme, a flagship environmental initiative.
The programme designed to combat deforestation, enhance biodiversity, and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change targets the planting of 20 billion tree seedlings over a four-year period.
In line with strengthening bilateral ties in agriculture and industrial development, the Vice President will also embark on a strategic tour of key industrial zones and integrated agricultural facilities across selected regions of Ethiopia.
News
RSG Tasks Farmers On N4bn Agric Loan ….As RAAMP Takes Sensitization Campaign To Four LGs In Rivers
The Rivers State Government has called on the people of the state especially farmers to access the ?4billion agricultural loans made available by the State and domiciled in the Bank of Industry.
This is as the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) of Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP), a World Bank project, took its sensitization campaign to Opobo/Nkoro, Andoni, Port Harcourt City and Obio/Akpor local government areas.
The campaign was aimed at enlightening community dwellers and other stakeholders in the various local government areas on the RAAMP project implementation and programme activities.
The Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Maurice Ogolo, said this at Opobo town, Ngo, Port Harcourt City and Rumuodumanya, headquarters of the four local government areas respectively, during the sensitization campaign.
Ogolo said apart from the ?4billion, the government has also made available fertilizers and other farm inputs to farmers in the various local government areas.
The Permanent Secretary who is the Chairman, State Steering Committee for the project, said RAAMP will construct roads that will connect farms to markets to enable farmers and fishermen sell their farms produce and fishes.
He also said rural roads would be constructed to farms and fishing settlements, and warned against any act that will lead to the cancellation of the projects in the four local government areas.
According to him, the World Bank and Federal Government which are the financiers of the programme will not condone such acts like kidnapping, marching ground and other acts inimical to the successful implementation of the projects in their respective areas.
At PHALGA, Ogolo asserted that the city will benefit in the areas of roads and bridge construction.
He noted that RAAMP was thriving in both the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; Lagos and other states in the country, stressing that the project should also be given the seriousness it deserves in Rivers State.
Speaking at Opobo town, the headquarters of Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area, the project coordinator, RAAMP, Mr.Joshua Kpakol, said the programme would reduce poverty in the state.
According to him, both fishermen and farmers will maximally benefit from the programme.
At Ngo which is the headquarters of Andoni Local Government Area, Kpakol said roads will be constructed to all remote fishing settlements.
He said Rivers State is lucky to be among the states implementing the project, and stressed the need for the people to embrace it.
Meanwhile, Kpakol said at PHALGA that RAAMP is a project that will transform the lives of farmers, traders and other stakeholders in the area.
He urged the stakeholders to spread the information to their various communities.
However, some of the stakeholders at Opobo town complained about the destruction of their farms by bulls allegedly owed by traditional rulers in the area, as well as incessant stealing of their canoes at waterfronts.
At Ngo, Archbishop Elkanah Hanson, founder of El-Shaddai Church, commended the World Bank and the Federal Government for bringing the projects to Andoni.
He stressed the need for the construction of roads to fishing settlements in the area.
Also, a former Commissioner for Agriculture in the state and Okan Ama of Ekede, HRH King Gad Harry, noted that storage facilities have become necessary for a successful agricultural programme.
Harry also stressed the need for the programme to be made sustainable.
In their separate speeches, the administrators of Andoni and Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Areas, pledged their readiness to support the programme.
At Port Harcourt City, the Administrator, Dr Arthur Kalagbor, represented by the Head of Local Government Administration, Port Harcourt City, Mr Clifford Paul, said the city would support the implementation of the programme in the area.
Also, the administrator of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Dr Clifford Ndu Walter, represented by Mr Michael Elenwo, pledged to support the programme in his local government area.
Among dignitaries at the Obio/Akpor stakeholders engagement is the chairman, Rivers State Traditional Rulers Council and paramount ruler of Apara Kingdom, HRM Eze Chike Wodo, amongst others.
John Bibor
President Bola Tinubu has ordered the commencement of personnel audit and skill gap analysis across all cadres of federal civil servants.
The president gave this directive in Abuja, yesterday, while speaking at the International Civil Service Conference, reaffirming his resolve to achieve efficiency and professional service delivery in the civil service.
“I have authorized the comprehensive personnel audit and skill gap analysis across the federal civil service to deepen capacity. I urge all responsible stakeholders to prioritize timely completion of this critical exercise, to begin implementing targeted reforms, to realize the full benefit of a more agile, competent and responsive civil service,” the president announced.
Tinubu further directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), to prioritise data integrity and sovereignty in national interest.
He called for the capture, protection and strategic publication of public sector data in line with the Nigeria Data Protection Act of 2023.
“We must let our data speak for us. We must publish verified data assets within Nigeria and share them internationally recognized as fruitful. This will allow global benchmarking organisation to track our progress in real time and help us strengthen our position on the world stage. This will preserve privacy and uphold data sovereignty,” Tinubu added.
President Tinubu hailed the federal civil service as the “engine” driving his Renewed Hope Agenda, and the vehicle for delivering sustainable national development.
He submitted that the roles of civil servants remain indispensable in modern governance, declaring that in the face of a fast-evolving digital and economic landscape, the civil service must remain agile, future-ready, and results-driven.
“This maiden conference is a bold step toward redefining governance in an era of rapid transformation. An innovative Civil Service ensures we meet today’s needs and overcome tomorrow’s challenges.
“It captures our collective ambition to reimagine and reposition the civil service. In today’s rapid, evolving world of technology, innovation remains critical in ensuring that the civil service is dynamic, digital” the President said.
Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack in her welcome address told the President that his presence and strong words of commendation at the conference has renewed the morale and mandate of public servants across the country.
Walson-Jack described Tinubu as the backbone of driving transformation in the Nigerian civil service, and noted that the takeaways from past study tours undertaken to understudy the civil service in Singapore, the UK and US under her leadership, is already yielding multiplier effects.
Walson-Jack assured Tinubu that her office, in collaboration with reform-minded stakeholders, will not relent in accelerating the implementation of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan, FCSSIP 25.
She affirmed that digitalisation, performance management, and continuous learning remain key pillars in strengthening accountability, transparency, and service delivery across MDAs.
Walson-Jack reaffirmed that the civil service is determined to exceed expectations by embedding a culture of innovation, ethical leadership, and citizen-centred governance in the heart of public administration.