Niger Delta

Ogoni Clean-Up: HYPREP Seeks RSG’s Support …As Doctors Operate Nine Ogonis

Published

8 years ago

January 1, 2018

The Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) has extended its healthcare outreach programme to Tai and Gokana Local Government Areas of Rivers State, with medical practitioners under the auspices of the Ogoni Doctors Forum successfully performing surgeries on nine Ogoni sons and daughters.
This is even as the interventionist agency has called on the Rivers State Government and local government councils within Ogoniland to throw their weight behind the ongoing clean-up project.
The medical outreach programme is the first step of the health impact assessment study as recommended by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Report on the clean-up of Ogoniland.
The programme which started on December 26, 2017 in Bori, headquarters of Khana Local Government Area, anchored at Primary Healthcare Centre, Kpite in Tai Local Government Area on December 28 and at General Hospital, Terabor in Gokana Local Government Area on December 30, 2017. It has so far recorded massive turn out of Ogoni people who have benefitted from the exercise.
Speaking at the event in Terabor community last Saturday, the Project Coordinator of HYPREP, Dr. Marvin Dekil said through the commencement of the health outreach programme, the Federal Government has demonstrated a clear commitment to the Ogoni clean-up project and urged the state government to do same by throwing its weight behind the project.
Dekil said there was the urgent need for the state government to support the programme at this point because, “the Ogoni clean-up project is a collective process for us”.
He noted with pleasure that the outreach programme had so far recorded tremendous success as thousands of patients had been treated and provided with quality medication for their various health challenges, adding that HYPREP was also getting the medical history of the patients that would help it form part of a data base in ascertaining if the ailments being diagnosed have a link with the oil pollution that devastated Ogoni land.
While commending the doctors, the medical women and the beneficiaries, the project coordinator called on more Ogoni people to embrace the programme.
Also speaking, the President Elect, Medical Women Association of Nigeria, Rivers State Chapter, Dr. Vetty Agala harped on the need for Ogoni people to whole-heartedly embrace the free health programme, as HYPREP had put everything in place for its success.
According to her, going by the motto of the association, the female medical personnel were treating their patients with the love of mothers.
Some of the beneficiaries, Amb. Prince Giadom, Mrs Keta Ganwa, among others said they were happy to participate in the programme, saying, it was a package the Ogonis had longed for and thanked HYPREP for the gesture.
At the Primary Healthcare Centre, Kpite, doctors were last Saturday seen working round the clock to attend to patients in the various wards while some of the patients were undergoing surgeries.
Addressing journalists, the Coordinator of the medical outreach, Dr. Leloonu Nwibubasa disclosed that since the programme started, the team of doctors had handled over 317 cases.
He said out of the 37 patients on the list for surgeries, the doctors had successfully handled nine cases.

Donatus Ebi

Niger Delta

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

Published

4 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

4 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

4 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.