News
Ogonis Give FG Nov 30 To End Environmental Terrorism
The marginalised people in the four Ogoni-speaking local governments of Khana, Gokana, Tai and Eleme in Rivers State have given the Federal Government up till November 30, this year, to end environmental terrorism in Ogoniland, or face increased resistance until justice is achieved in the area.
President of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), Legborsi Saro Pyagbara, made the disclosure, last Saturday, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, during the 23rd Ogoni Martyrs Day.
The solemn day is set aside to mark the hanging of a renowned environmentalist, Kenule Beeson Saro-Wiwa, and eight other Ogoni activists at Port Harcourt Prisons, during the regime of the late Gen Sani Abacha on November 10, 1995.
Pyagbara stated that with Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) declared persona-non-grata in Ogoni, another oil company would only be allowed to resume oil production in Ogoniland, after a broad-based discussion with Ogoni people.
The Anglo/Dutch oil giant (Shell) was sent packing from Ogoniland in 1993, with MOSOP President disclosing that in the last one year, there had been intense pressure by unnamed oil companies to re-enter Ogoniland, for the ultimate purpose of resuming oil production in the area.
On the vexed issue of resumption of oil production in Ogoniland, Pyagbara said: “In the last one year, we have seen intense pressure to re-enter Ogoni for the ultimate resumption of oil production in our land.
“While Shell remains persona-non-grata in Ogoni, we have stated repeatedly that Ogoni oil assets cannot be partitioned and allocated like the partitioning of Africa, to any investor without the Free, Prior and informed Consent of the Ogoni people, as guaranteed under international human rights law, particularly the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP)”, the MOSOP president clarified.
The Ogoni Martyrs Day was attended by the deputy governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, Chief Victor Giadom; Nigeria’s Ambassador to The Netherlands, Hon Oji Ngofa; the pioneer Secretary-General of MOSOP, Prof. Ben Naanen, of the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT); Senator Magnus Abe (Rivers South-East); and the Coordinator of the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP), Dr. Marvin Dekil.
Naanen was the chairman of the 23rd edition of the Ogoni Martyrs Day, which was held in Port Harcourt, instead of Bori, the traditional headquarters of Ogoniland, due essentially to security reasons occasioned by the tensed atmosphere in the area.
The Tide learnt that in the last few years, a number of indigenous oil and gas companies, led by the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Belemaoil Nigeria Limited, RoboMichael Oil & Gas Nigeria Limited, among others, have been rumoured to be interested in operating the Ogoni Oil Field, in place of SPDC.
However, The Tide gathered that the Federal Government has yet to decide on which company to hand over the lease licence to resume oil and gas production in the area, famously taunted to harbour rich hydrocarbon reserves that could help boost the nation’s Brent crude production capacity.
The Federal Government’s lack of decision, it was learnt, has been hampered by the complex demands of the Ogoni people, led by MOSOP to grant presidential pardon to Ken Saro-Wiwa and his kinsmen killed by the Sani Abacha-led military government in 1995, following the Ogoni civil disobedience and resistance.
By: 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.