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N’Delta In Danger Of Abandonment After Oil Era, NNRC Warns
The Nigeria Natural Resource Charter (NNRC), weekend, warned that unless issues of environment protection are taken seriously, the Niger Delta might suffer immense negative consequences and abandonment when global attention shifts away from fossil fuel.
In a presentation in Abuja, at a webinar titled: ‘Nigerian Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), Amendment Bill: Reducing environmental degradation through improved oil spill response,’ the NNRC also disclosed that the Niger Delta region is currently suffering from poor response to oil spill.
The Programme Coordinator of the NNRC, Ms Tengi George-Ikoli, stated that NOSDRA, the agency set up to address some of the grave consequences of oil exploitation, mandated to respond to oil spills, was currently hampered by an almost debilitating lack of capacity.
According to her, there was currently a poor response to oil spills because of NOSDRA’s lack of capacity.
However, she explained that the capacity gaps in NOSDRA were not due to a lack of expertise but instead lack of funding and punitive powers.
George-Ikoli lamented that oil exploitation had always presented a huge negative impact on the ecosystem of the Niger Delta region, giving rise to intense land degradation, rapid agricultural decline, fisheries depletion, rampant and destructive oil spillages, continuous gas flaring and toxic water contamination, among others.
This, she added, had negatively affected the health, environment and livelihoods of the Niger Delta people.
She said: “Oil exploitation is now ongoing in the Lagos-Badagry region and now we have discoveries in the Northern part of Nigeria. All over Nigeria, oil exploitation grows, but we must note that as the benefits grow, the resultant negative externalities grow as well.
“The oil age like the coal age and the stone age will at some point set. States that contributed to the coal age in Nigeria are now left to their devices with the shift to oil.
“What happens to the Niger Delta region with the shift towards alternative energy sources or to other regions in Nigeria where oil is being exploited? The Niger Delta will be left with its diminished livelihoods, health and environment.
“This is no longer theoretical, as we saw with the Covid-19 health crisis that swept the globe. The Niger Delta concerns were not as high on the priority list. This is the reality that the Niger Delta will face with the zero oil scenario.
“In April, 2010, the entire world watched in awe as the 4.9million barrels of oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico after an explosion on BP’s Deepwater Horizon drilling rig unfolded.
“The seriousness of the issue was underlined with the numerous visits of the former United States President, Barack Obama and Congressmen to the spill sites.
“In less than two months after the spill, the American government was able to extract a huge sum of $20billion from the spiller to mitigate the immediate impact of the spill on the environment.
“However, there were spirited efforts to clean the environment and stronger indications that the $20billion may only be preliminary appeasement.
“What would be and what has been the computation of the penalties for similar spills in Nigeria? Will NOSDRA be able to address similar large scale spills effectively?”
She further called for the speedy passage and assent to the reviewed NOSDRA Amendment bill, stating that the Bill would ensure that NOSDRA was well equipped to tackle all tiers of oil spillages in the Nigerian environment in line with global best practices.
“As we seek to understand the NOSDRA Amendment bill, President’ concerns, the address of those concerns, we will encourage the government to collaboratively resolve any outstanding issues to ensure the interests of the Niger Delta people and all other exploited regions are protected,” George-Ikoli appealed.
On his part, a lecturer in Environmental Management and Pollution Control, Nigeria Maritime University, Okerenkoko, Delta State, Dr. Sam Kabari, stated that the country needed a NOSDRA which functions as an environmental regulator in the issuance of guidelines and standards and able to address all manner of spills, noting that at the moment, NOSDRA can only detect oil spills but cannot respond.
He further stated that at present, NOSDRA lacked powers to respond to Tier 3 spills, which is between 250 barrels onshore and 2,500 barrels offshore; was dependent on oil companies for logistics, among others.
Kabari said: “As a nation completely dependent on oil and gas, we need an environmental management umpire. The current regulatory framework restricts NOSDRA from achieving that function.
“The NOSDRA Amendment Bill will empower NOSDRA to respond to all manners of spills within Nigeria. We have to empower NOSDRA now, or live with pollution even after oil.”
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.
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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.