Wike Wants IOCs Headquarters Relocated To N’ Delta

Last week witnessed a behive of activities in Government House Port Harcourt with high profile individuals and corporate organisations on courtesy visits to the state Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike.
Among them were; the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Her Excellency Catriona Laing, Inspector General of Police ( IGP ), Usman Baba, Management of the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas         ( NLNG ), the Director-General of  Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA ), Dr Bashir Yusuf Jamoh, and His Royal Majesty, Nwachuku Nnam Obi 111 of Ogbaland.
Governor Wike accused the International Oil Companies (IOCs) of being part of a wicked conspiracy theory that the Niger Delta region was unsafe in order not to relocate their corporate headquarters to the oil-rich region.
The Rivers State Chief Executive who made the allegation during an official function organised by NLNG last week in Port Harcourt, said it was morally offensive for oil companies to continue to exploit oil and gas in the region and locate  their headquarters elsewhere in the state.
Stressing that the theory was not tenable, the governor challenged the IOCs to prove if Lagos and Abuja did not have security challenges as the rest of the country.
Another major event last week in Brick House was the courtesy visit to Governor Wike by the Acting Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba, last Tuesday.
Addressing the IGP, the Rivers State Governor  said the major reasons politicians failed to perform in office and detached themselves from the people was because security agencies helped to rig them into power.
He also regretted that adequate budgetary allocation for the security agencies in Nigeria had not been given top priority.
The IGP said he was in the state for the launch of “ Operation Restore Peace “ in the South South region of the country. He thanked the Governor for the financial donation to the families of the slain police officers in the state and other levels of support to the Rivers State Police Command.
The British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Catriona Laing, had a closed door meeting with the Governor of Rivers State, last Tuesday, in Government House Port Harcourt.
The High Commissioner who spoke to newsmen after the meeting revealed that their discussion revolved around the economy, prospect of his vision, including youth employment and other challenges.
She further disclosed that Britain was helping Nigeria military to build her combatant capacity in tackling Insurgency, including Boko Haram in the North- Eastern part of the country.
In his tradition of fulfilling promises made by his administration, the Rivers State Governor officially redeemed the N280 million pledge which he made to families of the police officers who were killed during the recent attacks on some police formations by some enemies of the state.
The 11 bereaved families got a cheque of N20 million each during a condolence visit which the governor paid to the state Commissioner of Police, Friday Eboka, last Monday.
Two bereaved family members of the Niger Airforce , Nigerian Airforce Base and a widow of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps ( NSCDC ) official also got N20 million cheque each.
The governor who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Dr Tammy Danagogo assured that the state government would always support people who make sacrifices for the good of humanity, the good of Nigeria and the state.
The Commissioner of Police in the state, Friday Eboka, and the Commander 115 Special Operations Group, Nigeria Airforce, Port Harcourt , Group Captain  G E  Laha , thanked the governor for the gesture and assured him that they would continue to discharge their duties effectively.
Governor Wike was at the 4th Matriculation ceremony of the PAMO University of Medical Science ( PUMS) held Friday in Port Harcourt.

The Governor who expressed delight at the fast pace of progress the young university has made so far, lauded the founder and Pro-chancellor of the institution . He also announced additional N500 million grant to help management of the university put on ground more facilities.

Also within the week under review,  Rivers State Governor attended the PDP Governors Forum meeting last Monday in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

The founding Chairman of APC in the state , Dr Davies Ikanya, and the immediate past factional Chairman of the party in the state , Hon Igo Aguma , led many other chieftains of the opposition in their official defection to PDP in Port Harcourt last Sunday.

By: Chris Oluoh