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NDDC: Militant Groups Join Forces With Tompolo, IYC
Militant groups in the nine states of Niger Delta have teamed up with the General Officer Commanding, Niger-Delta Struggle, Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo, and protesting Ijaw Youths Council (IYC), threatening to shut down major oil flow stations, wells and crude delivery lines of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), in the region over President Muhammadu Buhari’s refusal to instruct Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, to inaugurate the substantive Board of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
The militants under the auspices of Supreme Egbesu Freedom Fighters in a statement by the Commanding Officer, self-styled “General” Agadagba Obus, alias Thunder, warned: “If the Federal Government refuses to inaugurate the NDDC board within the seven-day ultimatum already declared by Tompolo, then we will have no choice than to join hands with him, IYC and other agitating militant groups in the creeks to shut down oil exploration activities on all flow stations in the region.
“The Escravos-Warri to Kaduna NNPC major delivery crude line; Escravos- Lagos Atlas Cove delivery line; Trans Escravos Warri- Kaduna gas line that supplies electricity to Abuja will not be spared and also the Trans-Forcados 48- inch terminal underwater Shell/NNPC crude delivery pipeline with most of the Chevron RMP24 Clough creek line will all be brought to stand still if Akpabio refuses to lay off his hands and allow the Federal Government to inaugurate the NDDC board.
“The presidency and the Federal Government should hold Akpabio, the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, and the Sole Administrator of NDDC, Effiong Akwa, responsible for whatever happens at the end of the seven-day ultimatum in the creeks of the region.
“We want to make it clear that with the way things are going, President Buhari, who was elected to provide good governanceto ensure the welfare and betterment of Niger Delta people and Nigerians at large, cannot fold his hands, keep quiet and allow so-called corrupt minded politicians from the region to push him against the wish of the people in the region.
“These and many other anti-people decisions are frustrating the tireless peace efforts made by some political leaders like the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, and other stakeholders that have worked tirelessly to achieve sustainable peace in the creeks and now beinf jettisoned by the greed of just one man with a false fake pretence of forensic audit and no good intention for the people of Niger Delta.
“Rather, the crooked, fake, stage-managed and arranged forensic audit is just a ploy and slogan to shortchange, silence and deny oil-producing states and ethnic nationalities in Niger Delta proper representation on the board of the NDDC commission so that one person will continue to hold the entire region to ransom and it will not be allowed anymore.”
The agitators further cautioned that the Coordinator of Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Milland Dikkio, “cannot stand on our way or calm us down” if the seven-day ultimatum was not heeded, adding: “The long emancipated people of the Niger Delta have been denied better life despite their blessed human and natural resources.”
On its part, UYFC’s Coordinator, Eshanekpe Israel, a.k.a Akpodoro, said: “For us at UYFC, the Ijaw group, who filed out to protest since last week acted our minds and we are solidly behind every move to inaugurate Okumagba-led executive board and we shall stop at nothing to stampede the government to inaugurate a board constituted by the president and duly screened by the Senate of the Federal Republic.
“We have in Urhobo land the Otorogun gas plant, the largest in West Africa, yet, we have nothing to show for it. President Buhari will be deliberately inviting trouble if he refuses to inaugurate the board. The people of Urhobo land are tired of this macabre dance.”
Addressing newsmen, Coordinator and General Secretary of ESAN, Henry Okpamen and Cyril Odiboh, respective stressed that NDDC was set up by then President Olusegun Obasanjo as a response to the cry and agitation of the people of the region over the huge deficit in infrastructure and other basic life’s demand and it was, therefore, set up as an intervention agency to address the problems of degradation and underdevelopment of the Niger Delta.
“What is more troubling and surprising is the fact that Akpabio, who has continued to frustrate every effort to set up the NDDC board in line with the laws setting it up is from Niger Delta.
“We call on our political leaders, traditional rulers, opinion leaders, youth groups, student organisations and other critical stakeholders in the region to speak up against this grave injustice that is being meted out to Niger Deltans.
We support the ongoing forensic audit designed to reposition the commission for effective and efficient service delivery in line with the vision of the founding fathers, but carrying it out under supervision unknown to law amounts to trying to correct a wrong, using a wrong approach, which will ultimately deliver the wrong and unacceptable result.”
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.