Niger Delta
NDLEA Decries Cultism, Seizes 165Kg Of Hard Drugs
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Akwa Ibom State Command, says it seized a total of 165kilograms of hard drugs from 105 youths within a period of four months.
Akwa Ibom State commander, Obot Bassey, disclosed this while speaking about the role of hard drugs in teenage cultism at the panel discussion on finding solution to teenage cultism: A case study of Uyo High school.
Bassey expressed concern over the alarming rate of youths involved in the illicit drugs business, heinous crimes such as rape, banditry, armed robbery, kidnapping as well as cultism among Secondary Schools children in the state in recent times.
She advised the state government on the need to introduce drug testing in secondary schools as a way of detecting students whose violent actions were being influenced by abuse of hard drugs.
“I resumed here four months ago, and in four months the NDLEA, Akwa Ibom State command has seized 165kilogrammes of hard drugs from 105 youths,” Bassey said.
“It could be shocking and very alarming to see that last week, August 6 to be precise, a 26-year-old male was arrested with 1.2031kg of Cocaine worth N25million, the highest seizure in Akwa Ibom State in 18 years.
“What will a 26-year-old be doing with N25million?
On finding solution to teenage cultism, my take on this is that we should look at the protective factors and how to bring children out of cultism in Akwa Ibom state. Parents need to know how to develop their wards.
“We (NDLEA) enjoin the Commissioner for Education Akwa Ibom State that before you send the students back to Uyo High School, you should get Drug test-kits, let them be tested before they are reabsorbed into the school. Heinous crimes such as kidnapping, banditry, rape, cultism are all hinged on hard drugs.”
Giving an overview of the situation at Uyo High School earlier, the Commissioner for Education, Idongesit Etiebet, noted that it did not only negatively affect the teaching and learning processes but also persons in the society, stressing that whenever there is an uprising the violence leads to destruction of people’s vehicles, houses and other valuable property.
Etiebet represented by Director, Quality Assurance in the ministry, Roseline Mfon, thanked the initiators of the programme aimed at finding a lasting solution to teenage cultism and prayed that the menace is exterminated in the school system or at least be reduced to the barest minimum.
“The case of Uyo High School has been at the front burrner in the state, and it is quite serious. It is a source of concern to everybody, both the government and the people of Akwa Ibom State and beyond,” Etiebet said.
“It has got to a point where even some teachers are living in fear. In that kind of atmosphere the teaching process is disrupted, the performances of the children are negatively affected. So this is a very, very big challenge. It is a big issue. And I want to thank the organisers of this programme, especially for this noble initiative.
“And we are trusting that God will help us to profer the appropriate solution to the problem. If it cannot be eradicated, at least it can be reduced to the barest minimum. In fact the issue of cultism should be exterminated completely from our Schools so that our children will have a better learning environment.”
The state commissioner for information and Strategy, Ini Ememobong, said the collaboration of the service organisations became important so that the impact of their humanitarian services could be felt more in the society.
Ememobong, who disclosed that students would be invited during future discussions noted, “It is our hope that after today’s discussion, we will take it further by bringing the students. And we believe that before this year runs out we would have been able to find the solution to teenage cultism problem.”
“Also, this is the beginning of the process that will bring all the service organisations together to achieve strategic planning for humanitarian service in Akwa Ibom State,” Ememobong said.
Dufugha, however, expressed resentment over what he described as stringent measures against assessing the State’s Students Loan Scheme, especially for the common citizens.
He made the observations while briefing journalists at the Earliest Ikoli Press Centre, Ekeki, in Yenagoa, the State capital.
“I commend the Governor for the relative peace in the state owing to his approach to the security of lives and properties in the State.
“For now, the police in Bayelsa State is using drones to monitor red flag areas that can cause security breaches and that has really encouraged the peace in the State.
“The security situation has improved and we commend the government for that. We cannot deny the fact that there is relative peace in the State”, he said.
On the State’s students loan, the publisher accused the scheme of having elitist posture due to its accessibility process.
He argued that it would be difficult for the ordinary Bayelsan to provide a Level-17 civil servant as guarantor to be able to benefit from the scheme, describing it as a systemic denial of the less privileged.
He noted that the loan was supposed to be a succour to indigent Bayelsa parents and students who could not assess education easily, noting that such persons should not be made to face cumbersome situations before assessing the financial instrument.
On road infrastructure, the Niger Delta Herald Publisher and Editor-in-chief praised the Diri’s administration on the work done on the three senatorial district roads and tasked the government to do more.
Dufugha, who described Bayelsa State as a wealthy State, asserted that the oil rich state needed to see more developmental strides comparative to its current financial status.
“Bayelsa is not a poor state in terms of public revenue. We’re an oil producing state. We receive federal allocations. We receive derivation revenue. We have access to enormous public resources.
“We receive interventions. Yet, after all these years, the ordinary citizen is still asking, what exactly are we getting for our money? Where are the industries? Where are the jobs? Where are the functional health institutions? Where is the agricultural transformation? Where is the human capital development? Where is the economic diversification?,” he argued.
He enjoined the government to redouble effort in the education and health subsectors, adding that it would pay the state a lot if there were centres for the treatment of critical health cases such as cancer and others in order to save lives and avoid capital flight.
The Publisher urged the Senator Diri-led government and the public not to misunderstand his message as hatred or personal issues with the Governor, but see it as a constitutional and professional duty to hold government accountable.
By: Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa
Deputy Governor of the State, Dr. Peter Akpe, stated this rexently when he received the Resident Anti-Corruption Commissioner of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) in ernment House, Yenagoa.
charge of Bayelsa and Rivers States, during a courtesy visit to Government House, Yenagoa.
Akpe said the general perception of those in politics has always been that of corruption, but noted that the position of the Douye Diri-led Prosperity Administration is non-tolerance for corruption.
Akpe, who frowned at the habit of writing unfounded petitions against individuals and groups, said the heap of petition files from Bayelsa State at the ICPC was several times higher than that from any other state in the country.
He reminded residents that writing unjustifiable petitions to anti-graft agencies is not only a bad culture, but also attracts jail penalty, and assured the ICPC of the state government’s support to improve public enlightenment.
“Our government is a government that believes in zero tolerance for corruption; that is why we are always open to interact with you and other anti-graft agencies.
“Usually, there is this issue of negative perception of politics and politicians. But it is not true that every politician is corrupt. We have a good number of people in politics that are not corrupt, and we believe that a good percentage of them are in this government.
“The issue of petitions at the ICPC: What we observed was that the heap of files from Bayelsa were 10 times higher than the ones from even Lagos, and 15 more times than the ones from Sokoto and other states.
“That is quite disturbing. More so, most of those petitions were ion, our people should also know that such frivolous petitions can land them in jail”, he saidfrivolous.
From a personal experience, I can tell you that most of the petitions are extremely frivolous. While we will never tolerate corruption, our people should also know that such frivolous petitions can land them in jail”, he said.
Earlier in her remarks, the ICPC Resident Anti-Corruption Commissioner in charge of Rivers and Bayelsa States, Dr. Ekere Usiere, highlighted the statutory mandate of the ICPC, stressing that its mission was to carry out sensitisation on the ills of corruption in the Nigerian society.
Usiere, who expressed concern at the volume of petitions currently before the ICPC emanating from communities in Bayelsa over the management of the PIA funds, expressed the commission’s desire to partner the Bayelsa State Ministry of Information to carry out sensitisation programmes.
The ICPC Resident Anti-Corruption Commissioner was accompanied on the visit by Assistant Chief Superintendent, Mr. Evans Peters; Principal Superintendent, Mr. Emmanuel Akpor; Assistant Superintendent, Mrs. Tamaraudoubra Ebebi; and the Administrative Officer, Mr. Frank Yileaziba.
By: Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa
The Director of Administration and Human Resources, Sir Kelechi Nwelue, gave the advice during a commission-wide staff interactive session with Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) and insurance companies at the NDDC headquarters in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
In a statement signed and issued by Seledi Thompson-Wakama
Director, Corporate Affairs, Nwelue said the programme, approved by the Managing Director of the commission, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, was organised to sensitise staff on pension schemes and provide them with the knowledge required to make informed decisions about their retirement savings.
He particularly urged newly recruited employees to acquaint themselves with the operations and responsibilities of various PFAs before choosing an administrator to manage their pension contributions.
According to him, pension contributions deducted from employees’ salaries, alongside employers’ contributions, constitute long-term savings designed to provide financial support after retirement.
He urged staff to carefully assess the information provided by the participating pension administrators and choose the option best suited to their long-term financial interests.
Nwelue stressed that employees were at liberty to select their preferred pension administrator, noting that the interactive session provided an opportunity for the various companies to explain their products, services and benefits.
Also speaking, a Director in the Directorate of Administration and Human Resources, Mr. James Fole, said the programme was aimed at deepening employees’ understanding of pension, insurance and other financial instruments that could improve their financial wellbeing during and after active service.
Fole warned that inadequate preparation for retirement could expose employees to financial hardship in their post-service years.
He said: “That is not what the Managing Director, Executive Management and the entire management want for our staff. We want to see a situation where retirees enjoy a reasonable level of comfort, knowing that the Commission has contributed to their future.”
He added that equipping employees with appropriate financial knowledge while they were still in active service remained critical to achieving a financially secure retirement.
Several pension and insurance companies participated in the interactive session.
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