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PAP Partners NNPC To Sustain Peace In N’Delta
Towards attaining sustainable peace in the Niger Delta region, the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) have agreed to work together to tackle pipeline insecurity, unemployment and other challenges in the region.
The agreement was reached when PAP’s Interim Administrator, Col. Milland Dixon Dikio (rtd) led a delegation to visit the Group Managing Director, NNPC, Mr Mele Kyari, in Abuja, over the weekend.
In a statement signed by the Special Adviser on Media to the Acting Administrator, Mr Neotaobase Egbe, PAP said the meeting was strategic and in line with the objective of programme to partner with all relevant stakeholders for the full implementation of the amnesty programme.
He said PAP was courting willing partners to have robust synergy to drive the Niger Delta Recovery Plan (NDRP) to fruition.
The statement noted that though PAP was executing its own role in reintegrating 30,000 ex-agitators captured by the Presidency, there was a need to strengthen partnership between sister agencies of government for the sustainable development of the Niger Delta.
He said the NNPC like other institutions of government had roles to play in oil assets redistribution, infrastructural development and environmental remediation.
Dikio said that there was a need to control disruptions in oil production, saying destructive energies could be channelled into productive ventures through re-orientation and sustained advocacy.
He also said that PAP had made efforts to cut down irrelevant trainings and had become intentional about successfully empowering its delegates.
He said trainings over the years had become contractor-driven and were not meeting the beneficiaries’ needs.
Dikio maintained that the PAP was targeting functional businesses that had the capacity to train, employ and mentor delegates into becoming successful business owners.
He said: “For instance, if we have someone that has a commercial poultry farm and we partner with them to train our delegates, they will be employed after their training. In the course of two years and five months they will be taken through the ropes of poultry farming before they are sent out to start their own poultry.
“It is a win-win for everybody. We did the research and we discovered that the cassava plant in Bayelsa needs about 20,000 metric tons of cassava daily, so there is ample opportunity for our delegates to go into that kind of business.
“Again, palm oil when sold in international markets is above $1,000 a ton, and here, we are in the region only focusing on oil and gas”.
Dikio further said there were arrays of businesses the PAP was looking to inject delegates into, adding that exceptional graduates under the PAP scholarship scheme had more opportunities for employment.
In his remarks, the NNPC GMD, Mele Kyari, commended Dikio for the efforts to ensure peace in the Niger Delta, and emphasised the need to sustain the peace through accommodation and inclusiveness of Niger Delta youths.
He bemoaned the inability of the oil industry to fulfil its obligations to the region over the years, saying that it was one of the reasons the amnesty programme had prolonged.
He said: “As we speak today, we have seen a number of increasing incidents of unrest; cases that remind us of the past we don’t want to recollect again.
“Therefore, everything you have said points to the fact that inclusion, support and empowerment for young people particularly in the Niger Delta will bring peace and development to the Niger Delta. No amount of resources available to you will give you peace except there is alignment with the respective players in the space”.
Kyari said the award of licences to investors to begin production on about 57 marginal oil fields within Niger Delta in 2022 was designed to support businesses that originated from the region because most of the beneficiaries from the marginal field programme were indigenes of the Niger Delta.
He said working together would bring lasting peace to the region, explaining that the number of experienced technical people produced from the programme, would easily fill employment opportunities.
He said: “Once you create opportunities and investments return, more employment opportunities will come. I think it is a good thing that we work together, both the amnesty programme and all other actors in this space to bring the lasting peace to the Niger Delta and across our country, where people can benefit because ultimately if we cannot give, there will be nothing to show in another five to ten years, that is the reality that we are in.”
By: Akujobi Amadi
The Governor of Rivers State, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has begun the celebration of Nigeria’s 65th Independence anniversary with a Juma’at service where prayers were offered for the progress of the state and Nigeria.
Governor Fubara, who advocated for peace and unity of Nigeria during the prayers on Friday at the Rivers State Central Mosque, Port Harcourt, indicated that without peace, the accelerated development of Nigeria will remain in a limbo.
Governor Fubara, who was represented by Alhaji Abdurrazaq Diepriye, therefore urged citizens to remain patriotic.
According to him, “Allah has brought us this far. Without peace, we can not have progress and economic development. I call on all citizens irrespective of creed or tribe to remain patriotic.”
He thanked President Bola Tinubu for restoring peace in Rivers State while also using the forum to appreciate security agencies for their relentless effort in upholding the peace and unity of Rivers State and Nigeria.
The Chief Imam of Rivers State Central Mosque, Imam Ibrahim Yaloo, admonished Moslem faithful to always speak the truth, adding that those who obey Allah will be directed to good deeds and their sins forgiven.
Prayers were offered for Rivers State and Nigeria.
Other activities to mark the 65th Independence anniversary in the state include an Inter-denominational Church Thanksgiving Service on Sunday, 28th September and Parade Ceremony on Wednesday, 1st October.
Vice-President Kashim Shettima departed New York on Sunday after representing President Bola Tinubu at the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly.
In a statement released on Sunday by the VP media aide, Stanley Nkwocha, the Vice President is now headed to Germany, where he will hold strategic meetings with officials of Deutsche Bank.
The statement read, “Vice President Kashim Shettima has departed New York, United States, after successfully representing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, at the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.
“During his participation at UNGA 80, VP Shettima secured UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ commendation for Nigeria’s bid for a permanent UN Security Council seat.
“He also showcased Nigeria’s $200 billion energy transition opportunity to global investors and strengthened strategic partnerships with the UK on trade, defence, and migration issues.”
Nkwocha added that the VP delivered Tinubu’s national statement, calling for UN reforms and a permanent seat for Nigeria at the UN Security Council, and “demanded Africa’s control over its $700 billion mineral wealth, and digital inclusion initiatives.”
“He also engaged with the Gates Foundation on healthcare and education expansion, positioning Nigeria as the natural hub for the African Continental Free Trade Area’s $3.4 trillion market.
“VP Shettima was seen off at John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York, by cabinet Ministers who were part of the UNGA 80 delegation and Nigerian Mission officials.”
The aide noted that Shettima will return to Nigeria immediately after his engagements in Germany.
The Tide source recalls that the VP departed Abuja, yesterday.
He led other Nigerian officials at the Assembly.
As part of Nigeria’s 65th Independence anniversary celebration, the Federal Government held a special thanksgiving service on Sunday at the National Ecumenical Centre in Abuja to offer prayers and give thanks for the nation.
The event drew top government officials and security chiefs, including Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, as well as their spouses.
Other notable guests included Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy Wale Edun, former Plateau State Governor, Senator Simon Lalong, and the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, who led the service chiefs in attendance.
Service chiefs present included the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice-Admiral Emmanuel Ogala, Inspector-General of Police Kayode Egbetokun, Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Immigration Service, Mrs Kemi Nandap and Controller-General of the Nigerian Correctional Service, Sylvester Nwakuche, among others.00
The service came days after the government unveiled the official theme and some of the activities slated for the 2025 Independence celebrations.
This year’s anniversary is tagged “Nigeria @ 65: All Hands on Deck for a Greater Nation,” as announced by the Director of Information and Public Relations at the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Segun Imohiosen, in a statement on Wednesday.
“As part of activities to mark the 65th Independence Anniversary, the Juma’at Prayer and the Inter-Denominational Church Service will be held on Friday, 26th September at 1 pm and Sunday, 28th September at 10 am respectively, as well as the World Press Conference on Monday, 29th September at 10 am,” he said.
The Tide source had earlier reported that President Bola Tinubu, alongside former Heads of State, Yakubu Gowon, Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan, is expected as a special guest at a national discourse convened by the Island Club, Lagos, to mark Nigeria’s 65th Independence Anniversary.
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