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Court Hears Dock Workers’ Application, Feb 14
The National Industrial Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State presided over by Justice Hamma Polycarp has fixed February 14, 2018 to hear an application for amendment in the originating suit brought by the over 200 workers of BUA Ports & Terminal and PTOL against the Terminal Operators Limited, all in Port Harcourt Seaport.
The BUA Ports & Terminal and PTOL under the aegis of Dock Workers’ Maritime Union of Nigeria had in 2015, dragged their employers, the Terminal Operators Ltd over their refusal to implement and pay them the 2008 national minimum wage as approved by the Federal Government, in violation to the agreement reached by both parties.
At the resumption of the matter, last Monday, counsel to the claimants, Barrister Uche Ogwubu sought the leave of the court to withdraw one of the two applications seeking for interlocutory injunction, adding that the reason was hinged on the fact that the motion had been overtaken by the exigencies of the time.
Ogwudu urged the court to strike out the application while the second application bordering on the amendment of the originating suit was allowed to continue as it was not time bound and would give credence to the subject matter under litigation.
However, in his response, counsel to the defendants in the matter, Barrister Angus Chukwuka urged the court to strike out the application bordering on amendment rather than the interlocutory injunction, because he had replied to the claimants pleas on the point of law.
The defendants’ counsel also urged the court to award cost against the claimants for abandoning their application since 2015.
In his short ruling, the trial judge, Justice Hamma Polycarp, struck out the application for interlocutory injunction based on the claimants’ lawyer’s request to withdraw the application, and also refused to award cost against the claimants as sought by the defendant’s counsel.
He also adjourned the matter to February 14, 2018, for the hearing.
In a related development, the National Industrial Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State has struck out a suit filed by the Dock Workers in BUA Ports Terminal Limited against BUA Ports and Terminal Operators Limited.
The trial judge, Justice Hamma Ploycarp struck out the matter after hearing from both counsel in the matter, and upheld the submission made by the defendants’ counsel, Barrister Angus Chukwuka.
It would be recalled that Chukwuka had during his argument, urged the court to strike out the matter because the originating suit was not signed by the claimants’ counsel, and added that such action had made the entire suit defective and inactive.
Responding, the claimants’ counsel, Barrister Uche Ogwudu concurred with the submission as canvassed by the defendants’ counsel, and urged the court to strike out the suit based on what he described as “human errors”.
According to him, striking out the suit would enable them do the needful, and fast-track the hearing of the matter.
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I’m Committed To Community Dev – Ajinwo
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RSG Tasks Rural Dwellers On RAAMP …As Sensitization Team Visits Akulga, Degema, Three Others

Rivers State Head of Service, Dr (Mrs) Inyingi Brown, has called on rural communities in the State to embrace the Rural Access and Agricultural marketing project (RAAMP) with a view to improving their living conditions.
This follows the ongoing sensitization campaign by the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) visits to Degema, Abonnema, Afam headquarters of Degema, Akuku Toru and Oyigbo Etche and Omuma local government areas respectively.
Dr Brown who was represented by the Deputy Director, Special Duties in her office, Mrs Dein Akpanah, said RAAMP was initiated by the Federal Government and World Bank to economically empower rural dwellers.s
She said the World Bank understands the plights of rural farmers and traders in the State, and therefore came up with the programme to address them.
According to her, RAAMP will improve the conditions of farmers, traders and fishermen, and therefore, behoves on every rural communities in the State to embrace the programme.
The Head of Service also said the programme would support the youths to be gainfully employed while bridges and roads will be built to link farms and fishing settlements.
Also speaking, the State project coordinator, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the programme has the potential of creating millionaires among farmers and fishermen in the State.
Kpakol who was represented by Engr. Sam Tombari, said RAAMP would help farmers and fishermen to preserve their produce.
According to him, the project will build cold rooms and Silos for preservation of crops and fishes while access roads will also be created to link farmers and fishermen to the market.
He, however, warned them against any act that will lead to the suspension of the projects by the World Bank.
Kpakol particularly warned against acts such as kidnapping, marching ground, gender based violence and child labour, adding that such acts if they occur may lead to the cancellation of the project by the World Bank.
During the visit to Oyigbo local government area, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the team was there to let them know how they will benefit from the Raamp.
The coordinator who was personally at Oyigbo said the World Bank introduced the project to check food insecurity in the State.
He said already 19 states in Nigeria are already benefitting from the project and called on them to embrace the project.
Meanwhile, stakeholders in the three local government areas have commended the World Bank for including their areas in the project.
They, however, complained over the incessant attacks by pirates on their waterways.
At Degema, King Agolia of Ke kingdom said land was a major problem in the kingdom.
King Agolia represented by High Chief Alpheus Damiebi said many indigenes of the kingdom are willing to go into farming but are handicapped by lack of land.
Also at Degema, the representative of the Omu Onyam Ekeim of Usokun Degema kingdom, Osoabo Isaac, said Degema has embraced the programme but needed more information on the implementation of the programme.
Similarly, while High Chief Precious Abadi advised that the project should not be narrowed to only crop farming, a community women leader, Mrs Orikinge Eremabo Otto, called for the construction of cold rooms in all fishing settlements in the area.
At Abonnema, Mr Diamond Kio linked the problem of the area to incessant piracy along waterways.
He also expressed fears over the possibility of the project being hijacked by politicians.
Also at Abonnema, a stakeholder, Ikiriko Kelvin, called on the World Bank to design an agricultural project that will suit the riverine environment, while at Oyigbo, HRH Eze Boniface Akawo expressed satisfaction with the project.
John Bibor
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Senate Replaces Natasha As Committee Chairman

The political mudslinging between the Senate leadership and Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan continued yesterday as the Senate named Senator Aniekan Bassey as the new Chairman of the Committee on Diaspora and Non-Governmental Organisations.
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, announced the appointment during yesterday’s plenary, confirming Bassey’s replacement of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who is currently on suspension.
Akpoti-Uduaghan was reassigned to the Diaspora and NGOs Committee in February after she was removed as Chair of the Senate Committee on Local Content during a minor reshuffle.
Bassey is the senator representing Akwa Ibom North-East Senatorial District.
Although no reason was given for her removal yesterday, the change is believed to be connected to her unresolved suspension.
In May, Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court ordered her reinstatement and directed her to tender an apology to the Senate.
However, the Senate has insisted it has not received a certified true copy of the court judgment.
Akpoti-Uduaghan who represents Kogi Central, has yet to resume her legislative duties despite a recent court ruling that voided her suspension.
In a televised interview on Tuesday, Akpoti-Uduaghan said she was awaiting the Certified True Copy of the judgment before officially returning to plenary, citing legal advice and respect for institutional process.
Although the Federal High Court described her suspension as “excessive and unconstitutional”, a legal opinion dated July 5 and attributed to the Senate’s counsel, Paul Daudu (SAN), argued that the ruling lacked any binding directive to enforce her reinstatement.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, one of only three female senators in the current assembly, said the continued delay in allowing her return was not only a denial of her mandate but also a blow to democratic representation.
“By keeping me out of the chambers, the Senate is not just silencing Kogi Central, it’s denying Nigerian women and children representation. We are only three female senators now, down from eight,” she said.
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