Niger Delta
PANDEF, HOSTCOM, Others Berate Kyari
Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF); Host Communities of Nigeria (HOSTCOM), and other stakeholders of Niger Delta, recently, disagreed with Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr Kele Kyari, over his claim that three per cent for Host Communities Trust Fund was higher than 30 per cent for exploration on Frontier Basin in the new Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
PANDEF’s National Publicity Secretary, Ken Robinson, said: “The statement by Mr Kyari, the Group Managing Director of NNPC, that the three per cent provision for the Host Communities Development Trust in the Petroleum Industry Act is higher than the 30 per cent allocation for Frontier Exploration, is absurd and presumptuous.
According to PANDEF, “How can anyone make such an irrational comparison? It is adding insult to injury, to say the least.
“Oil and gas host communities in Niger Delta bear the brunt of the industry operations. With colossal adverse effects on the region’s hitherto luxurious ecosystem; the indigenous people’s means of livelihood have been grossly degraded, with little, if any, improvement in their standard of living.
“And so, it is awful for anyone to compare, for any reason, the paltry three per cent provision for the Host Communities Trust Fund to the humongous 30 per cent allocation for the nebulous Frontier Exploration Fund. It is baseless and makes no sense.
“Kyari’s expression reflects the uncouth contempt and injustice being carried out against Niger Delta. The nation cannot continue in this trajectory.”
National President, HOSTCOM, Chief Benjamin-Style Tamaranebi, who reacted to the controversy, said: “We keep hearing from Minister of State (Petroleum) and GMD, NNPC, that 30 per cent NNPC profit is lesser than three per cent Host Communities’ operating cost.
“GMD Kyari Mele is entitled to his opinion because we are not privileged to what is happening in the corporation and it is like a cook, who went out to the market to get foodstuff and prepare a meal for guests, the guests only know what was placed before them.
Pere (traditional ruler) of Seimbiri Kingdom in Delta State and former national chairman, Traditional Rulers of Oil Minerals Producing Communities of Nigeria, TROMPCON, Charles Ayemi-Botu, said: “That is arrant nonsense. Kyari should go and tell that to the marines or to Musa. By the way, what is the rationale in making such arrogant statement? No person in his true sense of reason will make such a ridiculous, unguarded and blasphemous statement.
“He should hide his head in shame, for the opportunity in becoming the Group Managing Director of NNPC without knowing the difference between three per cent and 30 per cent. He may best be described as a round peg in a square hole. We are in government of nepotism and winner takes all syndrome.
“Kyari did not expatiate on the details that informed such unguarded, erratic and stupid statement. Host communities are requesting nothing less than 10 per cent allocation to assuage the age long ecological degradation/devastation, environmental hazards, pollution of our only source of livelihood, our ecosystem has been totally destroyed, acid rains as well as the depletion of the ozone layers bring diseases, culminating in infant mortality/premature death, etc.”
An indigene of oil and gas rich, but neglected Oluasiri clan in Nembe LGA of Bayelsa, Iniruo Wills, said: “That is an utterly irrelevant comparison. It is a mechanical attempt at diverting attention from the gross injustice of treating communities as a nuisance factor.
“The real question is how does three per cent of mere operational expenses compare with the 10 per cent equity originally proposed at the beginning of the PIB journey or with the 10 per cent of profits that it was first watered down to by then President Jonathan and oil minister, Diezani Allison-Madueke, before Bukola Saraki’s National Assembly later cannibalised it down to 2.5 per cent of profits, setting the stage for the current crop of executives and legislators to do this final havoc”.
Coordinator, Niger Delta Peace Coalition, Zik Gbemre, said: “The comparison is immaterial, a meaningful distraction. It is extreme corruption for government to fund oil and gas prospecting. That is the reality Kyari would not mention”.
National president, Vanguard for Transparent Leadership and Accountability (VATLAD), Mr Emmanuel Igbini, declared: “From my deep knowledge of the Nigerian upstream petroleum sector, I know that data and figures thrown at Nigerians by the International Oil Companies, IOCs, are not credible at all.”
Minority rights activist, Eric Omare, said: “I do not have the statistics as per the total yearly operational cost of oil operations in Nigeria and the NNPC yearly profit on oil. However, the key point in the GMD’s comment, which is correct is that the criteria for arriving at the Host Communities Trust Fund and the Frontier Areas Fund are not same”.
John Okodi-Iyah, an engineering consultant in Akwa Ibom State, said the NNPC boss was economical with the truth.
“They can deceive some of the people sometime or all the time, but not all the people, all the time,” he said.
The Irish Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Peter Ryan, has expressed delight that the projects being executed by the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project(HYPREP) in Ogoniland are all about the people, and commended the Project for the feat.
Ryan, who made the commendation during a working visit to the Project Coordination Office of HYPREP in Port Harcourt, said HYPREP’s projects and programmes can be impactful when they are owned by the people, thus, the small changes the Project is bringing about in Ogoniland are worthwhile, as they directly and indirectly benefit the people.
He noted that he and his team are also delighted to be part of what HYPREP is doing, the project being a multi-generational effort, stressing that Ireland would be exploring the potential of partnering with HYPREP in the research and education sector through its Centre of Excellence for Environmental Restoration for the project to achieve greater success.
Ryan said the work of the Project Coordinator is more like a vocation than a job, because, according to him, his community is depending on him to deliver, to do things properly and doing something at the world-class level that is sustainable, and urged HYPREP to carry out this noble task with diligence and be mindful of the high expectations and dependency from the communities to deliver a world-class project that is sustainable.
He noted that there are people in Ireland who are desirous of knowing the progress HYPREP is making and the level it has attained in the cleanup project, and praised the Project Coordinator, Prof Nenibarini Zabbey and his team for not being new on the Project, and for building immense collaboration networks across the world, describing them as people with global standard track record.
He hinted that his country could also partner with HYPREP and Nigeria in the areas of research, education, culture and business, in a bid to “be the best we can and do the best to impact on resilient communities, and address years of under investment, exploitation and other negative things that come with globalisation.”
He further indicated that his visit to Port Harcourt was significant and special in Ireland’s history in Nigeria, because the day of the visit was the first working day at the new Ireland Embassy in Abuja.
Ryan praised the strong connections between Ireland and Port Harcourt and the wider Niger Delta region, saying, “you don’t have to go very far to see the impact the Irish had here “.
He expressed joy that two Irish companies are working successfully on the cleanup project, devoting their time and efforts in contributing to the development of Ogoniland, stressing that just as his wife had noted, what they were missing when they were still in Ireland were the people of Nigeria and not the food, the weather and the mangroves.
According to him, Ireland is willing to partner with HYPREP to actualise the Project’s mandate for the future of Ogoni, as the project is all about the people.
He said the visit had given him an opportunity to appreciate the pace of the Ogoni cleanup project ,which is focused on the people.
He noted that as the 17th Irish Ambassador to Nigeria, he has come to the country not to invent the wheel but to stay true to the legacy of his predecessors and other Irish people who had worked in Nigeria for over 40 years.
“I am the 17th Ambassador to come to this country.But I am not coming as the first.While we might not have a lot of missionaries today, there a lot of people who remember those connections between Ireland and Nigeria in Ireland. And to me, those connections are what we can build so many other contemporary connections on,” he said.
In response, the Project Coordinator of HYPREP, Prof Nenibarini Zabbey expressed delight over the visit, and the opportunity to inform the ambassador about the ongoing and completed projects, including the Centre of Excellence for Environmental Restoration; the Ogoni Specialist Hospital; the Buan Cottage Hospital; the Ogoni Power Project; the shoreline cleanup; the water projects; and the mangrove restoration project; among others.
While describing the envoy’s visit as very special and motivating, Zabbey said it had boosted the morale of the HYPREP team.
He noted that while the core mandate of HYPREP is to remediate oil spill impacted sites in Ogoniland and restore the livelihoods of the people, it is also the responsibility of the Project to transform seemingly bleak situations to opportunities, considering the fact that the Ogoni environment consists of wetlands.
The Project Coordinator further hinted that HYPREP is building a world-class Centre of Excellence for Environmental Restoration, which is expected to be a hub for international research, where researchers would conduct cutting-edge innovative research, adding that it is a centre every stakeholder would be proud of.
He disclosed that HYPREP is going to partner with universities in Ireland and the private sector in Ireland to contribute to the work of the Project, and to also build local capacity as well as advance knowledge, and assured that HYPREP and the envoy would continue to do the best, to contribute to environmental sustainability in Ogoniland.
Zabbey noted that the basis for the sustainability of the project is the fact that the people are the drivers of the HYPREP’s mangrove restoration intervention in Ogoniland.
He emphasised that the focus of the cleanup project at the moment is Ogoni, stressing, however, that HYPREP is building a template that would be replicated in other parts of the country.
He explained that HYPREP is passionate about delivering a sustainable cleanup in this region, “which all of us will be proud at,” saying, “we will continue to do our best to leave behind a knowledge legacy that will drive environmental sustainability in Ogoniland.”
The Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project(HYPREP) has called on key regulators, asset owners and other stakeholders to continue to support the agency toward the goal of remediating the Ogoni environment and restoring the livelihoods of the people and building structures for peace.
The Project Coordinator of HYPREP, Prof Nenibarini Zabbey, who made the call during the Project’s first quarter meeting with regulators, asset owners and stakeholders in Port Harcourt, urged the stakeholders to remain resolute in supporting HYPREP’s work.
“We particularly expect each regulatory agency and asset owner to deepen their involvement and continue to provide strategic support to the project”, he said, stressing that the quarterly meeting platform remains instrumental in providing a structural avenue for regulators, asset owners, and implementation partners to offer feedback to HYPREP on project performance and deliberate on ideas that move the project forward, as well as strengthen collaboration, deepen synergy and reinforce collective responsibility.
Zabbey disclosed that the socio-economic study of Ogoni has started, as HYPREP has contacted the International Agency for Research on Cancer of the World Health Organisation(WHO) to commence in the next quarter a three-year human health biomonitoring in Ogoniland.
He noted that work on several fronts of the cleanup project is progressing steadily, adding that as key project partners, the insights and shared experience of the regulators and asset owners have always enriched HYPREP’s operations.
He said the policy thrust of HYPREP for 2025 is clear, as the Project is intensifying efforts to complete within stated timelines, the various ongoing projects, including remediation works and mangrove restoration, potable water facilities, the Centre of Excellence for Environmental Restoration, the Ogoni Power Project, Ogoni Specialist Hospital, and Buan Cottage Hospital, among others.
Zabbey, however, announced that HYPREP would commence new set of shoreline cleanup, mangrove restoration and livelihood projects, to sustain the momentum of implementing the Ogoni cleanup, adding that the agency would also conduct detailed site characterisation of the high-risk complex sites, leading to remediation works at the sites.
He noted that HYPREP’s collaboration with Rivers State Ministries of Health, Power and Environment, and civil society organisations remains vital, stressing that the technical and administrative support of all relevant government agencies and funding partners is indispensable in helping HYPREP overcome operational bottlenecks, especially those encountered in interfacing with host communities.
He further indicated that “the people of Ogoni and the nation are looking to us with hope and expectation, and expect tangible results from the remediation initiative”, assuring the participants that the Project Coordination Office is committed to delivering positive results.
“We must, therefore, continue to work with diligence, transparency, and a renewed sense of purpose”, he declared, saying, ” the completion and commissioning of projects this year must reflect not only our technical ability but also our collective commitment to environmental sustainability and sustainable development in Ogoni.”
During the interactive session, the Project Coordinator briefed the participants on the progress made so far by HYPREP to conclude the distribution of starter packs to the 5,000 Ogoni trainees, and called on contractors who had already collected huge chunk of money for the project, to deliver without further delay.
In all, the regulators, asset owners and stakeholders commended HYPREP for the good works it is doing, and urged it to do more.
The National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency(NOSDRA) was represented at the event by Deputy Director, Oil Field Assessment, Dr Abam Komommo Omini, while Dr Vincent Nwachukwu, Director of Medical Services, represented the Rivers State Ministry of Health.
The Rivers State Ministries of Water Resources, Power and Environment were represented by Dr Bealo Brownson; Engr K. J. Osele; and Mr James Ordu respectively, while the Society for Women and Youth Affairs (SWAYA); and the Stakeholder Democracy Network(SDN); among other civil society organisations were also at the event.
The Delta State Commissioner for Works (Highways and Urban Roads), Comrade Reuben Izeze, has highlighted Governor Sheriff Oborevwori’s commitment to inclusive and people-focused governance.
He cited the recent upgrade of infrastructure at the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) camp in the state as a reflection of this approach.
Izeze stated this during an inspection of ongoing construction of internal roads and drainage works at the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Orientation Camp in Issele-Uku, Aniocha North Local Government Area.
The Works Commissioner said the Governor was deeply concerned about the deplorable state of the internal roads at the camp and how Corps members might perceive the state.
He said, “Until now, the internal roads within the NYSC Orientation Camp were practically non-existent. That is the best way to describe it.
“If you are familiar with this area, you will see that the rainy season has begun, and everywhere is already muddy.
“The NYSC Orientation Camp, for some individuals, is their only encounter with Delta State. Some Corps members will attend camp, seek redeployment, and leave.
“The impression they leave with will be based solely on their experience at the Issele-Uku NYSC Orientation Camp and that becomes their lasting impression of Delta State.
“Governor Oborevwori understands this. But more importantly, he believes that the three weeks Corps members spend at the Delta State orientation camp should be memorable and hospitable. Only a leader with a human face to governance can truly appreciate that.
“He understands this because he knows that his own children are also serving or have served in various parts of the country. He appreciates the importance of comfort within the precincts of the Orientation Camp.
“That is why he graciously approved the construction of all internal roads within the Orientation Camp particularly in areas where Corps members are lodged, where they hold parades, and engage in leisure activities.
“As a result, he approved the construction of 1.2 kilometers of roads with 2.4 kilometers of covered drainage.
“By the time this project is completed, you will understand why many of us refer to him as the ‘Governor Quality’ because of the high standard of finishing and the thoughtful aesthetic considerations.”
On his part, the contractor, Mr. Rony Karam, said the project is expected to be completed within two months, as most of the drainage work has already been done.
“As you can see, we are nearly done with the drainage. Very soon, we will begin the earthworks, stone base, and asphalt laying. We expect to complete the project within two months”, the contractor said.
In a related development, Commissioner Izeze expressed disappointment over the abandoned Nnemiyi erosion control project, which was intended to connect to the storm drainage system linking the Okpanam–Ibusa Bypass Road.
“This is a project we inherited from the previous administration. That tells you it’s over two years old. I can say with all sense of responsibility that this project has clearly been frustrated. It is my intention to report back to the Governor.
“From what I see here, the project has stalled due to the contractor’s failure to meet the terms of the agreement for reasons best known to him. Therefore, I will recommend to His Excellency that the project be terminated due to clear failure and frustration”, Izez said.
Albert Ograka,
Asaba