Niger Delta
Delta Unhappy Over UK Travel Report
Delta State Government on Monday said that the state is safe, peaceful and secured, contrary the recent travel advisory report allegedly issued by the United Kingdom to its citizens in Nigeria.
The State Commissioner for Information, Mr Charles Aniagwu, stated this at a press conference in Asaba while reacting to the purported report.
He urged the public and international communities to disregard the advisory report.
He said that Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa’s administration in the state had put high premium in the security of lives and property of citizens because it is the primary purpose of government.
The commissioner, who was with the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr Olisa Ifeajika, said the advisory report was not in tandem with the situation in the state.
“In our five-point agenda, security is the second item which involves meaningful peace-building and harmonious living among the people of the state and their neighbours.
“In the last six and half years, we have tried as an administration to ensure that we have reasonable peace in our state.
“Fortunately, God has helped us because our people have cooperated with us and that has helped us in ensuring that we sustained the building of relevant infrastructure even as many persons are trooping into the state.
“Those of you who have been in our state capital and of course, Warri, the commercial nerve centre of the state, and indeed all the other local communities in Delta, can attest to the fact that Delta has been quite peaceful and that is why you have seen the influx of persons coming in to invest.
“We were taken aback as to why the British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), in their latest travel advisory report, included Delta in the list of 12 states where they are asking their citizens not to visit on account of possible attack by Boko Haram.
“We want to believe that it was an error because just last month, precisely on September 21, the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Ms Catriona Laing, was here in Delta.
“She lauded the state government in what we are doing and appreciated the fact that she was warmly welcomed.
“And she even visited some communities without any hitch or element of any report that points to the fact that her life was threatened.
“So, we couldn’t have imagined where this particular advisory came from.
“For the records, Delta is very safe; Delta is welcoming and we are available for both local and foreign investors.
“Delta is much more conducive for anybody to operate whether in terms of business, leisure, work or whatever is worth doing and justifiable in any reasonable human society.
“We have tried to build a very peaceful state because we realise that peace is the bedrock of whatever form of development you are bringing to bear and to add value to the lives of the people.
“As an administration, we have continued along that trajectory to ensure that we evolve policies and programmes that will help us to ensure that there is peace all the way,” Aniagwu said.
Aniagwu commended the traditional institution, the youths and others living in the state for their support and cooperation.
“We encourage the British authorities and indeed any other foreign national to continue to see reason to do business with Delta, travel down to Delta in terms of business, leisure and any other form of interaction.
“The state government will continue to ensure that there is peace and all of you who live in Delta can testify to the fact that Delta is one of the very few states in Nigeria today where there is night life.
“The reason why we have night life here is because there is a very high level of security in our state.
“And apart from the efforts we have put in, we have enjoyed the grace of God and indeed the very unconditional support of the different segment of our society,” he said.
Aniagwu added that the state government was working hard to gazette the anti-open grazing law while also taking steps to adopt the White Paper on the Judicial panel of enquiry into Police brutality in the state.
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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