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Call Wike To Order, MOSOP-USA Tells Tinubu …Gives Conditions For Resumption Of Oil Production In Ogoni
The Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People, United States chapter, (MOSOP-USA) has appealed to President Bola Tinubu to control the excesses of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, whose activities have allegedly stiffened and threatened the President’s government.
MOSOP USA, in a statement by his President, DineBari Augustine Kpuinen, also wanted the President to “investigate the $300 million belonging to the Ogoni people paid by the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPC) as compensation, allegedly embezzled by Wike.
“MOSOP USA needs peace in Rivers State. We need Nyesom Wike to stop terrorising the sitting Governor, Sim Fubara. We call on the President to prevail on Nyesom Wike to allow the sitting governor to manage the affairs of Rivers State in peace, just as he was allowed to govern when he was governor and prepare to pay the Ogoni people money meant for the development he embezzled.”
The group also chastised some Ogonis who it described as “greedy, self-centered Ogoni indigents, government agents, and saboteurs, who have consistently undermined Ogoni efforts to be self-governed within the Nigerian state.”
According to Kpuinen, “There is confirmed information reaching MOSOP-USA that some greedy, self-centered Ogoni indigents, government agents, and saboteurs, who have consistently undermined Ogoni efforts to be self-governed within the Nigerian state, have gone to Abuja to meet with President Bola Tinubu to negotiate oil resumption in Ogoni.”
The statement, therefore, called on Tinubu to heed the four conditions the group has set for the resumption of oil production in Ogoniland.
“These are not arbitrary demands but crucial prerequisites that must be met before such operations commence”, it said.
The group’s demands include granting Ogoni a state in the country, cleaning up of Ogoni environment, exoneration and immortalisation of the Ogoni Nine that were executed by the Sani Abacha military junta in the 1990s, and rehabilitation and payment of compensation to the Ogonis for the atrocities meted out to them by the Abacha government.
According to MOSOP-USA, “Our ultimate goal is for Ogoni to be granted a State to be self-governed within the Federal Republic of Nigeria, similar to other ethnic nationalities. This would ensure Ogoni has a say in national budgets, as our resources are being misused. It is a step towards Ogoni controlling their political affairs, having equal representation, and using a good proportion of their resources for their development. The right to protect their boundaries and environment against further degradation, forceful encroachment, domination, and annihilation.”
It also noted that cleanup Ogoni environment would provide five basic essentials
“Clean up the previous contaminants and ensure the environment is safe for oil production; gives its citizens the five essential government obligations to guarantee that Ogoni is part of Nigeria: good roads, clean water, electricity, equipped medical facilities, and security”, it said.
The group demanded for the exoneration and immortalisation of the Ogoni Nine.
“The exoneration and immortalization of the Ogoni Nine (9), which includes Gbenemene Suanu I of the Ogoni Nation, Kenule Beson Saro-Wiwa, Comr. John Barinaaziga Kpuinen, Dr. Barinem Kiobel, Paul Levura, Baribor Bera, Daniel Gbokoo, Saturday Dobee, Felix Nuate and Nordu Eawo is not negotiable. We urge the government and people of Nigeria to straighten their records. These men remain innocent of the charges against them that led to their brutal death. MOSOP-USA demands that these men be exonerated. In honour of their memories, November 10 should be declared an Environmental or Civil rights national holiday in Nigeria.”, MOSOP-USA said.
The statement further demanded that compensation be paid to the Ogoni people “for all the atrocities meted against them by the Abacha administration.
“We call on the President to call back the citizens of the 16 communities that the Abacha administration sacked and flattened in both Oyigbo and Tai LGAs; rehabilitate and pay compensation to those who have been internally homeless and hopeless refugees. Also, pay compensation for the 4,000 Ogoni people who were massacred in cold blood by the Rivers State Internal Task Force created by Abacha while Major Paul Okuntimo executed the federal order to make Ogoni a wasteland. Those are what it takes for resumption in Ogoni.”
MOSOP-USA also called on Tinubu to stay true to democracy, recalling that before the President assumed office on May 29, last year, “he was protesting against bad governance and campaigning for true democracy as an activist with members of MOSOP-USA in the United States of America concerning the injustice and genocidal actions meted out against the people of Ogoni in Nigeria.
“MOSOP USA, therefore, demands that the President, Ahmed Bola Tinubu, should act within the ambit of the law and stay true to the cause of democracy/activism that we knew him for to provide good governance and justice to the people of Ogoni and Nigeria at large.”
On the issue of political autonomy for Ogoni and other ethnic nationalities in the country, the group said that “granting politically autonomous states is the only solution to Nigeria’s multiple problems and the only thing that will keep it together as one nation. Nigeria operates on injustice; its leaders are so deep in greediness that they oppress and victimize the poor. Greed and corruption have made Nigeria ungovernable. The rule of law has no bearing on the people. Politicians are now above the law. Truth has been buried; eventually, every ethnicity is now raising their heads, crying for justice, seeking survival like the Ogoni people. This nation shall soon collapse, except its leaders listen to the voice of wisdom.”
The group also appealed to President Tinubu to give Ogoni a College of Applied Technology.
“Finally, Ogoni needs well-equipped Federal Colleges of Applied Technology (FCAT), where the children will acquire skills and trade to meet the employment demands of the 21st century. We therefore inform the president that this FCAT will solve the problem of Ogoni underemployment as they have the most unemployed youths in Nigeria.
“Having the youth acquire basic trades and skills will help them create jobs for themselves and others, gradually eliminating unemployment and boosting the nation’s economy. We advise Mr. President to consider rebuilding the nation by providing skills and trades to the youths.”
Vice President Kashim Shettima has arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for an official State visit at the invitation of the Prime Minister, Dr. Abiy Ahmed.
Upon arrival yesterday, Shettima was received at the airport by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Dr. Gedion Timothewos, and other members of the Ethiopian and Nigerian diplomatic corps.
Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Communication, Stanley Nkwocha, revealed this in a statement he signed yesterday, titled: “VP Shettima arrives in Ethiopia for official state visit.”
During the visit, Vice President Shettima will participate in the official launch of Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Programme, a flagship environmental initiative.
The programme designed to combat deforestation, enhance biodiversity, and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change targets the planting of 20 billion tree seedlings over a four-year period.
In line with strengthening bilateral ties in agriculture and industrial development, the Vice President will also embark on a strategic tour of key industrial zones and integrated agricultural facilities across selected regions of Ethiopia.
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RSG Tasks Farmers On N4bn Agric Loan ….As RAAMP Takes Sensitization Campaign To Four LGs In Rivers
The Rivers State Government has called on the people of the state especially farmers to access the ?4billion agricultural loans made available by the State and domiciled in the Bank of Industry.
This is as the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) of Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP), a World Bank project, took its sensitization campaign to Opobo/Nkoro, Andoni, Port Harcourt City and Obio/Akpor local government areas.
The campaign was aimed at enlightening community dwellers and other stakeholders in the various local government areas on the RAAMP project implementation and programme activities.
The Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Maurice Ogolo, said this at Opobo town, Ngo, Port Harcourt City and Rumuodumanya, headquarters of the four local government areas respectively, during the sensitization campaign.
Ogolo said apart from the ?4billion, the government has also made available fertilizers and other farm inputs to farmers in the various local government areas.
The Permanent Secretary who is the Chairman, State Steering Committee for the project, said RAAMP will construct roads that will connect farms to markets to enable farmers and fishermen sell their farms produce and fishes.
He also said rural roads would be constructed to farms and fishing settlements, and warned against any act that will lead to the cancellation of the projects in the four local government areas.
According to him, the World Bank and Federal Government which are the financiers of the programme will not condone such acts like kidnapping, marching ground and other acts inimical to the successful implementation of the projects in their respective areas.
At PHALGA, Ogolo asserted that the city will benefit in the areas of roads and bridge construction.
He noted that RAAMP was thriving in both the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; Lagos and other states in the country, stressing that the project should also be given the seriousness it deserves in Rivers State.
Speaking at Opobo town, the headquarters of Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area, the project coordinator, RAAMP, Mr.Joshua Kpakol, said the programme would reduce poverty in the state.
According to him, both fishermen and farmers will maximally benefit from the programme.
At Ngo which is the headquarters of Andoni Local Government Area, Kpakol said roads will be constructed to all remote fishing settlements.
He said Rivers State is lucky to be among the states implementing the project, and stressed the need for the people to embrace it.
Meanwhile, Kpakol said at PHALGA that RAAMP is a project that will transform the lives of farmers, traders and other stakeholders in the area.
He urged the stakeholders to spread the information to their various communities.
However, some of the stakeholders at Opobo town complained about the destruction of their farms by bulls allegedly owed by traditional rulers in the area, as well as incessant stealing of their canoes at waterfronts.
At Ngo, Archbishop Elkanah Hanson, founder of El-Shaddai Church, commended the World Bank and the Federal Government for bringing the projects to Andoni.
He stressed the need for the construction of roads to fishing settlements in the area.
Also, a former Commissioner for Agriculture in the state and Okan Ama of Ekede, HRH King Gad Harry, noted that storage facilities have become necessary for a successful agricultural programme.
Harry also stressed the need for the programme to be made sustainable.
In their separate speeches, the administrators of Andoni and Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Areas, pledged their readiness to support the programme.
At Port Harcourt City, the Administrator, Dr Arthur Kalagbor, represented by the Head of Local Government Administration, Port Harcourt City, Mr Clifford Paul, said the city would support the implementation of the programme in the area.
Also, the administrator of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Dr Clifford Ndu Walter, represented by Mr Michael Elenwo, pledged to support the programme in his local government area.
Among dignitaries at the Obio/Akpor stakeholders engagement is the chairman, Rivers State Traditional Rulers Council and paramount ruler of Apara Kingdom, HRM Eze Chike Wodo, amongst others.
John Bibor
President Bola Tinubu has ordered the commencement of personnel audit and skill gap analysis across all cadres of federal civil servants.
The president gave this directive in Abuja, yesterday, while speaking at the International Civil Service Conference, reaffirming his resolve to achieve efficiency and professional service delivery in the civil service.
“I have authorized the comprehensive personnel audit and skill gap analysis across the federal civil service to deepen capacity. I urge all responsible stakeholders to prioritize timely completion of this critical exercise, to begin implementing targeted reforms, to realize the full benefit of a more agile, competent and responsive civil service,” the president announced.
Tinubu further directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), to prioritise data integrity and sovereignty in national interest.
He called for the capture, protection and strategic publication of public sector data in line with the Nigeria Data Protection Act of 2023.
“We must let our data speak for us. We must publish verified data assets within Nigeria and share them internationally recognized as fruitful. This will allow global benchmarking organisation to track our progress in real time and help us strengthen our position on the world stage. This will preserve privacy and uphold data sovereignty,” Tinubu added.
President Tinubu hailed the federal civil service as the “engine” driving his Renewed Hope Agenda, and the vehicle for delivering sustainable national development.
He submitted that the roles of civil servants remain indispensable in modern governance, declaring that in the face of a fast-evolving digital and economic landscape, the civil service must remain agile, future-ready, and results-driven.
“This maiden conference is a bold step toward redefining governance in an era of rapid transformation. An innovative Civil Service ensures we meet today’s needs and overcome tomorrow’s challenges.
“It captures our collective ambition to reimagine and reposition the civil service. In today’s rapid, evolving world of technology, innovation remains critical in ensuring that the civil service is dynamic, digital” the President said.
Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack in her welcome address told the President that his presence and strong words of commendation at the conference has renewed the morale and mandate of public servants across the country.
Walson-Jack described Tinubu as the backbone of driving transformation in the Nigerian civil service, and noted that the takeaways from past study tours undertaken to understudy the civil service in Singapore, the UK and US under her leadership, is already yielding multiplier effects.
Walson-Jack assured Tinubu that her office, in collaboration with reform-minded stakeholders, will not relent in accelerating the implementation of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan, FCSSIP 25.
She affirmed that digitalisation, performance management, and continuous learning remain key pillars in strengthening accountability, transparency, and service delivery across MDAs.
Walson-Jack reaffirmed that the civil service is determined to exceed expectations by embedding a culture of innovation, ethical leadership, and citizen-centred governance in the heart of public administration.