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Wike Blames FG For Delay In N120bn Bonny-Bodo Road Completion
Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, has blamed the delay in completion of the N120billion Bonny-Bodo Road on failure of the Federal Government to pay N60billion counterpart funding for the project.
He asserted that every fund expended so far on the Bonny-Bodo Road project had been provided by the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Company Limited (NLNG).
Wike stated this at the send-off ceremony of former NLNG managing director, Tony Attah, which held at the company’s corporate headquarters in Port Harcourt, last Saturday night.
The governor, who was accompanied by the Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki, maintained that since the N60billion counterpart fund for the 38-kilometre Bonny-Bodo Road would be paid from the federation account, it would be wrong for the Federal Government to continue to claim glory for the funding of the project with the NLNG.
“The Bonny-Bodo Road is not funded between the Federal Government and NLNG. I don’t agree. With due respect, it is funded between NLNG, all the states of the federation, and the Federal Government.”
The Rivers State governor noted that if the Federal Government was committed to the even development of all parts of the country, it ought to have provided the N60billion counterpart funding for the speedy completion of the Bonny-Bodo Road.
“If this nation is a country that all of us belong to and all of us mean well for ourselves, that is one project that ought to have been completed by now, because of the economic interest that will benefit all of us.”
He eulogised Attah for the convivial relationship the NLNG, under his watch, maintained with the government and people of Rivers State.
The governor said that Attah would be remembered for overseeing the commencement and completion of NLNG corporate headquarters’ building in Port Harcourt, and for ensuring that all fabrication works for the company’s $10billion Train 7 were done in Rivers State.
According to him, 7.5 per cent Value Added Tax (VAT) from the NLNG Train 7 project, would be used to transform the state.
Based on the convivial relationship Attah nurtured and sustained with the state government, the governor said it was also possible for all those working for the International Oil Companies (IOCs) to cultivate better relationship with state governments in the Niger Delta.
The governor remarked that by ensuring the speedy completion of the NLNG headquarters in Port Harcourt, Attah had proved that the claim of insecurity in the Niger Delta by IOCs was indefensible.
“IOCs will say there is insecurity in Port Harcourt, insecurity in Warri, insecurity in Bayelsa but there is no insecurity in taking the oil and gas.”
The governor declared that posterity would forever be kind to Attah for all his good deeds as the managing director of NLNG.
According to him, any government that was committed to the development of the country must engage technocrats like Attah.
“NLNG will never forget you (Attah). The Amanyanabo of Bonny will never forget you. Rivers State will not forget you. You have done very well. And I want to tell you by the powers conferred on me in the next award of the state; you are going to get the second highest honour as far as Rivers State is concerned.
“I want to thank you for what you have done for Rivers State. I want to thank you for what you have done for the people of the Niger Delta.”
The governor enjoined the new NLNG Managing Director, Dr. Philip Mshelbila, to emulate his predecessor, and sustain the existing cordial relationship with the state government.
He implored Mshelbila and the board of the NLNG to collaborate with the Rivers State Government to develop a vast reclaimed expanse of land opposite the NLNG corporate headquarters in Port Harcourt.
“Everybody should come back here. This is where it is happening. Philip, opposite you, we have sand-filled the area, provided infrastructure. Come and partner with us. Chairman (NLNG board, Edmund Daukoru, the Amanyanabo of Nembe), you are from Niger Delta, tell your people to come and get a place here. They should not be living in Lagos and flying in and putting the cost on your head. Let them come here. The safest place is here. Rivers State is very safe.”
The governor used the occasion to reaffirm Rivers State Government’s ownership of 45 per cent stake in OML 11, which was formerly operated by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC).
President Bola Tinubu has approved the nomination of four new members to the Governing Council of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB).
The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, in a statement yesterday, said the appointment is to fill existing vacancies and strengthen the board’s capacity.
The statement said the approved nominees are Mr. Olusegun Omosehin of the National Insurance Commission and Engr. Wole Ogunsanya of the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria.
Tinubu also endorsed the nomination of Sam Onyechi, who represents the Nigerian Content Consultative Forum and Barrister Owei Oyanbo from the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.
The President encouraged the new members to leverage their expertise and dedication to enhance local content development within Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
It added, “The nominations arose from the exit of previous institutional representatives from the Governing Council.
“The NCDMB Governing Council, established under Section 69 of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act, 2010, comprises representatives from key institutions.
“These include the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria, the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria, the Nigerian Content Consultative Forum, and the National Insurance Commission.”
The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has announced plans to construct additional hostels, rehabilitate roads, and enhance power supply in the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT).
NDDC’s Managing Director, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, disclosed this during a visit to the commission’s headquarters in Port Harcourt, yesterday by a delegation from the UNIPORT’s Governing Council.
Ogbuku stated that the NDDC had committed to upgrading facilities at UNIPORT as part of efforts to foster partnership with educational institutions across the Niger Delta.
According to him, the implementation of additional projects at the university forms part of a broader strategy to improve education standards in the region.
“Aside from the construction of new hostel blocks and installation of a 300 KVA solar inverter system, the NDDC will also facilitate more projects in the university.
“The commission will also deploy its engineers to assess the condition of UNIPORT’s roads and hostels for potential rehabilitation,” he said.
Ogbuku noted that upon completion, the projects would add to various initiatives previously undertaken by the commission at the university.
“These and other projects reflect our commitment to actualising President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda in the Niger Delta region,” he added.
He reaffirmed the NDDC’s dedication to fostering development and strengthening partnerships across the region.
Earlier, Sen. Mao Ohuanbunwa, Chairman of UNIPORT’s Governing Council, who led the delegation commended the current leadership of the NDDC for its achievements in accelerating development in the Niger Delta.
He highlighted the university’s infrastructural challenges, noting that it lacked adequate facilities to accommodate its growing student population, and appealed for the NDDC’s support in addressing the shortfall.
“Currently, UNIPORT has a total student population of about 50,000, while its hostel accommodation capacity can only cater for 5,000 students.
“We therefore urge the NDDC to assist in the construction of additional hostels, improve transportation facilities, and facilitate the acquisition of gas turbines to enhance power supply for our students,” Ohuanbunwa pleaded.
The Vice Chancellor of UNIPORT, Prof. Owunari Georgewill, commended NDDC for its impactful projects across the Niger Delta and extended an invitation to the commission to participate in the institution’s forthcoming 50th anniversary celebrations.
The Senate has rejected a motion to rename the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) headquarters after the former chairman of the defunct National Electoral Commission, late Prof Humphrey Nwosu.
Nwosu presided over the June 12, 1993, presidential election, which was truncated by the former military President, General Ibrahim Babangida (rtd).
The election which was won by the late business mogul, Chief MKO Abiola, was adjudged to be the freest and fairest in the electoral history of Nigeria.
The motion to rename INEC after Nwosu was re-sponsored by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe yesterday after lawmakers threw it out last Wednesday.
Abaribe called for posthumous national honours to be conferred on Nwosu in recognition of his role in Nigeria’s democratic evolution.
However, the proposal sparked a heated debate once again, with lawmakers deeply divided over Nwosu’s legacy.
Senator Osita Ngwu acknowledged that Nwosu operated under a military regime, which restricted his ability to announce the results.
He argued that “there was no way he would have announced the results with a gun to his head. That doesn’t change the fact that some of us see him as a hero.”
Senator Austin Akobundu, however, described it as most uncharitable for lawmakers to dismiss Nwosu’s contributions, insisting that he deserved a place in Nigeria’s hall of honour.
On the other hand, several senators like Senator Jimoh Ibrahim dismissed the idea outright, questioning why the Senate should honour someone who failed to announce the results insisting that “nothing should be named after him”.
Senator Cyril Fasuyi argued that history does not reward efforts, but only results.
“As long as he did not announce the result, whether under duress or not, I am against naming INEC headquarters after him,” he submitted.
Also, Senator Sunday Karimi criticised Nwosu for lacking the courage to speak out, while Senator Afolabi Salisu warned that immortalising him would undermine the memory of MKO Abiola, the widely accepted winner of the June 12, 1993, annulled election.
“Any attempt to do anything beyond a one-minute silence is to rubbish Abiola’s legacy,” he tendered.
After intense deliberation, most senators rejected the motion through a voice vote.
They, however, agreed to honour him with a one-minute silence and extend condolences to his family, effectively dismissing the other prayers to immortalise Nwosu.
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