Niger Delta

Ekpeye, Egi Connected To Same Ancestral Father – Monarch

Published

7 years ago

September 22, 2017

The traditional ruler of Ekpeye Kingdom, His Royal Majesty, Robinson O. Robinson says his people and Egi clan in Ogba/Egbema-Ndoni Local Government Area in Rivers State are partners in progress, linked with one destiny and connected to the same ancestral father.
Speaking at Ekpeye House, Ahoada Town, while addressing the National Executive Council of Egi Peoples Assembly (EPA) led by its President-General, Apostle Magnus Elemele who paid him a courtesy visit, Eze Robinson said it was because of this historical affiliation he had always been by the side of Egi in time of peace and crises.
Eze Robinson who went down memory lane recounted his association with Egi people, saying “I am part and parcel of the Egi success story, the development going on there. I love them, they love me, we have been working together as brothers”.
“I gave your people helping hands during the time of delineation of wards, protests against Elf now Total for better dealings, both the late Eze Egi, Kingdom Elenwa and other elites from the clan are my close friends”.
The Ekpeye Monarch urged the leadership of EPA to ensure that all segments of Egi clan are united and give meassive support to present Eze Egi, Prof. Uzondu Nwokoma for the interest of development of the area.
He commended the EPA executives for the visit, calling them his sons and daughters whom he would be ready to assist either in kind or cash.
On the complaints by Ekpeye oil and gas communities, which the Egi president general presented to him, Eze Robinson said EPA was in order by intervening in the issue as what affects Ekpeye also affects Egi people, but contended that the leader of the complaining group should be advised to allow general interest to supersede his.
According to him, the laid down principles of how Ekpeye share proceeds from their Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Total is based on percentage, as well as the leadership of implementation committee.
Earlier, Apostle Elemele had in his speech, described the Eze Ekpeye Logbo as a living legend whose positive actions affect not only Ekpeyes but also people across all parts of Rivers State and beyond.
He said the visit was to honour him as a great ally of Egi people, introduce the new executive of EPA as an apex socio-cultural organisation of the clan and to present the complaints of Ekpeye oil and gas communities.

Niger Delta

ThisDay award, Affirmation Of Oborevwori’s Performance — Commissioner

Published

35 seconds ago

February 5, 2025

The Tide

Delta State Commissioner for Works (Rural Roads) and Public Information, Mr. Charles Aniagwu, has said the sterling performance of the State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, stood him out for the ThisDay and Arise Television award.

Aniagwu stated this on Monday in Asaba at a press conference while reacting to a statement credited to former Deputy Senate President, Sen. Ovie Omo-Agege, demanding to know what the state government has done with its finances.

The Commissioner, in company of the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Sir Festus Ahon, and the Executive Assistant to Governor on New Media, Mr. Felix Ofou, said government would reply critics with more projects.

He said the Governor Oborevwori-led administration had defrayed over N235 billion debts from inherited projects and had initiated new ones.

According to him, the Governor is a bridge builder who does not discriminate against anyone on account of political affiliations.

He said the Governor had impacted all sectors of the state’s economy and had initiated new projects and in 2024 budgeted N1 billion for road projects across the 25 Local Government Areas in the state.

Aniagwu said given the impact of the LGA road projects, the State Government has also in 2025 increased the budget to N2.1 billion for road projects across the LGAs.

The Commissioner said the State Government has awarded over 15 kilometers of road projects in the Ndokwa Nation in addition to the many ongoing bridge constructions in the area.

According to Aniagwu, the sterling performance of Governor Oborevwori in the past 19 and half months has become the undoing of critics.

He said on account of the N1 billion budgeted for road projects across LGAs, the State Government has been able to take road projects to the community and to ward levels in the 25 LGAs.

He also said the State Government’s contributions to the education and judiciary sectors were unprecedented.

The Commissioner said the Oborevwori government has acquired and donated over 60 brand new vehicles among other gadgets to security agencies to combat crimes in the state.

He also said the government has initiated and commenced the construction of 50 units of pilot housing scheme in three locations across the three senatorial districts of the state, adding that the state capital, Asaba, would soon wear a brand new look.

Aniagwu continued that the Governor pays salaries and allowances of civil servants as and when due and was prompt in payment of the new minimum wage to the workers.

“In health sector alone, the government has renovated and equipped no fewer than 150 health care facilities across the state.

”The Governor believes in value for money, hence he engages in physical project monitoring. He has also charged the commissioners to monitor and avoid shoddy jobs if they want to remain or be shown the way out.

“We give as much as 40 per cent mobilisation and pay certificates to contractors to ensure timely completion of projects and to avoid contract reviews and in spite of all this, we remain solvent and solid financially, we have not borrowed a dime from anyone.

”So, our brother, Sen. Ovie Omo-Agege need to be educated on what we are doing with our monies”, Aniagwu said.

Aniagwu warned individuals who engage in grabbing government lands to desist forth with, adding that government would not only demolish such buildings, but would subject the culprits to pay the bills for the demolitions.

He said the Governor was concentrating on good governance and would not be distracted by those whose trade in stock was to defect from one political party to another.

Niger Delta

A’Ibom CP Cautions Youth Against Violence In Oil Producing Communities

Published

2 mins ago

February 5, 2025

The Tide

The Commissioner of Police, Akwa Ibom State Command, CP Baba Azare, has warned youths against indulging in violence, especially in oil producing communities to ensure development in the state.

Azare said this during a meeting with youth leaders and representatives of International Oil Companies (IOCs) operating in the state in Uyo, yesterday.

The Commissioner warned the youths against taking laws into their hands by blocking roads in oil companies whenever there was any dispute.

Azare attributed the misunderstanding between the host communities and oil companies to a breakdown in communication.

He emphasised that there could not be any development without peace, and urged the youth leaders to work hand-in-hand with the police to resolve all disputes, stressing that the Command would not take it kindly with any group of people who disturbed the peace of the land.

The Commissioner said dialogue became important to ensure an enabling environment for oil companies to operate.

“No one should block the free flow of operations of these companies.

Without development, we cannot grow the economy. If you have any problem, inform us immediately, so that we have a common ground to resolve issues amicably.

“The factory sited in your community is for empowerment and development of the community and state”, Azare said.

He urged the youths to exhaust all avenues for dialogue and not to resort to violence.

“We are ready to partner with you, going forward we expect that peace reign in all your communities”, he said.

Responding, the Security Manager at Seplat Energy Producing Nigeria Unlimited, Mr. Johnson Oboh, blamed the community leaders for not involving the youths as contained under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).

Oboh noted that the PIA directs oil firms to spend three per cent of their operation cost on the communities.

He advised the youths to be conversant with the Act which has taken much of the burden of Corporate Social Responsibility from the oil companies.

He promised that going forward the oil companies would initiate communication avenues to resolve all lingering issues.

Niger Delta

Environmentalist Makes Case For Oceans Preservation

Published

3 mins ago

February 5, 2025

The Tide

A renowned Environmentalist, Dr. Nnimmo Bassey, on Monday called for concerted efforts by stakeholders to save the oceans from indiscriminate pollutions.

Bassey made the call in a statement by Miss Kome Odhomor, Media/Communication Lead, Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF).

The environmentalist was speaking at a workshop at Nigeria Institute for Oceanography and Marine Research (NIOMR) in Victoria Island, Lagos.

The Tide’s source reports that the workshop was jointly organised by HOMEF, NIOMR, and International Ocean Institute, Nigeria.

Bassey noted with concern that the Ocean had suffered indiscriminate pollution by uncontrolled human and industrial and extractive activities.

“We gather today to consider the state of our ocean, not as a commodity to be exploited, but as a common good that sustains life, livelihoods, our culture and spirituality.

“Our oceans are under siege, and the communities that depend on them bear the brunt of pollution, displacement, and human rights abuses.

“Across the coastline of Nigeria, community folks are being forced from their territories, deprived of their resources and left to grapple with the consequences of laxly regulated natural resource exploitation.

“The economic forces driving this destruction prioritize profit over people, extracting resources beyond the ocean’s capacity, and leave behind a trail of ecological devastation”, Bassey said.

According to him, the infrastructure of Nigeria’s economy begins at the shorelines and extends to the deep waters, where resources are extracted.

“The coastal communities who bear the pressures from the land and the sea remain trapped in poverty”, he said.

He explained that environment focused stakeholders cannot ignore the countless oil well blowouts that have polluted the waters.

“Akaso Well 4, Atanba, Bonny Terminal, Buguma Wellhead 008, Santa Barbara, and the ongoing inferno at Ororo Oil Well 1 at Awoye, Ondo State, which has been raging for close to five years now, among others.

“These disasters are ecological crimes that contribute to climate instability, and a worsening scarcity of land and water, placing entire communities and livelihoods at risk.

“We live with the struggles of fishermen and women who set out each day with their nets and baskets, only to find empty waters, enclosed and sacrificed for industrial dredging, multinational oil companies and corporate fishing.

“A Community like Aiyetoro with its history of well-organised governance and industrial strides is now a ghost of its former self.

“It is bashed and washed by unrelenting waves and left to grapple with unrelenting impacts of global warming and possibly heading for complete displacement unless we act”, Bassey noted.

The environmental rights crusader expressed concern over the plight of Makoko’s communities.

He noted that their rights to housing, food, and health had been trampled by forces that would be happy to have the people displaced so the waterfront can be grabbed by speculators.

He explained that the destruction of marine biodiversity disproportionately affects fishing communities, making them the most vulnerable to environmental degradation.

“Our fight to defend the ocean is inseparable from the fight for human rights and justice. We must resist the unchecked advances of transnational polluters in our ocean and demand accountability.

“We must protect our biodiversity, our land, and our water from the destructive forces of exploitative capitalism seeking to privatize the commons.

“It is time to rethink our relationship with nature, to take only what can be replenished and respect the delicate balance that sustains us all”, Bassey said.

He advocated that governments must act, not as enablers of destruction, but as stewards of the environment, ensuring that decisions about natural resources are made with the full participation of the communities who rely on them.

He said that Nigeria had signed so many conventions and treaties regarding the wellbeing of marine ecosystems.

He observed that the country even had designated Marine Protected Areas whose protection is disputable.

“Our constitution may be said to have a tilt towards ensuring the right to life, but there can be no right to life without the right to a safe environment.

“This workshop is more than a gathering, it is a platform for us all as oceanographers, marine scientists, government agencies, civil society organizations, and community leaders to reflect, strategize, and commit to the urgent task of defending our ocean.

“Coming on the heels of the International Wetlands Day, we use this opportunity to take a stand against so-called land reclamation which should rightly be named aquatic ecosystems conversion and grabbing.

“We have seen wetlands and dependent economies destroyed by urbanization and diverse speculators. We are also seeing swaths of the ocean and public beaches being converted into fenced housing estates or so-called superhighways.

“These disregard the fact that the state of the ocean directly affects the climate, reflects on the quality of our lives and the capacity of the Earth to maintain her cycles and support all beings”, Bassey stated.

He urged the participants at the workshop to seize the moment to build a future, where the ocean is protected, human rights are upheld, and coastline communities thrive.