Niger Delta

Illegal Trading: Task Force Suspends Zonal Leader

Published

5 years ago

October 28, 2019

The Rivers State Task Force on Street Trading, Illegal Motor Parks and Markets says one of its zonal leaders identified as Temple Onukem has been suspended over alleged sabotage and compromise.
Coordinator of the Task Force, Bright Amaewhule who disclosed this to newsmen in Port Harcourt said the suspension is indefinite, noting that Onukem was the task force leader in charge of the Oil Mill/Artillery Zone of Port Harcourt.
Amaewhule said he would not condone any of its personnel conniving with members of the pubic to undermining its activities, adding that the task force may consider the prosecution of personnel involved in corrupt acts.
“I got information on the Zonal leader of the Oil Mill/Artillery Zone, one Temple Onukem that he has collected money from the traders to allow them trade on the pedestrian (walk way) and the Aba Road axis of Elelenwo and Rumuokurusi.
“That was now affecting vehicular and human movements. I called him severally, he never picked my calls. I had to mobilise my own special team to that place.
“Even when I had asked the Eliozu, Rumupirikon/Rumuolumeni and Trans Amadi Zonal leaders to mobilise people to that place so that they could join forces with him to make sure they dislodge those traders.

Dennis Naku

Niger Delta

Environmentalist Makes Case For Oceans Preservation

Published

27 seconds 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.

Niger Delta

NACAT Inaugurates South-South Office In A’Ibom Against Corruption

Published

1 min ago

February 5, 2025

The Tide

The Network Against Corruption and Trafficking (NACAT), an anti- corruption NGO, has inaugurated its South-South Office in Akwa Ibom State to strengthen its campaign against corruption.

The Coordinator, Mr. Michael Ekpo, told newsmen in Uyo during the inauguration that NACAT was determined to fight corruption without looking backwards.

Ekpo said corruption was a common enemy of the nation that required the collective effort of the citizenry to tackle.

He said corruption was the reason behind the failed educational system, unemployment, and dysfunctional healthcare services across the country.

“As an agency, we are going all out to bring down this common enemy of ours called corruption. We urge everyone to join forces as we tackle this monster”, he said.

The Coordinator further said corruption was the reason Nigeria’s common patrimony fell in the hands of few individuals while majority lived in abject poverty.

“Corruption is the cause of unemployment and poverty, it is the reason our shared wealth is in the hands of a few individuals, the fight against corruption is a fight for a better Nigeria”, he said.

Niger Delta

NDDC’s Performance, Boost To Tinubu’s Government – Coalition

Published

6 days ago

January 30, 2025

The Tide

A Coalition of youth groups in the Niger Delta has said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is gaining massive support from the region due to the outstanding performance of the current leadership of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

The groups are currently saying that if the Dr. Samuel Ogbuku-led NDDC team continues with the good works, the All Progressives Congress (APC) will likely win the 2027 presidential election in the region.

This was contained in communique signed by 20 youth groups in the Niger Delta and made available to newsmen in Port Harcourt.

The Youth groups include “Crusaders for Niger Delta Community Development” (CNDCD) and the “Niger Delta Youth Coalition for Peace and Progress” (NDYCPP), who gathered in Port Harcourt to assess the achievements of the Commission and its board members

The groups, which toured several projects embarked upon by the Commission, including completed and ongoing ones, and inherited ones spread across the Niger Delta, hailed the NDDC Board for its performance.

They expressed happiness over the projects, saying they are quite impressed.

In a communique issued at the end of the meeting, the youth leadership commended the Managing Directo and his team for the people-oriented projects spread across the region, which, they said, “have made life more meaningful to the people”.

The communique was signed by National Coordinator of Crusaders for Niger Delta Community Development (CNDCD) Amb. Jesse Ese, the National President, Niger Delta Youth Coalition for Peace and Progress (NDYCPP), Pastor Jude Teidor, Chairman, Council Of Organisational Leaders (COOL), Comrade Tonbra Kingdom Yeri, Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) President, Amb. Prince Tonye Jeminimiema, Speaker, Rivers State Youth Leaders Assembly, Comrade Amb. Rufus Ekewoi Jefferson, and 15 others.

Pastor Jude Olayinka, who read the communique, thanked President Tinubu for the appointment of the current leadership of the NDDC Board, described as a round peg in a round hole.

He noted that since the formation of NDDC, this is the first time the commission is meeting the developmental and human capacity needs of the people of the region.

The communique read in part: “When you talk of transiting from transaction to transformation, it means that policy framework, programmes should be laid in such a way that it makes greater room for continuity and effective and efficient service delivery on the part of the institution that is driving it.

“If the institution has no solid foundation on ground, it will create room for inefficiency, ineffectiveness, laxity and all other vices.

“But the current NDDC Board has laid a very good foundation, first of all for management, and then the workers, in line with internationally accepted standards and policies: setting the pace for regional prosperity, educational improvement and advancement, economic growth, health, infrastructure and every other thing, and these are things everybody can see.

“Look at the scholarships in the educational sector, foreign scholarship. The processes to gain the scholarship are very fair, credible, transparent and it encourages healthy competition for people to thrive.

“Look at his programmes with the first lady. So, even in the primary, secondary and tertiary institutions, they are trying to touch lives, and don’t forget that it is only recently the Federal Government is approving their budget.

“So, with this budget being released, you can see that a good foundation has already been laid and development will now come in. So, this is an ‘A Team’, and everybody, from the Managing Director to the least are all seasoned technocrats.

“Look at the robust engagements with all stakeholders, and it is not just engagement like a teaparty affair, all the ideas and resolutions brought in by stakeholders are what the NDDC is using to work.

“So, the people now have a say on how they want their areas to be developed – these are the things endearing people to this Tinubu’s government.

“Don’t forget, people were thinking the NDDC would be run based on political party affiliation – where it is just a party thing and only members of the APC will benefit, but Ogbuku is carrying everybody along irrespective of their political parties.

“Look at their relationship with the state governors, even those who are not members of the APC, it is very robust, and everyone can see the healthy engagement that they have. You can see the humility of the current leaders of the commission.

“Also, look at the stakeholders, the ethnic nationalities – the Ogbuku-led NDDC is touching every facet of the society, none is left behind.

“Even the youths, none is left behind – all shades of the youth bodies are being carried along.

“Look at the light system, the power system. Knowing the high cost of generating power, the solar system became a magic wand; causing robust transformation in the communities, thereby reducing insecurity and causing commercial activities to be done all through the night.

“People are beginning to have more comfort doing their businesses and everybody is happy, and we hear on a very strong authority that the NDDC will embark on solar powered borehole systems across Niger Delta communities.

“And all these things are meant to address major problems bedeviling our communities – lack of light, good educational system and water. And don’t forget, some states are seriously challenged by cholera pandemic mostly caused and spread by lack of portable drinking water, and if these solar boreholes are put in place, most of these health problems caused by drinking of contaminated water will no longer be there.

“Also, this current leadership has done a great deal when you talk of continuity of projects. It is out of this world that any government would come and say we want to inherit abandoned projects, knowing the political mentality of our people, that no matter how much you try to complete abandoned projects, it is those who initiated the project that will be given the credit; failing to understand that it is the person who finished it that did the greatest job and should take the credit.

“But, despite that, Ogbuku and his team say they are ready to finish every abandoned project undertaken by the NDDC.

“Seriously, this administration needs a pat on the back. They need encouragement from all sectors. Look at the youth internship training – we are talking about the Project Hope that is training people on vocational skills.

“Most of the international communities you see, the Chinese, Koreans, Egyptians in our construction sites are not academically oriented – they come to work in the country with vocational certificates that they are using to market themselves across the globe.

“Most of the Koreans you see working in the LNG site only possess mechanical and technical vocational skills and craftsmanship, and that is what is selling. It is the vocational skill that they use in building LNG there, only few of them are educated.

“Training our youths in this skill is a clear indication that, in no distant time, Niger Deltans can comfortably start and finish the construction of LNG plant and even export labour.

“So, building vocational skills is the foundation for industrialization, just like America did.

“Now, look at it, the youth internship scheme is meant to train 10,000 youths, but you see a situation where over 3 million people are applying, meaning about 2,990,000 people will not be selected, and the process is very credible.

“So, it’s going to take time, and those that are not selected will be agitated, you know, but they should give the board more time.

“The bottom line is that they are focused, and they have the ambition and political will to do it. And so far, everyone can see that the team has a very tall vision to translate the Renewed Hope Agenda of the president to every nook and cranny of the Niger Delta.

“This has caused massive regional love and support for the President Tinubu-led government, by the NDDC Board representing the Federal Government at the communities with palpable impact, and that is the way the government operates.

“The superb performance of the NDDC is towards giving democratic dividends to the good people of Niger Delta, and that is causing Niger Delta Youths, Elders, Women and politicians (across party divide) to support the Federal Government.

“So, as long as the NDDC and the Niger Delta people are concerned, Tinubu is working very effectively, it means Tinubu is working very well in that sector, and for us in the Niger Delta, the only sector that is working is the NDDC.

“So, if you ask the average Niger Delta stakeholder and the common man who are benefiting from the programmes and projects of the NDDC, they will tell you President Tinubu is on the verge of making history in the Niger Delta and that is true.

“Because as the NDDC is engaging the people, it is Tinubu’s government that is engaging the people, and they are engaging with their agenda, and that is what governance is all about, policies that have direct bearing on the people. Things that the people see, feel and enjoy, and with that, they know that these people are working.

“So, as far as they are concerned, the Tinubu-led government is working because the NDDC is working optimally, consequently, these efforts are bringing massive support for the Tinubu government – from the lens of the youths, critical stakeholders and leaders of ethnic nationalities, this administration is working”.

It further stated that, “We, the coalition of various youth groups, sat down to analyze deeply, and we found out that the current NDDC Board is working effectively, and people are feeling the dividends, and people who were very far from the commission are now coming close because of the good works of the Board members.

“Irrespective of party divide, irrespective of ethnicity, everyone is being carried along, so this administration should be encouraged and not pulled down because it has not reached your turn”.

Chinedu Wosu