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Niger Delta

2023 Boro’s Day: Diri Tasks Commissioners, Hails INC On Dispute Resolution, Others

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2 years ago

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Bayelsa State Government has directed the Commissioners of Justice, Lands and Housing and Urban Development, and their counterpart in Local Government and Community Development to immediately resolve the conflict among three communities over the location of Oloibiri National Oil Museum and Research Centre.
The communities are Otuabagi, Otuogidi, and Oloibiri.
The State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, represented by his Deputy, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, gave the directive midweek at the 2023 Isaac Boro Day celebration held at the Ijaw memorial Park in Yenagoa, the state capital.
He said the matter should not be left for the Ijaw National Congress (INC) alone to handle in order to enthrone enduring peace and stability among the three communities.
”It is sad to realize that we fight over the crumbs that fall from the table because of some differences. As we speak, some persons have taken the Federal and state governments as well as the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board to court over the location of the Oil Museum. That’s a wrong signal”, Diri said.

2023 Boro’s Day Celebration in Bayelsa State.

He saluted the sacrifices and contributions made by Boro and his contemporaries for self-determination and self-actualization, stressing that the present administration remains committed to celebrating Boro’s ideals of resource control, justice and true federalism.
While urging the youths to espouse the ideals that the late Major Isaac Adaka Boro stood for, Senator Diri reminded them that the departed hero during the struggle to emancipate the ethnic minorities of the Niger Delta did not engage in acts such as cultism, kidnapping, militancy, armed robbery and other societal ills.
He advised the youths to redirect their energies towards deploying intellectual means to advance the Niger Delta struggle against injustice, marginalisation and underdevelopment.
“The youths must recalibrate their energies positively towards ensuring that the struggle descends from criminality to intellectualism”, Governor Diri noted.
The State Chief Executive, who also spoke on the forthcoming governorship election in the state, implored the youths to reject politicians who would use them to perpetrate electoral violence and thuggery.
He commended the youths for the relatively peaceful manner of this year’s Boro Day, and urged them to rally round the Senator Diri-led administration to turn their fortunes around..
In his remarks, President of the Ijaw National Congress, Prof Benjamin Okaba, said this year’s Boro Day celebration was the 55th anniversary to mark the demise of the departed hero.
According to Prof Okaba, the INC and similar bodies should reflect on the issues Boro fought against such as oppression, marginalisation, environmental degradation and other ills bedeviling the ethnic minorities of the Niger Delta and other parts of the country.
He stressed that though the people of the Niger Delta were still being shortchanged, they must reman united and continue to fight for their rights through legal and intellectual means.
Chairman of the Bayelsa State Founding Fathers, Chief Benedict Gwembe, who represented the Pan Ijaw and Niger Delta Leader, Chief Edwin Clark, stressed that the era of using violence to actualize the struggle for resource control was over and advocated peaceful means to achieve justice, equity and fairness.
Also, Commissioner for Ijaw National Affairs, Hon. Patrick Erasmus, said Boro left a legacy of self-sacrifice and doggedness in the struggle for emancipation and applauded the Ijaw Youth Council for organizing a lecture in immortalalising the memory of the Ijaw legend.
Highpoint of the celebration was the laying of wreaths by the deputy Governor, representative of Chief Edwin Clark, Chief Benedict Gwembe, President of INC, Prof Benjamin Okaba, representative of Chairman of the state legionnaires, Elder Peter Igoin, and Esther Boro, who represented the Boro family.

By: Ariwera Ibibo-Howells,
Yenagoa.

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Niger Delta

Bayelsa Charges Environment Ministry To  End Bush Burning

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3 weeks ago

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December 20, 2024

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The Bayelsa State Government has ordered its Ministry of Environment to take necessary measures to identify and arrest individuals or groups indulging in indiscriminate bush burning in the state.
It also directed its Taskforce on Livestock Management to take proactive steps to checkmate the activities of cattle rearers to prevent the destruction of crops and farms across communities in all the local government areas of the state.
Acting Governor of the State, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, gave the directives while presiding over the 146th Session of the  State Executive Council meeting in Government House, Yenagoa.
A statement issued by the Senior Special Assistant to the Deputy Governor on Media, Mr. Doubara Atasi, quoted him as emphasizing on the dangers of bush burning to the environment, ecosystem and human health.
The statement added that the state’s number two man also warned those perpetrating the act to stop forthwith or face the wrath of the law.
To this end, Atasi added that the Acting State Chief Executive directed the Ministry of Environment to activate the taskforce, with a view to apprehending those found culpable and to ensure they are brought to justice.
On cattle rearers encroaching on farmlands and destroying crops, Senator Ewhrudjakpo noted that the law on anti-grazing was still in force and should be implemented in all ramifications.
He, therefore, directed the taskforce on livestock management in the state to operationalize all machineries to ensure that herders carry out their trade within the limits of the law to avoid unnecessary destruction of lives and property, including crops.
“We want to use this opportunity to alert the public about the danger of bush burning. The hazards are quite known by everybody.
“Nobody should, for the sake of their farms which they want to keep clean and cultivate, jeopardize the health of other citizens. And so, the Ministry of Environment is hereby directed to activate the taskforce on anti-burning.
“The ministry must make sure that all those who are involved in bush burning are discouraged, and where they fail to comply, they should either be brought to justice or justice taken to them.
“In a similar vein, we are aware of the influx of herders into our state. The state taskforce on livestock management is hereby also directed to activate all machineries to ensure that herders don’t come into our state to destroy our farmlands.
“The law on anti-grazing remains in force and should be enforced in all ramifications. So, livestock management committee, both at the state and local government areas, should be activated and make sure that they curtail and contain every unnecessary grazing that is not permitted in our state”, he said.
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Niger Delta

Stakeholders Caution Delta Over Propose Mangrove Forest Sale

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3 weeks ago

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December 20, 2024

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The Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) has cautioned the Delta State Government over its proposed sale of 258, 000 hectares of mangrove forests, for billions of naira.
According to the Tide’s source, HOMEF stated that carbon trade pollutes the environment, and  it is dangerous to human nature.
The Executive Director, HOMEF, Nnimmo Bassey, who was a Guest Speaker at the Environment outreach magazine public lecture/annual award at Spring Hills Hotel in Asaba, explained that carbon trade is a killer disease which is bound to affect human beings including rivers.
Basse said through Blue Carbon or carbon trade, which is the sale of mangrove forest, people will calculate the carbon in the mangrove, then sell it as carbon credit.
“Delta State is proposing to sell 258, 000 hectares of mangrove forests, one of the biggest in the country to some companies whose intentions we believe is to sell the carbon to oil companies, and when they buy the credit, then they have the right to pollute.
“Carbon credit is set to upset the pollution that is why it is a false solution.
“So, it doesn’t work. We have to do what is right to nature, and not necessarily because of money. Don’t allow carbon trading, don’t allow waters pollution”, Basset stated.
Earlier, Bayelsa-born Noble Akenge, the publisher of Environment Outreach magazine, lamented the negative effects of environmental pollution in the State.
Akenge said the state, being the heart of petroleum activities, had suffered a lot of ecological damages due to oil spills.
The Environmentalist noted that the people’s major preoccupation of fishing and farming have been impacted seriously as most of their farmlands and even rivers and streams have been polluted by oil spills.
“The destruction of the rivers in Delta State represent the phenomena in most Niger Delta States where oil and related activities take place”, he added.
The source reports that Awards were presented to Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, the Managing Director of Niger Delta Basin Development Authority (NDBDA), Prince Ebitimi Amgbare, among others.
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Niger Delta

Eno Recommits To Accountability, Effective Service Delivery

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3 weeks ago

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December 20, 2024

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Akwa Ibom State Governor, Umo Eno, says his administration will remain committed to ensuring effective leadership, service delivery and be accountable to the people.
He made the remarks at the maiden edition of his administration’s ministerial briefing and end of year review in Uyo on Monday.
He said his administration would remain purely committed to delivering democracy dividends to Akwa Ibom people in line with its campaign promises.
The Governor stated that the ministerial  briefing was to enable the administration to present its scorecard in the past 18 months.
According to him, the briefing is an enlarged executive council meeting aimed at presenting government’s scorecard and gaining new ideas.
“The exercise will enable Akwa Ibom people to evaluate and assess our government’s performance so far.
“In the past 18 months, this administration has been accountable, transparent and prudent in managing public funds.
“Release of funds must be tied to ideas and projects that will benefit the generality of Akwa Ibom people”, he said.
Eno stated that his administration is open to constructive criticisms, saying, ”I mean criticisms that will put government on its toes, and not smear campaign and condemnation.
“I must say that we have done well. It is left for critical stakeholders to analyse what we have done. We have tried to keep to the ideals of the ARISE Agenda”.
He said his administration is currently working on three major projects such as the Aviation Village, Ibom Deep Sea Port and Ibom Medical City.
Eno continued that the three major projects were capital intensive, and that his administration had to give priority attention to the airport project following its quick return on investment.
He commended his predecessor for embarking on projects that had strategic investment value.
According to the Commissioner, in 2025, his administration would be holding town hall meeting twice in a month to ensure public inputs to governance.
In his presentation, the Commissioner for Lands and Town Planning, Capt. Iniobong Ekong (Rtd), said the State Government had religiously settled compensations for lands acquired from citizens.
Ekong stated that the government had successfully reclaimed all government lands that were acquired illegally.
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