Niger Delta

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

Published

3 years ago

May 19, 2023

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.

Niger Delta

Navy Pledges Improved Patrols, Welfare Boost For Personnel

Published

10 hours ago

January 9, 2026

The Tide

The Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Idi Abbas, has pledged to ensure improved welfare for personnel and more patrols on the maritime corridors of the nation.

He disclosed this during an on the spot assessment of things at the Eastern Naval Command (ENC), Calabar, on Wednesday.

According to him, there is the need for officers to always be ready, by improving on their welfare, in a bid to keep the country secured.

“I am here for an on the spot assessment of our operations and like you have seen, I have also gone round to check the ongoing buildings.

”These are welfare issues and for us to be able to have our men ready and keep us secured, their welfare needs to be catered for.

“So, we are here to kill two birds with one stone, which are basically operations and welfare issues.

”I am happy with what the command is doing; it is doing well in terms of keeping the maritime environment safe.

“We will continue doing what we are doing and improve on that, which is patrol of the waters and increase in the area of surveillance”, he stated.

As part of his visit, Abbas commissioned the 12×1 Junior Rates Accommodation Block A and B, at the Navy Barracks at Atimbo in Calabar.

The naval chief also inspected other ongoing projects in the Akim Barracks, 1006 flats and the Navy hotel, all within Calabar.

Niger Delta

Delta Begins Uromi Junction Flyover Construction

Published

13 hours ago

January 9, 2026

The Tide

The Delta State Government says it has began construction work on the long-awaited Uromi Junction Flyover Bridge in Agbor, Ika South Local Government Area of the state.

Director-General (DG) of the Delta State Bureau for Orientation and Communications, Dr. Fred Oghenesivbe, confirmed the development to newsme in Asaba.

According to him, heavy-duty construction equipment have arrived the site, a project which is being handled by Julius Berger Nigeria PLC, one of the country’s leading construction firms.

Oghenesivbe, described the flyover as a massive infrastructure project with far-reaching socio-economic benefits for the area.

He said the project would significantly transform the Agbor metropolis by easing traffic congestion, improving the city’s aesthetics, and boosting commercial activities within the local government area.

He described the State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, as a promise-keeper and pragmatic leader whose administration remains committed to infrastructure development and economic growth across the state.

The DG expressed confidence in Julius Berger’s capacity to deliver the project within record time and according to the highest construction standards.

“The Uromi Junction serves as a major link between different parts of the country but has recently been plagued by severe traffic congestion, making vehicular movement increasingly difficult”, he noted.

He urged residents to cooperate with the contractor and safeguard construction materials and equipment to ensure the timely completion of the project.

Niger Delta

A’Ibom Rejects Ekid Ownership Claim Of Stubbs Creek

Published

13 hours ago

January 9, 2026

The Tide

The Akwa Ibom State Government has rejected claims by the Ekid People’s Union that it owns land within the Stubbs Creek Forest Reserve, describing such assertions as “false, misleading and a distortion of the judicial record.”

In a recent statement, signed by the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Uko Udom, the state government said it was compelled to respond in the “overriding public interest,” despite a pending court case instituted by the same group.

The government stated that contrary to claims circulating in the media, the historic case of Ntiaro and Ikpak vs. Ibok Etok Akpan and Edoho Ekid, decided by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in 1918, did not vest ownership of Stubbs Creek land in any ethnic group or community.

“The final judgement merely dismissed the claims before the court and granted title to no party whatsoever”, the government stated, adding that “any assertion to the contrary is false, misleading and a distortion of the judicial record.”

According to the statement, the land was lawfully reserved by the colonial government under Forest Reserve Order No. 45 of 1930, later amended in 1941, 1955 and 1962, with “the principal rights of the land forfeited to the Government upon the change of status.”

It said the area has since been administered under applicable laws by the Akwa Ibom State Government, which “has at all times acted within its lawful authority in the management and allocation of land in the area for legitimate public and economic purposes.”

Citing the 1999 Constitution and the Land Use Act, the government stated that all land in the state is vested in the governor to be held in trust for the common benefit of Nigerians, noting that claims of absolute ancestral ownership are subject to existing laws.

The government “categorically denies allegations of fraud or misrepresentation” regarding Stubbs Creek or investments there and warned it would take “appropriate legal steps” against any individual or group publishing false or defamatory material capable of undermining public confidence or discouraging investment

The statement also assured the federal government of “full access and Right of Way” for the proposed Coastal Highway through any part of the state.

The government statement followed an earlier report in which the Ekid People’s Union accused Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State of making comments that allegedly linked the community to terrorism, while he was defending the Coastal Highway project passing through the Stubbs Creek.

Ekid People’s Union maintained that the people of Ekid are the original owners of the land known as Stubbs Creek Forest Reserve, arguing that their ancestral ownership predates colonial rule.

The group cited historical occupation, customary ownership and a 1918 Privy Council case, which it claimed affirmed Ekid rights over the territory.

The union also accused the Akwa Ibom State Government of misrepresenting history to justify taking over the land for commercial interests and the proposed Coastal Highway, an allegation the state government has denied.

The group rejected any suggestion linking the Ekid people to criminality or terrorism, insisting they were peaceful citizens defending their ancestral land through lawful and civic means.