Niger Delta
Foundation Leads Campaign Against Genetically Modified Foods In Edo
Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) on Friday led a campaign rally in Edo State to raise awareness about the dangers of introducing Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) into Nigeria’s food system.
The campaign took place in collaboration with the GMO-Free Nigeria Alliance and members of the Edo Civil Society Organisations (EDOCSO).
The rally, which started from the National Museum at Ring Road, Benin, made its way to the Edo House of Assembly, state office of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, and to the Government House.
At the Government House, the Chief Security Officer to the Governor, Solomon Oseghale, received a petition against the introduction of GMOs on behalf of the state government.
The petition called on the government to reconsider its decision to approve GMOs and to prioritise the health and well-being of Nigerians.
The Executive Director of HOMEF, Dr. Nnimmo Bassey, said the rally took place simultaneously in Rivers, Katsina, Plateau, Oyo, Lagos, Cross Rivers, Enugu, Jigawa States and the FCT.
According to him, Nigeria does not need GMOs to address food insecurity.
He asserted that the design of the genetically modified crops does not support local economic growth but promote dependency on corporate seed supply.
“In September 2024, the National Cotton Association of Nigeria (NACOTAN) was reported to have recorded no significant increase in yields when compared to the local seed varieties.
“Instead, the introduction of GM cotton seeds over four years ago, yield per hectare has remained about the same.
“Also, the farmers noted that no other plant has been able to germinate on the farmlands where the GM seeds were planted, even after four years.
“This confirms the concerns regarding loss of biodiversity and soil degradation due to release of genetic material (proteins) into the soil which would not ordinarily occur”, he said.
Bassey decried that farmers were not able to replant the GM seeds after harvest due to declining yields.
He said farmers were encouraged to continuously purchase the seeds every new season from corporate entities.
He said this reflected neo-colonialism and corporate capture of our food system -something we shouldn’t take lightly.
On his part, Ifeanyi Nwankwere, National Co-coordinator of the GMO-Free Nigeria Alliance, noted that GMOs approved in Nigeria, so far were not currently being labelled.
Heb said Nigeria’s socio-economic context would not allow labelling to be effective considering how food was sold in cups and basins in open markets where majority of our people shop from.
Nwankwere noted that the biosafety regulatory system in Nigeria was not designed in a way that assures safety with regard to GMOs.
Similarly, Mr Agho Omobude, Coordinator of the Edo Civil Society Organisations (EDOCSO), said the rally aimed to educate the public about the risks associated with GMOs.
Omobude stressed that genetically modified foods are poisonous and pose a significant threat to the health and well-being of Nigerians.
He dismissed the claim that GMOs could ensure food sufficiency, describing it as a lie and a ploy to colonise Nigeria’s food system.
He bemoaned the approval of 14 genetically modified foods in Nigeria, which had been a staple in all households over the years.
Mr Cadmus Atake-Enade of the HOMEF advocated legislation that would outlaw the sale of genetically modified foods in Edo and Nigeria at large.
He expressed concerns that some super markets in the state were reportedly selling the products without providing the customers with information about them.
The source reports that the rally featured distribution of leaflets containing anti-GMO information.
The campaigners also displayed placards with various inscriptions such as, “Nigerians reject GMOs”, “#FoodnotPoison”, “Food Should Not Be Grown In A Lab”, “Support Small Scale Farmers”, “What We Eat Must Not Eat Us”, among others.
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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
The Rivers State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Rt. Hon. Evans Bipi, has lauded the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Victor Oko-Jumbo, over his promise to attract constituency projects to Ogu/Bolo Local Government Area.
The Speaker had during the commissioning of the Ogu/Bolo Legislative Assembly Complex executed by the Ogu/Bolo Council Chairman, Engr. Ishmael Oforibika, promised to attract constituency projects to Ogu/Bolo in the absence of the representative of the area in the Assembly.
It would be recalled that the lawmaker who represented Ogu/Bolo Constituency at the beginning of the 10th Assembly, Arnolds Davids, was among the 27 former lawmakers who lost their seats in the Assembly on the 11th of December, 2023, following their defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Bipi, who is also the political leader of Ogu/Bolo, commended the Speaker for promising to fill the void created in the seat of Ogu/Bolo Constituency in the 10th Assembly by attracting constituency projects to the area.
He thanked the Speaker for promising to initiate measures, by embarking on needs assessment in Ogu/Bolo Constituency to know the needs and aspirations of the people and relay them to the Governor for action.
Bipi promised to work with the Speaker to actualise the move with a view to bridging the yawning gap of constituency projects in Ogu/Bolo.
He also dismissed insinuations by some persons on social media that Ogu/Bolo still has a representative in the 10th Assembly.
Bipi also reiterated his call on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to include Ogu/Bolo Constituency, along with the other 26 State Constituencies in Rivers State, in its upcoming bye-elections scheduled across the country. Emphasising that this “would guarantee full, equal, and effective representation for the people of the 27 State Constituencies at the 10th Rivers State House of Assembly, ensuring that their voices are heard and their interests are protected”.
Theresa Frederick & Charity Amiso
Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, has urged public servants to work closely with government in ensuring the smooth implementation of its policies and programmes for the overall wellbeing of the state.
He stated this on Monday when members of the Bayelsa State Permanent Secretaries Forum, led by its chairman, Dr. Wisdom Sawyer, paid him a courtesy visit in Government House, Yenagoa.
Ewhrudjakpo, in statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media, Mr. Doubara Atasi, acknowledged the critical roles permanent secretaries play in ensuring that the civil service contribute meaningfully to the success of government, and encouraged them to maintain a healthy and harmonious working relationship with their commissioners in the various ministries to enhance efficiency and productivity.
While congratulating the last set of permanent secretaries that were sworn in, Senator Ewhrudjakpo charged them to be diligent and always be at their duty posts.
He also cautioned them against any unethical behaviour that was inimical to the image of government.
“You’re a partial image of government, and so all your actions or inactions in your official or unofficial activities will have a spill over effect on government.
“You’ve only one political head at the helm of affairs in your ministries, which is the commissioner. You should note that there is only one captain in a ship”, he said.
Responding to the concerns raised by the Permanent Secretaries Forum, Senator Ewhrudjakpo, expressed optimism that the Governor would fulfill his promise of providing them official cars either in full or in batches, depending on the availability of resources.
On the issue of land allocated to permanent secretaries, the Deputy Governor assured them that he would liaise with the Ministry of Lands and Survey to ascertain the state of the land at Agbura, in Yenagoa Local Government Area of the state.
He, however, mooted the idea of providing permanent secretaries quarters and promised that government would look into the possibility of applying the owner-occupier concept it adopted for commissioners and legislators in the state.
In his address, Chairman of the Bayelsa State Permanent Secretaries Forum, Dr Wisdom Sawyer, expressed appreciation to government for the support extended to permanent secretaries over the years.
He particularly commended the Prosperity Government for periodic appointments of permanent secretaries to fill vacant positions, organising retreats for permanent secretaries and other top government functionaries and financial benefits such as wage award, among others.
Dr. Sawyer also thanked the Governor in anticipation of the consequential adjustment in the new national minimum wage, and highlighted other immediate needs of the Forum.
They include, construction of access road to the land allocated to permanent secretaries and civil servants at Agbura and fulfilment of an earlier promise by the Governor during last year’s retreat to procure official cars for serving permanent secretaries.
Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa
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