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Clean-Up: Ogoni Youths Differ Over FG, HYPREP’s Actions …Issue Seven Days Ultimatum
Ogoni Youth Federation (OYF) has called on all sons and daughters of the communities to rally support for the Minister of Environment, Barrister Abdullahi Mohammed, and the Project Coordinator of the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP), Dr. Ferdinand Giadom, to deliver the Ogoni clean-up project in record time.
This is even as another set of youths of Ogoni have asked President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately sack the Minister of Environment, Mohammed Abdullahi for his role in the alleged delay in the implementation of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), report on oil impacted sites in Ogoniland.
The Ogoni Youth Federation (OYF) is an umbrella body of all Ogoni youths and organisations operating in Ogoniland, Rivers State.
A statement signed by the President-General, Ogoni Youth Federation, Comrade Legborsi Yamaabana, made available to newsmen in Port Harcourt, commended the duo for their outstanding performance recorded so far in the project.
Yamaabana pointed out that the decision to applaud the duo was due to the ongoing linking of Ogoniland to the national grid, and building of a specialist hospital.
He further explained that, other areas of commendation include unparalleled commitment and resolve to the success of the Ogoni clean-up project and overhaul of the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) to meet timelines set for delivery of the project.
OYF leader called on the general public to discountenance insinuations from rumour mongers and jobbers, who are hell-bent of tarnishing the hard-earned reputation of the minister of environment by accusing him of contract hijack, among other things, and claiming that Ogoni youths are planning to carry out a protest at HYPREP office and other strategic locations in Ogoniland.
“This is a pathological lie that should be jettisoned in its entirety and let it be known that as at today, Ogoni Youths are happy with the way, manner and direction in which the minister of environment and the project coordinator of HYPREP are steering the ship of the clean-up project.
“Whilst we are not holding brief for HYPREP or Ministry of Environment, for the records we wish to state that credible information available to us reveals that certain individuals, disparaging the Minister of State for Environment and disgusting as though they are fighting for the interest of Ogoni, are not fighting the Ogoni cause but are those who collected money from unsuspecting firms, and promised to use the name of Ogoni to secure them HYPREP contracts in return.
The president general also warned rumour mongers, blackmailers and jobbers to desist from any form of unholy act or risk their names being mentioned to the general public.
“However, when the firms they took money from started requesting for refund, and when the perpetrators noticed that the minister for environment is a man of due process who cannot be bullied and who is not ready to cut corners nor award contracts to portfolio carrying firms, they became rattled and purportedly passed a vote of no confidence on him as a strategy to blackmail the minister and get what they want.
“This is laughable and Ogoni youths are forced to question the nativity of these individuals, because this is not the attitude of the Ogonis.
“We advice these characters to go and refund monies collected from films, apologise to the minister of environment and desist from negative acts that tends to portray Ogonination in bad light.
“May we also use this medium to warn them to desist from this unholy act or risk their names being mentioned.
“We call on all sons and daughters of Ogoni to rally round and support the Ministry of Environment and HYPREP to deliver the Ogoni clean-up project in record time,”Yamaabana stated.
However, rising from a press conference in Port Harcourt, youths of Ogoni in Rivers State have asked President MuhammaduBuhari to immediately sack the Minister of Environment, Mohammed Abdullahi for his role in the alleged delay in the implementation of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report on oil impacted sites in Ogoniland.
The youths and stakeholders also demanded the full implementation of the Local Content Act in the award of contracts in HYPREP, and livelihood programmes for people of the area.
Failure to do so within seven days, the youths said, would attract a mass protest at the Federal Ministry of Environment and shutdown of HYPREP activities.
Briefing newsmen after a meeting of Ogoni youth leaders and stakeholders in Port Harcourt, President of South-South Youth Initiative, Comrade Saviour Oscar Imeabe, said the mismanagement of the HYPREP clean-up programme, which was supposed to remediate the Ogoni environment and create succour to the people, and the fact that the project has completely derailed from its motives, has left them with no option than to inform the world about their disappointment and next line of action in a bid to return the project back on track.
He recalled that in 2017 when the clean-up programme took off, Ogonis were very upbeat about their expectations but, “sadly, five years after, two project coordinators have come and gone, and now, we are operating with the third and the story is the same or even worse”.
He lamented that, “today, all the contracts in HYPREP are being awarded to faceless contractors without recourse to the established Local Content Act which guarantees the local contractors a fair share of the allocation in the contract spread. Five years down the line, not even a single aspect of the project has been conclusively done, yet, millions of dollars and billions of naira have been frittered away.
“The livelihood programme, which was also a key aspect of this project that was supposed to give a sense of belonging to the youths of the land, has been so politicised and whittledown to a level that has turned Ogoni youths to beggars on a project they should claim ownership of.
“This and many other ills in HYPREP, today, have made a mess and mockery of the good intentions of the President MuhammaduBuhari who came through as a white knight to the Ogoni people when we needed him most. The project, which was supposed to be a field project, has been converted to a paper work which exists only in Abuja while the degraded environment which was supposed to be remediated is left in further degradation.
“The current project coordinator literally lives in Abuja and wakes up daily to the whims of the minister who has demonstrated complete lack of commitment to the project. Contractors who have no business in environmental works are those holding sway in HYPREP today as long as they have Abuja connection.”
The youths further demanded the full implementation of Local Content Act in the award of contracts in HYPREP based of 60/40percent ratio in favour of the Ogoni people, immediate suspension of every attempt to withdraw $300,000,000, from the Ogoni Trust Fund by the HYPREP management as alleged and the removal of the minister of environment who ‘has become a clog in the wheel ofprogress to the implementation of the project, due to his constant bureaucratic bottlenecks that has delayed the project beyond expectations, amongst others.
They warned that, ‘failure to show commitment and accede to our requests in seven days after the receipts of our complaints, we shall have no other choice than to shut down completely the activities of HYPREP’.
Also speaking, President, National Youth Council of Ogoni People (NYCOP), Comrade Kingsley Menele, said the body has no confidence in any leadership of HYPREP as they have failed in the implementation of the UNEP report.
He called on the Federal Government to quickly intervene, and call them to order or the youths shall protest at the expiration of the ultimatum.
On his part, Rivers State Chairman of National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), Comrade NwisabariBani, said they were in solidarity with Ogoni youths in calling for the implementation of livelihoods programmes for them.
A member of the late Ken Saro-Wiwa family, Mr YiraWiwa, who also spoke at the briefing, said they have led several delegations to HYPREP but all their demands have never been adhered to.
“We have led several delegations to meet the management of HYPREP but our demands have fallen on deaf ears. The area is still very much polluted, there is no clean-up going on anywhere.
“Since the present PC came on board in March, nothing has happened there except meetings upon meetings without any effect. The water project which has been bided for and people expecting it to happen is stagnant including the livelihoods programmes,” he said.
By: Nkpemenyie Mcdominic, Lagos
The Rivers State Chief judge, Justice Simeon Chibuzor Amadi has granted pardon to six inmates standing awaiting trial at the Port Harcourt maximum correctional center.
The six lucky inmates granted pardon on Tuesday by the state Chief Judge included Nwekeala Chizoba, Samuel Emmanuel, Aniete Kelvin, Ebube Fubara and Goddey Okpara who were on awaiting trial as murder suspects and have all spent between 10 years to seven years in the custody without a proper information filed against them in the court.
Justice Amadi during a special gaol delivery exercise last Tuesday at the Port Harcourt Maximum Correctional Centre opined that the special gaol delivery was part of activities lined up to commomerate the 2024/2025 legal year in the State and restated the commitment of the state judiciary in decongesting the correctional centre and ensuring that those inmates who are not supposed to be there are removed from the custody.
The state chief judge stressed the need for all stakeholders to work together to build a society that supports rehabilitation and gives a second chance to anyone or group of people who have fallen short of the expectation of the law and have been punished accordingly.
He stressed that the National Judicial Council(NJC) encourages judges to pay more attention to criminal matters to enable them to decongests the correctional facilities, noting that since his assumption into office, his administration has been able to reduce the number of inmates in Nigerian Correctional Centres and the Port Harcourt Correctional Centre in particular, to less than 2,000 as against the over 4,000 inmates previously in the faculty.
According to him, “as they release the deserving inmates, they affirm their commitment to justice, compassion and rule of law but that they must not forget the fundamental principles of justice delivery system which is truth and fairness, integrity and equality before the law.”
I encourage you all the released inmates to return to your families and become better citizens. You must not engage in action that will return you all back to prison. Let me say that while the judges show empathy to you all, it does not absolved individuals from being held accountable for actions against individuals, corporate organisations and state which the law frowns at, ”he stated
The Chief Judge thereafter stood down the exercise to enable the DPP to intervene to case files following the fact that majority of the persons listed to benefit from the exercise are facing murder charges and adjourned to a date that will come before December.
Earlier in his goodwill message, the outgoing state Comptroller of Nigerian Correctional Centre, Port Harcourt, Felix Lawrence, who was recently promoted to the rank of Assistant Controller General, commended the state judiciary led by Chief Judge, Justice Simeon Chibuzor Amadi for their continuous effort aimed at ensuring justice and decongesting the facilities.
Other activities lined up for the event included special church service at St Paul’s Cathedral , Anglican Communion, Rebisi Port Harcourt, inspection of guard of honour by the state Chief Judge mounted by officers of the Nigerian police and a special court session held at the ceremonial court hall.
By: AkujobiAmadi
The Director General of Rivers State Bureau on Public Procurement (RBoPP), Dr. Ine Briggs, has explained that the Sir Siminalayi Fubara administration plans to enforce transparency in governance through public procurement.
Speaking at a one-day Public Procurement Enlightenment workshop organised in collaboration with the State Local Government Service Commission for newly elected chairmen, vice chairmen, secretaries and leaders of legislative assemblies, Dr. Briggs said it is key for grassroot development.
She stated that the Sir. Fubara administration plans to reduce wastage and at same time infuse efficiency in public expenditure.
The RSoPP DG said the local government political office holders remain key drivers in the new vision hence the workshop is to arm them with knowledge on how to execute projects in tandem with needs of the people.
“ Your role in the prudent management of public resources is, therefore, not just administrative it’s the cornerstone of delivering the dividends of democracy. Every procurement decision you make must reflect a commitment to fairness, transparency and accountability” Dr. Briggs submitted.
One of the key goals of the administration she further reminded the participants was to use their offices to foster economic growth through public procurement.
She warned that the law establishing the agency empowers it to penalise defaulters, but that what is more important is voluntary compliance to the laws.
In addition to that, she said urged the local government council leaders that champion the practice and implementation of public procurement law.
On his part, Acting Chairman of Local Government Service Commission, Pastor GoodLife Ben Iduoku averred that the aim of the workshop is to arm key stakeholders in the local government system to generate new ideas, innovation and strategies in tandem with government policies and programmes.
The workshop dealt on various topics on procurement planning, methods, Understanding Bid Process, including types of Construction Contracts and law.
Some participants were awarded excellence and meritorious awards as part of the programme.
By: Kevin Nengia
The 19th anniversary of the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS), Rivers State Chapter, recently ended in Port Harcourt in grand style, with participants from various schools including proprietors, the academia, civil society groups and top government functionaries charting the way forward for educational improvement.
The 19th NAPPS anniversary christened, ‘Innovation and Adaptation: Transforming Challenges Into Opportunities’ was held at Casoni Hotels, Port Harcourt.
In his remarks, the Chairman of the Rivers State Chapter of the association, Dr. Jaja Adafe Sunday expressed gratitude to the members and executives for their untiring efforts towards the achievements of the body.
He sought the intervention of government on the lingering crisis on the economy as it is affecting the running of schools.
He decried high cost of things including fuel and raw materials which has adversely affected the running of schools and payment of teachers.
Dr. Sunday hinted that the current economic situation in the nation is biting hard on the operations of schools, saying inflation, removal of fuel subsidy, fuel scarcity, poor electricity supply, tariffs and lack of government grants are some of the challenges faced by schools, and urged the members to brace up to the challenges, as it is the panacea to building a brighter future.
Guest speakers from the health sector and the academia thrilled the gathering on the essence of basic education which they said is the key to national development.
Former Dean of the Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Professor Azuru and the Chief Medical Director of Meridian Hospitals, Dr. Odo Iyke were some notable guest speakers who delivered lectures at the occasion.
Some distinguished proprietors also got special recognitions and awards.
The 19th anniversary cake was cut by the Rivers State NAPPS Chairman with representatives of the state government assisting.