News
S’South Monarchs Meet Tinubu Over Abandoned East-West Road, Others
Royal fathers from the South-South geopolitical zone yesterday met with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, where they presented a catalogue of demands to the government.
The paramount rulers under the aegis of South South Monarchs Forum, lamented that the area that produces the wealth of the nation has nothing to show for it.
The monarchs’ visit came barely 24 hours after a Warri Chief and Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Ayiri Emami, declared that fighting criminality in the Niger Delta without putting in place infrastructure in the region will not achieve any results.
Chief Ayiri also lamented the poor state of infrastructure in Delta State area, especially the road leading from Warri to Escravos and the need to dredge the Koko and Warri ports.
The Itsekiri Chief disclosed that oil theft has drastically reduced to about 80 percent as a result of the efforts of the communities in the state.
Briefing State House correspondents at the end of the meeting with the President, Chairman of Delta State Traditional Rulers, Major Gen Felix Mujakpiruo, said that issues bordering on dilapidation of infrastructure were presented to the President.
He said, “We come to our listening President with a catalogue of our requests in the region. In the region we produce, we give resources to the country and yet we are suffering in the midst of plenty.
“So, we just have to catalogue our sufferings and what we want the President to do for us so that we can feel that we are part of this country.”
“Oh! the President said he will listen, he will look at our request and he will do the needful.
“There are a lot of things that we said he should do for us like the East West Road that has been abandoned for so many years and most of the roads in the South South you cannot have access to Abuja. From Port Harcourt to Aba is not passable, from Benin to Uromi to Okene are not passable.
“We also felt like he should try and link up the Itakpe Railway to Abuja Railway so that right from Warri we can drive to Abuja. What about the abandoned ports?
“We feel that if those ports are revived it will bring employment for our people and it will improve the economy of this country.”
Also speaking to journalists, the Minister of Niger Delta Development, who led the delegation, Abubakar Momoh said, “These are the owners of the region, the more you engage them, they will talk to the youths and those who are involved but when you keep them away it becomes a problem because they will not have that sense of belonging of continuing to talk to the people.
“And above all, it is also to look at the infrastructure of the region.
“When we engage the youths in entrepreneurship training and the rest of them, it can also step down the wave of theft.
“The door should be opened to the people like this because they are the custodians of the peace of Niger Delta. The meeting that has happened today I can regard as a huge success.”
Asked on the state of infrastructure of the region and how it is been taken care of, he said, “Generally I think we may also carry out some kind of wholistic examination on what we call oil theft in Nigeria whether it is not even the kind of professional stealing from even the people who are even producing the oil because if there is no vandalisation and yet you are talking of oil theft I think it has got to a point where government will also look critically into this so-called oil theft whether it is actually oil theft or those people who are in charge are the ones stealing the oil and giving it a different name believing that it is the youths of the region because I understand that even at the point of loading to overseas.
“They can reduce the figure and at the end of the day you think the oil is stolen. I think that these are areas that the government will have to look at in due course.”
The Nigerian rail system generated N1.69billionn in revenue from passengers in the second quarter of 2024, reflecting a 53.14 per cent increase compared to the N1.10billion recorded in the same period of 2023.
This data was disclosed by the National Bureau of Statistics in its report released yesterday.
According to the report, a total of 689,263 passengers travelled by rail in Q2, representing a growth rate of 45.38 per cent compared to 474,117 passengers in the corresponding quarter of 2023.
The volume of goods transported via rail also saw a significant increase, with 143,759 tons moved in Q2 2024, up from 56,936 tons in Q2 2023. Additionally, the Nigerian Railway Corporation reported a volume of 5,940 tons of goods transported through pipelines in Q2 2024, an increase from the 2,856 tons recorded in the same period of the previous year.
Revenue from goods conveyed via rail stood at N537.36m in Q2 2024, a remarkable increase of 206.68 per cent compared to N175.22m in Q2 2023. The movement of goods through pipelines also contributed to revenue generation, with N42.08m collected in Q2 2024, compared to N12.81million in Q2 2023.
Other revenue receipts amounted to N994.68million in Q2 2024, representing a staggering increase of 5,206.68 per cent from the N18.74m recorded in the corresponding period of last year.
In the first quarter, of 2024, The Tide source reported that Nigeria spent more on servicing the debt incurred for building its railways than the revenue generated by its railway system. The country spent 2,470 per cent more on railway debt servicing than it made from revenue from rail services in the first quarter of 2024.
The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) says it is committed to advancing projects and programmes that enhance food security and sustainable growth in the region.
Chief Monday Igbuya, the Delta State representative on the NDDC Board, made this pledge in a statement issued in Port Harcourt, yesterday by the NDDC’s Director of Corporate Affairs, Mrs Seledi Thompson-Wakama.
Igbuya spoke at the inauguration of a training and empowerment programme for women and youths in livestock and agro processing in Amukpe, Sapele area of Delta.
He stated that the NDDC was prioritising livestock training in line with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
“NDDC is focussed on implementing programmes to ensure food security and agricultural growth in multi sectors, aiming to improve living standards.
“It is our belief that for socio-economic development to take place, there is need to develop manpower in the agricultural sector,” he said.
Igbuya expressed confidence that training farmers would enhance livestock production, create jobs, and alleviate poverty in the Niger Delta.
Mrs Winifred Madume, NDDC Director of Agriculture and Fisheries, said that training farmers and entrepreneurs was essential for improving productivity and market access.
“The commission has been promoting research and development through various institutions and providing farming techniques to beneficiaries,” she said.
The Project Consultant, Dr Simon Akhaine, said that 200 women and youths had registered for the livestock and agro-business skill acquisition programme.
According to him, the programme aims to equip them with the essential knowledge and skills for self-sufficiency in livestock farming, thereby boosting regional food security.
President Bola Tinubu will not attend the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York this year.
In his stead, Vice President Kashim Shettima will lead Nigeria’s delegation to the annual summit.
Tinubu “wants to focus on domestic issues and address some of the country’s challenges, especially after the recent devastating flooding,” a statement from the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, revealed yesterday.
The statement is titled ‘Vice President Shettima to Lead Nigeria’s Delegation to the 79th United Nations General Assembly.’
It reads, “President Bola Tinubu will not attend the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York this year.
“Therefore, the President has directed Vice President Kashim Shettima to lead Nigeria’s delegation.”
Tinubu, who returned to the country last Sunday after his trips to China and the United Kingdom, “wants to focus on domestic issues and address some of the country’s challenges, especially after the recent devastating flooding,” said Onanuga.
At UNGA 79, Vice President Shettima will deliver Nigeria’s national statement to the General Assembly, attend important sideline events, and hold bilateral meetings.
The high-level General Debate, with the theme “Leaving No One Behind: Acting Together for the Advancement of Peace, Sustainable Development, and Human Dignity for Present and Future Generations,” will run from Tuesday, September 24, through Saturday, September 28, 2024.
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