Amaechi moves against criminals
…Assures residents of security
From Our reporter
Rivers State Governor Chibuike Amaechi has assured the residents of security following recent reports of armed robbery around banks in the State capital, Port Harcourt.
Governor Amaechi also warned criminals to stay away from the state.
Speaking through his spokesman, Mr. David Iyofor, the Governor revealed that plans have been put in place to fight the recent wave of crimes in Port Harcourt which he explained is associated with the coming Christmas season.
“The governor is working tirelessly in collaboration with security agencies in the state and would ensure that these acts of criminality are nipped in the bud,” Iyofor said.
“These criminals seem to specialise in robbing banks or people going to or coming from banks or persons moving cash to or from banks. Our investigations have revealed that these robberies are perpetrated by gangs who are in a mad rush for money to spend in the fast approaching yuletide season. These bank and associated robberies we are seeing in the past few weeks are Christmas related.
“But we want to assure residents of the state that new and fresh security measures are now in place to deal with these criminals. We want to assure residents of Port Harcourt that we are on the trail of these criminal gangs, and sooner than later, they would have to answer for all their heinous crimes.”
“Specific security arrangements have been put in place to deal with these criminal elements. we urge the people to remain calm and extremely vigilant as they go about their daily business”, Iyofor added. Amaechi further warned the criminals to leave the state immediately or be ready to face the full wrath of the law and the state government.
Source: Sun, 7th November 2011.
Rivers without water
Governor Chibuike Amaechi of Rivers State had on August 18, 2008 assured the people of the State that the water programme of his administration would not fail. “Unlike before” were the exact words he used to underline how ‘serious’ the promise was.
Speaking at the “Consultative Forum on Potable Water Supply”, held at the Banquet Hall, Government House, Port Harcourt, Amaechi oiled his words by lecturing that he noticed that past water programmes did not succeed in the state due to the quest to get instantaneous solution. He explained that he would not set his compass on a quick solution, adding that his administration was taking its time to tackle the situation.
He further said that his administration would soon come up with an effective and enduring solution to the water problem in the state.
He, however, pleaded for patience and understanding from Rivers masses, adding that his government would continue to be transparent by “accounting for every kobo spent”. He said: “Government’s fund is not for personal use, but for purposes of overall development of the state”. (Nobody should remember the multi-million aircraft here, which the Governor wants to get “right”).
While people lived on the plea for patience, it is baffling that this administration is still slow in the provision of rural electrification, rural roads, and qualitative education that were contained in the promise index, according to the government, “with the seriousness they deserve”, three years and after.
The government is now giving excuses for failing to meet its promises on what it termed “capital intensive nature of government projects”. The government had promised the people of implementing its many projects in phases. But sadly neither rural nor urban water supply has been accomplished.
Does the Rivers State Ministry of Water Resources need commendation for always organising programmes without providing potable water for the people? Dr. Doris Fisher, the Commissioner for Water Resources in 2008, warned that water is the most pressing need of every human being. She identified “lack of attention, poor funding and improper coordination as some of the problems militating against efforts to provide adequate and qualitative water in the state”.
It is ironical that Rivers State which is endowed with a rich and vast diversity of natural resources, including water, cannot provide adequate potable water for the people. Very sad!
This lack of safe drinking water is responsible for Rivers being listed among the states still struggling to find their bearing, thus mocking the Governor’s promise that the state capital would soon be competing with Lagos and Abuja in terms of development.
However, the disintegrated water management in the state is “vital” for poverty reduction among the people who are suffering from environmental disharmony and economic underdevelopment. What the state needs is a genuine water policy that will go a long way in developing and managing water resources in an integrated manner. So, why is Rivers State Water Policy disintegrated?
An opposition political party in the State recently condemned the government for its failure to take its promises serious, especially on the provision of water in the state in the last four years of Chibuike Amaechi in government.
This brings to question the state Water Resources Commissioner, Dr. Patricia Simon-Hart’s request for N250 billion for the rehabilitation of the water scheme in the Port Harcourt metropolis. Were there no already existing water structures by the past governments in the state? Were there no time people enjoyed pipe- borne water in Port Harcourt? Why the N250 billion?
No one should blame anybody or group forv raising eyebrows over Dr. Simon-Hart’s proposal and request. No one should blame the party for saying that the amount demanded by Dr. Simon-Hart for the provision of potable water in the Port Harcourt metropolis shows her lack of awareness of the sensitive ministry she is heading.
The government is hereby called to give account of all the money allegedly expended by the state Water Resources Ministry in the past three to four years. This will help to allay public suspicion triggered off by the opposition party which claimed that government has question to answer “… especially given the fact that most residents of the city have provided their own water within the period under consideration and may have even forgotten that water pipes lie underground in Port Harcourt and Obio/Akpor communities of the state”.
Mr Odimegwu Onwumere Coordinator, Concerned Non-Indigenes In Rivers State, wrote from Port Harcourt
Source: Vanguard, 23rd August 2011.
Ogoni leaders faults Jonathan’s
ELECTED political leaders in Ogoniland, Rivers State have faulted the composition of the Special Review Committee on the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report of the oil pollution in Ogoni.
The politicians noted with dismay that no indigene of the area was represented in the committee which was recently constituted by President Goodluck Jonathan, even as they said the Ogoni people were yet to come up with a position on the UNEP report.
The senator representing the Rivers South-East District in the National Assembly, Senator Magnus Abe disclosed this to newsmen after a meeting of the Ogoni political leaders over the UNEP report in Port Harcourt , the state capital, weekend.
Abe stated that the inclusion of an Ogoni indigene in the committee would give the people a sense of belonging on such a salient issue that concerns them from the outset, urging the federal government to treat the matter with the urgency it deserves.
He however said the Ogoni political leaders have reached out to President Jonathan on the need to consider an Ogoni indigene in the said committee and expressed the optimism that something would be done in that direction, soon.
The committee, which has the Minister of Petroleum, Mrs Diezani Allison-Madueke as Chairperson is expected to make recommendations to the apex government on immediate and long term remedial actions and submit its report to President Jonathan within two weeks.
According to Senator "We have noted the concern of our people that we have no representative in the review committee and we understand that the committee was constituted as a result of the line of duty of respective members.
"However, we have complained officially to the president and hope that very soon, we will have one or two representatives there. We want to commend the President for promptly receiving the UNEP report and the steps taken so far to ensure full implementation of the recommendations," he said.
Abe also commended Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi for providing the enabling environment that helped the UNEP team to successful conclude its investigations in Ogoniland.
"Let me say that the Ogoni political leaders are yet to take a position on the report, because we are still having broad consultations with our people and we will meet very soon with other interest groups in Ogoniland and we will come out with a position on the report," Abe explained.
Source: Daily Champion, 22nd August 2011.
Why Rivers is Borrowing — Amaechi
DENNIS NAKU, P/Harcourt
GOVERNOR Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State yesterday sought approval of the State House of Assembly to collect a loan of N100billion from the Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB).
Reacting to recent criticisms of his administration by an opposition party in the state, he said the incumbent administration would bequeath a legacy of debt on his successor, while lamenting the drop in the federal allocation to the state.
He explained that the recent borrowing spree by his administration was due to the insufficient funds available to meet overhead cost and still deliver on provision of developmental projects.
Speaking during a stakeholders meeting on Tuesday in government House, Port Harcourt , the state capital said the loan the government was about to take would be paid back from the proceeds of the monthly Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) accruing to it.
He explained that last month, what the state got from the federation account was about N40 billion, but that it dropped to N18.8 billion this month. Out of this earnings, he said the sum of over N7 billion is spent on the payment of salaries and other emoluments, even as he said the IGR status of the state, which just improved when assumed office was not sufficient to boost the fiscal policy of a government working on many fronts to deliver the dividends of democracy to the people.
The governor explained that the N100billion that will be collected from Zenith Bank in a separate arrangement would be repaid from the Federal revenue allocation, also accruing to the state monthly.
He said his administration has mapped out modalities of repaying the N250 billion repayment bond it was obtaining, pointing out that the state was in dire need of funds to execute essential projects that have been moribund for many years.
Governor Amaechi clarified that he was not promising to solve all the problems he met, noting that, "I promise to judiciously and transparently manage resources."
Source: Daily Champion, 17th August 2011
The Ogoni oil spill report
By Sun News Publishing
The report of the Environmental Policy Implementation Agency, a division of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), on oil spillage in oil bearing communities of Ogoniland, in Rivers State, revealed environmental degradation that will take 30 years to clean up.
The document also put the cost of cleaning the environment in the area at over N150 billion. Besides, the report which has been handed over to the Federal Government by Mr. Ibrahim Thiaw, head of the UNEP Implementation Policy Unit, indicted Anglo Royal Dutch oil company, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SDPC), for what it called the “criminal neglect” of Ogoni communities during its years of operations there.
Admittedly, the story of Shell and Ogoni people has been like that of a cat and mouse. It dates back to 1958 when the multinational started prospecting for oil in the area. Since then, the host communities have repeatedly accused Shell of insensitivity to their plight. Matters got to a head in the 1990s, when Ogoni citizens under the aegis of the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP), under the leadership of Dr. Ken Saro-Wiwa, took a serious stand against Shell. This agitation attracted global attention.
Shell, as a dominant oil player in Nigeria, boasts of over 6,000 kilometres of pipelines, over 120 oil wells and 80 flow stations in the Niger Delta region. With the hanging of Saro-Wiwa and eight of his Ogoni kinsmen on November 10, 1995, the relationship between Ogoni communities and Shell deteriorated almost irredeemably, resulting in the oil company shutting down operations in Ogoniland for many years. It only resumed skeletal operations there few years ago.
However, the latest report by UNEP on the environmental assessment of Ogoniland has opened a new chapter in the frosty relationship between Shell and Ogoni people. The report also coincides with the Federal Government’s declaration that it is considering taking over the responsibility of cleaning up the mess caused by oil companies operating in the area. Government’s declaration was sequel to the submission of another report, this time, the Presidential Committee on Environment, Survey and Clean-up in Ogoniland. It was headed by Catholic priest, Rev. Fr. Mathew Kukah.
Clearly, all of these show the seriousness of oil spillage and the urgency to tackle it. Expectedly, Shell has put up a bold defence of its activities in Ogoniland and absolved itself of wrongdoing alleged by UNEP. For instance, Shell’s Managing Director in Nigeria, Mr. Mutiu Sunmonu, agreed that oil spills anywhere “is a tragedy”, but quickly added that they occur as a result of what he called “operational failure.”
In the same vein, the company’s Vice President for sub-Saharan Africa, Mr. Ian Craig, who visited the Presidency reportedly on a damage control mission, last week, assured of Shell’s readiness to partner with government to check environmental degradation in the Niger Delta.
Altogether, the UNEP report should be a warning to oil companies, not only in Ogoniland, but other parts of the Niger Delta. The situation in Ogoniland and other oil producing communities would not have gotten this bad if the oil companies had been proactive in checking oil spills in their host communities. Admittedly, oil spills are not new and not peculiar to Ogoniland, the difference is that in other parts of the world, responses to such accidents are swift. That, sadly, has not been the case with oil companies operating in Nigeria.
Statistics show an appalling record of oil spills in the country, and neglect of its devasting effects by oil companies. For instance, a survey by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) shows that between 1976 and 2001, there were a total of 6,817 oil spills in the Niger Delta with a loss of over three million barrels of oil. Out of this figure, 70 percent was not recovered. About 67 percent of the spills occurred offshore, and six percent on land. Last year’s figure was even more devastating, with about 12 million barrels of oil spilt. This causes incalculable damage to the ecosystem. The lives of the people are also put in serious danger.
We urge government to implement the recommendations of UNEP and the Presidential Committee with sincerity of purpose. There is no doubt that the oil spills have worrisome effects on both the environment and the lives of the people. Let the report of the oil spills in Ogoniland be the roadmap to address all similar cases in the Niger Delta.
The Federal Government should, henceforth, give oil companies guidelines on prevention of oil spills, with penalties in cases of negligence. The Barack Obama administration in the United States recently demonstrated this commitment using New Mexico as the standard benchmark for all oil companies operating in that hemisphere.
The National Oil Spillage Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), set up with a clear mandate to monitor coastal areas of the Niger Delta, should be alive to its duties. This is the time to address the problem of oil spills holistically. It goes beyond Ogoniland.
Source: The Guardian, 16th August 2011.
MOSOP hails London court ruling on Ogoni oil spills
DENNIS NAKU, Port Harcourt
THE Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) has lauded Wednesday’s ruling of a London Court which orders Royal Dutch, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) to pay N62.5bn compensation to Ogoni communities over two oil spills that rocked the area in 2008.
MOSOP, umbrella body of the Ogoni people said it was pleased that Shell admitted liability for the two massive oil spills in Bodo, Gokana local government area of Rivers State .
To this effect, the body assured the people of Ogoniland and Bodo in particular that there will be fracas in the manner the proceeds of the compensation would be shared to the affected communities.
The Court had ordered Royal Dutch Shell to pay $410billion as compensation, after the company admitted liability for the two spills in Ogoniland, following a legal claim brought in the United Kingdom .
President of MOSOP, Mr. Ledum Mitee, while reacting to the ruling on in a statement described it as a victory for the Ogoni people, who he said have embraced non-violent means in prosecuting their cause.
The statement lauded the lawyers associated with the case and the community for their resilience in taking their case abroad, saying it has marked a growing confidence in extraterritorial litigation.
It however expressed regrets that it took a court in the United Kingdom to make Shell to admit to its culpability in the oil spills that had wreaked immense havoc on biological systems in Bodo community.
The statement said, “MOSOP further condemns the attitude of Shell for choosing to pay compensation to victims as a result of this case according to stipulations of Nigeria law which falls far short of what is obtained even in the United Kingdom .”MOSOP reiterates that whilst no monetary compensation would be enough for the loss of pristine forests and aquatic lives due to the spills, it has always been our position that such monetary compensation should be broad enough to assuage the sufferings of the people and put them in a better position.
“This is not the case with the current compensation regime in Nigeria . It is MOSOP’s hope that this recent court victory by the local villagers from the Ogoni community of Bodo will serve as a warning signal to Shell and other oil moguls in the Niger Delta to start making amends across the broad spectrum of communities in the Niger Delta where they are presently operating”.
Source: Daily Champion, 5th August 2011.
Rivers: Yet To Have Full Cabinet
FROM KELVIN EBIRI, PORT HARCOUR
TWENTY-EIGHT days after the swearing into office of the Rivers State governor, Chibuike Amaechi, the State Executive Council is yet to be properly constituted.
Amaechi, who has worked conscientiously to realize his dream of laying a new foundation to transform the state, may have taken into cognizance that a lot more needed to be done if Rivers were to become a preferred destination for business and living. To this end, he’s reportedly taking his time to constitute his team.
In the interim, the governor has sworn into office seven commissioners: namely, Mr. Augustine Wokocha (former Commissioner for Power); Mrs.
Ibim Semenitari (former Commissioner for Information and
Communications); Patricia Simon Hart (former Water Resources Commissioner); and Alice Nemi (former Education Commissioner).
Others are Mr. Nyema Weli former (Commissioner for Lands); Mr. Victor Giadom (immediate past Chairman of Gokana Local Government Area); and Mr. Chamberlain Peterside.
Apparently not pleased with the performance of some members of the last executive council, the governor is said to be biding his time to select a team that would help him drive his development agenda.
While swearing in the new commissioners, he tasked them to place premium on effective service delivery, to improve on the lives of
Rivers people. According to him, the vision of his administration this time is to deliver on its promises of ensuring that Rivers people benefit maximally from the resources available to the state, and justify the confidence reposed in him by the electorate.
He said, “I could have selected all the commissioners at once but I want to send a message, especially to those returning, that there is need to perform better. I ask you to start now because we just have two years for effective concentration before politics begins to distract you.”
Amaechi emphasised that the commissioners must distinguish between Chibuike Amaechi, who is a friend of theirs and Chibuike Amaechi, as the Governor of Rivers State, who would not hesitate to sack any non-performing commissioner.
He said: “I am sure most of you are my friends and know my goals. You must key into the goals. If I’m not satisfied that you are at the same frequency with me, I will not hesitate to drop you.”
The governor has been under enormous pressure to retain some of the former members of the last cabinet. But he must have realised that if he had to consolidate on the gains of the last dispensation, he would bring onboard technocrats that could really make a difference.
Though the governor’s cabinet has not been fully constituted, he has explicitly enunciated the key policy issues and thrust of his administration in this year’s budget and at his swearing-in ceremony.
“If you ask me again about my vision of Rivers State, I shall say without equivocation: I see a state that will be a beacon of development and progress in the federation. I see a state in which the citizens are enlightened, skilled and healthy. I see a state at peace with itself and with its neighbours,” he said.
The people are anxious to see the government continue its developmental stride without further delay.
A lawyer, Nnamdi Jones, told The Guardian that the only way the governor could consolidate the gains he made in the past four years was to ensure that members of the new executive council have the requisite capacity to deliver on assigned responsibility.
“The governor, this time around, must be willing to embrace well meaning Rivers people, who have the capacity to deliver. He must look for persons that will not mismanage government funds,” he said.
Greg Amakiri expects the governor to fulfill his plan to establish six new 500-hectre-farm each spread across the state, as part of its Songhai Rivers initiative, to boost food security and create employment opportunities for indigenes of the state.
“The governor must this time decide what to do with Risopalm. That farm has the capacity to employ several hundred persons. If well managed, it can be a major source of revenue generation for the state. The governor should privatise the company in order to realise the primary objective of the founding fathers of our state,” he said.
In the area of power, a businessman, Wilson Dike, said the governor needed to dialogue more with the Federal Government to allow the state take over the generation and distribution of power in Rivers State.
He urged the governor to use his position, as the Chairman of Governors’ Forum, to coalesce his colleagues to use their federal lawmakers to press for constitutional reforms that would allow states to take over the facilities of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria.
“The governor must declare a state of emergency on power,” he said. “Today, PHCN is not working. There is nationwide blackout. We want action that can liberate Nigerians from poverty. The level of hunger and privation is unacceptable for a state like ours. He (Amaechi) must use his clout to press for radical change in the power sector.”
Amaechi revealed recently that the state generates enough power, but it lacks distribution capability. To address this, the government has set up an electricity distribution committee, headed by the Managing-Director of Shell Petroleum Development Company. The committee’s goal is to ensure 24-hour uninterrupted electricity supply is realised before the end of 2012.
A teacher, Mrs. Rosemary Okafor, urges the governor to vigorously drive his plan to rid Port Harcourt of dirt and congestion, due to population surge that has overstretched its infrastructure.
“We need to clean up Port Harcourt. It is filthy these days. We have been told that the Greater Port Harcourt plan, as conceived, is to encompass an area of approximately 1,900 square kilometres of land absorbing some two million persons. We want him to focus more in this area. Port Harcourt of today is over-populated and filthy. Traffic is a nightmare. All these must change,” she said.
Indeed, Amaechi has sacked all refuse disposal contractors for negligence and lack of capacity to manage the city’s waste. At a recent meeting with them, he noted that their attitude was capable of defeating the intention of the government to restore the Garden City status of Port Harcourt.
One critical area Amaechi intends to focus is security. The state has procured and placed detective cameras at strategic locations in Port Harcourt and its environs, as part of efforts to ensure adequate surveillance of the state.
The government also plans to purchase two helicopters that would be used for timely intervention and arrest of criminals.
Source: The Guardian, 26th June 2011.
Suspected car thief escapes lynch mob in Rivers
By Chukwudi Akasike, Port Harcourt
But for providence, a suspected car thief would have been lynched in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, by a mob that caught him in the act. The suspect was caught trying to use a key-like instrument to unlock a Toyota Camry car that was parked on Ikwerre Road.
The suspect was saved from being set ablaze by divine intervention, precisely as a result of the absence of petrol. Today in Rivers State, it is unusual for a thief that is caught by a mob to go scot-free without being lynched. But this one won the battle between life and death miraculously.
The suspect and some members of his gang had watched the owner of the car closely to ascertain how far he was to where he parked his vehicle. With telephone calls, the hoodlums were able to communicate to each other on when to open the car and drive it away.
Armed with a master key, the suspect, who was is said to be in his late 20s, began to fiddle with the door of the driver’s side of the car that was parked near a filling station. Unknown to him, some residents of the area had sighted him and were watching him.
Before the incident, there had been a series of car theft incidents in Port Harcourt and its environs. Most of the cars that were stolen had not been recovered, even as the police maintained that investigations were still ongoing in some of the cases of car theft. It is as a result of the development that the mob attempted to lynch the suspect.
Initially, the suspect, who was said to have thrown the master key into the gutter when he realised that he had been caught red-handed, decided to beg for his dear life. Even after raining blows to his face, the suspect refused to own up to the fact that he wanted to steal the car. He insisted that he was just passing by and did not touch the vehicle.
When the owner of the vehicle came to the scene and realised that he would have lost his car, he thanked God and those who saved him from losing the vehicle. Not ready for any trouble, he simply opened the vehicle and drove away. But the crowd was not done with the suspect as he continued to receive blows to different parts of his body.
Instantly, the man’s face was swollen with blood rushing from his nostrils and mouth. The horrible sight of the suspect was not enough to make the lynch mob allow him to go as they were bent on killing him. Some members of the mob had immediately put a used tyre on the neck of the suspect and got ready to set him ablaze. They got a box of matches, but could not get petrol.
Not satisfied with the situation, they went to nearby filling stations to buy fuel that would be used in setting the suspected criminal ablaze, but to no avail. Surprisingly, most of the fuel attendants on duty at the filling stations were aware of the reason behind their need for fuel.
Frustrated by their inability to get fuel, the mob rained more deafening blows to the man’s body, though he had temporarily lost his voice and sight since his eyes were swollen. “Let us teach him a lesson so that next time, he will not try to steal another man’s property,” one of the men hitting the helpless suspected criminal said in Pidgin English.
They, however, allowed the man to enter the market, from where he escaped. The mob told him to thank his stars because they could not get fuel to set him ablaze. For about two months now, there has been an increase in the rate of car theft in Port Harcourt and its environs.
One of the victims, Mr. Eli Power Eli, narrated how he prepared for work in the morning and was shocked to discover that his car, a Nissan Sunny brand, was no longer where he parked it in the night before he went to bed. Eli, who lives at No. 14, Udom Close, D-Line, Port Harcourt, said he bought the vehicle with registration number SE 983 AAA and engine number 1400776173 in August 2010.
Another victim, Mr. Francis Onyeukwu, lost his Toyota Camry car to car thieves on May 15, 2011 and had not been able to trace it since then. Onyeukwu, who is a journalist with the News Agency of Nigeria, said his vehicle was stolen where he parked it before entering a church in Ihitte Affor Ukwu in Mbaise, to worship.
“I have given the police details of my car particulars and I believe it would be traced. It is green in colour and the registration number is GG 874 EKY 1998 model,” he said. Onyeukwu, however, expressed optimism that the police would recover his vehicle from the bandits who took it away from where he parked it.
The State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Suleiman Abba, warned members of the public against taking the law into their hands. Abba explained that jungle justice was not the best as every suspect remained innocent until found guilty.
He expressed the need for members of the public to hand over suspects to the police and desist from administering jungle justice on any suspect, adding that the law did not approve of it.
Source: Punch, 25th June 2011.