The Kogi state police command has expressed worry over the escape of some suspected notorious thieves who were apprehended by the local vigilante group and handed over to the Akpafa Divisional Headquarters in Ogori/Magongo local government area of the state.
Confirming the embarrassment of the police by the incident, the state Police Public Relations Officer(PPRO), Collins Adebayo (ASP) said that the Commissioner of Police, Samuel Adebayo Ogunjemilusi and the command’s management team were not happy with the development.
The PPRO, who said instruction had been given to all concerned police formations to ensure the re-arrest of fleeing suspects, disclosed that appropriate disciplinary measures have been taken against all the policemen on duty on the said day the suspects escaped.
Reports have it that the residents of Ogori and Ayoromi, a border settlement with Edo State had launched protest on the escape of the suspected thieves whom they arrested on Sunday and handed over to the Police.
The Community accused the Divisional Police Officer of complicity in the sudden disappearance of the thieves who have allegedly confessed to the crime and revealed names of their accomplices.
According to a prominent indegine of Ogori, who wants to be anonymous, stealing, house breaking and vandalism had been the order of the day, especially at Ayoromi where most of the people in the diaspora had their houses and properties looted and vandalised.
According to the source, “most of the houses have been vandalized with windows, doors and several building materials carted away by hoodlums”.
The community was said to have set up its own vigilante to watch movements of persons and subsequently apprehended the suspects. [myad]
The Elders and Traditional Rulers of Nembe Kingdom, in Nembe Local Government Areas of Bayelsa State, have exposed, in a petition they sent to President Muhammad Buhari, the shady business deal involving among others, the secret sales of oil and gas reserves from the Area by the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) without the involvement of the indigenes.
The Nembe kingdom is one of the biggest on-shore oil producing communities in the Niger Delta, with the oil mining lease (OML) 29 producing over 150, 000 barrels of crude oil per day. The oil block covers an area of 983 square kilometres.
In the petition titled “SHELL’S CLANDESTINE SALE OF OUR OIL AND GAS RESERVES THAT DEMANDED FOR TRANSPARENCY, DUE PROCESS AND WHICH WAS DEVOID OF ANY CONSULTATION: A DEMAND FOR OUR COMMUNITY’S PARTICIPATION AND OUR RIGHT TO EQUITY SHARES IN SHELL’S SALE OF ITS ASSETS”, the community claimed that the action of the SPDC to exclude the Communities is an insult and a provocative stance that could disrupt oil exploration in the Area.
The petition was made available to newsmen yesterday in Yenagoa, and signed by the Chairman of the Nembe Oil and Gas Committee, Chief (Amb.) Nengi James – Eriworio, and the Secretary, Chief Austin Aye Martins- Gboro,
“the writing of this petition, therefore, became imperatively necessary in the light of the fact that, we as a community was never consulted or informed of the outright sale of our God given natural resources as regards our reserves of oil and gas.”
” We just woke up one morning and started reading in the newspapers and the electronic media that our oil fields have been sold by Shell Petroleum Development Company Limited (SPDC) and acquired by an unknown company – Aiteo Eastern Exploration and production company limited involving the acquisition of SPDC’S thirty percent (30%) stake in our oil mining lease (OML) 29 and the Nembe Creek Trunk line (NCTL) under the latest shell’s divestment policy of empowering indigenous oil companies as enunciated in the lurch to suffer for all the ‘sins’ committed by Shell in our environment. This smacks of impunity as it is not done in line with global best practices.”
“The problem of this clandestine sale without prior consent and or consultation of the custodians of the oil fields to Aiteo to boost indigenous companies in the upstream sub-sector of the oil and gas industry, have produced a lacuna that the sale had not taken care of. During the time of shell’s operations in the Nembe environment over the years, our land had been totally devastated and degraded which was occasioned by incessant oil spills that called for clean-ups and remediation of the environment. Shell was responsible for these anomalies and as a result of their negligent behavior. That is why it beats our imaginations that nothing was made known to us, as a community that had shouldered these hazards of oil exploration and exploitation.
“Apart from the devastated and degraded environment that has been unwittingly left behind to our detriment, there were also the issues of mutual agreements entered into between the company and the community. These were memoranda of understanding that ensured the provision of amenities to the community and contracts to local contractors. These were things done to mitigate the effects of their oil exploration and exploitation activities; and to give the people a sense of belonging and to create harmonious company/community relations.”
“The above outstanding and unresolved problems have since remained, and no explanations have been given as to how they would be resolved. That is why our people have been seriously aggrieved of the sale without our knowledge: express our misgivings over certain aspects of the sale; and even make a protest on certain areas that we may have found repugnant to our collective aspirations as a people. Rather our voices were suppressed, sidelined, and now, we simply standby to watch the complete devastation and annihilation of our age-long economic, social and cultural heritage.”
“Indeed what is the meaning of Nigerian Content development without taking cognizance of the feelings of the people that are in custody of the oil and gas reserves? So in all these, where did the people stand to gain? In fact what are the supposed benefits of the goose that lays the golden eggs? In the circumstance we find ourselves, it is our onerous resolve and demand that SHELL and AITEO must consult us to tie all loose ends of this unfortunate sale, with a view to including the Nembe Community as stakeholders and as partners in progress.”
“This is the only fair thing to do. We should be given a room to participate as stakeholders in the indigenous companies’ participation in the upstream sub-sector of the oil and gas industry. We must be given equity shares as the original local indigenous owners of the oil and gas reserves: otherwise, the local content development policy will not have any meaning.It is a fact that, it is only when we are given a room to participate that we are going to give our total support and our community’s good will, to the sale that is skewed against us. What we are saying is that, there ought to be openness, fairness, justice and equity. A role must be carved out for our people in the value chain of activities compressing acquisition, exploration and product in the oil and gas industry. This is the end of our sad story.” [myad]
The World cannot help but grieve over series of a mass shooting at a Tunisian beach resort, severed head displayed in a French town and other attacks that took place today in some parts of the world in what Islamic State (IS) group described as Ramadan attacks.
There was no apparent link between the attacks, but IS claimed a suicide bombing at a Shiite mosque in Kuwait in which 25 people were killed, and Islamist flags were found at the site of the French attack.
The IS jihadists were also accused by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights of killing 146 civilians in an offensive on the Kurdish town of Kobane.
The Islamist bloodshed comes on the second Friday today of the holy month of Ramadan in which Muslims observe a fast from dawn to sunset every day.
On Tuesday, Islamic State group spokesman, Abu Mohammed al-Adnani called for Muslims to engage in jihad and become martyrs during Ramadan.
“The best acts that bring you closer to God are jihad, so hurry to it and make sure to carry out the invasion this holy month and be exposed to martyrdom in it. These are your weapons and this is Ramadan.”
The gory day began with a dawn raid on an African Union base in Somalia by Al-Qaeda affiliated Shebab militants who often increase attacks during Ramadan.
Witnesses said as many as 50 people were killed in Lego village, 100 kilometres (62 miles) northwest of the capital Mogadishu, and some of them beheaded, before Shebab hoisted a black Islamic flag over the base. It was not possible to independently confirm the death toll.
In France, a few hours later, at least one extremist rammed a car into an American-owned industrial gas factory near France’s second city of Lyon.
The severed head of a businessman identified as the employer of the suspect arrested by police, was found pinned to the gates of the Air Products factory.
French President, Francois Hollande said inscriptions were found on the victim’s body, while Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said Islamist flags were displayed around the head.
“The intent was without doubt to cause an explosion. It was a terrorist attack,” said Hollande.
Cazeneuve said the suspect was known for links to a radical form of Sunni Islam.
The act of beheading has become a hallmark of the Islamic State group which has taken over large parts of Iraq and Syria and rallied supporters around the world to carry out attacks on home soil.
Shortly after the French attack, a gunman entered a resort on the sun-soaked Tunisian coast with a weapon concealed in his beach umbrella, before opening fire and killing 37 people, including foreign tourists.
With the memories of earlier attacks still raw in both their countries, Hollande and his Tunisian counterpart Beji Caid Essebsi spoke after Friday’s events and voiced “solidarity in the face of terrorism”.
In January, 17 people were killed in Islamist attacks around Paris and in March, 21 tourists were killed in an attack on a Tunis museum.
Then just after noon in Kuwait as Muslims took part in Friday prayers, a suicide bomber entered a mosque, detonating and killing 28 people in the Gulf state’s first such attack in nearly a decade.
The IS-affiliated group in Saudi Arabia, calling itself Najd Province, said one of its militants was behind the bombing on a mosque it claimed was spreading Shiite teachings among Sunni Muslims.
IS, a radical Sunni Muslim group, considers Shiites to be heretics. Najd Province has claimed responsibility for several other attacks on Shiite mosques in neighbouring Saudi Arabia.
The Islamic State group marks June 29 as the first anniversary of its self-declared “caliphate” straddling Iraq and Syria.
On Friday, its fighters attacked the Syrian town of Kobane from which it was dramatically ousted in January by Kurdish militia backed by US-led air strikes after four months of heavy fighting.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 120 civilians were killed in a 24-hour rampage on Kobane, and another 26 were executed in a nearby village.
France and Spain raised their alert level after the attacks, while several European leaders held emergency government meetings. US President Barack Obama was briefed on the bloodshed in Tunisia, Kuwait and France, Washington said.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the attacks “show the challenges we face when it comes to fighting terrorism and Islamist extremism”.
“Our hearts all go out to the victims of these appalling terrorist attacks,” Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron said, branding them the fruit of “perverted ideology.” [myad]
No fewer than 700 officers and soldiers of the Nigerian Army are set for deployment for peace keeping operation in Liberia. This is coming against the background of the fierce battle going on against Boko Haram at home.
Addressing the troops after their pre-deployment training in Jaji, Kaduna State, today, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 1 Division, Nigerian Army, Major General Kenneth Osuji warned them to avoid any act capable of dragging the image of Nigeria and Nigerian Army to the mud, as the army will not accept a situation where its soldiers are seen as soft targets.
General Osuji who is the GOC of the 1 Brigade, which is made up of the Nigerian Battalion (NIBATT)36 in the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) said, they must work with the rules of engagement of the mission and respect the cultural and religious sensitivity of Liberia people.
“Be reminded that the Nigerian Army will not accept any situation where its troops are seen as soft targets or conducting themselves in unprofessional manner such as trafficking in illicit substances of any kind including alcohol and drugs.
“Additionally, you must respect the cultural and religious sensitivity of the people of Liberia. You must exhibit the highest sense of personal/environmental hygiene as Liberia is just emerging from an EBOLA epidemic,” the GOC stressed. [myad]
Senate President, Bukola Saraki has appointed Chuks Okocha, Thisday Politics Editor in Abuja and Environs and a former Regional Editor in the Niger Delta as his Special Assistant on Print Media. Okocha holds a Masters Degree in Sustainable Environmental Management from Middlesex University in London.
Okocha comes to the job with a rich pedigree in journalism having covered the State House during the administrations of former military administrations of President Ibrahim Babangida, late Sani Abacha, Abdulsalami Abubakar and during the interim government of Chief Ernest Shonekan. He also covered the National Assembly at inception of the Fourth Republic in 1999.
In a statement released by the Deputy Clerk to the National Assembly, Mr. Ben Efeturi announcing the appointments, the Senate President has also appointed former Nation Senate Correspondent, Mr. Sanni Onogu as his Chief Press Secretary.
Mr. Bankole Omisore is Saraki’s Special Assistant on New Media.
The appointments, said Efeturi, take immediate effect. [myad]
Outgoing chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega has said that university vice-chancellors were appointed returning officers during the last general elections because they were people with track record of credibility.
Jega who spoke to newsmen on the sideline of a dinner organized in his honour by the Association of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities (AVCNU) in Abuja said: “We were looking for people with integrity; and we have no doubt that there are many people with integrity in the Nigerian university system.
“So, it is like a ready-made constituency to get the kind of people we needed for the job to be done. That is not to say that it is only in the universities you can find people of integrity.
“We know that anybody who has risen in the system to become a vice-chancellor will not for anything damage his or her reputation by pandering to the wishes of politicians.”
He expressed appreciation to the goodwill shown to him by members of the association, adding that he would continue to be a good ambassador of the Nigerian university system.
Jega said he was delighted to note that the vice-chancellors were pleased with the feat which they collectively achieved in the 2015 elections.
He, however, said that all staff of INEC contributed to the success of the elections as he alone could not take the glory.
The INEC chairman said he would proceed on leave and rest at the end of his tenure and return to the university to continue teaching, research and community service afterwards.
Earlier in his remarks, Professor Joseph Ajienka, the Chairman of the association, commended Jega for rendering a service to his country creditably and with dignity.
He also hailed all the vice chancellors that helped Jega in performing a national task that gave so much credibility to the last elections.
“It will go a long way in telling the world that vice-chancellors are capable of serving their country,’’ Ajienka who is the Vice-Chancellor University of Port Harcourt, added. [myad]
President Muhammadu Buhari has dissolved the board of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) with immediate effect. The dissolution of the NNPC board might signal President Buhari’s determination to clean up the oil industry in the country. The directive for the dissolution of the board was conveyed in a letter signed today by the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Barrister Danladi Kifasi. In the three paragraph statement, President Buhari was quoted as expressing appreciation to members of the dissolved board for their services to the nation.
Special adviser to President Buhari, Femi Adesina had earlier made it clear that the President was going to clean up the oil industry, adding: “there’s no way he could proceed with the same board in place.”
Buhari, who defeated Goodluck Jonathan in March elections and became head of state on May 29, pledged during his campaign to clamp down on graft, including in the oil sector, which the government depends on for about two-thirds of revenue and 90 percent of export earnings.
Buhari’s All Progressives Congress said it would probably strip the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. of regulatory powers and would look into breaking the company into more efficient, commercially-driven units.
Chief executive officer of the Lagos-based consultancy Financial Derivatives Co. Bismarck Rewane said: “it is about time that the President take action on this (NNPC) financial cancer. He should go below the board and clean up that place.”
The NNPC had the worst disclosure record of 44 international and national energy companies analyzed in a 2011 report by Transparency International and the Revenue Watch Institute.
Last year, Jonathan suspended then central bank Governor Lamido Sanusi after he alleged the NNPC hadn’t remitted $20 billion to the government. A PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP report into the matter released in April said the company needed to refund as much as $4.29 billion.
The NNPC has a “blank check” to spend without limits or control, according to the PwC report. Accounting and monitoring systems for oil revenue appear to be weak and inaccurate, while data from different sources are plagued by “significant discrepancies,” it said.
Buhari’s move may have been more of a formality as the current board had little power without a head, according to Clement Nwankwo, the executive director of the Abuja-based Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre. [myad]
All Progressives Congress (APC) majority members of the new House of Representatives threw caution to the wind today when they openly engaged in physical assault over the selection of leadership of the House. The Speaker, Yakubu Dogara saved the situation by quickly adjourning the plenary to July 21. [myad]
Delta State Governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa has said his administration inherited a debt profile of N637.22 billion, with a call on all Deltans to be ready to make sacrifices necessary to put the state on the path of economic recovery.
Giving a breakdown of the debt profile, Okowa disclosed that N98.62 billion is as a result of Revenue Bond and indebtedness to commercial banks, while outstanding contractual obligations stood at N538, 601,962,421.50.
Okowa who addressed members of the State House Of Assembly in Asaba on the financial status of the state, said that it became necessary to let the lawmakers know the state of affairs in order “to put the Legislature on the same page with the Executive, so that we can think together, plan together, and tighten our belts going forward.”
“I see more opportunities in our current economic predicament than the threats it poses. We must muster the resolve and political will to boldly and decisively – confront the challenges that we face, right the ship of our State and lay a solid foundation of prosperity both now and for future generation of Deltans. It won’t be easy. It is not supposed to be easy. But there is no gain without pain, no prize without a price.
“A good place to start is for us to reject the old ways of doing business. First, beginning with me and this honourable House, we must be ready to make the necessary sacrifices to reduce the cost of governance. Secondly, the endless turf battles and approach to legislative action would need to give way to civility and respect for each arm of government. Thirdly, the House must make laws that protect and promote the interest of the State and our people. Fourthly, we must act with the sense of urgency that our current situation demands, and navigate the ship of state aright.”
The Governor told the House that the 2015 budget of N409 Billion as passed has to be reviewed because it is no longer realistic in the wake of current realities, which clearly show that our expected revenue is now far below what was projected in view of the declining earnings from FAAC occasioned by the crash in oil prices.
He assured the House that the administration is frantically working at putting the necessary machinery in place to boost our IGR, and steps will be urgently taken to plug the loopholes in our revenue collection process. In our land resource management, action will be taken to re-certify Certificates of Occupancy (C of O) beginning with our urban settlements, while MDAs will be made more accountable in the generation of revenue.
He called for a cordial relationship among the different arms of government, reminding the Legislature of their constitutional responsibility “to make make laws for the peace, order, and good governance of the State.” Governor Okowa promised to build a “model worthy of emulation” in Executive-Legislature based on his experience as a former member of the Senate.
Okowa appealed for patience and understanding regarding the suspension of the civil service recruitment even as he admitted that it was a painful and difficult decision to make. He added: “we came to this inescapable decision because the entire recruitment exercise was riddled with fraud and corruption as it violated established Civil Service Rules and Regulations. More so, it was not logical that a State struggling to meet its payroll obligation should employ more persons.”
While sympathising with those affected by the exercise, he urged the house members to appeal to their constituents who were affected by the exercise for understanding because “we do not mean them any harm” and “you have my highest assurances that in the long term this decision is for the benefit of everybody. Sometimes things have to get worse before they can get better.”
Governor Okowa enjoined the house members to be mindful of their place in history.
“The focus of responsible leadership is not always about the next election; it is about the next generation,” he declared. “We would have written our names in gold if in the next four years Delta State can boast of a functioning public school system that ensures that the children of the poor are provided quality education, accessible and affordable primary and secondary healthcare system, a flourishing agricultural and agri-business sector, and the proliferation of Micro, Small, and Medium Scale Enterprises (that ensure our teeming youth population is productively engaged), well planned and environmentally friendly cities, and integrated rural development.”
In a brief remark, the Majority Leader of the House of Assembly, Hon. Tim Owhofere, member representing Isoko North, thanked the governor for the briefing and promised that the legislature would partner with other arms of government to deliver the dividends of democracy to the people. [myad]
The captain of the national Ghanaian football team, Asamoah Gyan, has been charged by police for the rape and sodomy of Sarah Kwablah, a 22 year old student at the University of Ghana. Kwablah’s lawyer, Maurice Ampaw, said the complaint was made two days ago at the Victim Support Unit (DOOVSU) of the Ministry Police Station in Accra.
Gyan has admitted to having sex with Sarah Kwablah. However, he claims that the sex was entirely consensual.
Kwablah, is also accusing Gyan of fathering her pregnancy. Hospital scans have shown that she is indeed pregnant but Gyan claims that the child is not his. He has demanded a paternity test to determine the veracity of her claims. Reports say he is prepared to take responsibility of the child if it is proven that he is the father.
According to numerous reports, Kwablah is also asking for a fully furnished apartment, a housemaid, and a $1,000 monthly stipend from Gyan. The Black Stars captain, Gyan, has called the demands outrageous.
Kwablah has also threatened to release a sex tape of the couple, from the time they had a relationship, which supposedly began in February. A case of blackmail was subsequently filed by Asamoah Gyan’s lawyer, Kissi Adjabeng, at the Ordorkor Police Station.
In light of the madness, Gyan spoke to the Ghanaian radio station, Happy FM, saying “all through my career, I have always contended with obstacles whenever I’m trying to do anything but I never give up because I am mentally strong. I have not always had things running smoothly for me but I try to sail through.
“What has kept me going up to this time is my mental toughness,” he went on, confident that his history of dealing with challenges on his way to greatness will come in handy again.
“You will notice that at almost every point in my life I have had challenges. I am blessed to have been able to go through all the time so I will go through this one too, again.” [myad]
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