12042019 - I N S E C U R I T Y: Buhari launches offensive; orders ruthless action

Vanguard, FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2019 — 33
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Delta govt approves completion of
Ughelli/Asaba Road
By Festus Ahon
A SABA—DELTA
State government
has approved the
completion of the
remaining part of the
Ughelli/Asaba Road.
The Commissioner for
Information, Chief
Patrick Ukah, who spoke
to newsmen after the
State Executive Council
meeting presided over
by acting Governor,
Kingsley Utuaro,
disclosed that the
completion of the
dualisation of Ughelli/
Asaba Road, sector A and
that of sector C1 from
Ossissa to Kwale
NDU tasks Okowa on flood, erosion control, applauds his
re-election
By Cynthia Alo &
Toyin Chemapo
N Development
DOSIMILI
Union, NDU, has charged
Delta State governor,
Ifeanyi Okowa to focus on
environmental problems
facing major parts of the
state.
NDU also called on the
governor to extend his
developmental
programmes to Ndokwa
East in the area of
provision of roads, health
care facilities and potable
water to accelerate the
socio-economic
development of the area.
The union noted that the
governor’s SMART
agenda on infrastructural
development has increased
economic activities in the
state.
NDU ascribed the
victory of Okowa at the
poll to his competence,
drive and aggressiveness
in the execution of various
projects in the state.
It noted that since
Okowa mounted the
saddle in 2015, he has
changed the narrative in
the state.
NDU National
President, Francis Adone
said that the votes given
to Okowa were votes for
competence, sincerity of
purpose and an exhibition
of good governance the
people of the state have
been yearning for.
The union remarked that
the numerous road projects
in the state will definitely
open the state for economic
development that will
benefit everyone, adding
INEC set for supplementary
elections in Rivers tomorrow
By Egufe
Yafugborhi
PORT HARCOURT
— INDEPENDENT
National Electoral
Commission, INEC, is
set for Saturday’s
supplementary elections
for four outstanding state
Constituencies in Rivers
State.
According to the
timeline released by the
Resident Electoral
Commissioner, REC, in
Port Harcourt,
supplementary elections,
that the SMART agenda of
the governor has recorded
tremendous achievements,
describing them as
monumental strides.
NDU also felicitated with
all elected legislators of
junction in Ogwashi Uku
had been approved.
According to Ukah, the
approval was to ensure
safety of lives of persons
and facilitate easier
movement of goods and
services across the state.
The Commissioner
said the State Executive
Council also approved
the completion of
Ugbolu/Akwukwu-Igbo
Road from the Local
Government Council
Secretariat to Akwukwu
Board camp in Oshimili
North LGA of the state.
Other roads approved
according to him, are the
construction of
Idumuesah/Ute-Alohen
Road, rehabilitation/
construction of Owa-
Oyibu/Udomi-Abavo
Road and rehabilitation/
construction of Owa-
Alero Internal Roads,
Owa-Alero, all in Ika
North LGA.
AWARD: From left; MD, Degbola Abudu; Head, Risk and Control, Omotayo Oyetayo;
Head, Treasury, George Wamonje; Head, Legal, Mojisola Oyeyinka and Financial
Controller, Sherif Adejobi, all of Capricon Digital Ltd, after receiving the 2018 Efficiency
Award for outstanding performance in driving CBN's cashless initiative in Lagos.
Y current ENAGOA—THE
power outage
being experienced by the
residents of Yenagoa, the
Baylesa State capital and
it’s environ will persist
following alleged refusal of
Port Harcourt Electricity
Distribution Company,
PHEDC, to take 101.8
Megawatts of electricity
from Gbarantoru
Substation in the state.
for reason of insufficient
margin of lead, would
hold in 20 polling units
in Opobo/Nkoro
Constituency and 47 in
Ahoada West, where the
March 9. exercise was
disrupted.
Supplementary
elections would be held
in entire Abua Odual
State Constituency,
where no electoral
material was deployed
over signals of violence,
just as entire Gokana
Constituency would
undergo rerun due to
March 9, disruptions.
Ndokwa to the state House
of Assembly, Friday
Osanebi, the deputy
speaker of the House for
his re-election, Charles
Emetulu, Ndokwa West,
Ochor Ochor, Ukwani,
The 1x90MVA, 132/33KV
transmission Substation
currently has 104
Megawatts of electricity,
while the Port Harcourt
Disco is taking only 2.2
Megawatts, leaving
101.8MW stranded power
in the substation.
Meanwhile, the Minister
of Works, Power and
Housing, Mr. Babatunde
Fashola, has vowed that
there is no going back on
the resolve by the current
administration to pursue
it’s incremental, steady and
uninterrupted power
supply agenda to a logical
conclusion.
The 132/33KV
Gbarantoru Substation was
transmitting at the capacity
of 40MW until July 2018,
when the Federal
Government installed and
commissioned 1z90MVA
to upgrade substation to
104MW transmission
capacity.
Briefing journalists
during the ministerial
media tour of the facility,
General Manager of
Transmission Company of
Nigeria, TCN, in Port
Harcourt region, Engr.
Solomon Uyoko, explained
that 90MW of electricity
was recently added in order
enjoining them to work
in concert with their
colleagues in the Assembly
to make laws that will
promote economic
development of the state
and its stability.
to boast substation.
Uyoko noted that, ‘The
90MVA transformer was
actually commissioned last
year to boost power supply
to Bayelsa State. Before the
coming of this 90MVA
transformer, we had a
2x40MVA transformer.
One of them went bad so
we were left with only
40MVA.
“So with the addition of
this 90MVA we now have
a 130MVA which for now
can provide enough power
supply to the state. This is
a direct intervention from
the Federal government.
Newspaper vendors protest
alleged harassment by A'Íbom
govt agents
By Chioma Onuegbu
U YO—NEWSPAPER
vendors under the
auspices of Akwa Ibom
State Newspapers
Association, yesterday,
stormed
the
Correspondents’ Chapel
Secretariat of the Nigerian
Union of Journalists,
NUN, on Asutan Street,
Uyo, to protest alleged
harassment and
intimidation of its
members by government
officials in the state.
The vendors who sell
newspapers around the
vicinity of Ibom Plaza, a
central business hub in
Uyo, complained that some
of them had been beaten
and unduly harassed on
regular basis by the Ibom
Plaza Management
officials.
Chairman of the
Association, Otobong
Udofia, who spoke on
behalf of the vendors,
accused the management
of harassing his members
on daily basis, adding that
efforts stop them had fallen
on debt ears.
“The management of
Ibom Plaza has been
coming to harass our
members on daily basis, so
we don’t understand what
is the stand of newspaper
vendors in the state, if they
don’t want us to be in the
state, they should let us
know.
“When they come, they
will demand for money
from vendors that we are
the reason people come to
steal at the plaza. But we
asked questions, how do
TCN blames PHEDC for power outage in Bayelsa
•No going back on incremental power supply — Fashola
By Chris Ochayi
With the capacity of the
transformer, we have about
104 megawatt of power to
supply the state. When I
came in, we have about
2.2megawatt being
evacuated to the people.''
In his remarks, the
Minister of Works, Power
and Housing, Fashola said
the government was
working on ensuring
incremental, steady and
uninterrupted power
supply.
Fashola, who was
represented by Director,
Investment and Sector
Development, Osaisai
pick pocket in the area concern
vendors? They say government
said we should
leave the plaza.
“We insisted and said that
by right, vendors cannot
pay a fee of N2000 monthly
demanded by the
management because our
commission is only N40.00.
“A lot of people have been
reading papers online,
papers don’t sell again and
before we labour to sell
1000 copy a day, we will go
round Uyo. We have been
supporting government,
we wonder why
government is against us.
“We don’t sell up to
N2000, so it will be difficult
for us to raise N2000 and
pay, we eat from the
amount and pay transport
from there.
“When they come, they
harass our members and
our people will run way and
many papers have been
reported missing in the
process.”
However, the Chairman
of the Ibom Plaza Plaza
Management, Ima Umoh,
denied the alleged
harassments of vendors by
his members.
He said the idea was to
sanitise the place against
hoodlums, adding, “We
asked them not to display
their papers wrongly
because by doing that they
attract hoodlums. We had
issue, their leaders came
and we have settled. They
should go back and sell
their papers.”
When contacted the state
Commissioner of
Information and Strategy,
Mr. Charles Udoh said,
that government was not
aware of the situation.''
Emontonghan, said, “In
that vein, government has
a programme running
called the distribution
expansion programme
where we are making all
efforts to strengthen the
distribution link.
“We also want to
emphasize that as much as
government will ensure
that there is power it
behoves on the citizen to
note that the power has
been privatized and that
they have to pay for this
power because if they
don’t pay we won’t be
able to provide the
facilities that will ensure
that this power is available
for everybody to use.”
NNPC commends Oilserv on East-West gas pipeline
project
THE Nigeria National
P e t r o l e u m
Corporation, NNPC, has
lauded the management of
Oilserv Limited for its
contribution towards the
development of the
country’s gas supply via the
construction of biggest
pipeline in Nigeria, the
East-West Gas Pipeline
Project popularly called
OB3 Project.
Oilserv is currently
executing the biggest
pipeline in Nigeria, the
East-West Gas Pipeline
Project popularly called
OB3 Project (136km x 48
inch).
The company has
demonstrated indigenous
capacity and expertise
which used to be the forte
of international EPC
companies in Nigeria and
have earned a reputation for
quality, safety and on-time
delivery of projects.
Speaking at the inspection
of the project by some key
officials of NNPC and the
Nigerian Gas Company
(NGC), COO, NNPC, Gas
and Power, Engr. Saidu
Mohammed, stated that the
project is an aid to
government dreams and
aspirations for the sector.
“This is a project that we
have been waiting for in
Nigeria and we are glad that
Contractor is performing
towards bringing light at
the end of the tunnel. What
I have seen so far is very
impressive and the
deadline of completing
this project is achievable
as all materials needed for
the completion of the work
are on ground,” he said.