17042019 - 9th NASS: Fresh crisis looms in APC over leadership slots

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17, 2019 — 33
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Army smashes biggest camp operated
coming from the illegal
by oil thieves in Delta
By Onoyume
Onoyume
W Nigerian ARRI—THE
Army has
smashed one of the biggest
camps operated by oil
thieves in Delta State,
destroying about 60 Cotonu
boats, 150 storage tanks,
700 drums used by the oil
thieves for their illicit trade.
Commander Sector I,
Operation Delta Safe,
OPDS, Warri, Delta State,
Colonel Baba Manu-led
his men with two swamp
boggy into the camp
covering about 20
kilometres located between
Ogevughe and Otujeremi
in Ughelli North Local
Government Area of the
state.
Vanguard gathered that
the vandals who mostly
vandalized oil facilities
around OML 34 fled the
camp on sighting the
soldiers driving into the
place.
The camp according to
community folks was the
heart of illegal oil refining
activities.
“It was a community of its
DRAW: From left; Kola Ogunwumi, Marketing Manager, Redington (Telco,
West Africa); Nwaochei Genevive, Senior Administrative Officer, National
Lottery Regulatory Commission; Olafisayo Fapohunda, Marketing Executive,
Redington Apple-Business and Okpetu Monday, Sales Officer, Slot Systems
Limited at the fifth SLOT-Phone-A-Car raffle draw in Lagos.
‘Ugborodo Community youths vow to stop PANOCEAN,
Chevron operations’
By Gab Ejuwa
U GBORODO
Community youths
in Warri South West Local
Government Area of Delta
State, have vowed to stop
the operations of Panocean
Oil Corporation Nigeria
Mazi Alakwe
is dead
Late Mazi Alakwe.
MAZI
Andrew
Alakwe
of Umuezeala Umuchoke
in Umuozu, Nwangele
Local Government Area,
Imo State is dead, aged 96.
He died on February 20,
2019 and will be buried on
April 24, 2019 at his family
home in Umuezeala
Umuchoke, Umuozu.
Funeral mass holds on
same day at St. Anthony’s
Catholic Church, Umuozu
by Most Rev. Augustine
Ukwuoma by 10am.
He is survived by a
widow, brother, sister,
children
and
grandchildren, among
whom is Vanguard's Prisca
Sam-Duru.
own with all forms of illegal
oil activities taking place
here. The activities of the
oil thieves have resulted to
severe pollution of our
environment
“At night before the
soldiers came to chase them
away, you saw thick and
poisonous smoke from all
sides of the camp going into
the air. The smoke was
Limited and Chevron
Nigeria Limited, if they
fail to address their
demands of stable
electricity supply,
employment, increment
in salaries of community
workers, construction of
well equipped hospital,
Late Madam
Onwuchekwa
for burial
Late Mrs Onwuchekwa
PIONEER MD/CEO of
Aquila Capital, Chuka
Onwuchekwa's mother,
Madam Benedith
Onwuchekwa of
Umuaniche, Abam Village,
Azia in Ihiala LGA,
Anambra State is dead,
aged 77.
Vigil mass holds at
Onwuchekwa’s compound
on April 24 in Umuaniche,
Abam Village, Azia. Funeral
service is at Mary the
Queen Catholic Church in
Azia, after which her body
would be lowered at her
residence in Umuaniche
Condolence visits by
friends and families starts
on Thursday, while
thanksgiving service holds
on Sunday.
refining of stolen crude,”
a community source said.
Some of the community
members who spoke under
condition of anonymity
said, “We suggest that the
soldiers should stay a little
more time in the area to
stop the hoodlums from
resuming their operations.
Once they are sure that the
soldiers have withdrawn
they will resume their
activities again.”
portable water supply,
among others.
In a statement by
National Youth Leader of
Ugborodo Community, Ofe
Nene addressed to
President Muhammadu
Buhari, he drew his (Mr.
President’s) attention to the
deliberate injustice being
done to Ugborodo
community youths and
workers by Chevron and
Panocean.
The youths explained
that Panocean has been
building an export pipeline
from Amukpe to Ugborodo
(Excravos) but didn’t
employ the community
youths and had hooked the
pipeline to the export line
at Ugborodo with a control
platform fully completed
and ready for
commissioning soon.
The youths noted that
there was an agreement
between Chevron and
Ugborodo Community in
2017 to increase all the
community workers
salaries by two percent
every two years from
Some of the soldiers said
items destroyed during the
operation included
machines used by the oil
thieves to vandalize oil
pipelines.
When contacted ,
Spokesman 6 Division of
the Nigerian army, Col
Aminu Ilyasu said there
will be no hiding place for
oil thieves, adding that they
had become threat to
national economy and the
nation’s oil assets.
February 2017 but Chevron
refused to honour the
agreement since the first
two years after the
expiration of the agreement
in February 2019.
“Before Chevron
Excravos Export System
Project, EESP, in 2017, there
was also a gentle man
agreement between
Chevron and Ugborodo
Community that they will
build multi-purpose
centres/town halls in all the
communities of Ugborodo
as well as Ugbegungun
community respectively as
part of their corporate social
responsibility to us but
since they started the
project, they have refused
to honour the gentle man
agreement reached till
date and are carrying on
with total lack of
commitment to honour it.”
The youths lamented lack
of portable water supply,
stable electricity supply,
and well-equipped
hospital despite being host
to several oil wells,
platforms and facilities.
Edwin Clark varsity to graduate
first set of students in November
By Festus Ahon
A Chancellor SABA—VICE
of Edwin
Clark University,
Kiagbodo, Delta State, Prof
T. O. Olagbemiro has said
that the University would
graduate its first set of
students in November,
2019, adding that
institution was founded on
Christian principles and
values with focus on
imparting academic and
moral values on her
students.
Speaking at the 4th
Matriculation ceremony of
the University, Olagbemiro
warned the students, “As
you begin your academic
career in this university,
there will be no room for
cultism, acts of immorality,
examination malpractices,
bullying, intimidation,
discrimination, dereliction,
insubordination,
hooliganism, gangsterism,
improper dressing or other
forms of youthful
exuberance usually
associated with students.
You must shun these vices
as you would shun a leper.
“We are joyous that you
have come to Edwin Clark
University, a citadel of
higher learning, where
knowledge and
development is our
watchword. You have come
to Kiagbodo, the serene
and rural environment,
very conducive for learning
and character formation.
You are privileged to be
admitted into a University
that has international
connections and repute
with options of exposure to
international educational
experience from
internationally renowned
institutions, where we have
linkage or collaboration.
“From a humble
beginning with two
Faculties in 2015, i.e., the
Faculty of Humanities,
Social and Management
Sciences and the Faculty of
Science, the University has
rapidly expanded with the
establishment of two
additional Faculties - the
Faculty of Law (2016) and
Faculty of Agricultural
Sciences (2017),
comprising of Crop
Science, Animal Science,
Forestry and Wildlife,
Fisheries and Aquaculture.''
Bayelsa guber: PDP warns
members against anti-party
activities
By Samuel
Oyadongha
Y People’s ENAGOA—THE
Democratic
Party, PDP, in Bayelsa State
has called on its members
to shun any act capable of
robbing the party of victory
in the governorship election
slated for November 2, 2019.
The party during an
expanded State Executive
Council, SEC, meeting
which had in attendance
Governor Seriake Dickson
and other party chieftains,
described the coming
election as an isolated one
and that all hands must be
on deck at ensuring that it
records a landslide victory.
It frowned at the activities
of some of its members
during the previous
elections and cautioned
against the repeat of such
ignoble act, noting that the
task before it was enormous.
The SEC during the
meeting ratified the reports
of the disciplinary
committee set up to review
the activities of some of its
members during the last
general election.
Dickson warned against
anti party activities on the
part of the members,
adding that for Bayelsa to
maintain her position as a
stronghold of PDP, there was
need for members to put
aside their differences and
work for the success of the
party in the coming election.
Dickson said, “There are
two systems that will clash
again in this governorship
election. The state system
which I lead with our
teaming supporters and the
federal system that will be
deployed in this election. As
a result, the old way of
playing politics must
change.
“Bayelsa is a stronghold
of PDP. We are going to
prove that again with our
voters cards in the
forthcoming governorship
election. We cannot be
intimidated by heavy
presence of security
operatives and political
thugs. They had failed in
the past. They will fail again
this time around.''
Isoko group alleges injustice in ministerial appointments
By Ochuko Akuopha
O Equity LEH—ISOKO
Group has
alleged injustice and lack
of fairness in the
appointment of members of
the Federal Executive
Council from Delta State,
appealing to President
Muhammadu Buhari to
appoint the next Minister
from the stateand amongst
the Isoko people.
The group, in a statement
by its Convener, Mr. Silas
Bwowe and others, said:
“Other than ramshackle
police stations, electricity
poles and cables that
deliver epileptic power,
there is no federal presence
throughout Isoko land.
“This, undoubtedly, is
gross injustice, unfairness
and inequity to an area that
has helped to sustain the
federal economy through
its oil production that
started way back in 1958 at
Uzere, the second place oil
was discovered and
produced in commercial
quantity in Nigeria. Since
then, our oil fields have
remained among the
largest on-shore producers
in the country.
“Since the advent of
democracy in 1999, all
other ethnic groups in
Delta State have had
Ministers, some several
times over. But no Isoko
man has been appointed
Minister. In fact, this has
been the case since 1973.
What a shame.
“For the avoidance of
doubt, in 1999, President
Obasanjo appointed Mr.
Chris Agbobu from Anioma
as Minister of State for
Agriculture and Dr. Ngozi
Okonjo-Iweala as a twotime
Minister of Finance
and Coordinating Minister
of the Economy.
“The current Minister of
State, Ministry of Petroleum
Resources is also from
Anioma. This is in addition
to the Governor of Central
Bank of Nigeria who hails
from the same Anioma axis
of the State.
“Urhobo has had three
Ministers since 1999.''