03072019 - Buhari's Ruga policy, an explosive issue — SOYINKA

12—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2019
SWEARING IN: From left: Chief Evelyn Oboro, Chief Dennis Omovie, Olorogun Taleb
Tebite and Chief Fred Majemite, during the reception ceremony of Chief Efe Ofobruku after
he was sworn in as Special Adviser on Legislative Matters by Governor Ifeanyi Okowa,
yesterday. Photo: Festus Ahon.
OML 25: Shell’s MoU with Rivers
HOSTCOMS sparks protest
•We were deceived to sign agreement— Monarch, women leader
By Davies
Iheamnachor
PORT HARCOURT—
The signing of
Memorandum of
Understanding, MoU, for
the re-opening of Oil
Mining Lease, OML25,
and the payment of
outstanding funds of the
extant Global
Memorandum of
Understanding, GMoU,
owed the host communities
as facilitated by Rivers
State government between
Shell Petroleum
Development Company,
SPDC, and its hosts has
sparked heavy protest and
tension in Kula Kingdom in
Akuku-Toru Local
Government Area of the
state.
This came as two of the
signatories to the
agreement, the paramount
ruler of Offoin-Ama, HRH
Sibia Sukubo, and a
Women Leader of Offian-
Ama, Mrs. Markson
Telema, said they were
only told to sign a
document for Shell to pay
them their GMoU
entitlements and not for the
oil giant to resume
operations in the area.
The chiefs, women,
youths and men of Belema,
Offoin-Ama and Ngeje
communities in Akuku-Toru
council, owners of the
OML25, following the
signing of the MoU at
Government House in Port
Harcourt on Monday,
staged a protest, yesterday,
rejecting the deal.
It will be recalled that the
state government had
brokered peace between
the host communities and
the oil firm over the closure
of the oil field for over two
years following alleged
neglect
and
marginalisation of the
community by Shell. The
peace move was sealed
with the signing of an
MoU.
But, yesterday, HRH
Sukubo, who spoke at a
meeting of the chiefs of the
area before the protest, told
the council that he was not
aware that part of the
document was MoU,
adding that he remained in
support that SPDC should
not resume in the area, but
pay all the entitlements
owed them.
Speaking during the
protest at Offoin-Ama
community, women leader
of Offoin-Ama community,
Mrs. Markson Telema,
said: “We’re not happy
Shell has operated in our
community for over 40 years
with no employment for the
women.
"We have many graduates
but no job for them and only
on Monday, we were
invited to Rivers State
Government House and
they brought paper that we
should sign for part of the
community GMoU and not
for SPDC to resume oil
operation in our land.”
Also, Chairman of the
Community Development
Committee, CDC, Mr.
Jonah Joshua, noted that
the communities had
rejected the signing of the
MoU by some chiefs.
Dickson tasks NIPSS on
Nigeria’s stability
By Samuel
Oyadongha
Y ENAGOA—Governor
Seriake Dickson of
Bayelsa State has charged
the National Institute for
Policy and Strategic Studies,
NIPSS, to continue to
promote national peace,
stability and inclusiveness for
the overall development of the
country.
Dickson, yesterday, when
he received the executive
and members of the Alumni
Association of the National
Institute, AANI, led by former
Inspector General of Police,
Mr. Mohammed Abubakar,
at Government House,
Yenagoa, expressed
confidence that if all
Nigerians work collectively
with sincerity of purpose, a
cohesive, stable and peaceful
Nigeria can be achieved.
Dickson, according to his
Special Adviser on Public
Affairs, Mr. Daniel Alabrah,
said it was imperative to
proffer solutions to the
problems that Nigeria is
currently grappling with.
His words: “We need to find
solution to the challenges that
our nation currently faces; the
challenge of building a
unified national vision and
agenda, the challenge of
promoting stability, peace
and inclusiveness so that we
can all build a Nigeria for all.
That Nigeria must be built by
all of us and we can do it.”
In his remarks, the AANI
President, Mohammed
Abubakar, commended
Dickson’s developmental
strides, particularly in the
areas of infrastructure and
security.
Abubakar, who also
commended the governor for
identifying men and women
of proven integrity and
capacity, said it was the
responsibility of the institute
to nurture and build their
capacity towards adding
value to the society.
Omo-Agege appoints Duku,
Sobotie, 4 others as Special
Advisers
By Gab Ejuwa
DEPUTY President of
the Senate, Senator
Ovie Omo-Agege, has
appointed his former Senior
Legislative Aide, Prince Efe
Duku, and veteran political
strategist, Elder Omeni
Sobotie, as Special Advisers
on Legislative and Plenary
Matters and Political
Affairs, respectively.
The new appointments,
which include four other
Special Advisers, were
conveyed to the Clerk of the
National Assembly and
announced, yesterday by
Senator Omo-Agege’s
Chief of Staff, Dr. Otive
Igbuzor.
The other Special
Advisers, with their
respective portfolios, are
Alex Onwuadiamu (Policy
and Monitoring), Mr. Yomi
Odunuga (Media and
Publicity), Mrs. Estella
Nwene (Administration)
and Mr. Godwin Anaughe
(Special Duties).
Omo-Agege’s office had
earlier released the names
of some appointees,
including Dr. Igbuzor and
popular broadcaster, Ms.
Lara Owoeye-Wise as his
Senior Special Assistant on
Electronic and New Media.
C’River election tribunal
orders defendants to produce
all witnesses July 5
By Ike
Uchechukwu
C ALABAR—The
absence of Senator
Sandy Onor of Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP, a
principal witness in the
petition Senator Victor Ndoma-
Egba of All Progressives
Congress, APC, brought
against him, PDP and
Independent National
Electoral Commission, INEC,
yesterday, stalled proceedings
at the Cross River State
Election Petition Tribunal.
The tribunal (panel 1) led
by Justice Vincent Agbata had
resumed sitting about
9.30a.m., for the defendants,
Senator Onor, PDP and INEC
to open their defence after a
four-day break but in less than
an hour, proceedings were
stalled as the lead counsel to
Onor, Mr Paul Erokoro, SAN,
requested for an adjournment
till next week to enable his
principal witness appear to
testify.
Before then, Erokoro had
called the Director General of
Onor’s campaign, Mr Joe Obi
Bisong, to the witness box for
examination and cross
examination.
While responding to
questions during a brief cross
examination by lead counsel
to the petitioner (Ndoma-
Egba), Chief Emeka Offodile,
SAN, Bisong told the tribunal
that he did not know why the
petitioner filed the petition.
Accordingly, Offodile
ended his cross examination
as the principal and other
witnesses of the defendants
were absent and Justice
Agbata was forced to adjourn
the matter to July 5, for all the
defendants to bring their
witnesses to testify and
thereafter, close their defence
for addresses by counsel to the
petitioner and defendants.
In the case between Mr.
Victor Abang of APC against
Mr Chris Agibe of PDP for
Ikom\Boki Federal
Constituency, the petitioner
(Abang) through his counsel,
Mr Tawo Tawo, SAN, also
insisted that he was excluded
from contesting the February
9 election based on the
February 8 briefing by INEC's
Resident Electoral
Commissioner, REC, Mr.
Frankland Briyai, which
excluded all APC candidates
from the election.
To buttress his case, the
Alaibe condoles with IGP,
Dickson over killing of DPO,
others
FORMER
Special
Adviser to the President
on Niger Delta Affairs and
pioneer Chairman of
Presidential Amnesty
Programme, Chief ‘Timi
Alaibe, has condemned the
deadly attack on Agudama
Ekpetiama Police Station
near Yenogoa, Bayelsa State
on Monday, describing it as
an unprecedented and
unprovoked act of violence
against a law enforcement
agency in the state.
Alaibe in a statement in
Yenogoa, said: "This is a sad
commentary on our state and
Nigeria as a whole. To
launch an attack against a
law enforcement agency is
bad enough but to kill four
serving officers on their duty
post is unimaginable.
“The perpetrators of this
crime must not go
unpunished. They have
brought bloodshed to our
doorsteps. If they can attack
a police station and kill
policemen on duty, then all
of us are vulnerable.
"Every citizen and resident
of the state must cooperate
with the security agencies in
the investigation of this
incident to ensure that those
involved are brought to
justice.
“My unreserved sympathy
goes to the families of the
deceased, the Inspector
General of Police, the
Governor of Bayelsa State,
the Commissioner of Police
and the entire men and
officers of the Nigeria Police
Force who labour day and
night to ensure that we sleep
in safety."