19102020 - #EndSARS: Stop Army's planned Op Crocodile Smile

12 — Vanguard, MONDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2020
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VISIT: From left—Member, Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Dr. Godbless Oyinke, Governor Douye Diri,
Speaker of the House Assembly, Abraham Ingobere, and Executive Secretary of the State Universal Basic
Education Board, Victor Okubonanabo, during the governor's on-the-spot visit to flood-ravaged Toru-Orua
community in Sagbama Local Government Area, Bayelsa State.
Flooding: Bayelsa shuts down schools
By Samuel
Oyadongha
Y ENAGOA—BAYELSA
State Government has
directed the immediate closure
of primary and secondary
schools across the
state following the devastation
caused by flood in
most parts of the state.
The closure, according to
the state government, takes
effect from today.
Governor Douye Diri, in
a statement by his Chief
Press Secretary, Mr. Daniel
Alabrah, said the decision
was taken to avert further
danger to lives.
The governor who led a
team of his cabinet members
and other top government
officials on an on-thespot
visit to some of the
flood ravaged communities
in Yenagoa and Southern
Ijaw Local Government Areas,
weekend, is expected
to extend his tour to other
affected councils in the
state.
Diri, who lamented the
devastating effect of the
flood on the people and
communities, said his administration
would not
abandon them at this time
of need, adding that as a
concerned government,
palliatives would be sent to
victims of the disaster as a
temporary measure.
He said, "Due to the devastating
effect of the flood,
that I have seen, I hereby
direct the Commissioner for
Education to immediately
Termination of contracts: N'Delta contractors
report FG officials to PANDEF
Oleh massacre: Joel-Onowakpo
calls for arrest of perpetrators
By Gab Ejuwa
A SABA—FORMER
candidate for the
House of Representatives,
Isoko Federal Constituency,
Joel-Onowakpo Thomas
has called on the Delta State
Government and security
agents to as a matter of urgency
fish out the those responsible
for the killings of
nine persons recently at
Oleh.
Thomas in a statement,
condemned the murder of
nine persons by yet-to-be
established assailants in
the oil bearing community
of Oleh in Delta State.
The deceased were reportedly
killed in their farms
located between Oleh and
Ozoro road in the wake of
the festering land dispute
between Oleh and Ozoro,
both oil producing communities
in the state on Friday.
Reacting to the killings,
Onowakpo, in his twitter
post, called on the Delta
State Government and security
agencies to unravel
the circumstances surrounding
the killings with
a view of fishing out the
perpetrators.
He wrote: "What has happened
in the Isoko ethnic
nationality where unknown
persons killed over nine
indigenes of Oleh community
in the most cruel manner
as a result of land dispute
is condemnable.
"This is alien to the Isoko
people and should be condemned
by all well meaning
persons. I am appealing
to the state government
and the security agencies
to get to the root of this immediately
to avoid a complete
breakdown of law and
order."
Saying that the incident
was condemnable, Onowakpo,
however, condoled
the bereaved families
and appealed to residents
of both communities to remain
calm and allow government
handle the situation
to avoid break down of
law and order.
shut down all secondary
and primary schools pending
when the floods would
abate. We do not want to
lose lives and we do not
want reptiles to cause injuries
to our wards.
"Painfully, we have to
take this decision because
the schools were just resuming
from COVID-19
closure and here we have
another natural challenge
By Emma Amaize,
Regional Editor,
South-South
PAN—NIGER Delta Fo
rum, PANDEF, umbrella
body of monarchs, leaders
and stakeholders of the
coastal states of Niger
Delta, said it had received
disturbing complaints that
some ministers and heads
of federal agencies from
Niger Delta were groundlessly
terminating contracts
to companies in
which fellow Niger
Deltans have major interest.
National Chairman of
PANDEF and former military
administrator of
Akwa Ibom state, Air
Commodore Idongesit
Nkanga (retd), who disclosed
this, said that the
regional body was planning
to hold discrete talks
with key political stakeholders,
including ministers,
members of the National
Assembly and
heads of federal agencies
from the region over the
allegation.
In a statement by its National
Publicity Secretary,
Ken Robinson, it called on
politicians from South-
South zone and Niger
Delta in particular to sink
their differences and
work together.
It said, "It became necessary
to make this public
appeal partly because
of recent happenings in
the nation's polity and the
continued poor attention
to issues of the region by
the Federal Government.
"But, more particularly,
because PANDEF has,
lately, been inundated
with worrying complaints
of arbitrary termination of
valid contracts of companies
in which Niger
Deltans have principal interest
in ministries, departments
and agencies
(MDAs) of the Federal
Government. And mainly,
in ministries where the ministers
are also from the Niger
Delta.
"If these complaints are
true, then it is very unfortunate.
We should not be
arising from flooding.
"I will continue with this
visit to empathise and sympathise
with our brothers
and sisters. Let me assure
all of them that as a state,
we are with them."
He called on federal
agencies, particularly the
National Emergency Management
Agency, NEMA,
to come to the aid of the
government and people of
the state.
working against ourselves,
for whatever reasons. It is
saddening that persons
from the region are being
used to perpetuate these
insidious acts against the
region. We are unaware
of these occurrences in
other parts of the country.
"We have advised the affected
persons, who have
come to us, to exercise patience
and not seek redress
in the law courts yet,
while we make efforts to
ascertain the facts of the
matters, and seek peaceful
resolutions. Because
the truth is that they do
have the right to go to
court if their contracts/
projects were unlawfully
terminated, especially in
a manner that indicates
vindictiveness and possible
abuse of office by
those concerned.
"PANDEF is quite disturbed
by these circumstances,
they are unhealthy
and inimical to
the socio-economic development
of the region. As
such, we have decided to
seek individual audiences
with key political
stakeholders, including
ministers, members of the
National Assembly, and
heads of federal MDAs
from the region, to discuss
these concerns, and hopefully
resolve them.
"The reality is that thousands
of youths from the
region and other parts of
the country must have become
jobless as a result of
the contracts that have
been reportedly terminated
unjustly, thereby adding
to the already awful
unemployment situation,
and likely to increase
cases of youth
restiveness in the region.‘‘
Omo-Agege calls for peace in Isoko
By Henry Umoru
A BUJA—DEPUTY
President of the Senate,
Senator Ovie Omo-
Agege, has called for peace
in the entire Isoko land of
Delta State.
Omo- Agege said, yesterday,
that he was shocked
and saddened by the reported
killing of nine persons,
including a child, in Oleh,
Isoko South Local Government
Area of the state.
In a statement by his Media
Adviser, Media and
Publicity, Yomi Odunuga,
Omo-Agege believes that
the situation demands urgent
and pragmatic efforts
to prevent further bloodletting,
stressing that respected
political, traditional, religious,
women and youth
leaders within and without
Isoko need to preach restraint,
de-escalate the situation
and help quickly restore
genuine peace to the
land.
According to him, it is by
divine order that Isoko and
Urhobo are historical good
neighbours with strong filial,
marital and lingual affinities,
adding, "Whatever
touches Isoko touches Urhobo,
and vice versa. I am,
therefore, genuinely concerned
about the reported
killings and bloody violence,
and I am ready to do
whatever that is necessary
for peace to reign."
Omo- Agege who recognised
the all-important duty
of the Delta State Government
to maintain internal
security in the state, said, "To
this end, I encourage Governor
Ifeanyi Okowa and his
team, to work diligently to
ensure that acts that are capable
of leading to more
bloodshed or violence are
responsibly, urgently and
sustainably curtailed."
He appealed to people
who may be involved in the
crisis in one way or the other
to embrace peace, no
matter the provocation.
FG, private sector to partner on
provision of infrastructure in Niger
Delta —Minister
By Chris Ochayi
ABUJA—THE Federal
Government said it
would partner the private
sector in order to provide
and improve on the status
of critical infrastructure in
the Niger Delta region.
Ministry of Niger Delta
Affairs, Sen. Godswill Akpabio,
who disclosed this in
Abuja, said he was optimistic
that such union would
encourage the developmental
strides which can
change the region for good
and ease the suffering of
the people.
Speaking during a meeting
with executive members
of Petroleum Products Retail
Outlets Owners Association
of Nigeria,
PETROAN, in his office, the
minister expressed concern
over the ravaging threat of
flood to the region.
He explained that the
flood ravaging the region
has made the distribution
of petroleum products very
difficult, particularly for retailers
who may want to
access the area and this he
said has seriously affected
the economy and peace of
the region.
Akpabio noted that, the
idea of Pontoons, floating
Stations and Motorized
Barges for the distribution
of petroleum and gas products
across the riverine communities
was a welcome
development introduced
by PETROAN.
He noted that, there was
an existing government
policy on the establishment
and provisions of floating
stations that may have become
moribund due to issues
of irregular supply
and management problem.
Zamfara gold: FG should permit
N'Delta oil communities, artisans
refine crude oil —Agitators
By Emma Amaize,
Regional Editor,
South-South
W ARRI—AGITATORS
in Niger Delta, weekend,
threatened to shut
down oil production if the
Federal Government continues
to disallow oil communities
and artisan refiners in
Niger-Delta from using their
invented local technology to
refine and profit from crude
oil in their areas, but allows
artisans in Zamfara State to
freely exploit gold.
Campaigners under the
auspices of 21st Century
Youths of Niger Delta and
Agitators with Conscience,
21st CYNDAC, in a statement
by their leader, selfprofessed
"Gen" Izon Ebi,
said, they were livid at the
hypocrisy of the Federal
Government.
They queried: "Why will
the Federal Government
allow indigenous artisans in
Zamfara State and other
parts of the North to use
gold and other minerals
within their domains to their
benefit and clampdown on
artisans' refineries in the
Niger Delta, as if such act
is forbidden in Nigeria?
"Anything short of resource
control, devolution of
power, oil communities and
youths benefiting from their
knowledge of inventing
their own technology to refine
the crude is unacceptable
and that would lead to
total shutdown of oil activities,
exploitation and exploration
in the Niger Delta. A
stitch in time saves nine.‘‘