11052021 - Insecurity: Bandits attack Katsina mosque, abduct 10

24 — Niger-Delta Voice, TUESDAY, MAY 11, 2021
VOL. 2: NO. 278 TUESDAY, MAY 11, 2021
•Monkey bridge that paved way for concrete bridge.
People mocked me when I ran
out of funds constructing bridge
— Onem Miracle, Bayelsa councillor
•Reveals elderly people fell off old monkey bridge on way to farm,
health centre •How Gov Diri rescued her from mockers
BAYELSA
…JERUSALEM OF
IJAW NATION
By Samuel Oyadongha
OTUOKPOTI —
COUNCILLOR and
Deputy Majority Leader, Ogbia
Legislative Arm, Ogbia Local
Government Area, Bayelsa State,
Hon. Onem Tyna Miracle, who
changed the story of her Otuokpoti
community and five other
communities by constructing a
link bridge with funds meant for
her official car, has disclosed that
people mocked her when she ran
out of money to finish the project
at a time.
At a time, I was confused
– Hon Miracle
Hon. Miracle who spoke to NDV,
said some persons mocked her
when she ran out of funds on the
bridge project, but the state
governor, Senator Duoye Diri
came to her rescue.
The councillor emphatically
stated that she was not inspired by
anything before she embarked on
the life-turning project for her
people because as a grassroots
politician, she lived with them and
knew the problem they were
facing.
“I was not motivated at all
because I know the problem of my
people. As a grassroots politician,
I know the challenges my people
are facing. Growing up as a child,
I have been crossing that creek
before a narrow wooden bridge
known as Monkey Bridge was
constructed across it.
“When I became a lawmaker, I
said to myself that this is the
opportunity for me to change this
situation. In fact, people were
suggesting that I should provide
solar street lights or refurbish the
police station.
“It got to a point that I got
confused, but the reality then was
that without the bridge, vehicles
could not have access to the only
police station and health centre in
my community.
“Another issue was that it is the
only bridge connecting our
farmers to their farms. In fact,
elderly people almost always fall
off the bridge while going to the
farm or health centre. In many
cases, they are injured in the
process.
Scorners made jest of me
By Davies
Iheamnachor
PORT
HARCOURT-
PARAMOUNT ruler of
Egbema Kingdom, Ogba/Egbema/
Ndoni Local Government Area,
Rivers State, HRM King Everestus
Amuda, has denounced a
multinational oil firm, National
Agip Oil Company, AGIP, for luring
greedy chiefs with money to tear
apart his monarchy, instead of
developing the area.
The Nzeobi (monarch), who
spoke to NDV, lamented that the
international oil company has
deliberately abandoned the
Memorandum of Understanding,
MoU, it entered with the kingdom
since 1999.
How oil firm divides my
kingdom – Monarch
“In 1999, Egbema Kingdom
when I couldn’t complete the
project
“After commencing the project, it
got to a point where I had the fear
that I would not be able to finish the
project because the money available
to me was not enough to complete it.
But because of the zeal I had for the
project, I added my share of the
money given to all councillors to buy
official cars to the project. The
governor gave us N2m for ward
project and N2.6m to buy car and
run our office, yet I spent all the
money on the project and it was not
•Completed concrete bridge linking Otuokpoti to community hospital,
police post and 3 other communities.
enough.
“At a point, some persons started
laughing at me that I started what I
could not finish. To shock you, I
bought one 16mm rod for N6,200
and a bag of cement at N4000. We
are not talking of sand and gravel.
Before we started that project, we had
to stop the creek from flowing at the
point we earmarked for the bridge
so we could build the pillars.
“After blocking the creek, I hired
pumping machine to constantly take
out water from the project site and
each day, I spent N30, 000 for that
machine. To cut the long story short,
somebody graciously posted the
picture of the bridge when it was
about 70 per cent completed.
How Gov Diri bailed me out
“I must confess at that point I had
exhausted the money I had for the
project and was thinking of what to
do about it when the governor of the
state, Senator Douye Diri, invited me
to Government House and gave me
extra money to finish the project. I
must say that my people are eternally
grateful to the governor for what he
did.
“I say so because that bridge
connects my community, Otuokpoti
to Otuogori, Onuebum, Otuoke,
Meta and Imiringi. You can imagine
what that means to trade and our
social life,” she said.
Joy unlimited in Otuokpoti
When NDV visited the riverside
fishing and framing settlement last
week, the villagers were still
celebrating their daughter and her
accomplishment of building a bridge
across the stream that bifurcate her
community and link same to other
communities in the area.
The sprawling agrarian settlement
which waterfront, though being
ravished by coastal erosion, is fast
becoming a reference for measuring
responsive representation in the back
waters of the delta where such facility
is infrequent. With the completion of
the bridge, residents can now access
the only hospital and police post in
the area with ease on record time.
God bless her. I’m excited –
Mrs. Egbei
One of the community folks and
farmer, Mrs. Elizabeth Egbei, said:
“The bridge makes me feel happy
because some of us, especially the
elderly, often fall from that bridge
each time we are going to the farm
or health centre. There was a day I
fell, got injured badly and even lost
my sack of cassava in the creek while
crossing the Monkey bridge.”
“The other time a woman that was
taking her child to the health centre
fell into the creek with her sick baby.
Just imagine how painful that can
be for any mother. I am glad that she
built the bridge. I pray that God gives
her more opportunities to build
more projects that would change the
lives of our people,” she added.
Bridge‘ll help in tackling
security challenge - Wango
Another resident, an unemployed
graduate, Mr. Meniden Wongo,
posited: “I am happy that the bridge
has been constructed. This would
help the police to respond to distress
calls from the community. As you can
see, the police station is just right
across the creek and before the
bridge was built, the police would
take over an hour if they want to come
into the community because they
have to journey very far to reach us
from the other side of the town.
“Even to cross the Monkey bridge
was a challenge, so you can imagine
how it affects the operation of
security agents. I want to thank our
councillor for initiating the project
and I also want to thank the governor
for his assistance and wish to appeal
to him to give her more
opportunities to help us construct the
road that runs through our
community because that is the only
road linking the Otuoke Expressway
to the bridge that connects our health
centre, police station and
neighbouring communities,” he
stated.
Oil firm entraps chiefs, youths to divide Rivers kingdom
— HRM Amuda, monarch
RIVERS…
THE TREASURE BASE
OF THE NATION
•When work was in progress on the bridge.
entered MoU with Nigeria Agip Oil
Company, NAOC. Until date, Agip
has not done anything on it, instead
of doing something on the MoU,
they started picking some chiefs
from my kingdom, bribing and
dividing the youths.
“They are sponsoring groups in
the kingdom that anytime we
attempt to demand for our MoU,
which is the debt they owe us, some
people within will cause
disagreement.
“For over 18 years now, my stool
has been in dispute but the
litigations are over now. During
that period, when I call for
anything, some of the community
chiefs would tell Agip that my stool
was in dispute.
“Now that the litigations are over,
what they intend doing now is
going to take ‘peanuts’ from Agip
and setting fire in my kingdom.
“The projects in that MoU
included the Egbema Ultramodern
Civic Center, Youth
Development Centre, Palm
Plantation and Oil Milling Facility
and Technical College. There are
central projects in that agreement
•Egbema people threaten to shut down NAOC
oil, gas wells if … •NAOC mute
and there are still others for
communities.
“Attitude of some chiefs has
affected the projects, Agip does not
recognise peace, they only work
when they are pushed and they are
still using some of the chiefs.
Entrap chiefs with cash gifts
“Agip instead of carrying out
those projects prefers giving cash
gifts to some chiefs and buying
them over. I was not a king when
the MoU was signed, but those who
signed it did it for the kingdom. I
am a king and inherited the assets
and liabilities of the throne.
“These projects were supposed to
serve some purpose, the Technical
College would have employed
nothing less than 100 to 200 people
and the palm plantation would
have taken up to 1000 people. You
know that an idle mind is the devil’s
workshop, youth restiveness in our
area is because of idleness.
We‘ll stop oil exploration in
Egbema
“Why we are letting the world
know is that after this period, if Agip
does not come to execute those
projects in the MoU, we will stop
oil exploration in Egbema
Kingdom.
“All the oil and gas wells will be
shut down because we will not be
suffering hazards of exploration
and not benefit from it. Our land is
no more fertile because of Agip. We
do not have fishes in our rivers
again because of pollution,” the
monarch stated.
Youth president cries to FG,
Gov Wike
Youth President of Egbema
Kingdom, Stanley Ohagbwazua,
who corroborated the statement of
his monarch, called on the state
governor, Nyesom Wike, and the
Federal Government to intervene
in the matter.
Contacted, a senior staff of
External Affairs Department,
NAOC, who did not want to be
mentioned, said the firm has not
comment on the issues.
He said Eni, the Italian parent
company of Agip, may react on the
development later.