Nigeria’s 64th Independence: FG should give hope to citizens to be more dedicated- Dr. Agbolaya

By: Celestine Ukah 

The Special Adviser to Governor Sheriff Oborevwori on Community Development, Amb. Dr. Toyin Orighomisan Agbolaya JP says the Federal Government of Nigeria should give hope to citizens to be more dedicated-to nationhood.

Dr. Agbolaya who was speaking Tuesday October 1, 2024 on Nigeria’s independence asserted that if the federal government restore citizens faith especially in the rule of law Democratic stay and its norms will always be sustained at all times irrespective of the economic hardships in the country.

The Delta State Community leader and political strategist maintained that celebrating independence of Nigeria would be sweeter if the government at the centre allow people friendly policies that impact on the lives of the citizens positively.

Dr. Agbolaya is however hopeful that greater Nigeria with strong economic and people oriented government would be possible going forward, he commended Governor Sheriff Oborevwori for his transparent and even development of Delta State.

He congratulated Delta State and Nigerians as they celebrate the 64th Independence of Nigeria as a country, expressing deep optimism that Nigeria will bounce back better and stronger.

Independence Day: Always Say positive things about Nigeria, Delta Federal Lawmaker, Ereyitomi urges Nigerians

By: Celestine Ukah 

As Nigeria marks its 64th Independence Anniversary on Tuesday October 1, 2024, the Federal Lawmaker Representing Warri Federal Constituency, Delta State in the Federal House of Representatives, Hon. Chief Dr . Thomas Ereyitomi has urged Nigerians to always say good and positive things about the country wherever they are.

Chief Ereyitomi charged citizens not to lose faith in Nigeria but be optimistic for a better future of the nation.

While extending his 64th Independence Goodwill message to Warri Federal Constituents and all citizens, Chief Ereyitomi called on Nigerians to remain hopeful despite the current situation in the country.

He stressed that the essence of the celebration is to convey that it is only God who can deliver Nigeria from its economic challenges , just as appealed to citizens to pray for leaders across all strata in Nigeria for more wisdom and better leadership styles.

EFCC Arrests 13 Suspected Internet Fraudsters in this Nigerian State

Operatives of the Sokoto Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, have arrested thirteen(13) suspected internet fraudsters in Sokoto, Sokoto State.

They were arrested on Saturday, September 28, 2024, at the Gidan Yaro and Dandima areas of Sokoto based on actionable intelligence on their suspected involvement in internet-related offences.

All the suspects claimed to be students of Usman Danfodio University Sokoto.

They will be charged to court upon conclusion of investigations.

Daily Watch Publisher, Opukeme loses mother

A Niger Delta born ace journalist and publisher Daily Watch Mr. Cletus Opukeme has lost his mother, Mrs Goodluck Opukeme to the cold hands of death.

In a press statement signed by Cletus Opukeme,said his mother died on 20th (Friday Morning) September after a brief illness in a private hospital in Sagbama, Sagbama local government area of Bayelsa state.

Late Goodluck hailed from Tuomo town in Burutu LGA, Delta state. She was born 15th February 1951.

According to the statement, the family will announce a formal burial date after a family meeting.

Ernest Sisei Ikoli Foundation honours brave Nigerian Army Officer

Tributes have continued to be showered on Lt Col George Otonbara Ikoli as those who knew him lamented his demise.

Ernest Sisei Ikoli Foundation is not an exception.

The Foundation in a statement in Lagos described Otonbara Ikoli as a valiant officer and gentleman.

‘’In solemn remembrance of the Nigerian Army C130 Hercules plane crash that occurred 32 years ago, we gather to pay tribute to a brave Nigerian Army Officer and noble gentleman’’

The statement signed by renowned lawyer, Antony George-Ikoli recalled the tragic afternoon of September 26, 1992, at Ejigbo, a suburb of Lagos, Nigeria that Lt Col George Otonbara Ikoli , a scion of the esteemed Ernest Ikoli Dynasty lost his life along with 158 of his comrades when he led them on what was supposed to be a routine training exercise.

It emphasized Colonel Ikoli’s bravery, sacrifices, leadership qualities and strong human connections.

‘’Lt Col Ikoli’s bravery and sacrifices as well as his parting words on that fateful morning ‘’come what may, I will not abandon my men’’ remain etched in our hearts as an enduring symbol of courage and representative of the patriotic cloth from which he was cut’’

It also underscored happier memories during the days of Lt Col George Otonbara Ikoli’s life on earth.

‘’His memory remains evergreen as we cling steadfastly to recollections of happier times and ponder fleetingly on the good times that may have been. In our hearts and minds, he will remain a hero, soldier and gentleman for all eternity’’

**As Gbemudu Counsels Students not to disappoint their Parents

Eye on the Future Initiative (EFI) in Collaboration with Precious Family Aid Charity Foundation, on Friday September 27, 2024 held a sensitization campaign against cultism for students in secondary Schools in oil rich Delta State, aimed at kicking out the menace.

The organizers implored the students to shun social vices capable of ruining their lives.

The sensitization campaign tagged “Back to School” was held at Okpanam high School in Oshimili North Local Government Area.

Addressing the students on the need to shun Cultism, the Executive Director of Precious Family Charity Aid Foundation, Mrs Patricia Gbemudu Advised the students not to disappoint their parents by getting involved in cult activities as it can disrupt their potentials.

Gbemudu also told the students to concentrate on their studies so that they can grow up to become the leaders of tomorrow.

On her part , the Executive Director of EFI, Comrade Josephine Omodior harped on the the need for students to build up their morals against anything or anyone that has the tendency of making them to become cultists.

Stating that there are no benefits in Cultism, Omodior admonished the students not to get enticed by antics of cultists who might want to lure them into their secret activities.

Also speaking, the Zonal Secretary of the Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ) , Comrade Eunice Emeyazia encouraged the students to stay away from cultism as it is an evil gathering .

Appreciating the groups for visiting the school, the Principal of Okpanam High School, Mr William Dickson noted that the students needed sensitization against cultism to guide them from getting involved in the menace.

The event also featured the distribution of educational materials to students present.

Group Blames Attacks On Mele Kyari By Sara-igbe To Eyesan, Ajiya 

**Calls On IGP To Interrogate Sara-igbe Over Threat To Cause Crisis In Niger Delta

The Niger Delta Stakeholders Assembly (NDSA), on Saturday called on the Inspector General of Police, Mr Kayode Egbetokun to interrogate Anabs Sara-Igbe over threat to cause crisis in the oil rich Niger Delta Region, just as they said that he was being used by the Executive Vice President, Upstream, NNPCL, Mrs Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan and Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Mr Umar Ajiya to wage media war against the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Engineer Mele Kyari.

The group in a Press Release signed by Akpoebi Awoalaye-Ofori (President) and Anetorufa Gabriel (Secretary) linked the vituperations of Sara-Igbe against Kyari Mele to Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan and Umar Ajiya.

According to the group; “We read the recent misadventure by a meddlesome interloper, rabble-rouser and notorious gold digger in the Niger Delta, one Anabs Sara-Igbe, in the media. The serial paid destabilisation agent is a self-acclaimed national coordinator of an amorphous group, South/South Elder’s Forum. Findings by us have revealed that he is the founder and only member of the group, purely put together by him to extort and blackmail the gullible public”.

“With no visible means of livelihood, Sara-Igbe transversed the political landscape as a ready tool and machinery for any hatchet job. A discredited individual and political turncoat who can be railroaded for any mischief with a plate of porridge. It’s of public knowledge in the Niger Delta that Sara-Igbe can take up any assignment to discredit anyone so far the price is right. That is how he survives. A legendary blackmailer. His latest victim is the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Engineer Mele Kyari”, the group added.

They said that; “In his latest sponsored media outreach, Sara-Igbe in usual uncouth manners, poured venom on and unjustiably maligned the hard-earned reputation of Mele Kyari, in desperation to satisfy the interests of his paymasters. In dabbling into an unfamiliar terrain, Sara-Igbe in his media appearances, displayed crass ignorance and dished out arrant nonsense. He was not properly tutored by his sponsors before he was hurriedly packaged into television studios. Otherwise, how does any rationale being explain the accusation he levelled against Mele Kyari that Warri and Port Harcourt Refineries were operating optimally before they were shut down for routine maintenance by Mele Kyari ? Well-informed industry operators are familiar with the agelong mandatory norms of three-to-five years turn around cycle for a refinery”.

They also wrote that; “This means that in every three, four or five years, a facility will undergo extensive routine maintenance. Even before Mele Kyari well thought out action, Warri and Port Harcourt refineries were long overdue for the periodical overhauling of their component units, a development which paved the way for perennial breakdown and attendant epileptic operations. Moreso, Sara-Igbe and his co-travellers ought to know that the typical period for a turn-around is one or two years or more.

The question is: What crime has Mele Kyari committed for adhering to this mandatory practice? Is it that Sara-Igbe and his cohorts expected the refineries to knock down completely before the Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) is ordered”.

Describing Sara-Igbe as a dishonest individual and a pathological liar, the group said; “These character traits enabled him to become an easy tool for any dirty job. To further destroy Mele Kyari in the public psyche, Sara-Igbe accused the NNPCL’s GCEO of misleading President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on the removal of subsidy on petroleum products. This is terrible. It shows that Sara-Igbe requires urgent medical attention. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu left no one in doubt during his election campaigns and electioneering exercises over his position on subsidy on petroleum products. President Tinubu and indeed all other presidential candidates, were unequivocal ahead of the 2023 elections, over their readiness and preparedness to remove subsidy on Petroleum products, if elected president. President Tinubu, apparently to drive home this conviction, announced the removal of the subsidy in his inaugural speech on May 29th, 2023. From the foregoing, does it appear that Mr. President requires an advice from Mele Kyari on the issue of subsidy? It’s only an insane that would, therefore, accuse Mele Kyari of not properly advising President Tinubu on the way to go on the contentious issue”.

“To Sara-Igbe, Mele Kyari is solely responsible for and be held accountable for every problem hampering optimal performance and service delivery by NNPCL. One would have expected him to muster courage by calling on his principals and sponsors in the like of the Executive Vice President, Upstream, NNPCL, Mrs. Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan and Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Mr. Umar Ajiya, to quit since they have lost the momentum to function as senior members of the company’s management team”, they stated.

The group disclosed that; “Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan and Umar Ajiya are behind the tension and panic in NNPCL. They are the one sponsoring Sara-Igbe and other notorious elements to pull down the roof because of their inordinate ambition to unseat Mele Kyari as NNPCL’s GCEO.They are deliberately creating crisis valves within the system in order to pull down the roof.Who is the most senior Niger Deltan in the management cadre of NNPCL Sara-Igbe chorused copiously in his media interviews? Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan is the person”.

The group added that those behind the moves to get rid of Mele Kyari because they are hunted by his patriotic zeal and commitment to deliver on the RENEWED HOPE AGENDA of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, are working on two permutations, saying; “They are favouring Umar Ajiya from the North and Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan from the Niger Delta, to unseat Mele Kyari. Who appointed Sara-Igbe as spokesman of the Niger Delta? At what forum was a decision reached in the entire Niger Delta that Mele Kyari must be eased out by January, 2025 or hell would be let loose in the region. The decision must have been reached way back at the forum of the so-called South/South Elder’s Forum, where Sara-Igbe is the sole administrator. Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan and Umar Ajiya must have sponsored his meeting to come up with a one- man squad communique threatening mayhem in the Niger Delta in the event that President Tinubu preserved Mele Kyari in office beyond January, 2025”.

They wrote; “The Niger Delta Stakeholders Assembly (NDSA) make bold to state unequivocally here that no forum was held in any part of the region where a threat was issued to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to sack Mele Kyari or face mayhem in the Niger Delta. The purported meeting of South/South Elder’s Forum and its outcome only existed in the heads of Sara-Igbe and his co-travellers in the person of Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan and Umar Ajiya, who are desperate to succeed their boss”.

The group seized the medium to pass a vote of implicit confidence on Engineer Mele Kyari as Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited; “And we make bold to assert here that his transformative initiatives and reforms have restored sanity in the handling of affairs in the business conglomerate. It’s no longer business as usual with Mele Kyari at the helm of affairs. Mele Kyari has turned the heat on the corrupt and inept in the system and they are fighting back by deploying Sara-Igbe and other charlatans on senseless mission to discredit Mele Kyari in the public space. The agenda is dead on arrival. Right thinking Niger Deltans and indeed Nigerians, cannot be fooled”.

While concluding, they called on the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Kayode Egbetokun, to summon Sara-Igbe for interrogation over his threat to instigate crisis of unprecedented dimension in the Niger Delta in the event that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu preserved Mele Kyari in office beyond January, 2025.

“This threat is weighty. It cannot be ignored in view of the prevailing palpable insecurity in the country. We should avoid any action capable of truncating the prevail fragile peace in the Niger Delta”, they added.

30,000 Niger Delta Youths oppose October 1st protests

***Pass vote of confidence on Tinubu, say President has capacity to address nation’s challenges

* Hails Otuaro’s appointment, express confidence in Otuaro to steer ship of amnesty program

Over 30,000 ex-agitators in the Niger Delta, on Friday opposed the planned protests across the country on October 1st.

The youths vowed not to allow any protest to take place in the region on October 1st.

The repentant agitators, who spoke through their leaders at a stakeholders’ meeting organised by the Presidential Amnesty Programme led by Dr. Dennis Otuaro, in Warri, Delta State, called on the people of the Niger Delta region to avoid protests ahead of the October 1, assuring that the region’s challenges would be addressed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.

The youths disclosed this Friday at the end of the three day stakeholders forum held at KFT hall in Effurun, Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta State.

Earlier in his speech, Dr. Dennis Otuaro, Administrator , Presidential Amnesty Program revealed that the Federal Government has awarded the contract for the rehabilitation of the East-West Road to a Chinese construction company, adding that work will commence soon.

He urged the people of the region to resist any calls for protests, emphasizing that the peace and stability of the Niger Delta lie in the hands of its residents.

Otuaro reiterated the importance of maintaining peace in the region, noting that constructive engagement with the government remains the best way to achieve progress and development.

According to him, “The East-West Road, is a major artery in the Niger Delta, has been awarded to a Chinese company, and anytime soon, they will resume work.

“The President means well for the Niger Delta, and we must support his efforts to bring development to our region.

“The Niger Delta people will not be part of any protest. The problems of the Niger Delta will be resolved by the President, but it is up to us to ensure our region is not used as a base for protests,” Dr. Otuaro stressed.

“We have a responsibility to ensure that our region is peaceful. It is in our hands to keep the Niger Delta secure and support the Federal Government’s efforts to improve our communities,” he added.

On his part, a Niger Delta Leader, Paul Elvis, popularly known as General Ogubos, called for peace in the Niger Delta region, stressing that war is not the solution to the region’s challenges.

The former militant leader emphasized the importance of dialogue and cooperation in resolving conflicts. “Peace cannot be attained in a place of war.

“We must understand that violence will only lead to more destruction and suffering in our communities,” he stated, urging stakeholders to prioritize peaceful resolutions to grievances.

“Our people have legitimate concerns, but we must channel these grievances through dialogue, not violence.” He added

Elder T.K. Ogoruba, a prominent Niger Delta leader urged the federal government to address the longstanding demands of the region to avoid renewed protests.

Ogoruba noted that protests have been a consistent response to neglect since April 1949

He said, “We must maintain peace in the region, but let’s not forget that protests have been ongoing since 1949. The signs are clear, and protests will continue if nothing changes.

“Ogoruba stressed that the government is fully aware of the region’s demands, which include fair treatment, infrastructural development, and environmental remediation.

“I heard the administrator speak to us. What I came to hear was when he was appealing to all of us that we must maintain peace in the region, because protest is coming Protest.

“Protest is not alien to Niger Delta. We have protested all our protests, and those are the things that both about things like the residential amnesty program when you were young, the races you were running like an old man, that is, for 70 years today, I can’t run the race I used to run when I was much younger. Will not go deep tired for protest.

“We will be tired of it. Why am I saying this protest started since 1939 1940 Isaac Boro, 1966 and we have put all our matters know is that the federal government and all Nigerians are aware of the things the people of the Niger Delta need.

“We will not protest to tell them that any further, they already have them in their kitty, and by now, thank God that Mister President, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has appointed the lives of our brother, Doctor Dennis Otuaro, and he is coordinating this amnesty program that is bringing results.

“Do you want to derail that program? There are some other issues that have been so appointed, the NDDC, the local content, national data development board, so many young ones have been appointed. Our protests have been made, and everybody is aware. So we want to give opportunities to the people the man has appointed to make sure that we get the dividends of democracy.” He said.

He called on the authorities to act swiftly to meet these needs to sustain peace and stability in the oil-rich region.