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Stakeholders warn, FG could ignite fresh crisis in Ogoni

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6 years ago

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The Federal Government could ignite a crisis, if its planned resumption of oil exploration in Ogoniland goes ahead without the resolution of key issues.

The warning by stakeholders in the Niger Delta is coming on the heels of last weekend’s meeting between the leadership of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) and the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu. The meeting had sought to find solutions to the crisis in Ogoniland.

Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) was forced to stop exploration and leave Ogoniland in 1993, following an upheaval that caused the death of several Ogoni persons.The President of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Eric Omare, told The Guardian that the meeting proves the Federal Government cares nothing about the tragic experiences the Ogoni people have gone through, including the murder of Ken Saro- Wiwa and other prominent Ogoni activists.

“Government has not learnt anything. What this means is that it values oil more than the Ogoni people and their lives. They are yet to clean the environment and they are talking about the resumption of oil production. I don’t think they will have an environment conducive to oil exploration in Ogoni,” said Omare.

South-South Zonal Director, Civil Liberty Organisation, Steven Obodoekwe, said since government and the oil companies have not shown commitment to cleaning up the devastated Ogoni environment, their desperation to resume oil production therefore amounts to callousness and “fresh corporate terrorism.”

The ideal thing would have been for the government to ensure the environment is completely restored before contemplating renewed exploration in the area, stressed Obodoekwe.A Shell spokesman, who pleaded anonymity, told The Guardian that though the company’s lease for Oil Mining Leases (OML11) has been renewed, it does not cover the over 30 Ogoni oilfields.

He explained that contrary to the allegation that Shell wants to return to Ogoni through the backdoor, the company which was forced out of Ogoni in 1993 following an uprising does not intend to resume oil production. Shell’s leases for OML 11 was expected to expire by June 2019.

There has been growing tension in Ogoni since the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS) wrote to Shell last year that it had given preliminary approval to a RoboMichael Limited which had expressed interest in obtaining licensing rights of Ogoni oilfields. It was learnt that Shell had already given its approval to RoboMichael.

The endorsement of RoboMichael Limited by NAPIMS and Supreme Council of Ogoni Traditional Rulers respectively had caused MOSOP and other groups to allege that RoboMichael was Shell’s proxy, an allegation which the oil major has denied.

Amnesty International’s Business and Human Rights Researcher, Mark Dummett, regretted failure by the government and Shell to implement recommendations by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

“Following its groundbreaking survey of 2011, UNEP clearly laid out the path by which the environment of Ogoniland could be made free of the contamination that has devastated it for so long.

The government has created the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) to organise the cleanup, but little has so far been achieved, and there is no transparency over its plans,” Amnesty’s Rights researcher Dummett said.

MOSOP had told Kachikwu it was not opposed to discussions on the resumption of oil production, but that the consent of the people must first be obtained.It stated “unequivocally” that the contentious issue involves three main parties – the Federal Government, the oil industry led by Shell, and the Ogoni people. “Any attempt to deal with any aspect of the issue must necessarily involve the three principal actors, as stakeholders in a joint project of finding a lasting solution to the Ogoni crisis,” it said.

MOSOP, therefore, warned it would “resist the present attempt by the Federal Government and Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria to arbitrarily award the Ogoni fields in Oil Mining Lease (OML) 11 without consultation with the Ogoni community.”

The President of the movement, Legborsi Pyagbara, stressed that besides the environmental damage that attended Shell’s operations, Ogoni people are distressed about their lack of participation in the value chain of the oil industry, including employment; the absence of well-defined Community Benefit Sharing Agreements (CBAs); and a sustainable development process that recognises the rights of the people to Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), in accordance with global best practices.

Pyagbara described attempts in the last few years to use money to “buy support” from the people as “condemnable” and “reprehensible”. Such move, he said, is “against the spirit of transparency and accountability required in the extractive sector.”

He cautioned: “Societies the world over have met this challenge through deliberate and clear actions, and the Federal Government should urgently look in this direction. For, if the Nigerian government fails to protect the Ogoni people, it certainly cannot protect itself. History is replete with the ruins of societies that were built on the sort of injustices that have pervaded Ogoniland over the years.”

The MOSOP President urged the government to set up a better framework of engagement under which the parties involved would have a level-playing field for discussions on the future of oil production in Ogoniland.

According to him, Nigeria will be judged, not by its false claims about developments in Ogoniland, but by how it actually protects the weak, the vulnerable and those whose lives have been imperiled by reckless oil exploration of multinationals.

“Pyagbara disclosed that the Ogoni people, at the behest of MOSOP, have set up a strategic committee representing the various interests in Ogoni, headed by Prof. Ben Naanen, an economic historian and resource governance expert.

“This will develop a template to harmonise existing positions and guide the people in engagements with the Federal Government and the oil industry. Once the people adopt the template, Ogoniland will be ready for engagement and consultation on oil exploration, he said.

Meanwhile, youths in the Niger Delta have been urged to create an enabling business environment to attract investors to the region. SPDC’s General Manager, External Relations and Social Investment, Mr. Igo Weli, disclosed this while delivering a public lecture organised by the Rivers State University’s Centre of Excellence in Marine Engineering and Offshore Technology.

Speaking on the theme, ‘An enabling Business Environment – Implication for Future Careers in Oil and Gas Industry’, Weli noted that unlike in past years, many companies have left the region due to its unfriendly business atmosphere.He stressed the need for proper conflict management to reverse the situation.

.Guardian.ng

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Finance

AISA Has Refunded The Fees Paid By Yahaya Bello To EFCC

Published

6 days ago

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April 27, 2024

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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says the American International School Abuja (AISA) has refunded the fees paid by the immediate past governor of Kogi state, Yahaya Bello, for his children attending the school.

In response to a letter addressed to the Lagos zonal commander of the EFCC, the school said $845,852 was paid in tuition “since the 7th of September 2021 to date”.

AISA said the sum to be refunded is $760,910 because it had deducted educational services already rendered.

“Please forward to us an official written request, with the authentic banking details of the EFCC, for the refund of the above-mentioned funds as previously indicated as part of your investigation into the alleged money laundering activities by the Bello family.

Since the 7th September 2021 to date, $845,852.84 (Eight Hundred and Forty-Five Thousand, Eight Hundred and Fifty Two US Dollars and eighty four cents) in tuition and other fees has been deposited into our Bank account.

We have calculated the net amount to be transferred and refunded to the State, after deducting the educational services rendered as $760,910.84. (Seven Hundred and Sixty Thousand, Nine Hundred and Ten US Dollars and Eighty Four cents).

No further additional fees are expected in respect of tuition as the students’ fees have now been settled until they graduate from ASIA.”

In a chat with The Cable, the spokesperson of the EFCC, Dele Oyewale, confirmed that the school has refunded the money.

‘’The money has been paid into public account,” Dele Oyewale was quoted as saying

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Finance

Godwin Emefiele Disobeyed Direction Of Law With Intent To Harm The Public, He Printed ₦684.5M Using ₦18.9B Says EFCC in fresh charge

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1 week ago

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April 23, 2024

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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has filed a fresh charge at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory against the embattled former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele.

EFCC in the charge accused Emefiele of approving the printing of N684,590,000 at the rate of N18.96 billion.

EFCC also alleged that Emefiele broke the law with intent to harm the public during his implementation of the naira swap policy of the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

The anti-graft agency also accused Emefiele of unlawfully approving the withdrawal of N124.8 billion from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation.

EFCC’s top prosecutor, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN revealed that Emefiele will be arraigned on a new four-count charge before Justice Hamza Muazu

Counts one to four of the charge, read,

“STATEMENT OF OFFENCE: Public Servant disobeying direction of law with intent to cause injury to the public contrary to and punishable under Section 123 of the Penal Code Law, Cap. 89 Laws of the Federation, 1990.

“PARTICULARS OF THE OFFENCE: That you GODWIN IFEANYI EMEFIELE between the 19th day of October 2022 and 5th March 2023 in Abuja, knowingly disobeyed the direction of Section 19 of the CBN Act, 2007, by approving the printing of N375,520,000.00 pieces of colour swapped N1, 000, at the total cost of N11,052, 068,062 without the recommendation of the Board of Central Bank and the strict approval of the President, Federal Republic of Nigeria which conduct of yours caused injury to the public and you thereby committed an offence.”

This and three other charges were stated against him. They read;

“COUNT 2: “That you, GODWIN IFEANYI EMEFIELE, between the 19th of October 2022 and 5th March 2023 in Abuja, knowingly disobeyed the direction of Section 19 of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007, by approving the printing of 172,000,000 pieces of colour swapped N500 (Five Hundred Naira) Notes, at the total cost of N4, 471,066,040 without the recommendation of the Board of Central Bank and the strict approval of the President, Federal Republic of Nigeria which conduct of yours caused injury to the public and you thereby committed an offence.

“COUNT 3: “That you GODWIN IFEANYI EMEFIELE between the 19th day of October 2022 and 5th March 2023 in Abuja, knowingly disobeyed the direction of Section 19 of the CBN Act, 2007, by approving the printing of 137,070,000 pieces of colour swapped N200 (Two Hundred Naira) Note, at the total cost of N3, 441, 005, 280 without the recommendation of the Board of Central Bank and the strict approval of the President, Federal Republic of Nigeria which conduct of yours caused injury to the public and you thereby committed an offence.”

“COUNT 4: “That you, GODWIN IFEANYI EMEFIELE, on or about the 7th day of October 2020, in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, knowingly disobeyed the direction of Section 80 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (As Amended), by approving the withdrawal of the total sum of N124, 860, 227, 865.16 from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation in a manner not prescribed by the National Assembly, which conduct of yours caused injury to the public and you thereby committed an offence.”

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Transport

Federal Government To Launch Out 2700 CNG Buses, Tricycles Ahead Of First anniversary Of Tinubu’s Administration

Published

2 weeks ago

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April 22, 2024

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The Presidency on Sunday said it was ready to launch about 2,700 CNG-powered buses and tricycles before May 29 when President Bola Tinubu turns one year in office.

“All is now ready for delivery of the first set of critical assets for deployment and launch of the CNG initiative ahead of the first anniversary of the Tinubu administration on May 29.”

It said the Federal Government is set to deliver 100 conversion workshops and 60 refuelling sites spread across 18 states before the end of 2024.

The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, revealed this in a statement he signed Sunday titled ‘Presidential CNG initiative set for rollout.’

“From the end of May, Nigeria will take some baby steps to join such nations that already have large fleets of CNG vehicles.

The CNG tricycle
The CNG buses

“All is now ready for delivery of the first set of critical assets for deployment and launch of the CNG initiative ahead of the first anniversary of the Tinubu administration on May 29.

“About 2,500 of the tricycles will be ready before May 29, 2024…working towards delivering 200 units before the first anniversary of the Tinubu administration,” said the Presidency.

He also said that over 600 buses are targeted for production in the first phase which will be accomplished in 2024.

In October 2023, about five months after the removal of the petrol subsidy, President Tinubu launched the Presidential CNG Initiative to deliver cheaper, safer and more climate-friendly energy.

The CNG Initiative was designed to deliver compressed natural gas, especially for mass transit.

The Federal Government earmarked N100bn (part of the N500bn palliative budget) to purchase 5500 CNG vehicles (buses and tricycles), 100 Electric buses and over 20,000 CNG conversion kits, with plans to develop CNG refilling stations and electric charging stations nationwide.

The FG had said the initiative would ease the burden of the increased pump price on the masses.More information added that the creation of a new plant on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway that will assemble the tricycles while Brilliant EV will assemble electric vehicles when it receives the Semi Knocked Down components.

The Presidency explained further, “The SKD parts manufactured by the Chinese company LUOJIA in partnership with its local partner to support the consortium of local suppliers of CNG tricycles are set for shipment to Nigeria and expected to arrive early in May.

It is expected that before 2027, There’ll be a considerable wave of these buses and tricycles in use.

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