Port Harcourt Mundial

… CODE Raises Alarm over Oil Spill in Akpajo Community By Paul Williams Non-governmental organization, Connected Development (CODE), community-based organizations and media stakeholders in Rivers State have called on the contractor handling the Ahoada East/ Eleme section of the East-West Road project to account for the N506 billion funds approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for reconstruction of the road. This followed months of apparent non-implementation of reconstruction or rehabilitation activities for the flood-damaged road, with a resultant heavy financial and physical toll on commuters and commercial transport operators conveying goods and passengers between Rivers and Bayelsa states. The 2022 flooding in the Niger Delta had washed away portions of the road, halting transport activities and forcing the FEC on November 2, 2022 to approve the sum of N506 billion for the reconstruction of the road and to mitigate the negative impact of the flooding in the area. Seve...

As allegations of corruption in the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), said to be "characterized by inefficiency, misappropriation, mismanagement, and shady award of contracts," continue to cause outrage and frustration in the region, a Niger Delta group, the Niger Delta Amazons, has lashed out at ex militant leaders, "such as Boyloaf, High Chief Egberipapa and others, who are always in a hurry to visit the commission to pass a vote of confidence in a bid to curry favour." The group frowned at the thought that these ex-leaders "bother less in the face of distortions and absence of evidence on ground to justify trillions of naira received to address the backward and awkward state of infrastructure in the region. Spokesman for the group, Mr Minabelem Orukari who made this assertion while speaking to newsmen recalled that in 2019, ex warlords, Boyloaf, High Chief Egberipapa and other ex-militant had visited the corporate office of the commission in Port Ha...

By Amos Odhe, Yenagoa High Chief Seiyefa Koroye of Toru-Orua has been elected the new Pere of Tarakiri Kingdom in Bayelsa State. The new Pere was elected on the second ballot, at Ebedbiri Secondary School on Saturday, July 29, 2023. The Electoral Committee chairman, High Chief Ayakeme Whiskey, while declaring the results of the election said total accredited delegates were 94, drawn from 13 communities of Tarakiri Clan, adding that the winner must secure 50% of total votes cast in line with sub-section 4 of the electoral guidelines. He said that High Chief Seiyefa Koroye scored 45 votes, His Royal Highness Famous Eseduwo, the Amananaowei of Angalabiri scored 28 votes, High Chief Keme Prefa polled 20 votes, while the regeant, High chief Fidelis Agbiki abstained from voting. Also speaking, the deputy Speaker Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Hon. Michael Ogbere described the election as a friendly contest between two brothers while adding that it was a peaceful and credible process. The ...

As controversy continues to rage in the Niger Delta over the appointment of a new administrator for the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), groups in the region have called on President Bola Tinubu to consult “critical stakeholers” before making the appointment. In a release made available to our correspondent on Thursday, the South-South coordinator of The Asiwaju Group (TAG), Chief Reuben C. Wilson, advised President Tinubu to seek the input of “key stakeholders” such as High Chief Government Ekpemupolo (a.k.a. Tompolo), King Ateke Tom, Alhaji Asari Dokubo, Mr Ebikabowei Victor-Ben (a.k.a. Boyloaf), High Chief Bibopre Ajube (a.k.a. Gen. Shoot at Sight), before taking “the right decisions concerning the Presidential Amnesty Programme.” Wilson, who lamented the level of “leadership failure” at the PAP, commended Tinubu for “proactively averting the NLC/TUC planned nation-wide strike in protest against the removal of the fuel subsidy, by engaging the labour and trade unions in frank a...

The governor of Akwa Ibom State, Pastor Umo Eno, has described the state-owned Ibom Air as the dominant and most preferred airline in the nation. This was as the airline marked the fourth anniversary of its commencement of commercial operations. In a released by his chief press secretary, Ekerete Udoh, Governor Eno, commended the management of the airline for “staying true to the vision of the airline. The governor said that “in short four years, you have become the dominant, the most preferred airline in the nation, wining every conceivable awards and laurels in the aviation industry. Read more: https://phmundial.com/akwa-ibom-gov-umo-eno-celebrates-ibom-air-at-four/

… Say $12bn Required for Clean-Up in 12 Years By Amos Odhe, Yenagoa - Oil pollution in Bayelsa State was on the international focus on Tuesday as the report of the state’s Oil and Environmental Commission (BSOEC) was launched at the House of Lords in London. The 211-page report titled: “An Environmental Genocide: Counting the Human Cost of Oil in Bayelsa, Nigeria,” is a detailed documentation of the over 60 years of oil exploration and pollution in the state where oil was first discovered in commercial quantity in Nigeria by Shell. The BSOEC was established in March 2019 by the immediate past Senator Seriake Dickson administration. It had as chair a former Anglican Archbishop of York and member of the House of Lords, Dr. John Sentamu, alongside former president of Ghana, John Kufuor and another member of the House of Lords, Baroness Valerie Amos, as honorary commissioners. Baroness Amos, in her remarks, said the pollution of Bayelsa by oil multinationals was scandalous and shameful, ca...

By Emmanuel Sunday: After two days of siege by men of the Nigeria Army in Rundele Community in Emohua Local Government Area of Rivers State, over alleged shooting of two soldiers by leader of a disbanded local security, Rundele Security Peace and Advisory Committee (RUSPAC), normalcy has now returned to the area. The soldiers, who we learnt were deployed to guard crude oil pipelines in the area, were shot after an altercation over illegal oil bunkering with the RUSPAC commander, Mr. Oguchika Ajuru, in the community bush. A community source who pleaded anonymity told our correspondent that though the soldiers did not die, the incident created panic in the community leading to most villagers fleeing their homes for safety. Read more: Normalcy Returns to Rivers Community 2 Days After Military Siege – PH Mundial – Port Harcourt Online Newspaper