Pipeline bombings: Kachikwu trouble shooting mission to N-Delta

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The Minister of Petroleum Resources and Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, spent the week in Niger Delta region rallying stakeholders, especially militants blowing up oil installations, to stop worrying about the things in the pipeline and the pipeline itself, and allow oil to flow unrestrained in the interest of the nation.
If there is anything the Minister has achieved in the last few days, it is the fact that the stakeholders, militants inclusive, are beginning to put a measure of confidence in him to come to the dialogue. But, what is uppermost in their mind is if he had the imprimatur of President Muhammadu Buhari to run the process or he was muscling his way as Minister of State for Petroleum to impress his boss. However, those who doubted his capacity were re-assured that Buhari purposely declared a two-week ceasefire to pave way for dialogue despite the strong opposition to it. The subtlety of Kachikwu and his team is already paying off. As at last, Tuesday, June 14, a week after he pulled a break in fighting, what many of the militant groups were talking about was no longer the next pipeline to attack, but how to participate in the proposed dialogue. However, the delicate peace was shattered Wednesday when the military invaded Tebujor community in Gbaramatu Kingdom, Warri South-West local government area, allegedly hunting for militants. Niger Delta Avengers, NDA, which earlier on Monday, June 13, gave conditions to participate in the dialogue, reacted barely 24 hours later by bombing a gas pipeline owned by Seven Energy Company, the operator of Ibom Gas Power Plant, Uquo in Esit-Eket local government area of the state. However, Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr Murtala Mani, refuted the alleged explosion of pipelines at Ikot Osutek, Oruk-Anam, by Avengers, saying the alleged vandalism was an accident caused by a leakage in the gas pipeline. He maintained that it was a technical problem and that some engineers from Port Harcourt were working to rectify the leakage.
Dr. Kachikwu, who was in a meeting with stakeholders in Delta state for several hours on Wednesday, however, is working round the clock to ensure that the ceasefire remains. Saturday Vanguard gathered that some of the stakeholders raised the matter at the Asaba meeting and he promised to address it. Tactical engagement His Niger Delta outing, which was not without its drama started at Uyo, Akwa Ibom, where the Ministry of Information organized a Town Hall meeting. Kachikwu stated that the country would not totally end pipeline vandalism without creating an enabling environment to empower militants in the region. He pointed out that with the avalanche of pipeline bombings by the Niger Delta Avengers, NDA, it would take nothing less than 15 to 20 years to get infrastructure in the oil sector working and full eradication of climatic effects on the environment. He said: “Modular refineries are going to be the answer to our problems in the future. We talk about the militants and their agitations; the reality is that until we begin to put things in place that would have these so called ‘militants’ find opportunities in the sector, the destruction is going to continue. “ “I have appealed to those who are breaking oil pipelines for now, the Niger Delta Avengers and everybody else, and as you know, we are engaging in negotiations for us to find peace this week and be able to enter a truce that stops all the destruction,” the minister asserted. . Uyo performance with Amaechi The drama in Uyo ensued when his colleague, Minister of Transportation, Rt. Hon Rotimi Amaechi, took over the podium defending the controversial scrapping of the Nigeria Maritime University, NMU, Okerenkoko, Delta state, an issue that is at the heart of demands by the militant groups and other stakeholders. He said the previous administration of Goodluck Jonathan paid too much to acquire a mere site. In his typical style, he said: “What to do: let EFCC retrieve the money and release the money and we build the university. If they bring the N13 billion, I will build the university for them. That’s for land alone.” “I believe the federal government does not have money. When we have money, we can continue. The minister of petroleum has said he would look for the money. Minister, give me the money and we continue.” However, Kachikwu sharply differed with Amaechi, saying he was in support of the project and this drew a loud applause from the audience. His words: “I disagree with the minister of transport. Any facility in the South-south, we should work towards developing it, I do not care the circumstance. It is not my business whether land was valued at N19 billion or N10 million. We will deal with the issues, but the university will be developed. If he (Amaechi) does not want it in maritime, I will take it in Petroleum.” IYC slams Amaechi, hails Kachikwu Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, umbrella body of Ijaw youths, slammed Amaechi and thumbed up Kachikwu for his sincerity of purpose, saying, “We strongly commend the pro-Niger Delta position taken by the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mr. Ibe Kachikwu.” IYC spokesperson, Eric Omare, who tore Amaechi’s position apart, said: “Mr. Amaechi stated that N19 billion was used to acquire empty land for the establishment of the Maritime University, Okerenkoko and that he is not part of negotiation with militants in the Niger Delta region. Mr. Amaechi’s comment about the acquisition of land for the setting up of the Maritime University is completely wrong and deliberately made to justify his unpopular and anti-Niger Delta opposition to the establishment of the university.” “The permanent site of the Maritime University is at Okerenkoko town in Gbaramatu Kingdom, Warri South West local government area and the land for this site was acquired from the Okerenkoko community at an amount less than N2 billion.” “After work commenced at the permanent site, the Federal Ministry of Transportation approached Chief Government Ekpemupolo, who owned a Diving School at Kurutie, another community in Gbaramatu Kingodom to acquire his private diving school to be used as temporary site for the Maritime University. “It is important to note that this Diving School at Kurutue was an existing school with state of the art facilities and structures completely built. In response to the request of the Ministry of Transportation, Chief Ekpemupolo did his own valuation and arrived at about N15 billion, while the Ministry of Transportation did its own valuation and arrived at N13 billion,” the council added. . Calculated harm IYC explained: “The completed Diving School was then sold to the Federal Ministry of Transportation at the valuation done by the ministry. Therefore, it is deliberate mischief for Mr. Amaechi, who is now the Minister of Transportation and has access to all relevant documents to claim that land for the Maritime University, Okerenkoko was acquired at N19 billion to justify his unreasonable and unpopular opposition to the establishment of the Maritime University, Okerenkoko.” “The land for the university was acquired for less than N2 billion contrary to Mr. Amaechi’s claim. It was the temporary site, which is a completely built up land with structures and world-class facilities that was acquired for about N13 billion, which again is far less than Ameachi’s N19 billion claim,” it said. Omare added: “The IYC is of the strong view that Mr. Amaechi is aware of the facts but only deliberately misrepresenting the facts to justify his anti-Niger Delta position.” His words: “We strongly condemn Rotimi Amaechi’s anti-Niger Delta position and commend the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mr. Ibe Kachikwu for standing with the people of the Niger Delta region and endorsing the development of the Niger Delta region. Mr. Kachikwu clearly demonstrated to the world that he is a worthy son and representative of the Niger Delta region.” “It is surprising that Amaechi who opposed former President Jonathan for not developing the Niger Delta region is now leading efforts to undo the Niger Delta region in the present administration. “We wish to also state that Amaechi’s opposition to negotiation as a way out of the renewed militancy in the Niger Delta region shows that Amaechi is against the success of the Buhari administration. The IYC knows as a fact that it is some top federal officials and party chieftains of Niger Delta origin in the Buhari administration like Amaechi, who are against negotiation as a way out of the crisis that are frustrating government efforts to negotiate with Niger Delta stakeholders. “We call on President Buhari to completely disregard the claims of Mr. Amaechi on the Maritime University, Okerenkoko and on moves to settle the renewed militancy in the Niger Delta region. Amaechi’s position is not in the interest of the federal government,” IYC said. Buhari committed to dialogue In Bayelsa state, Kachukwu, who visited the governor, Seriake Dickson, in the company of the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta Affairs and Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, PAP, Major General Paul Boroh (retd), said Buhari was committed to dialogue. He explained that he was in the state to listen to major players and find a lasting solution to the issues surrounding pipeline vandalism, adding: “The President has not focused on the allocation of oil blocs because we think there are more fundamental issues to deal with. We first have to stabilize the sector (and) we are doing a lot of work on that. “Over the next couple of months, I think more towards the last quarter of this year, then we will focus on looking at bloc opportunities and at that time we will be able to address what we need to do in terms of that resource. “I hear loud and clear the call within the Niger Delta community that there is a very urgent need in those allocations to ensure that opportunities get either to state governments or to citizens in the areas where oil is being produced. “I’m sure that is an area that the President is listening to very carefully and we are going to be working with that,” Dr. Kachikwu said. Governor Dickson applauded Buhari on his stance for dialogue, advising that nobody should politicize the process of peace building and conflict resolution, while Boroh revealed that the dialogue process with militants and other stakeholders have begun producing desirable results.

PDP: The three horse race against Obaseki

IN the beginning, they were four aspirants that indicated interests in the governorship ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). They were Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, Chief Solomon Edebiri, Hon. Matthew Iduoriyekemwen and Osaro Onaiwu. However, only three of the governorship aspirants were screened by the Prof. Tunde Adeniran committee set up by the National Caretaker Committee of the party. Onaiwu did not pick the governorship form for yet undisclosed reasons. Zoning dispute The issue on which of the three Senatorial Zones in the state should produce the PDP governorship candidate was long settled by the party which long ago resolved to focus on the Southern Senatorial District. The party took into cognizance the political exigencies of the time in arriving at its decision. It went ahead to zone the Deputy Governor to Edo Central. With a voting population put at about 58 percent and a strong determination to produce the next governor, it appeared the PDP understood that the first step to winning the election was in picking a candidate from the Edo South zone. Political analysts are strongly of the view that with only three governorship aspirants, the PDP will have less post-primary crisis to battle with unlike the APC that had 12 aspirants. The successful conduct of ad hoc delegates’ election last week meant that the status of delegates, who will elect the party governorship aspirants, was settled. The three aspirants also appear more united than their colleagues in the APC as they have vowed to combine forces with whoever among them emerges as the governorship candidate of the party. In a demonstration of this show of oneness among the aspirants, last week, they were all brought together under one roof by an Edo PDP pressure group, Unity League, to discuss how they can foster unity among the aspirants and the supporters. On that occasion, the aspirants once again gave their words to give their support to whoever wins among them will have the full support and cooperation of the others. The candidates Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu appears on the surface to be the leading aspirant in the PDP. The former Chief of Staff and Secretary to Edo State Government of Chief Lucky Igbinedion is said to have political structures in almost every nook and cranny of the state and against this background some of the party faithful are already seeing him as the PDP flag bearer in the 10, September 2016 governorship election. Looking beyond the PDP ticket

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Ize-Iyamu is well grounded in the politics of Edo State and people close to him say that he is already looking beyond the PDP ticket and was already plotting on how to defeat the APC candidate in the September 10 election. Vanguard findings indicated that Ize-Iyamu has done the needful to secure the votes of most of the delegates in the Edo North and Edo Central, while he is expected to share Edo South with Iduoriyekemwen and Edebiri. If this permutation plays out, the party’s ticket will be handed over to him despite staying only two years in a party he was disconnected from in 2007. The strength of the Ize-Iyamu aspiration is also in the fact that he knows the strength of the APC having been the campaign manager to the outgoing governor in 2012. In fact, Ize-Iyamu’s political sagacity is seen in the fact that he has been a major facilitator in the victory of all four governorship contests held in Edo State since 1999. Criticisms against his connection with Lucky Igbinedion under whose administration he served have raised dust among some. He has, however, replied that he was not the driver. Indeed, since he left the APC, his role as SSG in the Igbinedion administration has been put under the binoculars, but his traducers have not been able to indict him of any wrongdoing

EDO APC: How Obaseki won seki-won

It’s victory for all of us — Obaseki I’m fulfilled — Oshiomhole •It’s time to unify everybody — Masari By Simon Ebegbulem THAT Mr. Godwin Obaseki, yesterday, emerged the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, was hardly surprising. With the full support of the outgoing governor and the majority of his government behind him, Obaseki had been in pole position to beat the 11 other aspirants in the contest to succeed the outgoing governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole. Votes polled Obaseki, chairman of the Edo state Economic and Strategic Team, emerged winner with 1,618 votes. His closest rival, the deputy governor of the state, Dr. Pius Odubu polled 471 votes, Mr. Kenneth Imasuagbon polled 247 votes, Dr. Chris Ogienwonyi 137 votes, while Gen. Charles Airhiavbere polled 11 votes. Prof. Osarhiemien Osunbor 9 votes, Tina Agbarha 3 votes, Peter Esele 8 votes, Austin Emuan 7 votes, Emmanuel Arigbe Osula 10 votes, Prof Ebegbue Amadasun 8 votes and Blessing Agbomhere 5 votes and 41 invalid votes. The results were declared by the chairman of the Election Committee and governor of Katsina State, Alhaji Aminu Masari at about 4 a.m. yesterday. A total of 2,582 delegates were accredited to elect the party’s flag bearer in the exercise which held at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium Benin City. Voting commenced at about 5:30 pm due to the delayed accreditation of delegates from the 18 Local Government Areas in three designated centers in Benin City. When it became clearer that Obaseki was coasting home to victory during the counting of the votes, Dr. Odubu, the outgoing deputy governor, Ogienwonyi and Imasuagbon left the stadium looking disappointed. Gen. Airhiavbere, Prof.Osunbor, Esele and the others, however, remained until the end of the exercise. Path to victory

Obaseki’s path to victory was cemented by the division in the ranks of those against him who believed that they could individually have outsmarted Obaseki with the huge support of the incumbent behind him. And unfortunately for Odubu, Ogienwonyi and Imasuagbon they failed to come up with a consensus candidate, so while Obaseki enjoyed his block votes from Edo North, Oshiomhole’s domain and also captured majority of the votes in Edo Central and South districts, other aspirants shared what was left, which enabled him to inflict severe defeat on Odubu and others. Inducement Of course, the influence of money as a factor was widely widespread. However, as the comrade governor said last Wednesday all of them were involved in the utilisation of money. As one of the losers admitted, he had put delegates on a pay roll for months through his foundation which was used to woo delegates to his cause. In the course of the campaign, there were also mutual accusations among the aspirants of the mopping up of the Permanent Voter Cards, PVCs by the aspirants. How the PVCs were used by the aspirants to trap the delegates was an issue yesterday. While a source said that the mopping up of the PVCs of the delegates before the election was done to prevent them from collecting incentives, the comrade governor said yesterday that all the media assertions about the PVCs were unfounded. Another strategy used by one of the major aspirants was to sequester his delegates under heavy security away from the public. One of the aspirants, who lost complained yesterday that the decision to vote in the open was also a disservice as he said that some of the delegates complained that they were monitored as they voted.

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