₦airaland Forum

Abagworo:
Bitter politics killed Ada palm. It was concessioned to Roche group just like Rison palm of Rivers State but local politicians destroyed the Imo State palms using old workers and community crisis to scare away investors. The same Roche is doing well in Rivers State today.

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/agriculture/imo-palm-plantation-grounded-reptiles-take-over-bushy-compound/132087.html

The popular Adapalm Plantation, now renamed Imo Palm Plantation by the present government, is completely grounded, after being abandoned by both the state government and Roche Group -an Irish company managing the establishment.
A visit to the establishment at Ohaji/Egbema and Agwa in Oguta LGA reveals that nothing is happening there any longer.

The compound has been taken over by weeds and grasses, giving rise to the emergence of dangerous reptiles and rodents among other animals.
Daily Trust observed that operations at the milling section of the company as well as the usual daily work routine at the company are no more in existence. Only security men comprising of the Army, Niger Delta Security network set up by Governor Rochas Okorocha and men of the Nigeria Police were sighted guarding the company.

The nine mile square, 4319 hectares of plantation was established in 1962 as Ohaji Farm settlement by the then Premier of Eastern Region Michael I. Okpara, with the planting of the palms trees done by Ukpabi Asika in 1976 while the first civilian governor of Imo State, the late Chief Samuel Onunaka Mbakwe built the mill in 1983.

The plantation was in 2011 leased out to Roche Group and from that time till five months ago when it was grounded, production and the entire operation of the company had been going on amidst crises among the staff, youth as well as the Landlords Association.
Speaking with our correspondent in Owerri, a staff of the plantation, and the Secretary of Agricultural and Allied Employees Union of Nigeria, Imo Palm Plantation, Mr. Opara Simeon, said before the takeover of the plantation by Roche Group, the place was moving at snail speed.

He said that trouble started when the new managers of the company - Roche Group, said they were not going to work with the existing staff and as a result, workers started demanding for payment of severance allowance.

Opara said the situation lingered till 2013 when agitation by workers started over unpaid allowances and salaries. He said that workers are till date being owed 14 months salaries.
He regretted that the managers of the plantation never showed capacity to manage the plantation, adding that it was the reason why they failed to manage the place effectively.

He said that the workers, 80 percent of whom are from Ohaji/Egbema and Agwa in Oguta LGAs, are finding it hard to send their children to schools or even cope with the present economic situation in the country.
The union secretary insisted that the remaining staff in the four villages which has 123 buildings and 200 in the nucleus including churches, would not move out of the place until they are paid their severance benefits and salaries.

He pointed out that the plantation has the capacity of employing 3,000 persons, adding that if the abandoned downstream which is at 75% completion stage was achieved, it can produce soap and other items.
When contacted, the immediate past vice chairman of Landlord Association, Mr. Cyrian Orjiaku, said there was peace when Roche Group first took over the plantation.
He said trouble actually started in the plantation when the former caretaker committee chairman of the Landlord Association, Gideon Mefor, refused to hand over to the elected executive members after an election.

Reacting, the Head Legal Unit of Roche Group Ltd. Mr. Peters Nyitni, said that their initial plans was to buy a palm plantation in Ghana but along the line they changed their mind to purchase Ada Palm plantation, adding that immediately the process was completed, they moved in with all their staff and management team including their expatriates.

He expressed regret that within the period they were operational, they were faced with arrows of crisis from both the landlords and the youths who from time to time disrupt the activities of the company.
He said most of their managers who are foreigners had to leave the state to other plantations in Rivers State and other states in the country because of kidnapping and attacks.

Nyitni said that one of the issues in the lease agreement was payment of severance benefits of workers which ordinarily was not their responsibilities, stressing that they even paid some staff that were severed before the crises that led to abandonment of the place following an order by the labour union in the place.

He said that they had all it takes to turn the place around, adding that it was why the place was effectively booming before trouble started, and if they have continued till date, the place would have become more vibrant.

The former general manager of Palm Plantation, Mr. Don Okwu, said that he was surprised to hear that the plantation was no more functioning.
He stressed that the money to run the plantation without allocation from the government could be sourced from the plantation and regretted that it would be left to go moribund.

He said while he was there, government did not give him money for staff salary for two years but he was able to pay salaries of workers for 30 months.
According to him, in 2006, the mill was producing about 40,000 tons of fresh fruits. He said the plantation could be replicated in other parts of the state if the will is there.

Commenting on the situation, Governor Rochas Okorocha, though without visiting the plantation in the past five years, agreed that staff of the company are still being owed salaries amounting to N27m.
The governor, however, said he had asked the affected workers to do the right thing for them to get paid.

gocac:
because your biafrans and not Nigerians!
kalu nnamdi will do that for you guys in the yeast.

osinbanjoisaliar:
When i said that Buhari had a mission planned when he made the ex commissioner a coordinator, they thought i was joking. Now Irabor has been posted out of Nigeria.
Let the Northernization of Nigeria begin.

ebby9z:
It is disrespect of the highest order to be comparing Owerri, Abakaliki to Ibadan...
And for these half baked illiterates, most beautiful is different from developed. Johannesburg and Cairo are Africa's most developed cities while Kigali, Cape Town are Africa's most Beautiful cities...receive sense, folks!

fernandobush:


Porthacourt

Over-rated slum! Stinking, Dirty, Bad Roads, and filled with Killers!!

Dirty City!


Ibadan

Tagged city of the poor!!

Brown roof, uncivillized people, Dirty, ritualists and 419ners.

KANO

All I can say is "FEAR NORTH".... I don't need much explanation.

IKEJA

Great city...

Home of cash

Wonderful Lagos

Alphasoar:
By Chinonso Alozie, Owerri

The Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign state of Biafra, MASSOB, yesterday, alleged that some of the officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, have perfected plans to deny Igbo from getting registered in the ongoing voters registration exercise.

MASSOB made this statement in a release issued to newsmen in Owerri and singed by the National Secretary Comrade Ugwuoke Ibem Ugwuoke.
As stated in the release, “The Movement for the Actualization Of the Sovereign State of Biafra MASSOB raises a gravely concerns over the ongoing voters registration exercise in Igbo land where Ndigbo are being frustrated and disfranchised by the staffs of INEC.
“This tutored activities of INEC officials under the control and directives of Hausa Fulani leaders appointed by President Buhari is one the major reasons why MASSOB may not support the conduction of the general election of 2019 in Biafra land.”
The release went further to explain how MASSOB got to know about the development, “Reports gathered by MASSOB Security Intelligent Agents proofs that INEC has started the processes of rigging and doctoring the incoming elections to favor the interest of Hausa Fulani.
“Last week at Aguata, MASSOB witnessed indiscriminate criminal acts of INEC officials at Aguata registration centre at a remote location in Ekwuluobia.
“MASSOB saw lot of young people hanging around, they were not registering, it was informed that INEC said they can’t register because they were 18yrs at the point of the last registration in 2014 and they did not register.”
MASSOB alleged that the INEC officials said: “they can only register if they can prove that they weren’t around in the last registration exercise by providing a copy of their International Passport.
“After much pressure to know why such condition must be attached for voters registration, the INEC officials insisted that the order is from above and must be followed.
“MASSOB queried what concerns International Passport with voters registration for people Nigeria claimed are their citizens? Is this same INEC system and bottleneck conditions from above working in the Northern region of Nigeria?
“MASSOB sees these bottleneck conditions a smooth way for disfranchising the people of Eastern region in the coming elections which Nigeria thinks will hold.
“MASSOB under the leadership of our leader, Comrade Uchenna Madu insists that there may be no Nigeria that will run a general election in 2019 because the artificial expression called Nigeria is already sitting on a dangerous time bomb that will explode any moment before 2019.
“MASSOB advice the people of Biafra to be more conscious of the reality of Biafra than who becomes Senators, Governors or other political appointment in Nigeria.”

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/05/massob-raises-alarm-voters-registration-igboland/

asohnelson:
[url]Analysis: Indications That Most Geo Political Zones in Nigeria are Safe for Doing Business[/http://ringuardconsult.com/index.php/news-from-the-regions/item/440-indications-that-most-geo-political-zones-in-nigeria-are-safe-for-doing-business.html]

Undoubtedly, Nigeria has for more than seven years now suffered myriad of daunting socio-economic setbacks, ranging from insecurity heightened of course by the infamous Boko Haram sects's attacks in the North East, kidnapping and armed robbery across other geo-political zones in country.

Even though, there are pockets of reports bothering on insecurity here and there across the country, but one can confidently say there is relative peace conducive for business and investment in most geo political zones except the Northeast that is still experiencing reprisal attacks once in a while by the Boko Haram insurgents.

On the economic front, instability in the country’s foreign exchange market has also continued to impact negatively on the value of the Naira since the inception of the Muhammadu Buhari administration, largely due to the drop in the price of crude Oil. This are hard times for the nation, even though there are indices coming from the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Nigeria indicates that Nigeria's economy is gradually stabilising.

The governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria CBN, Godwin Emefiele recently updated the president, Muhammadu Buhari on the efforts being made by the apex bank to stabilize the local currency.

The governor stated that the economy was looking good with the rising price of crude oil which he said was “oscillating between $50 to $55 and $56” per barrel, adding that the rise in crude oil prices at the international market was a boost to the stability of Naira.