A Non-Governmental-Organisation (NGO), Incorporated Trustees of Concerned Niger Delta Youth Initiative (CNDYI) has dragged the federal government before the Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State over the composition of the Board and Management of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
Federal Government, it would be recalled, recently announced the new Board and Management on NDDC.

Copies of the originating processes of the suit obtained listed the Attorney General of the Federation, the National Assembly, the governments of Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers states as codefendants.

The group, in an affidavit setting out the facts of the suit, said the recent composition of the NDDC Board was contrary to the law which sets up the commission.

CNDI President, Mr Orubebe Ebis Zenebo, in the affidavit deposed by him through his Lagos- based lawyer, Mr George Turnah, said the law which sets up the commission stipulated that the chairmanship of the Governing Board shall rotate in alphabetical order amongst member states of the Commission, while the Managing Director and the two Executive Directors shall rotate amongst member states in order of oil production, beginning with the member state with the highest production quantum.

The group, therefore, demanded that the appointments announced by the Federal Government be reversed as it was against the laws that set up the Commission.

Amongst the several Court papers issued out by his lawyer, the plaintiff is also seeking a restraining order through an interlocutory application, restraining the president and the National Assembly from taking any further steps with respect to the appointments, pending the determination of the substantive suit, which by order of the court, has been fixed for hearing on Wednesday, September 12th, 2019.

Court papers revealed that the crux of the matter is the appointment of Mr Pius Odubu from Edo State as Chairman and Hon. Bernard Okumagba from Delta State as Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission respectively.

The argument has been that it is the turn of Delta State to produce the Chairman of the Board of the NDDC, while Bayelsa State is to produce the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer.

According to record, the Commission started in 2000 with Ugochuku Onyema from Abia State as Chairman and Godwin Omene from Delta State as Managing Director.

“Section 4 of the Act establishing the Commission states clearly that the office of the chairman shall rotate amongst member states in alphabetical order; and Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa and Cross River states have produced the Chairman of the Board of the Commission at different times, it should now be the turn of Delta State to produce the Chairman and not Edo State where Pius Odubu hails from,” CNDI said.

There’s also the argument that Delta, Rivers and Akwa Ibom states having produced at different times, substantive Managing Directors of the Commission with full tenure and term, it should now be the turn of Bayelsa State to produce the Managing Director of the Commission, being the fourth-largest producer of oil in the Region.
Section 12 (1) of the NDDC Act, specifically states that the position of the Managing Director and the Two Executive Directors shall rotate amongst member States in order of production quantum of oil.

The argument, therefore, is that Delta State having produced two substantive Managing Directors who jointly enjoyed two terms, covering the tenure of two Governing Boards, can no longer occupy the position of the Managing Director of the Commission until all the remaining member states, beginning with Bayelsa State, yet to occupy the office of the Managing Director, has done so in order of production quantum.

The NGO maintained that it was wrong, illegal and unlawful for Delta State to get the position of the Managing Director again, when Bayelsa and the other member states were yet to occupy the office of the Managing Director of the Commission, and that it was also wrong, illegal and unlawful for Edo State to get the position of the Chairman of the Commission when Delta State which is next in alphabetical order after Cross River State, has not held the position of the chairman.

ABUJA – The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, has said his ministry will audit financial records of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) beginning from the year 2000.

The NDDC is an interventionist agency of the federal government with the mandate to formulate and implement development programmes for oil producing States of the South-South.

The commission has been notorious for contract racketeering, abandoned projects and poor quality of projects.

Akpabio said the NDDC has not performed well since it was established, disclosed that the commission was owing its contractors more than N2 trillion.

Senator Akpabio who disclosed this while meeting with the Management team of the NDDC said there would be a forensic audit of the funds received and spent by the Commission since 2000.

“The impact of NDDC on the entire Niger Delta region would have been more if not for those thing militating against development, personal interest, political interest, interferences here and there.

“The NDDC was strategic, it was a child of necessity, I believe that the NDDC has not performed well, I don’t want to say that you have failed the region, I am saying that you have not performed well.

“The real youths of the Niger Delta who undertook clearance of water hyacinths have not been paid, those that were paid are political youths, people that you owe just N500,000 to N1 million are over 400 and they have been going to NDDC for over 10 years, and the money has not been given to them.

“I know as for now in terms of debt, NDDC is owing over N2 trillion, some of them are real, some are imagined, but the problem we are having is that you won’t know the ones that are real when they are mixed with the ones that are political, and the result is that someone who took a loan to do a real job for NDDC probably may have died, leaving the family in penury.

“We will do forensic analysis and audit, we will try to go backwards even from the year 2000 up till now to know what came in and what went out and why we have not seen much on ground,” Senator Akpabio said.

Stating the need to refocus the Commission, the Minister noted the Commission would cease from paying over N200 million as rent for their headquarters.

“We will stop you from doing politically motivated roads, we will stop you from keeping your headquarters for over 20 years without commissioning, we will stop you from paying N200 million to N300 million yearly as rent for the headquarters you are occupying,” he added.

Earlier in his address, the Minister of State for Niger Delta Affairs, Mr Festus Keyamo said the NDDC has failed the Niger Deltans.

He said the funds spent by the Commission was not commensurate with the infrastructure on ground.

“The purpose of this meeting is to meet with you for the first time as the supervisory Ministry, get to know you and discuss some issues that are at the front burner, redefine the vision of the Commission that has since been lost over time.

“I recall that a few weeks ago, the Vice President of this country did say publicly that this commission has failed, that is the truth.

“In terms of commensurability of the project viz-a-viz the income that is accruable to the commission, we have failed.

“Let us be clear that it will not business as usual, it will be business unusual from now on,” Keyamo noted.

The NDDC Management team was led by the Director Overseeing the Commission, Dr Akwagaga Enyia.

By Abasifreke Effiong

AKWA IBOM – The Ibom Specialist hospital will write a record-breaking story in obstetrics and gynaecology when it is able to tend its first 20 weeks fetus to full maturity.

New management of the hospital says it has the expertise and facility to tend a 20 weeker.

The hospital has about 10 functional incubators within its pediatrics unit.

Management of the facility says Ibom Specialist Hospital is well positioned with equipment and personnel to render world-class services in ante-natal care when it starts maternity services later this week.

Taking old boys of Saint Francis College, Eket and journalists on a tour of facilities in the hospital, the Director of Clinical Services and Training Dr. Udeme Ekrikpo, said the medical team in the hospital has the expertise to tend a-20 weeker.

“Pre-mature 20 weeker can make it here with our state-of- the-art incubators.”
A-20 weeker is a five months old fetus. A pregnancy is naturally 40 weeks old.

Ekrikpo said the maternity unit of the hospital set up by the new management led by Prof. Emmanuel Ekanem is fixed to attend to high-risk pregnancies, with the aim to reducing maternal and child mortality.

The hospital’s maternity unit has the full complement of cardiotocograph.

This reporter observed that each of the four maternity suites in the hospital has a cardiotocograph.

Cardiotocograph is commonly known as Electronic Fetal Monitor (EFM). It is an ultrasound transducer used to monitor heart rate of a fetus and uterine contractions during labour.

In 2018, the World Health Organisation strongly recommended routine antenatal cadiotocography for pregnant women to improve maternal and perinatal outcomes.

With this machine in its facility, the Ibom Specialist Hospital places higher than other hospitals around here, to prevent risk of complications and elongated labour during child birth.

However, the hospital says it needs a blood bank to kick-start maternity services this week.

Ibom Specialist Hospital, which is owned by the Akwa Ibom State government had grappled with poor and inefficient management since it opened in 2015.

Twice, the hospital was shut-down before a new management was appointed in June this year.

Activities have started picking up in the hospital since the new management led by Prof. Emmanuel Ekanem, took over.

The hospital is ready to start neurosurgical services, the CMD, Prof. Emmanuel Ekanem said.

“We are ready to start neurosurgical services. We have brought in an American trained neurosurgeon and an Indian trained interventional cardiologist.”

The new management says it has everything required to put the facility on the go.
“I will have no excuse before God, the governor and Akwa Ibom people not to turn things for good in this hospital. The governor has approved everything I need to restart this place.”

The dialysis unit in the hospital is fully working. This unit opened for services four weeks after the new management took over.

Barely few months after the new management began operations, the hospital has about 30 kidney transplantation patients it is following up.

The new management of the hospital says it has tremendously improved its accident and emergency services.

“We have the most rapid emergency response services. Our emergency response time is 30 minutes within Uyo. We have two ambulances fully equipped with 24/7 oxygen and personnel. So, we can attend to an emergency case in our ambulances before arriving the hospital.”

“We also have a 10 bedded emergency room. Each bed has its monitor and oxygen.”

The hospital boasts of having a 640 slice CT scan and the chemistry equipment.
The chemistry machine in the hospital runs 108 samples and gives result in 10 minutes.
The CMD says his management team is working to reposition the hospital to deliver top brass healthcare services.

“We are working on opening new services. We have brought in the best personnel in the areas we are rendering services.”

“We have reviewed our charges to make our services affordable and accessible.”
“Of course, work culture is very important and we have the best work culture that can compete anywhere in the world.”

There is significant improvement in the hospital under the new management, Mr. Sam Uko, District Governor of Rotary Club 9142, noted.

“Coming [here] to see what’s happening compared to what used to happen, we can confidently tell people, this is the place to go. The management seems to be on focus, so we are sure its a good place to be.”

Uko, who is the President of Saint Francis College old boys association and a fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, said with the new management, Ibom Specialist Hospital will save lives.

“It is clear that the foresight of the hospital was great. The next phase of it was to have a competent personnel to manage the hospital and that seems to be in place now. We are comfortable with the management as it is today. We know Prof. Ekanem to be an achiever and a dedicated specialist. We are sure that from what we have seen, this place will save a lot of lives,” Uko added.

By Abasifreke Effiong

AKWA IBOM – Recently, social media platforms were awash with a video of a-15 year old amateur technician from Akwa Ibom State, demonstrating a model of an excavator he fabricated. The video attracted the attention of big companies, notably, Mantrac Nigeria Caterpillar Company and the BBC. Our correspondent tracked the 15 years old Idorenyin Robert to a workshop, where he and other kids are trained on fabrication of models of heavy-duty automobiles, by Harold Linus Bassey, an alumnus of the Akwa Ibom State Government owned Technical College, Ewet, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

Harold is in his late 20s. He resides in an old two rooms block-house in Urua Ekpa Street, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. On Harold’s living is a window in the front lobby; three glass louvers have broken out from the window-frame. The louvers were probably broken a long time ago. Harold uses the old design Nigerian blinds to shade the room from direct ray of the sun and strong wind. His house is about 1500 meters from the University of Uyo town campus.

Harold has designed and fabricated models of heavy-duty automobiles including, excavator, grader, wheelloader and dumpster. He uses scraps, plywood, aluminium sheets, CD motor and syringes fix his models to his specification. The exciting thing about his models is that they can excavate, grade, rotate, move, like the real machines.

Harold and his trainees are working on more ambitious projects next year.
“By next year, we are trying our hands on flying machines. We want to fabricate aircraft and drones. That is our target.”

He also intends to raise money to produce toy cars for children.

“I am hoping we will be able raise money to begin to produce toy cars for children, the kind you see in toy shops and malls. I can produce that and put them on sale.”
Harold did an A’level programme at Kwara State University in 2017. He is currently preparing to start an online programme called Technicians for Africa run by Caterpillar University.

“I am waiting for Idorenyin (one of his trainees), so that we can start an online specialised course for Technicians in Africa. The programme was introduced to us by Mantrac Nigeria Caterpillar Company.”

“The company got to us after they were tagged in a video done by BBC, where Idorenyin was demonstrating our excavator. The company gave us a laptop to run the programme.”

He said though the programme is free, they will have to source for money to buy data, get electricity, do assignments and exams.

He could not say exactly what the future holds for him and Idorenyin, after the programme. “The company did not say they will employ us after the programme. They only said when we are done, they will know the way forward.”

No one has given him or his trainees any substantial assistance, yet he is resolute and optimistic above the future.

A week ago in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, we met Caleb Otoabasi Etim, a-15 year old JSS 2 student of Community Secondary School, Itu, whom Harold has trained on automobile fabrication. Caleb was displaying one of the models, an excavator, along IBB way, Uyo. On Saturday, 31st August, when The Apex team visited Caleb, Harold granted him permission to take us to their workshop where he demonstrated how some of the equipment they have fabricated work.

Caleb has been trained for a year now, but he seems to have already mastered the sophistication of the design and fabrication of models of all the heavy-duty automobiles including excavator, wheelloader, grader, and dumpster, which were displayed in the workshop.

In this small workshop of about 4 by10 feet, great dreams, artistry and crafts which wow everyone are moulded. It is in that workshop that globally celebrated automobile wizkid, Idorenyin Robert, was trained. The workshop which was formerly a chicken coop, has no tool which is as sophisticated as the models that are fabricated in it. Nevertheless, it houses people with sophisticated ideas.

Two small tables, a locker, a crosscut hand saw hung on the wall and a J-S FACOM plastic and iron tool box, were the basic tools that adorn the workshop.

On the right flank of the wall of the workshop is the word “Hope”, written on. “Hope” is also written on the dumpster, one of the models in the workshop. This was what Caleb said of the word: “Hope is our company name. We have it in our minds that someday, someone will take us to a better place, that’s why we chose ‘hope’.”

These amateur technicians are pushing on, obviously by sheer hope. They do not know where help to actualise their tall dreams would come. They do not know where they can get money from to buy a length of plywood, CD motors, packs of syringe, shoe cork and leather to fabricate their next model. They hope people will appreciate their models when they go to town to display them.
Caleb said they spend about N25,000 to purchase the materials they used to fabricate an excavator.

“Our parents are not rich. We don’t have money. What we do is to take the things we have made to traffic-light and show it to people; when people appreciate it, we use that money to buy materials.”

This is how they hope to raise money for their next projects, fabricating an aircraft and a drone.
When Caleb was asked if the aircraft and drone they intend to fabricate will fly, he said, yes.

“It will fly. We will do a wireless remote and power it with a wet-cell battery. Then, we will use CD motor to propel it.”

Caleb’s trainer, Harold, is also training 12 years old Ebuka Oke Ogbonna, on making models of houses. Ebuka can construct nice models of different types of houses, but he needs to be trained on mechanical and architectural drawings.

“Now I’m teaching him models, he will have to enroll in a technical college to learn mechanical and architectural drawings. He won’t understand those strictly professional aspect yet; he is still very young for that. So, I encourage him to enroll in a college for further studies”, Harold said.

Harold is seeking support for his works and sponsorship to enable him and his trainees attend the World Youth Skills Day, in Lagos, holding on 15th July 2020. Harold is from Ikot Obio Atai, Itu Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State.

UYO – The Akwa Ibom State Government says it will close down 1,200 private schools operating illegally in the State, this month.

“The closure will be disastrous to pupils in the affected schools, if the State government goes on with it”, Mr. Samuel Ufuo, former chairman of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly Committee on Education said.

Atleast 11,400 teachers will lose their jobs if the State government goes on with the closure. Each of the listed school employs at least 10 teachers.

Last month the Ministry of Education released a list of 1,140 private schools it claimed were operating illegally.

This week, the Commissioner for Information in the State, Mr. Charles Udoh, said 1,200 schools will be shutdown.

The State government in 2017/2018 listed about a thousand private schools it said it were to be close down, for not meeting its standard.

It was learnt that only a few of the delisted schools were shutdown at the end of the exercise, even though temporarily.

“Heads of Local Education Authority in the respective local government areas later gave the schools approval to re-open for business. In the end, no school was closed”, our source who knew about the exercise said.

Our correspondent gathered that Heads of Local Education Authority (LEA) in the respective local government areas were encouraging the proliferation of ‘illegal schools’.

Sources in some local education authority alleged that heads of LEAs were collecting bribes from proprietors of those ‘illegal’ schools.

The sources said there were schools with very poor facilities and personnel which the LEAs have not mentioned to the Ministry of Education, because of the relationship they have with their owners.

Mr. Samuel Ufuo, who was Chairman of the House of Assembly Committee on Education in 2018 when government first threatened to close some schools, said schools listed for closure then did not have suitable environment for learning and teachers.

“The schools that were marked, ‘illegal’ did not have structures befitting of such institutions. They did not have qualified teachers. Most of the teahers did not study education. In some nursery schools, those who were teaching did not even have WAEC.”

Ufuo who represented Mbo State constituency in the 6th assembly, however said the closure of 1,140 schools will be disastrous to the education sector in the State.

“The impact of that decision will be disastrous, in the sense that there are no alternatives jobs for the teachers who will be disengaged.”

“The future of the pupils will be affected, because fees in private schools that survive the clampdown.”

The former lawmaker called on the government to set the standard of infrastructure, personnel and attitude to work in all public schools.

“What makes a school legal and what makes it illegal should be clearly spelt out by the government. There must be a standard for it, and government must set that standard.”

Ufuo posited that if public schools are of better standard compared to private schools, parents will withdraw their children from private schools and the number of such schools will reduce effortlessly.

The Commissioner for Education, Prof. Nse Essien, has said his Ministry will review the condition for issuance of authority to operate private schools and will set up a committee to review schools’ curriculum to ensure compliance with acceptable standards.

Essien at the meeting with National Association of Proprietors of Private School urged all private school operators to forward their curriculum to the Ministry for standardization, saying that the Ministry of Education will reappraise approved schools to ensure maintenance of standard.

The Commissioner disclosed that the State government will commence the closure of illegal and unapproved schools this week.

Abasifreke Effiong

AKWA IBOM – Local Government councils in Akwa Ibom State have not received its allocations for the months of June and July from the Federal Account and Allocation Committee (FAAC).

The 31 local government councils have temporarily forfeited the money to the federal government due to its failure to abide by the new guidelines on receipt of federal allocations dished out by the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU).

The two months allocations for the councils are stuck up at the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The money is held up at the apex bank following the commencement of implementation of the new guidelines on direct allocations to local government councils, issued earlier this year by the NFIU.

The NFIU had fixed June 1 for the commencement of direct allocation to local government councils.

The NFIU has directed respective local government councils to send a bank account each where their allocations can be paid to.

But the Akwa Ibom State government kicked against the directive, saying that it was in violation of the constitution.

Sources who are familiar with the case told our correspondent that local government councils in Akwa Ibom State working under the instructions of the State government ignored the directive and forfeited its allocations to the federal government.

“Directors of finance in the councils were told to ignore the request”, it was learnt.
Our correspoendent gathered that the governor has had to borrow money to pay salaries and other entitlements at the local government councils in the last two months.

“The governor had to borrow money to pay salaries and security votes in June and July. No one knows how he raised the money. But, what I can tell you is that we have received our salaries and security votes”, a member of ALGON in the State confided to our correspondent.

The Akwa Ibom State Government and chairmen of local government councils in the State are in court challenging the constitutionality of the NFIU guidelines.

The plaintiffs had approached a federal high court seeking injunction to stop the federal government from implementing the NFIU guidelines, but were turned down by the court.

Sources said the local government councils will run without releases from the federal government until judgment is given on the case.

The case was jointly filed by the Akwa Ibom State government and the 31 local government chairmen.

However, there are concerns that the State government may plunge the councils into debts arising from interests payable on the facilities obtained by the governor to pay salaries of the councils.

The current local government administration in the State has hardly undertaken any serious development projects in the last 18 months.

Some of the council chairmen are struggling to complete a single point borehole project they started at assumption of office in December 2017.

“The councils have been cash-starved. Since we are not directly in-charge of funds, we can’t do anything,” an elected official in one of the local government councils said.

The official who did not want his name on print claimed that the State government decides how much it gives to each council at the end of the monthly Joint Account Committee (JAC) meeting.

Efforts to get the Commissioner for Information, Mr. Charles Udoh, to speak on the forfeiture of the allocation proved abortive as he did not take his calls for two days and did not respond to questions sent to him through SMS, though he acknowledged receipt of the SMS.

Also, the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Mr. Udo Ekpenyong did not respond to phone calls from our correspondent as at the time of going to press.