Author: nationalpoint

By Constance MejuNext door to an Exon Mobil platform, these community members lack access to health facilities and even funds to pay the traditional birth attendantAkwa Ibom State was created in September 1987 by the Babangida administration from the old Cross River State. The state has an area of 7,081 kilometers with many coast lines and rivers. It has a population of 3.92million people by the records of the 2006 National Population Census and is the 10th largest state in Nigeria.Akwa Ibom  has 31 local government areas some of which  are overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and boasts of a rich…

A great philanthropist once said: “It is easier to give a cup of rice to relieve hunger than to relieve the loneliness and pain of someone unloved.” –Mother TeresaAs years and decades pass by new troubles and problems continues to unfold all around the world. From hunger to war, climate change, gender inequality, female genital mutilation, poverty, deteriorating health care, insecurities and the list is endless.As such various international organisations and non-governmental organisations are continuously established and launched to help solve these problems for a better and peaceful world.However, what is more striking and inspiring are the individual responses and…

Oil polluted water, main water option for most host communities in Ibeno LGAIt is an absurdity for those who live near a river to bath or wash their hands with saliva. It is expected that such persons should have unlimited access to water for their use at all times. It ought to be a blessing to live near a river. Unfortunately, this is not the case in Akwa Ibom and other parts of the oil rich Niger Delta region of Nigeria where there is so much oil wealth, yet, penury is pervasive. The story of Akwa Ibom oil and gas…

ParticipantsA network of non-governmental and community based organizations working on impact of extractive operations in African resource communities has frowned at the long neglect of the oil pollution in Goi Community in Ogoni, Rivers State, Nigeria and called on the federal government to institute immediate clean-up and remediation of the environment as well as compensation for the now displaced community members.The network, International African Network held a four-day capacity building workshop for community based organizations working in the extractive sector from February 26-29 at Visa Karina Hotel,Port Harcourt.It visited Goi Community as part of its  experiencing sharing on oil impacted…

By Constance MejuMembers of the Focused Group DiscussionWhen Bayelsa State was carved out of old Rivers state by the Abacha military government in 1995, there was jubilation and the people were full of expectations that development would be coming their way.Many years after including 20 years of democratic governance, the yearnings are yet to be satisfied. Some had hoped that being a small sized oil and gas rich state, proper governance would have transformed the young state into a model state for others to envy. That dream did not materialize as with trillions of naira directed into the state coffer…

Communiqué issued at the end of a 2-day meeting on Gender and Corruption:Second Corruption Survey Report in Nigeria organised by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, (UNODC), incollaboration with the Kano State Government through the PCAC, and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and UKAid, held in Kano, February 20 and 21, 2020Preamble• Corruption remains one of Nigeria’s most dangerous hurdles with far reaching consequences on livelihood, security and economic development.• The wave of corruption continues to hit millions of vulnerable Nigerians, including women whose qualities of life are diminished by the…

By Constance MejuContaminated well source of water in a Riverine oil producing community in Rivers State –  courtesy:  Getty imageAlthough the Rivers State governor, Chief Ezenwo Wike has been dubbed “Mr Projects” an appellation in respect of numerous projects being undertaken by his administration, members of oil producing communities in Rivers State are far from being satisfied with the state government. Their grouse is that despite the quantum of revenue accruing to the state as a major oil producing state in the country, the oil hosts have been marginalized in the spread of projects and distribution of social services.Ironically, the…

The Niger Delta has for over five decades produced much of the revenue that fuels activities of the Nigerian government and by implication, the economy that sustains Nigeria as a nation.In the process of extracting oil and gas from the vast mineral endowed fields in the region, farmers and fisher folks have been  dislodged from their traditional occupation while pollution has degraded the little left land and waterways, creating serious livelihood problems and poverty.Long untreated or half-hazard cleanup have further compounded the matter, creating health hazards resulting in respiratory, skin, cancer, infertility conditions, stunted  and deaths especially among children while…