Author: nationalpoint

Dr. Joseph Obele is the Chairman of Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) in Rivers State. In this interview with EMMANUEL OBE, he asserts that there’s an international racket feeding fat on fuel subsidy in Nigeria. Can you tell us what is happening with regard to the fears you just expressed about an impending scarcity of petrol in Nigeria? About 40 days ago, we, the critical stakeholders in the industry noticed via the supply chain that there is a drop in quantity of trucks supplied to marketers. In view of this, I requested for an appointment with the…

Since the formal commissioning of the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project, HYPREP in 2016 to drive the remediation of the Ogoni environment, devastated by decades of Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC oil operations controversies and corruption allegations have taken central stage in the operations of the project. This has resulted in slow progress of activities at the agency and despondency among the Ogoni people, despite the huge amounts of money sunk into the project. On May 2, 2023, Prof Nenibarini Zabbey was appointed as new project Coordinator to take over from Dr Giadom, his kinsman. The appointment takes immediate effect. The…

The Women Radio Centre has selected 21 journalists and journos for the 2023 female investigative reporting training from the woman angle. The second edition of the residential training will address under-representation and under-reported issues surrounding women. “It is imperative that we commit to unearth and uncover those stories that affect women and girls, with the overall goal of amplifying the voices of women,” said Toun Okewale Sonaiya of the Women Radio Centre. Our goal is to raise the next generation of female investigative journalists and create a balance in the investigative gender gap, she stated. The 21 journalists and journos…

As women all over the globe marked Mother’s Day on May 14, 2023, Nigerian women raised their voices to call for better understanding and support from their spouses and the male folk generally. At the service marking the day, essentially ministered by women in most churches, it was opportunity for women clad in colours and looking cherished to speak out condemning things they are not happy with especially within the home and these were relayed through drama sketches, dances and short talk shows. At the Ohiamini Satelite Church, Rumuigbo of the Salvation Ministries, the women held worshippers spellbound with songs,…

The Bayelsa State Oil and Environmental Commission (BSOEC) will on Tuesday, May 16 formally present the final report of its investigation into the impact of oil exploration activities on the state to the international community. The BSOEC is chaired by a number of renowned dignitaries in the governance and international development arena, including Baroness Valerie Amos and former Ghanaian president, John Kuffuor. The report will be presented at the House of Lords in London to further draw global attention to the devastating effects of oil pollution in Bayelsa and indeed the Niger Delta region. The BSOEC was set up in…

The future of our country, Nigeria depends largely on the quality of governance we have at the local, state and national levels. The failure of the national government has never been better pronounced as in the inability of successive governments to complete the construction of the East-West Road, which is arguably, the most important road in Nigeria. This road traverses the length and breadth of Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Cross River States that make up the oil and gas hub of Nigeria. Being the route by which vital hydrocarbon products and associated businesses are transported, it would…

A study carried out by the Bayelsa State Oil and Environmental Commission has said that Nigeria would need about $12 billion to clean up and restore the Niger Delta environment devastated by decades-long oil pollution. The report, which is titled, “An Environmental Genocide: Counting the Human Cost of Oil in Bayelsa, Nigeria,” captured over 60 years of oil exploration and pollution.” The study which was carried out by an international panel of experts and notable players in the oil and gas and environmental matters said that Bayelsa State was particularly “in the grip of a human and environmental catastrophe of…

The Senate has passed a budget of N876 billion for the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to spend in the 2023 financial year. The Senate passed the budget on Tuesday after requesting and obtaining further information on the activities of the commission on the 2021 and 2022 budget estimates. The Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, who expressed his gratitude to the Senate for passing the budget said that the passage of the budget was a significant milestone in developing the Niger Delta region. He said the budget would enable the NDDC to continue…

The dust has not finally settled yet, on the confrontation between Bayelsa State Government and Rivers State Government following the demolition in Port Harcourt of two prime properties belonging to Bayelsa State Government by Rivers State Government. While Bayelsa State Government has vowed to do all that is legally allowed to recover the revoked land and get redress for the demolished houses, the Rivers State Government is standing its grounds, saying it has taken possession and removed the nuisance caused by the two properties located at 5 and 9 Akassa Street of the Old Government Reservation Area of Port Harcourt,…

National Spokesman of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Ebilade Ekerefe has advised stakeholders from the Niger Delta region to adopt new strategies to tackle the persistent reluctance of the Federal Government to respond to their agitations. According to Ekerefe, the region must do away with obsolete strategies and adopt the new era of strategic alliances with other ethnic nationalities and intellectuals in an aggressive engagement with the federal government for accelerated development of the region. Speaking recently in Yenagoa at a colloquium to mark his 36th birthday and the unveiling of his book, “Chronicle of Ebilade Ekerefe, The Journey So…