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Monitor, Protect Your Environment, HOMEF Charges N’Delta Communities

Published

2 years ago

August 2, 2022

Editor

Nnimmo Bassey, Director, Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) has stressed the need to protect the environment.

He gave the charge in his address to the members of K-Dere, Kpor, Goi and Mogho communities, Gokana Local Government Area of Rivers State, during a learning and sharing session on the usefulness of community monitoring, organizing and advocacy, organised by HOMEF.

He stated that although oil has not been drilled in Ogoniland since 1993, oil still passes through the territory and it still remains one of the most polluted areas in the Niger Delta.

He further stressed the need for solidarity and need to rebuild their livelihoods.

“The Niger Delta region has been bastardized, yet these companies are attempting to divest and sell off their assets to indigenous companies without cleaning and remediating the environment and compensating the people for decades of rapacious exploitation.

“This learning session aims to empower community members to be ready to hold environmental destroyers accountable for the damages done, “ he said.

He said HOMEF works with communities to help them seek environmental justice with the power of knowledge.

On his part, Stephen Oduware, a Project Lead on Networking and Alliances, HOMEF, charged members the communities to task political leaders who approach them for votes to begin to take issues of environmental pollution serious.

“We should learn to hold them accountable when things are not going the right way and demand that they should come up with policies that will elevate the sufferings of the people.” He further tasked the people to regularly monitor the environment and note the changes that occur” he charged them.

A 62-year-old Julia Gaage, a farmer from K-Dere who shared his experience lamented the damages on the land from pollution.

“We are forced to plant yams using fertiliser because of the damage done to our land by oil pollution. We know that fertiliser is not so good for our soul, but it is the only way we can make things grow in our circumstances. Before now we did not use fertiliser but today if you do not add these things you will not have a good yield and there will be nothing to live or feed on,” he lamented.

Chief Godwin from Goi also told stories of how favourable the environment to them in the past.

He narrated: “I saw my parents harvesting tubers of yam that required the help of three people to pull out of the ground, but now, you can’t even find grasses anymore. Oil has taken away our livelihoods. We cannot fish or farm successfully anymore.. You cannot find crabs or small fishes anymore. The air in Goi community is even hostile to the people. No hospital, road or even clean water. We are scared for our lives.”

Participants at the learning exercise thanked HOMEF for enhancing their capacity to identify and report on environmental, social-economic challenges that affect their wellbeing. Units of FishNet Alliance – a continental network of fishers against harmful activities – were inaugurated during the gathering.

INFO DAILY reports that K-Dere community with about 54 oil wells had a major oil spill which occurred on the 12th of April 2009 when the fire from the Bomu Manifold burned and spread to the neighbouring Goi and Mogho communities, causing damages that destroyed people’s livelihoods.

Between 2007 and 2014, it was reported that 352,000 barrels of crude oil were spilled from the Bomu Manifold, a Shell facility.

News

JUST IN: APC Woos 27 Pro-Wike Lawmakers To Impeach Fubara

Published

27 mins ago

May 7, 2024

Editor

The leadership of the All Progressives Congress in Rivers State has called on the 27 members of the State House of Assembly loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, to immediately commence an impeachment process against Governor Siminlayi Fubara.

The State APC Caretaker Committee Chairman, Tony Okocha, made the call at a news briefing in Port Harcourt on Tuesday.

He said the Governor has continued to disrespect President Bola Tinubu by refusing to implement all the eight-point peace agreement reached in Abuja on the political crisis in the state, to which he appended his signature.

He further stated, “A state as crucial and all-important as Rivers State churned out a dunderhead. We cannot accept that. Our charge to the Assembly is to immediately commence an impeachment process against the Governor.

“And if they don’t do that there is what they call party discipline. We shall invoke the relevant section of the constitution.”

Details later…

News

NLC, TUC Give NERC Deadline To Reverse Hike In Electricity Tariff

Published

3 hours ago

May 7, 2024

Editor

Nigeria Labour Congress and its Trade Union Congress of Nigeria counterpart have given the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission till May 12 to withdraw the recent hike in electricity tariff or face unprecedented industrial action.

The ultimatum was issued in a joint letter to the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, CEO, dated May 3, 2024, and copied to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, the Ministers of Labour and Power and the electricity distribution companies, DisCos, among others, Joe Ajaero and Festus Osifo, President of NLC and its TUC’s counterpart.

The letter read, “This is to refer you to our May Day address where we expressed grave concerns regarding the recent announcement of an astronomical hike in electricity tariff across the nation from N65/kWh to N225/Kwh by your commission.

“We believe that this decision is not just morally reprehensible considering the difficulties Nigerians are faced with currently, but it blatantly disregards fundamental principles and statutory obligations.

“It is a slap in the face of justice and fairness, and we will not stand idly by as the masses and workers are subjected to such unacceptable exploitation.

“As the regulator of the electricity sector, it is imperative that your commission grasps the weight of its responsibilities. NERC’s role entails the regulation of electricity tariffs in the country, a duty outlined in explicit detail within the statutes governing the commission.

“Yet, with this recent tariff hike, which you have consented to, it is evident that the Commission has forsaken its duty and abandoned the people it was meant to protect to the fat cats in the electricity industry.

“We are miffed that NERC has become a tacit collaborator in crafting the oppressive pricing regime being perpetuated against Nigerian workers and people. The Laws that set up the commission mandate it to act as an unbiased ombudsman in the electricity industry. “Unfortunately, the reverse is the case as it has acted in cahoots with the Distribution Companies, DisCos, and the Generating Companies, GenCos, to promote their nefarious market practices.

“The announced tariff hike not only defies the established procedure mandated by law but also tramples upon the rights of Nigerian citizens. It is a flagrant abuse of power and a clear violation of the trust bestowed upon your commission by the Nigerian people. Such actions will not be tolerated, and we refuse to accept them as the new norm.

“Nigerian workers and masses led by the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC, stand united in denouncing this injustice. We must defend the rights of our fellow citizens against exploitation.

“Therefore, we demand an immediate reversal of the hike in electricity tariff to N65/kwh, immediate cessation of the discriminatory practice of segregating electricity consumers into arbitrary bands, and restoration of the supremacy of the statutes governing the conduct of operators within the electricity industry.

“We give you until Sunday, May 12, 2024, to comply. Failure to do so will result in swift and decisive action on our part as we will not hesitate to mobilize our members and occupy all NERC’s offices and those of the DisCos nationwide until justice is served.”

On April 3, the NERC approved an increase in electricity tariff for customers under the Band A category to N225 per kWh — from N66.

The commission said customers under the classification are those who receive 20 hours of electricity supply daily.

News

SERAP Gives FG 48-hr Ultimatum To Reverse CBN’s 0.5% Cybersecurity Levy

Published

4 hours ago

May 7, 2024

Editor

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project has issued a warning to the Federal Government to reverse the 0.5 per cent cybersecurity levy imposed by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

SERAP also threatened to deal in legal action against the government if it failed to reverse the levy within a 48-hour timeframe.

The non-governmental organisation stated this Tuesday via its Twitter handle, calling for the immediate reversal of what it regarded as levy ‘imposition’.

SERAP tweep @SERAPNigeria stated, “The Tinubu administration must immediately withdraw the grossly unlawful CBN directive to implement section 44 of the Cybercrime Act 2024, which imposes a 0.5% ‘cybersecurity levy’ on Nigerians.

“We’ll see in court if the directive is not withdrawn within 48 hours.”

The Central Bank of Nigeria has ordered banks operating in the country to start charging a cybersecurity levy on transactions.

A circular from the apex bank seen by Punch Online on Monday disclosed that the implementation of the levy would start two weeks from then.

The circular was directed to all commercial, merchant, non-interest and payment service banks, among others.

The circular revealed that it was a follow-up on an earlier letter dated June 25, 2018 (Ref: BPS/DIR/GEN/CIR/05/008) and October 5, 2018 (Ref: BSD/DIR/GEN/LAB/11/023), respectively, on compliance with the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) Act 2015.