News
Violation Of Social Distancing: Civil Rights Group Pickets Edo Gov, Wants Him Sanctioned
Published
5 years agoon
By
Editor
A civil rights group, Joint Forces for the Defence of Democracy in Edo State (JOFDES) has berated the state governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki for violating the COVID-19 guidelines of social distance, wearing of face masks, not gathering of more than 20 persons in a place in his recent defection to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
Recall that hundreds of party faithful from both parties divide last week gathered at the PDP’s Secretariat to receive Obaseki into his new found political party in the state
The group, through its leadership, Felix Osemwengie, expressed their displeasure in Benin.
“The essence of this emergency press conference today is to draw the attention of the Word Health Organization,(WHO), Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Inspector-General of Police, (IGP) and all well-meaning Nigerians and Edolites to the wilful, deliberate and flagrant violation of all guidelines and gazette on the prevention of COVID-19, especially on political gatherings in Edo State by the executive governor of the state and his supporters.
READ ALSO: Just In: Obaseki Officially Joins PDP, Promises To Deliver The State
“This suspected attempt to infect the unsuspecting good people of Edo State with the dreaded COVID-19 virus by Mr. Goodwin Obaseki and his supporters was carefully planned and executed at the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP Secretariat during the defection of the governor to the party”, he said.
Osemwengie said they are not against the defection of the governor to the party of his choice as it is his fundamental right but greatly vexed and disappointed that such activity was carried out by the people in government who have always claimed to have put the interest of the Edo people as their priority.
He said the government has earlier said he has approved the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium for such an event just as to maintain social distance, but wondered why he didn’t use the stadium rather than allowing the event to have taken place at the party’s secretariat where people more than the required numbers gathered to welcome into the party.

File Photo: Scene of Obaseki defection to the PDP last week
READ ALSO: ‘I Have No Plan Of Resigning From APC’, Says Edo Speaker
“You would recall that in the exercise of the governor’s power under the Edo State Dangerous Infectious Disease Law (Emergency Prevention) Regulation Act made in pursuant to Quarantine Act, Public Health Law and other legislation, placed a ban on all forms of political gatherings of more than 20 persons in Edo State and approved only the use of the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium for any of such purposes.
” But we are shocked that the governor who made the order was the first person in the state to mindlessly violated it by mobilizing and gathering thousands of his political supporters at the over congested PDP secretariat along First East Circular Road, Benin City, without any regards to the social distancing rule and the compulsory use of face masks at public places”, he said.
In view of what happened during the defection of the governor, the leader of the group tasked those in the affairs of the COVID-19 pandemic to quarantine all those who attended the event in order to halt community spreading of the virus.
“Consequent upon the above, we are calling on the Inspector-General of Police, the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, the Minister of Health, the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to immediately quarantine and prosecute all those who were in that gathering as way done in the case of Fuke Akindele and Naira Marley.
READ ALSO: Just In: Edo Guber: Obaseki, Deputy, Entire APC Structure To Join PDP-Chairman
“This would help to send a strong signal to those who are trampling on established rules and laws in Edo State”, he said.
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News
Divestment: CSOs Throw Weight Behind King Dakolo’s Suit Against Shell
Published
30 minutes agoon
June 21, 2025By
Editor
By Joseph Ebi Kanjo
A coalition of civil society organisations has thrown its weight behind the suit filed by His Royal Majesty, King
Bubaraye Dakolo, Agada IV of Ekpetiama Kingdom, Bayelsa State, against Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited in its divestment bid.
The civil society organisations drumming support for King Dakolo in his suit before Justice Ayo Emmanuel of the Federal High Court, Yenagoa, are: Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF); Social Action Nigeria; International Working Group on Petroleum Pollution and the Just Transition in the Niger Delta
(IWG); Bayelsa State Non-Governmental Organisations Forum (BANGOF); HEDA Resource Centre; Kebetkache Women Development and Resource Centre, among others.
In the suit marked: FHC/YNG/CS//2025, HRM, King Bubaraye Dakolo, Agada IV of Ekpetiama Kingdom, is the Plaintiff while Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) (1st Defendant); Shell Petroleum N.V.(2nd Defendant); Shell PLC (3rd Defendant); Attorney General of the Federation (4th Defendant); Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) (5th Defendant); Minister of Petroleum Resources (6th Defendant) and Renaissance African Energy Limited is the 7th Defendant.
The Plaintiff, through is lawyer, Chuks Ugburu, is seeking a declaration by the honourable court that “the purported sale, assignment, transfer or divestment of the onshore and shallow-water oil and gas assets of the 1st Defendant to the 7th Defendant executed without strict compliance with the mandatory provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) Regulatory Divestment Framework, and without due consultation with and consent from the Plaintiff is unlawful, unconstitutional, null and void.”
The Plaintiff is seeking “A DECLARATION that the failure and refusal of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Defendants to carry out a comprehensive and participatory Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), Host Community Development Plan (HCDP), Decommissioning and Abandonment Plan, prior to initiating and concluding the divestment process, is a violation of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021 and international environmental law.”
The Plaintiff is also seeking a “A DECLARATION that the 4th, 5th and 6th Defendants have failed in their statutory duties under the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021, including their obligations to regulate and monitor the divestment process, ensure stakeholder consultation and due diligence and safeguard the rights and Interests of host communities like the Plaintiff.”
The Plaintiff is also praying the court to declare “the exclusion of Ekpetiama Kingdom and its leadership from the divestment process amounts to a denial of their right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) under international law and renders the divestment process procedurally and legally defective.”
Also, “A DECLARATION that the continued degradation of the environment, livelihoods and health of the people of Ekpetiama Kingdom, as detailed in the expert findings of the report titled “An Environmental Genocide: Counting the Human and Environmental Cost of Oil in Bayelsa, Nigeria”, is a violation of the constitutional and human rights of the Plaintiff, and the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Defendants are liable for the same.”
“A DECLARATION that the continuous oil spills, gas flaring, and other environmentally harmful activities of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 7th Defendants in Ekpetiama Kingdom constitute a violation of the Plaintiff’s constitutional right to a clean, safe and healthy environment.”
The Plaintiff is seeking “A DECLARATION that the 1s, 2nd, 3rd and 7th Defendants are jointly and severally liable for the environmental degradation, economic loss and public health crisis caused in Ekpetiama Kingdom.
READ ALSO: Niger Delta Rights Activist, Ozobo Austin, Exposes Shell’s False Claims On Oil Spills
“AN ORDER directing the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 7th Defendants jointly and severally to immediately embark on comprehensive environmental clean-up, remediation and restoration of all polluted sites within Ekpetiama Kingdom.
“AN ORDER mandating the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 7th Defendants jointly and severally to establish and fund a Community Environmental Rehabilitation Fund for Ekpetiama Kingdom to the tune of $1,000,000,000.00 (One Billion United States Dollars).”
“AN ORDER directing the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 7th Defendants to jointly and severally pay to the Plaintiff the sum of $2,000,000,000.00 (Two Billion United States Dollars) as general and exemplary compensation for the losses, pain, and suffering occasioned by the 1 ^ m – 3 ^ m Defendants’ negligent and reckless operations.
“AN ORDER of perpetual injunction restraining the Defendants from continuing operations in Ekpetiama Kingdom without first conducting an independent and transparent environmental impact reassessment.
“AN ORDER nullifying the purported transfer, sale or assignment of oil and gas assets from the 1st Defendant to the 7th Defendant for substantial and material noncompliance with the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021, including failures to comply with mandatory environmental, social, and host community obligations.
READ ALSO: Bayelsa Communities Panic Over Shell’s Alleged Gas Flare Plan
“AN ORDER of perpetual injunction restraining the 1st 2nd and 3rd Defendants, whether by themselves, their agents, privies or assigns, from taking any further steps in furtherance of the said divestment to the 7th Defendant or any other person, unless and until full compliance with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021 is demonstrated and approved through judicial and regulatory processes.
“AN ORDER of perpetual injunction restraining the 7th Defendant from entering, operating, managing, or exercising any rights or obligations over the said divested assets located in or impacting the Ekpetiama Kingdom, until lawful compliance with all applicable statutory and regulatory obligations is ensured.
“AN ORDER directing the 4th, 5th and 6th Defendants to immediately conduct a thorough, independent, and transparent regulatory review of the divestment process, including Environmental and Social Impact Assessments, Financial and technical capacity of the 7th Defendant and Decommissioning liabilities and community obligations.”
“AN ORDER compelling the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Defendants to publicly disclose all agreements, undertakings, financial arrangements and environmental plans relating to the divestment and publish a time-bound plan for remediating environmental harm caused in Ekpetiama Kingdom, with the involvement of the Plaintiff.
READ ALSO: PIA: Shell Inaugurates 8 Host Community Development Trusts
“AN ORDER directing the Defendants to jointly and severally undertake immediate remedial measures in Ekpetiama Kingdom as recommended in the “Environmental Genocide” report, including but not limited to clean-up of polluted water bodies and farmlands, provision of potable water and cultural heritage.”
Joining their voices to the Plaintiff, the civil society organisations called on the Federal High Court to “act decisively,” and “restrain Shell and its partners from finalising any asset sale or
divestment until full compliance with environmental and human rights obligations is demonstrated.”
They also urged the court to “compel regulators like the NUPRC to enforce the Petroleum Industry Act
and protect host communities; affirm the rights of indigenous peoples of the Niger Delta to clean environments, safe livelihoods, and full consultation.”
News
SEC Bans CEOs From Becoming Chairmen Without 3-year Break
Published
15 hours agoon
June 21, 2025By
Editor
The Securities and Exchange Commission has issued a new directive prohibiting Chief Executive Officers and Executive Directors from immediately assuming the position of Board Chairman within the same company or group after leaving office.
A mandatory three-year “cool off period” has been introduced before such transitions can take place.
The directive is part of a wider effort to strengthen corporate governance and prevent the concentration of power in public companies and capital market operators deemed to be of significant public interest.
This was disclosed in a circular released by the Commission and signed by the management on Thursday on its website titled “Circular to All Public Companies and Capital Market Operators on the Transmutation of Independent Non-Executive Directors and Tenure of Directors.”
READ ALSO: NANS Secures Release Of Withheld Results At Osun Poly
The SEC expressed concern over what it described as a “worrying trend of the transmutation/conversion of Independent Non-Executive Directors (INEDs) to Executive Directors, including to the position of the Chief Executive Officer.”
It warned that such practices undermine board independence.
The Circular reads,”This practice clearly erodes the neutrality of the transmuting INEDs, compromises their ability going forward to provide objective judgment and is generally antithetical to the principles which underpin independent directorship as outlined in both the National Code of Corporate Governance (NCCG) as well as the SEC Corporate Governance Guidelines (SCGG).”
As a result, the Commission has directed the immediate discontinuance of the conversion of INEDs into Executive Directors within the same company or group structure.
READ ALSO: Bill To Establish Specialised Agric Institutions Passes Second Reading In House Of Reps
The new rules also introduce strict tenure limits. Directors in Capital Market Operators considered to be of significant public interest will now be limited to 10 consecutive years in the same company, and 12 years within the same group structure.
“A Chief Executive Officer or Executive Director who steps down after 10 or 12 consecutive years, as the case may be, cannot be appointed as Chairman until the expiration of a 3-year ‘cool off period’.
“The tenure of such former Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director as Chairman shall be for a maximum of 4 years and no more.”
READ ALSO: Why The Vatican Cut Phone Signal Ahead Of The Secret Conclave Vote
The SEC said these changes are backed by its powers under Section 355(r)(iv) of the Investments and Securities Act (ISA) 2025, which authorises it to set governance standards for regulated entities.
“The foregoing directives take immediate effect and compliance is mandatory. Public Companies and Capital Market Operators are therefore required to take the directives into account in their board appointments and succession planning,” the statement added.
The Commission also clarified that years already served by current officeholders will count toward the newly established tenure caps.
News
We’ve Initiated Policies, Reforms For Sustainable Health Delivery System — Edo Deputy Gov
Published
18 hours agoon
June 20, 2025By
Editor
Deputy Governor of Edo State, Hon. Dennis Idahosa has
said that the Senator Monday Okpebholo-led administration has initiated policies and reforms that will ensure a sustainable healthcare delivery system.
Idahosa stated this while chairing the second meeting of the state taskforce on Primary Health Care (PHC), at the New Festival Hall, Government House in Benin.
According to statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Friday Aghedo, the meeting included the taskforce members, stakeholders, and developmental partners.
READ ALSO: Edo Deputy Governor, Idahosa Preaches Unity As Honour For Martyrs Of June 12
In his keynote address, the deputy governor called for societal vigilance and surveillance to help curtail the effects of the outbreak of Dengue Fever and Diphtheria.
He mentioned that the state was putting up concerted efforts at building a responsive and resilient PHC system.
He encouraged members of the taskforce to be solutions driven, as well as be an instrument of change in their quest to disseminate, enlighten and champion a result driven health process that benefits locals across the eighteen local government areas.
He noted that the plan was to make primary healthcare the most accessible form of healthcare in the state to aid better maternal and health outcomes.
READ ALSO: Shocking! Late Ohanaeze Ndigbo President Lefts Will That Bans Wife From Remarrying
Idahosa singled out and commended the Egor local government chairman, Hon. Kelvin Eguaekun, for his concerted effort to network and maintain cleanliness in his council area.
Idahosa informed the state government move to implement a reward system for local government chairmen who play critical roles in their domains by disseminating and implementing processes that showcase the benefits of a cleaner environment to drive down diseases.
Amongst chairmen who pledged to implement reached decisions at the stakeholders meeting included Hon. Haruna Mohammed of Owan East and Hon. Joy Ohonyor of Owan West.
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