An Ex-Agitator in the Niger Delta, Pastor Reuben Wilson has appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to appoint Col. Milland Dikio (Rtd) as substantive Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP).
Wilson, is founder of the Pastor Reuben Initiative for Good Leadership and Accountability, (PRIFGLA), an All Progressives Congress support group and South-South Coordinator of The Asiwaju Group (TAG).
Mr Odianosen Masade, an energy expert has urged the African continent to adopt a diversified approach to the energy transition quest and leverage on its abundant gas reserves.
Masada, Publicity Secretary of the Nigerian Gas Association (NGA) expressed the view in an interview on Monda in Yenagoa against the backdrop of rising global energy costs.
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| MR ODIANOSEN MASADR, P7BLICITY SECRETARY, NIGERIAN GAS ASSOCIATION |
A collation of ex-agitators under the auspices of Niger Delta Amnesty Beneficiary Forum (NDABF) has appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to probe some officials of the Ministry of Justice following abrupt transfer of legal officers attached to the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP).
The ex-agitators, who spoke in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, said the probe should be centred on the motive behind the transfer authorised by the Solicitor-General and the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Beatrice Jeddy-Agba.
The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development has commenced the disbursement of cash grants of N20,000 each to 2,219 poor and vulnerable persons in Bayelsa.
The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development , Hajia Sadiya Umar Farouq who performed the ceremony in Yenagoa on Friday, explained that the beneficiaries were drawn from the eight local government areas of Bayelsa.
Some 500 beneficiaries of the social intervention programme were empowered at theceremony.
The Movement for Survival of Izon Ethnic Nationality in the Niger Delta (MOSIEND) on Saturday urged the Presidency to ignore ongoing campaigns of calumny targeted against Chief Timipe Sylva, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources.
The group noted with dismay that some unpatriotic individials envious of the performance of some political office holders have resorted to cheap blackmails to discredit them.
Mrs Kezia Uwak, the estranged wife of a former House of Representatives member, Hon. Robinson Uwak, has asked him to stop chasing shadows and face the case she instituted against him in court.
Kezia gave the advice to his ex-husband in a statement on Wednesday and reminded him his attacks on political foes rather than face the accusation of beating her and his in-laws in addition to alleged forceful kidnapping of their little twin children were diversionary and mischievous.
She equally reminded Uwak that opportunities abound in court for him to prove his allegation of infidelity which she instituted against him.
Uwak had recently alleged that Kezia was having an extra-marital affairs with Hon Benjamin Kalu, the Chairman of House of Representatives Committee on Media and Public Affairs.
Uwak, the former lawmaker who represented the Oron/Mbo/Okobo/Ure-Offong/Oruko and Udung-Uko Federal Constituency of Akwa Ibom State at the 7th National Assembly, had maintained that he would not apologise to Kalu over the allegation of an amorous relationship with his wife.
Kezia advised the former lawmaker to stop jumping from one media house to another in his quest to divert attention from the case against him that is pending in court.
She said: "I don’t know how a man that beats his wife regularly without provocation will be making frivolous allegations of infidelity against her, even as the case of kidnapping of our children is still hanging on his head.
"It is baffling how a former lawmaker in the Federal Republic of Nigeria will be dragging his political misfortune into his failed family affairs.
"He should be man enough to separate the two by confronting his political enemies with issues that affect his political life and avoid dragging his marital failure into issues that should not be associated with anyone outside both of us.
"I wish to reaffirm that during my marriage to Robinson Uwak, I never had anything to do with any other man, not via communication, no physical meetings and absolutely nothing whatsoever with any other man.
"I was a stay at home wife for Hon Robinson Uwak as he didn’t allow me to do any work but to always be indoors to take care of the house, which I did without hesitation.
"I got pregnant two months after our wedding with our twins and considering how challenging a twin pregnancy can be, I was practically at home throughout the period of the pregnancy. After the successful delivery of the twins through Cesarean Section (CS), it took a while for me to recover from the surgery and was fully engaged with the task of taking care of our babies.
"During that period of body healing, I was deprived of sleep, always stressed and not eating well. Being my first child bearing experience with twins, my entire life was dedicated to the care and well being of our new twin babies.
"With all those sacrifices of staying at home and nursing new babies, it was a huge embarrassment to be accused of cheating by Robinson, which was unimaginable.
"Due to Robinson’s physical violence and abuse, the househelps we employed to assist me then kept leaving the job, as they were always looking very uncomfortable and scared in the house which forced the babies and myself to live all alone during those formative periods.
"Still, Robinson usually came back home to his new family within the early hours of each day without any form of assistance or support to me and the children.
"Even with his violent character, I equally managed to endure all the pains and sufferings just for the sake of the family and the love I had for our children.
"In my efforts to build a happy family, I tried to do everything he asked of me until one morning that Robinson strangled me without any provocation. In order to save my life and that of our twins, I had to leave his house in search of safety somewhere."
The estranged wife said it still beat her imagination how her ex-husband was dragging his failed marriage into an already failed political life knowing that the National Assembly is not a family court where marital issues are handled.
She said: "Uwak should be ready to defend himself in court instead of sending petitions to the National Assembly or his sponsors who are interested in using our private life issues as a tool to their personal political advantage.
"Hon Robinson Uwak should face the law by providing evidence within his disposal to prove his case of infidelity against me, instead of painting me black using the media platforms."
Mr Azibaola Robert, an Environmental Rights activist, on Monday canvassed tree planting and conservation of the rainforests of the Niger Delta to protect the biodiversity of the region.
The environmentalist
spoke during a bonfire night at his Otakeme community in the Ogbia Local
Government Area of Bayelsa.
