Senator Seriake Dickson representing Bayelsa West said some very important personalities (VIPs) from Lagos and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, are behind oil theft in Niger Delta. Dickson stated this in an interview on Channels Television on Friday. The two-term governor of Bayelsa State said the official system and oil companies are beneficiaries of oil theft in the Niger Delta. …

In a bid to address violence in the Niger Delta region, the European Union (EU) has rolled out plans to invest in 60 communities in three Niger Delta states. The Country Director of Search for Common Ground, Fatima Abubakar stated this at the official launch of the European Union-funded project titled: ‘A Community-Centered Approach to Transforming Criminality and Violence in …

The establishment of Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta (PIND), by Chevron has gulped over $100 million and leveraged a corresponding amount from investors and partners. In 2010, Chevron established the PIND, a non-profit organisation working with partners to complement the GMoU, build peace and address the macro socio-economic issues in the Niger Delta region. The PIND’s programmes have continued …

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has blamed oil and gas companies operating in the Niger Delta for the environmental degradation in the region. The group’s position is contained in a report commissioned by SERAP titled, “We Are All Vulnerable. How Lack Of Transparency and Accountability Is Fueling Human Rights Violations in the Niger Delta’’. It called on the federal …

Northern group under the auspices of Arewa Think Tank (ATTAK) has tackled a coalition of oil-producing states/ex-agitators in Niger Delta over planned mass protest against the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Engr. Gbenga Komolafe over allegations of shady deals at the Commission. The group said the planned protest was ill-timed and did not intend …

Leaders and stakeholders of the Niger Delta region have called on the President Bola Tinubu-led government to retain the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) to sustain peace in the oil-producing states of the federation. The leaders who gathered under the aegis of the Pan Niger Delta Forum in Abuja stated this in a communique issued after a meeting on Monday with …

The Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) has condemned the appointment of a Minister of State for Petroleum Resources from the oil-rich Niger Delta area. During Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme, described on Thursday, IPAC National Chairman, Alhaji Yabagi Sani descrivbed the appointment as a “wrong signal”. Senator Heineken Lokpobiri from Bayelsa State was announced on Wednesday as the Minister of State-designate …

The Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) has said that $360m has been released for the clean-up of the polluted Ogoni land in the Niger Delta. After a four-day tour of remediated project sites and the reticulated water projects in the four local government areas of Ogoni, HYPREP Project Coordinator, Prof. Nenibarini Zabbey said: “We are happy to report to you …

The Bayelsa Elders Council has urged the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to collaborate with other development agencies and state governments to find a lasting solution to the perennial floods ravaging the Niger Delta region. During a recent interactive meeting with the NDDC Managing Director, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, Chairman of the Elders’ Council, Rear …

The Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse III has deplored the rising poverty of the people of the Niger Delta where the oil wealth of the nation comes from. The Olu lamented that the people of the Niger Delta have been despite having one of the largest oil and gas deposits in the country. According to him, too many communities under …