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Nigerian Navy will continue to support NOSDRA – Navy Chief

Published

5 years ago

May 22, 2019

The Nigerian Navy has said that it will continue to support the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) to curb the menace of oil spills in the country.

The Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas said this when the D-G of NOSDRA and some of his Directors paid him a courtesy visit on Wednesday in Abuja.

Acvording to him, we have been addressing the consequences of oil spill that we all know that are deliberately caused by criminals and saboteurs.

“There is hardly a day that passes without the Navy shutting down illegal refineries as well as vandalised pipes and abandoned oil well.

“Because if these criminals do not have the means of getting the oil it will slow down their effort at attempting to steal and refine the products’’.

Ibas congratulates the agency for the wonderful job they have been doing.

“ The efforts you have carried out is noble, I want to assure you that when you need us, rest assured that we will provide the needed support.

“The Navy have been partnering with your agency and we have concerned in the devastation of oil spills in the country.

“The statistics and the records we have show that something serious need to be done therefore we must come together to address the menace being done in the environment.

the Navy Chief, however solicited for the support of all stakeholder in keeping the environment safe and secured.

“It’s a campaign that we are going to solicit the support of all stakeholders to be able to address the menace,’’ he said.

Earlier, the D-G of NOSDRA, Mr Idris Musa said that the agency has been embarking on consultations to sensitise the people of the communities on the dangers and implications of oil spills.

“We want to let the community people to understand what dangers there are in the case of oil spill: when oil spills, it goes into the rivers that they drink or use for domestic purposes.

“It also goes to farmland, to the creeks and to the fish, all of these places are places are endangered and we need them all the time to sustain our daily livelihood.

“It destroys the environment, endangers your life as a person and cause some social and economic dislocation to the community where you come from and Nigeria at large’’.

He said that the agency will continue to consult and give details on the issues of disaster that is awaiting if communities do not stop or point fingers at people who engage in the criminal activities.

“We are going to be discussing with the Independent Marketers Association of Nigeria, Major Oil Marketers of Nigeria, and the Depot Marketers Association of Nigeria.

“We want to let them our next line of action so that when we get to them it won’t be strange to them.

“We will sensitise them and get them to understand what role they should play to avoid polluting ground wate: because ground water remediation is very costly, more difficult and takes more time, so we need to begin to sensitise them in these areas too’’.

The D-G, however solicited the support of the Navy, saying, we have been having a lot of challenges especially on our water ways, the creeks and creek lets in the Niger-Delta.

“We do not want to be having oil spills all the time because our vision is to have a Zero tolerance to oil spill.

“It’s unfortunate that in spite of the efforts, we still see some of these criminals finding their ways into our water ways to puncture our pipe lines.

“The recent case is in April where the 24inch and the 28inch Trans-Niger pipelines were cut by some miscreants and another one in Ondo state, the fire is still burning now as we speak’’.

He therefore asked for more support from the Navy to have a very safe and conducive environment.

“ Noting the way we now operate and most of our oil companies are moving off shore and land shore, we now see that the task of maintain a very secure marine environment cannot be over emphasized.

“So we want to make sure that the custodians of the National Oil Spill Contingency plan are in touch with all our major stakeholders. (NAN)

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Nigeria Will Take Good Shape In No Distant Time- Olawande

Published

2 days ago

September 16, 2024

The Gleamer

Joel Ajayi

The Minister of State for Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande has urged the citizens of the country to be patient with the Administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in transforming the lives of its citizens through various policies and programs of the federal government.

The Minister made this submission while delivering his speech at the Joint Union Negotiating Council’s week of the Federal Ministry of Youth Development branch. This is the first edition since both Ministries of Youth and Sports had been damaged. The JUNC week which was held at Atiku Hall, Office of Head of Civil Service of the Federation in Abuja had its theme: “The working people in a volatile, uncertain, and complex economy”

In the words of the Honourable Minister: “I urge you to be patient with this administration. In no distant time, the country will take good shape and the lives of its citizens will be transformed”.

“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is not a pauper, he is an acknowledged epitome of wealth, and so it cannot be said of him that he desires to loot the treasury of Nigeria. He has seen money and as a result of this, he is not interested in looting the nation’s treasury”, Olawande explained.

He emphasized that “leadership is all about being committed to serve. If you are a Minister now, tomorrow you will be addressed as a former Minister, likewise a Director because there is no permanent position but the impact that you made while in that office will speak after you”, the Minister reiterated.

Olawande expressed his gratitude to the workers of the Ministry for being supportive of the government policies and programs. He promised that the welfare of the staff would not be compromised, adding that workers deserve remuneration for being hardworking.

Earlier in his address, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mr. Olubunmi Olusanya admonished the staff of the Ministry to put in their best as “Performance Management System” which replaces APER is the criteria to be used for promotion effective next year. This, according to him is because the Performance Management System (PMS) records the best efforts and input of each staff which will in turn be used to grade such staff.

Olusanya who disclosed that the welfare of the staff is his priority as workers deserve the best for the services rendered. He opined that “the hungry man is angry and as a worker, if you are not treated fairly and properly, it is impossible to get the best out of you. As a result, all staff will be treated properly as motivation to propel the best in you”, he concluded.

The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Esther Didi Walson-Jack, OON, MNI, in her address, informed that the activity to reinvigorate the Civil Service in a bid to ensure that Civil Servants carry out their duties with much diligence to have efficient and incorruptible civil service is currently on course. She advised workers to wake up and be committed to the service of the nation.

In his closing remarks, Mr. Jerry Akume, the General Secretary of the Union expressed his delight in celebrating this year’s edition of the Union week, while highlighting the achievements of the union so far. These include:

Upward review of staff welfare, prompt payment of repatriation allowances, payment of first 28 days allowance, assistance to the sick, general training of staff, and sending forth/retirement package for retired staff.

He also appealed to the Management of the Ministry, saying that irrespective of the aforementioned achievements, a lot still needs to be done in such areas as procurement of staff buses, upward review of welfare payment for festive periods, consistent general staff training, and procurement of office and work materials.

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