From Jude Dangwam, Jos

The Director of Administration/Acting Director General of the Plateau State Bureau of Public Procurement (PSBPP) Yabilsu Dogo has decried that lack of mobility has affected the procurement agency from effective monitoring of awarded contracts in the State.He said the Agency which is responsible for the issuance of certificate of no objections to contractors is central in the monitoring of contracts being executed to meet specification and quality is in dear need of attention for optimal results.

Dogo made this outcry when he received members of the “Community Frontline Advocates” on the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in collaboration with the Open Contracting Partnership (OCP) implemented by Accountability Lab Nigeria in Plateau State.”When I came here, I asked whether this is a government office or not. There is no official vehicle in this agency, including a bus for monitoring work, this over the years affects the quality of work contractors carried out across the state.”The building is about to collapse you can see cracks everywhere, there is no functional toilets, the small environment is sitting on a waterlogged area and during rainy season water keeps coming out of every office from the ground, you wouldn’t want to be here in the rainy season.” he lamentedHe added, “The Governor has approved an official vehicle for us which will be delivered to us in no distance time. And some releases were made for the running of the office that is how we were able to fix two toilets in this office. But we still need a bus for monitoring, without a bus we can’t function as expected of the Bureau,” he emotionally statedThe Bureau of Public Procurement has in the last one year of the Mutfwang administration has issued over 100 certificate of no objections to contractors executing contracts across the state.The Agency is said to have recorded above 21 million naira generated as revenue through registration of contractors who are ready to do business with the state.The team of Community Frontline Advocates led by Mr Derek Nanman Gono said the team is at the Agency on a familiarization visit in other to strengthen the quest for open contracting in the state towards accountability and good governance to citizens of Plateau State.He disclosed that the team will be embarking on projects monitoring and urged the agency to upload more projects so far completed on the Open Contracting Portal to easy tracking.Gono reiterated that the team is focusing on two key areas for the monitoring project, covering the health sector and the educational sector across the state respectively.

From Attah Ede, Makurdi

The people of Egba Community in Agatu LGA of Benue State, have sent a SAVE OUR SOUL (SOS) message to Gov. Hyacinth Alia over the continuous molestation and killing of their sons and daughters by their Ologba neighbouring community in the area.The Community further urged the Governor to consider their plight and urgently intervene in order to free them from the frequent harassment and killing of innocent law-abiding citizens.

The Egba people are equally calling on the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Aondona Dajoh, the Och’Idoma, Agaba-Idu, John Obagaji Odogbo and other public spirited individuals, to prevail on Ologba people to remove all wooden blocks and disarm their armed youths allegedly stationed at the major road connecting the two communities. Youths from Ologba Community have allegedly barricaded all the routes linking the two communities thereby preventing Egba people from gaining access to social and business activities with their neighbours, particularly Obagaji, the local government headquarters.Recall that Egba and Ologba people have been entangled in a grisly war over the ownership of a fish pond for several decades.However, what triggered the above call is the cold blooded murder of an Egba youth, Ohili Iduh Angela, allegedly by Ologba youths when he was returning from Obagaji market with his wife on May 1, 2024.Speaking to newsmen in Makurdi, Benue State capital, Sunday, a community leader from Egba, Mr Clement Oyaje, said the Ologba youths who attacked and killed Ohili also inflicted wounds on several Egba indigenes and burnt ten of their motorcycles and took fifteen away.Oyaje said Ohili and others were being escorted by an army lieutenant from Obagaji at the behest of the local government caretaker chairman, Yakubu Ochepo before he was killed.”At the point of crossing, Ohili and the others at the wooden barriers, Ologba youths who were allegedly armed with machetes and other dangerous weapons intercepted them and launched an attack on Ohili and macheted him to death.”Other people including Ochefije Ochokwunu, Adoga Ankeli and Adija Ibrahim were inflicted with severe injuries. This dastardly act took place in the presence of the military officer unhindered.”

“We have identified those behind the attacks and killings of our people. We know people like Baba Ojepa, Boniface Baba Ojepa, Amos Odoba, Bawa Alilu, Ogboche Onehi, Haruna Audu Olotu, Haruna Saleh Olotu, Adah Ocholeche Adoga, Inalegwu Nathaniel Igote and Oche Shuaibu are spearheading the crisis.””The Divisional Police Officer, DPO of Agatu Local Government Area had to personally intervene before the corpse of Angela which was earlier taken to Obagaji by the military was moved to Egba for burial. We are being treated like slaves in Agatu even though we are the first to settle there. They said they will continue to kill us until we are completely exterminated.”Up till today the road is still blocked. We don’t have any link to the local government headquarters. They said anybody from Egba that attempts to cross the road will be a dead person.”Buying and selling have collapsed, there’s nothing like buying and selling. We’re inside a cage, no movement. We cannot go to Ayila, we cannot go to Ogbaulu, we cannot go to Obagaji.”We are inside a cage. Even on a farm, we don’t even have access to our farm. As we speak, they are warming up to attack our community.””I can authoritatively tell you that the conflict between Egba and Ologba started in 1972 when a Makurdi Upper Area Court sitting in Otukpo, passed judgement in favour of Egba as the rightful owners of the disputed fish pond. The judgment was not appealed.”The court passed judgement in favour of Egba and fixed the boundary between Egba and Ologba at Idogo stream and said any economic tree that falls at Idogo East belongs to Egba and anyone that falls at Idogo West belongs to Ologba. The Ologba people did not appeal the judgment,” he said.”Even though there was no appeal against the 1972 judgement, Oyaje said the Ologba people, however, approached the Apa/Agatu traditional council, Idoma Area Traditional Council and the Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs for them to stand down the judgment of the court but to no avail”, he started.He accused Ologba people of masterminding militia killings in Egba, particularly the 2015 killings which claimed the life of 86 Egba people in one day.But in swift reaction, a local in Ologba Community who did not want his name on print described the allegations by Egba people as a tissue of lies.He said “Egba people have come again with their lies. Ologba people did not kill anyone on the 1st of May, 2024. We are law abiding people and will therefore not resort to acts of rascality by blocking public roads, not to talk of taking human life,” the local said.Efforts to confirm the incident from the Benue State Command Police Relations Officer, SP Catherine Anene, failed as she did not pick the calls made to her cell phone.

From Mike Tayese, Yenagoa

The Joint Task Force, codenamed, “Operation Delta Safe (OPDS)”, on Sunday uncovered over 50 illegal refining sites in the Biseni forest of Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa.The JTF Commander, Rear Adm. John Okeke, who led the operation, said illegal refining of stolen crude oil was taking place in each of the sites.

Daily Asset reports that a large dug out open pit that can accommodate more than 10 trucks of Alternative Gas Oil (AGO), holding crude oil from where they distribute to their cooking site. He recalled he had earlier warned oil thieves in the area to desist from the illegal business or relocate to another area.According to him, “I recalled on May 9, 2024 we were at Ukwa West LGA, in Abia State bordering Rivers State, a contiguous forest bear shared along Imo River.”Today like I said we are not going to relent and it is work in progress. We will not get tired, we will continue, we are in Biseni in Yenagoa LGA of Bayelsa.”We transverse from Ahoada West LGA, of Rivers to reach this point, the most surprising thing is that this place we are now is housing over 50 cooking sites with unique arrangements.”The thieves operating in this area have decided to be so smart by connecting what is called a theft line made of two inches pipe, a galvanized pipe connecting directly to supply oil lines on the road, from a distance of one kilometer.”Then they have a lot of funny connections where they have various arrangements of D connection, multiple connections where each of the thieves get their supply.”From a large dug out open pit that can accommodate more than 10 trucks of AGO, holding crude oil from where they distribute to their cooking site,” he said.According to him, like I said, I want to call on the public spirited individuals to please continue to volunteer information, because the JTF cannot do it alone.”Look at the thick forest we are now, you can never imagine that such serious crime is going on here, if not for the good spirited individual that volunteered information, we wouldn’t have known.He called the criminals to kindly relocate or change their business, because they will not relent, as they will continue with clearance operations.The JTF Commander, said his message to those involved in illegality that sooner or later they will catch up with them, as they will not relent and that the way is going they may come up with more drastic measures.”It appears that they felt that we are being romantic with kid gloves, but I can assure you that is getting out of hand if we continue to curb these illicit activities.”I personally will begin to advocate for more serious measures to address this challenge, because the country is bleeding. You know the illicit oil activities.”When you allow such activities to continuously be perpetuated, the legitimate people that engage will not be able to sell their products because these criminals will be selling at far lower prices.”The government needs to gain revenue for developmental purposes, that is why we have taken it as a force to continue fighting this battle and we will not relent,” he said.