Niger Delta contractors urge FG, IOCs to release funds to NDDC for payment of completed projects

By Emmanuel Obisue 

A coalition of the Niger Delta contractors has beckoned on the Federal Government of Nigeria, and International Oil Company, IOC's, in the Niger Delta region to release monies owed to the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC to fast-track their outstanding payments for projects executed in the region.

President of the Contractors Association of the NDDC, Mr Sylvester Tonye had recently applauded the  Interim Administrator of the NDDC, Mr Effiong Akwa, for his Goodwill and hard work in ensuring that the contractors are all happy and fully paid for work done in the region.

"I do also want to use this medium to thank Mr Akwa for his immense efforts in trying to bring the people of the Niger Delta region together, promoting oneness, peace and forestalling disunity amongst themselves," he said.

Responding to the plight of the contractors, Mr Tonye had pushed the blame on the IOCs, positing that the entities owe the NDDC over $4bn. 

He said the affirmation of the immediate past Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio that the NDDC is on life support, has been confirmed, because monies coming into the Commission is not enough to pay contractors for work done.

The contractors also pleaded with the Muhammadu Buhari-led Presidency to intervene in the matter between the IOCs and NDDC to enable Mr Akwa to carry out his duties effectively and pay contractors.  

To this end, they also stressed that the leaders of the region should eliminate selfish interests and join hands together with the Interim Administrator to develop the region and deviate from fighting over who has brought who on board or who has not.

While making a passionate call on the elders and stakeholders in the region, Mr Tonye also implored the youths of the region to remain calm and allow for the development of the region for the overall betterment for all.

Dickson Condemns Massacre Of Innocent Worshippers At OWO

By Ere-ebi Agedah

The Senator representing Bayelsa West, Senator Henry Seriake Dickson, has condemned in strong terms the massacre of harmless worshippers at Owo, Ondo State.

The former Bayelsa Governor described the act as animalistic, barbaric, reprehensible, extremely callous and unthinkable.

Senator Dickson said that the barbaric act perpetrated by the savage criminals was one unimaginable evil targeted at the core of values of humanity.

The senator who made the comment in a statement on Tuesday said that the gruesome act was a violent assault which can sear the conscience of the nation if not immediately addressed.

He called on the Federal Government to ensure that all measures are put in place to track down those responsible for the unacceptable, abominable act.

The Senator said that it is only when when the cruel criminals with no value for human life are dealt with and justice seen to have been done according to the law that Nigerians will have a likeness of reassurance.

He also call for support for the security agents who are toiling day and night to restore order in troubled areas not to relent in their patriotic sacrifices of the peace of the nation.

The Senator urged Nigerians irrespective of religion, region and ethnicity to unite against those perpetrating acts capable of being misinterpreted with dire consequences.

He said that what happened was a mind boggling crime perpetrated by sick minds adding that rather than reading sectional meanings, Nigerians should put up a concerted action against them.

He condoled with the families of victims, the Catholic Church, ondo State Government, the Olowo of Owo and prayed to God to give the family the fortitude to bear this loss

Meet Our Man Crush Monday: Mr. Michael Ukiye Diongoli

Mr. Michael U. Diongoli is a serial businessman and financial management expert. He is the Group Managing Director of UK-DION GROUP. 

A group of companies postured to add value in the financial, real estate and entertainment industries, as it’s their mantra ‘we simply add value’. 

The group is operational in key states of Nigeria, including Lagos, Port Harcourt, Warri and Abuja with multiple offices in some of these states. 

UK Dion group has the vision to be West Africa’s leading, most distinctive servicing and solutions hub that adds value to all stakeholders. 

Deploying timely global compliant strategies, under the esteemed leadership of Mr. Michael Diongoli, the conglomerate is fast fulfilling this vision.

Interestingly this multi-million dollar group with a mission to build trust, ensure value addition and wealth creation for clients; had started as the brain child of Mr. Michael Diongoli, and was lunched right in his sitting room with a startup capital of just about three thousand naira only. 

Through this phase of humble beginning, Mr. Michael Diongoli had his focus on the goal and was quite certain that in deploying the right skill-sets, competence and commitment the global picture in his head would soon be his reality. 

He holds the philosophy true that it is okay to start small but not to remain small, in his words “You can start locally but think globally and much more develop global compliant competences and expertise”.

In line with his values Mr. Michael Diongoli had not only hoped for a large scale business but prepared and positioned himself to operate an international scale business; as he systematically acquired certifications that support and oxygenate his global visions. 

He is a B.Sc. holder in Business Management, and has a Master’s Degree in International Business and Management, from the prestigious University of Bradford in the United Kingdom. 

Furthermore, in consolidating his expertise, the astute businessman worked as a financial adviser with Lowell Financials in the U.K. and later became a mortgage adviser with Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) then a financial adviser with Barclays Bank and NatWest Bank all in the U.K. 

Mr. M. Diongoli is an experienced, certified financial advisor and a Fellow of the Institute of Credit Administration (FICA) he is also a Fellow, Institute of Management Specialists (FIMS) with over 10 years working experience in the finance industry.

He has developed a wide range of competences, viable ideas and exceptional management skills in finance and investments. 

This has allowed him to enjoy in-depth knowledge of the economic and financial situation in the country and across the African Continent. 

Michael Diongoli has an affable nature which has enabled him build a lasting relationship with clients over the years. 

He is a man of international repute. 

This scholarly business guru ‘Mr. Michael Ukiye Diongoli’ with undeniable results is our man crush Mondy.

Michael Ukiye Diongoli Is Indeed A Role Model Worthy Of Emulation.

He is our man crush for today monday the 6th of June 2022.

Born into the royal family of the Diongoli's in the Kolokuma/ Opokuma local government area of present day Bayelsa State. Michael Diongoli has grown to build a business empire for himself, establishing his brand as a leading financial institution in the nation and stamping his name in the sands of time. 

As financial expert known world over for his tact in financial operations. 

He has shown an unwavering interest and unbridled commitment to human capacity development.

Mr Michael Diongoli has mastered the craft of breaking even in business spheres and has help dozens of startups benefit from his exposure and wealth of experience in the financial ecosystem.

A trained and certified financial adviser who has consulted for the Royal Bank of  Scotland; Barclay's Bank, NatWest Bank and many others around the world. 

His unconventional, out of the box approach to  business and particularly financial decision making; has earned his clients numerous solutions to key institutional challenges/problems.

Michael Diongoli is a globally sort after phenomenon renowned to have practical solutions to economy crises and recession.

His involvements in economic oriented projects had road mapped economic possibilities in the mist of bleak options.

The business magnate being a firm believer in the nation Nigeria, operates his business headquarters from Lagos State, Nigeria; and extends his services to the entirety of West Africa.  

He believes that the collective sufferings in the land Africa is the untamed strength we need to pioneer and engineer our economic revolution. Thus, he chooses to operate his business from Nigeria, despite having the options of doing business from almost anywhere in the world.

“The mind is the most powerful part of human existence, it is the brooding ground for success. 

All thoughts and aspirations are conceived and processed here before execution. 

Wining the mind game implies winning life’s game, and thriving in any sphere of life”.

The founder of UK-DION Mr. Michael Diongoli, a financial expert and business thought leader made this known while speaking with a crop of young entrepreneurs in Africa. 

The man who rose from starting a business with just three thousand naira from his parlour has increased his fortune to a multi billion naira venture. 

He attributes his successes to deliberate tasking of his mind. 

In his words “I constantly strive to feed my mind with positivity and commission it to learn at every given opportunity. I am here today because my mind is continuously programmed to seek for new truths and disrupt the old”.

Michael Diongoli admonishes aspiring entrepreneurs and SME's not to joke with tasking their minds to get their desired results. 

He believes that developing oneself and consciously getting exposed to 21st century relevant economic knowledge is key to business success.

Man Crush Monday!!!

Mr. Michael Diongoli, an under forty financial expert has proven that the Niger Delta is blessed with oil in our brains beyond the oil in our land. He has caused a lot of disruptions in the financial space owing to his depth of knowledge and result oriented approach as a financial advisor.

Having towed the path of a pacesetter and pathfinder Ambassador Lawrence Ekpebu, the first African graduate of the prestigious Harvard University. Michael Diongoli has carved a niche for himself in the financial ecosystem.

The University of Bradford trained business and management guru has served as financial advisor to reputable international and national financial institutions, with remarkable results that has earned him the reputation of a global financial expert.

His cutting-edge solutions had given blockbuster achievements to his numerous clientele base.

Interestingly, Michael U. Diongoli is a down to earth personality inspite of his expertise and practical experience on how to turnaround bearish financial realities into assets and eventually bullish endpoints.

He is a realist who totally believes that hard work rewards faster than cutting corners.

In his words “Never try to cut corners to survive, because you may just be cutting your surviving lifeline to success”.

He is an outstanding leader who has mentored so many business men and women in to building successful brand.

NDDC Contractors Frowns At Planned Protest On Former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs Akpabio, Akwa

The Contractors Association of the Niger Delta Development (NDDC) has disassociated itself from recent meetings and plans held in Port Harcourt Rivers State to mobilize agents to attack the premises of former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio and Sole Administrator of the NDDC, Effiong Akwa.

President of the contractors, Sylvester Iyade Tonye conveyed this in a statement issued on Friday, describing the planned protesters as “hijackers and saboteurs trying to disorganize the NDDC.”  

"We got credible information that the boys are already in Abuja to carry out a protest.

“The Contractors Association of NDDC has disassociated itself from clandestine groups organizing to attack the NDDC building and premises or carrying out any form disturbance of public peace in form of protest in Abuja. 

“Some hijackers and clandestine saboteurs are trying to disorganize the NDDC by using the name of Contractors Association of NDDC for their personal and selfish purpose. The Contractors Association of NDDC is not a violent association, we are people of integrity, good will and like mind that want the unity and development of the Niger Delta region.

“We therefore use this opportunity to warn the hijackers and destroyers of the Niger Delta region to desist from any form of violence and any form of protest as our contry does not need any form of distraction at the moment," Tonye stated.

The contractors further condemned and rejected the current paralysis of the NDDC and dishonouring of commitments by Oil Company despite efforts made by the contractors association and other stakeholders in region.

They also thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for his good works in the region.

Ijaw Nation Decry Arrest of Dagogo

The arrest of Farah Dagogo is raising so many dust and we advise all structures of the Ijaw nation to attack the culprit of this disgrace from the very source.

The Ijaw people are known for the ebullient drive to stand by the truth always without fear or favour.

This is the position of the Ijaw Front Line Crusaders, IFC, the group spoke through their image bearer Comrade Ekisa Binaebi noting that the recent piece from our queen mother Ann -Kio Briggs is void of attacking Wike because he would expose her to the world for betraying Ijaw governorship agenda of 2015 and 2019 .

The group  noted that they are wondering why Ann-Kio Briggs is not calling on Governor Wike of Rivers state to stop witch hunting an Ijaw man who is vying to be the next governor of Rivers state 

"If Farah is clean of the same betrayal of Ijaw governorship agenda is it because she has been a major benefactor of his benevolence?" 

We can recall that in 2015 these set of persons sold out the Ijaw drive for Rivers governor just for momentary satisfaction. We are aware of the roles Ann-Kio Briggs, Farah Dagogo and the likes played in betraying  the Ijaw governor quest, as they allegedly negotiated the House of Assembly ticket and other side attraction to play against  Dakuku Peterside and others who threw their hart in the ring for the chase. In 2019, they did the same thing including Ateke and Asari, Egberipapa, Sam Sam Jaja and Uche Secondus.

We can see clearly why they cannot attack the very source of this historic impunity and abuse of power. What are they afraid of? Could it be that there are many cockroaches in the cupboard? These we leave for posterity to judge. You cannot betray your people without consequence the group noted.

Everyone that have betrayed the Ijaw nation have been paying one way or the order and very soon, Udengs Eradiri would pay for what he has done in NDDC.

The likes of Uche Secondus who gave ticket to Governor Wike against his own equally eligible brothers was fought out of the PDP helm of affairs. Former Deputy governor of Rivers state, Tele Ikuru  who abandoned his own brother to support Wike too have gotten his fare share of the pie likewise Tammy Danagogo, Evans Bipi, Patience Goodluck Jonathan, etc.

This clearly shows that we must as Ijaw people be without betrayal tendencies and begin to stand for ourselves.

The well stage managed hatred for Ijaw people in Rivers state is not far fetched from the repercussions  of betrayals and self selling out. We are not surprise that despite the role Former President Goodluck Jonathan played in making governor Wike who he is today against all Ijaws who presented themselves for same service, we can see how things are playing out. We saw how supporters of Run Jonathan campaign were pursued out of Port Harcourt Stadium by security agencies allegedly sent by the incumbent governor of Rivers state. Governor Wike however has been known to always fight the Ijaws that gave him all the support he needed at a time.

This is a clarion call on the Ijaw Nation to at this critical times of our political history to support ourselves and shun betrayal of our common interest.

Therefore, we must address this situation from an informed point of view rather than mere playing to the gallery.

However, the group also noted that the Ijaw National Congress which is seen as the parent  body of the Ijaw nation to properly evaluate issues before delving into them. The forty eight hours ultimatum given by the President of INC has been judged as flippant therefore we must not cash caution to the wind on this matter. We should not soil our hands for a morsel of small provision. 

The group cautioned the INC that this is the second time insult is brought on the Ijaw nation by them.

The Ijaw Front line Crusaders calls on the leadership of the Ijaw Youth Council, IYC to wade into this matter as the insult brought on the Ijaw nation via these recklessness is getting too much adding that the IYC as the last resort should put to rest these very dicey and slippery situation at hand.