The General Secretary of AUPCTRE and a member of the Nigerian Labour congress, NLC Rivers state chapter, comrade James Koba has expressed displeasure on the refusal of President Goodluck Jonathan to act on the report that was made available by UNEP, concerning environmental degradation in Ogoni land.
He explained that it was disheartening for Mr. President to allow the report to have laid fallow in the past two years. Koba described it as a kill joy for people outside the shores of this country to have taken their time to evaluate the environmental situation in Ogoni land but only to be swept under the carpet.
Koba wondered what could become of Ogoni land, if the President that is from the South-South region of the country refuses to address those fundamental issues that were raised by the report at the end of the day.
On President Jonathan’s 2015 re-election bid, Koba explained that Jonathan being a south-south man has nothing to do with another person’s ambition for any other position from the zone, pointing that if Jonathan cannot develop the Niger Delta region with his position now, people should not be criticized for their decision not to support him.
He further advised Mr. President to rather address some nagging issues in the Niger Delta which include construction of East-West Road, among others than making Amaechi more relevant in the polity.
Koba added that the ambition of Rotimi Amaechi if he has cannot in any way disrupt or affect that of the President in 2015.
Reacting to the 7-day ultimatum given to the Federal and State Government on the bad nature of Eleme road, by the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Comrade James Koba said that labour decided to take up the responsibility since the social services that speak for the people are no longer there. He opined that the ultimatum was a success as there is an on ongoing temporary work on the Eleme road.
The labour activist who admitted that the state government has a role to play on the road, commended Governor Amaechi for the construction of Omagwa-Owerri road, which he said is a federal road, believing that the state government would have done same on Eleme road, on a good agreement, he added.
Speaking on the recent cut-off mark of 180 for federal universities and 150 for polytechnics by the Federal Ministry of education, Koba disclosed that the only way to get it right is for the Federal Government to encourage the elementary school teachers whom he said are the best to prepare the children for greater heights.
Koba however, urged Rivers youths to be careful in dealing with politicians who will always give peanuts to them. He admitted that addressing the issue of youths is as complex as the political problems in the country, blaming it on the inability of government to provide a means of accommodating or engaging the youths actively. ###
Blaise Elumezie
