Paul Edor Obi | |
---|---|
Administrator of Bayelsa State | |
In office 9 July 1998 –29 May 1999 | |
Preceded by | Omoniyi Caleb Olubolade |
Succeeded by | Diepreye Alamieyeseigha |
Lt. Colonel (retired) Paul Edor Obi was Administrator of Bayelsa State,Nigeria from July 1998 to May 1999 during the transitional regime of General Abdulsalami Abubakar. [1] [2]
Paul Obi graduated from the U.S. Army Aviation School in Fort Rucker,Alabama,and earned a Higher Diploma in Aviation Technology. He also graduated from the Armed Forces Command and Staff College,Jaji. [3] He served in the military for over 23 years. He was a Platoon Commander under the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon. [4]
Obi was appointed Military Administrator of Bayelsa State in July 1998. [1] On 11 December 1998,demonstrators marched towards Government House in Yenagoa to convey their grievances. Troops opened fire,killing some and injuring many others. [5] Following continued civil disturbances,on 30 December 1998 he declared a state of emergency,suspending all civil liberties and imposing a dusk-to-dawn curfew. [6] The Niger Delta Volunteer Force (NDVF) leaders described this as an "outright declaration of war on the Ijaws". The curfew was lifted on 4 January 1999 after the government "deployed warships and more troops in Niger Delta areas to quell violent protests by restive Ijaw youths". [7]
Obi was a member of the Niger Delta Development Option Committee,which prepared the initial blueprint for development of the Niger Delta region. [4] In April 1999 he met with selected Ijaw leaders at state house in Yenagoa. He said the Federal Government wanted to help develop the state,and urged the people to "embrace the path of peace and dialogue at all times". [8] He handed over to the elected civilian governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha at the start of the Nigerian Fourth Republic on 29 May 1999. [9]
After retiring Obi became a security consultant,and became Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of Pauliza Limited. He was appointed to the board of directors of several companies including United Mortgage,Standard Alliance Insurance,Concert Alliance,Next Generation Wireless,Rode &Roke and Lagos Business School Alumni. [3] [4]
He was arraigned over alleged fraud in March 2022. [10]
The Izon people or Izon Otu,otherwise known as the Ijaw people due to the historic mispronunciation of the name Izon,are an ethnic group majorly found in the Niger Delta in Nigeria,with significant population clusters in Bayelsa,in Delta,and in Rivers. They are also found in other Nigerian states like Ondo,and Edo State. Many are found as migrant fishermen in camps as far west as Sierra Leone and as far east as Gabon. Population figures for the Ijaws are placed at just over 4 million,accounting for 1.8% of the Nigerian population. They have long lived in locations near many sea trade routes,and they were well connected to other areas by trade as early as the 15th century.
The Niger Delta is the delta of the Niger River sitting directly on the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean in Nigeria. It is located within nine coastal southern Nigerian states,which include:all six states from the South South geopolitical zone,one state (Ondo) from South West geopolitical zone and two states from South East geopolitical zone.
Bayelsa is a state in the South South region of Nigeria,located in the core of the Niger Delta. Bayelsa State was created in 1996 and was carved out from Rivers State,making it one of the newest states in the federation. The capital,Yenagoa,is susceptible to high risk of annual flooding. It shares a boundary with Rivers State to the East and Delta State to the west,with the waters of the Atlantic Ocean dominating its southern borders. It has a total area of 10,773 square kilometres (4,159 sq mi). The state comprises eight local government areas:Ekeremor,Kolokuma/Opokuma,Yenagoa,Nembe,Ogbia,Sagbama,Brass and Southern Ijaw. The state is the smallest in Nigeria by population as of the 2006 census,as well as one of the smallest by area. Being in the Niger Delta,Bayelsa State has a riverine and estuarine setting,with bodies of water within the state preventing the development of significant road infrastructure.
Yenagoa is a Local Government Area and capital city of Bayelsa State,southern Nigeria. It is located at the southern part of the country at coordinates 4°55′29″N6°15′51″E.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) is a decentralised militant group in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. MEND's actions –including sabotage,theft,property destruction,guerrilla warfare,and kidnapping –are part of the broader conflict in the Niger Delta and reduced Nigeria's oil production by 33% between 2006-07.
The current conflict in the Niger Delta first arose in the early 1990s over tensions between foreign oil corporations and a number of the Niger Delta's minority ethnic groups who feel they are being exploited,particularly the Ogoni and the Ijaw. Ethnic and political unrest continued throughout the 1990s despite the return to democracy and the election of the Obasanjo government in 1999. Struggle for oil wealth and environmental harm over its impacts has fueled violence between ethnic groups,causing the militarization of nearly the entire region by ethnic militia groups,Nigerian military and police forces,notably the Nigerian Mobile Police. The violence has contributed to Nigeria's ongoing energy supply crisis by discouraging foreign investment in new power generation plants in the region.
Kali Gwegwe is the former Chairman of Bayelsa United F.C.,a Nigerian Premier League outfit based in Yenagoa,Bayelsa State. Prior to his appointment,he was the Chairman of the Youth Sports Federation of Nigeria's (YSFON) Bayelsa State chapter. He is reputed to have groomed the bulk of all the new generation footballers (1998–2006) that come out of Bayelsa State—the home state of Finidi George and Samson Siasia.
The Bassan tribe (Basan) of the Ijaw people lives in western Bayelsa State,Nigeria. Bassan settlements include:Ezetu,Koloama,Sangana,Foropah,Ukubie,Lubia,Azuzuama,Akparatubo,and Ekeni.
The Ekpetiama clan of the Ijaw ethnic group lives in central Bayelsa State,Nigeria. The clan derives its name from its common ancestor:Ekpeti. Tombia is the clan preeminent town. Other settlements include:Bumodi,Agudama,Akabiri,and Gbarantoru. The Ekpetiama clan holds an annual festival honoring its clan god,Amadosu. Tombia and Bumodi both have shrines honoring Amadosu. The governor of Bayelsa State Governor,Douye Diri gave automatic scholarship to Ebizi Blessing Eradiri for her Master and Doctorate degrees in any university in Nigeria or abroad. These event was honour by the Ibenanaowei of Ekpetiama Kingdom,King Bubaraye Dakolo.
The Epie and Atissa are two Nations that live along Epie Creek,northeast of Yenagoa,Bayelsa State,Nigeria. Together,they are commonly known as the Epie-Atissa. The influx of the Engenni migrants to the present location of Epie-Atissa led to its expansion. The Engenni people belong to the Edoid group who share cultural similarity with the Ijaw and the Engenni.
The Gbaran tribe of the Ijaw people lives along Taylor Creek in central Bayelsa State,Nigeria. Gbaran settlements include:Okotiama,Poloaku,Obinagha,Ogboloma,Nedugo,Agbia,Ibiaye (Ebiyai),and Koroama. Okotiama is the senior community. The close proximity of Gbaran villages along Taylor Creek has helped them maintain their shared cultural traditions. The clan god is Gbaran Ziba.
Heineken Lokpobiri is a Nigerian politician who was elected Senator in April 2007 on the People's Democratic Party (PDP) platform in Bayelsa State,for the Bayelsa West constituency. He is currently the Nigerian Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development.
Melford Obiene Okilo had a long and distinguished career as a politician in Nigeria from the start of independence in 1960 until shortly before his death in 2008. He was a member of parliament (1956–1964) and a Minister in the Nigerian First Republic. He was the first elected Governor of Rivers State,Nigeria (1979–1983) during the Nigerian Second Republic. Later he was Senator for Bayelsa East,in Bayelsa State (1999–2003) during the Nigerian Fourth Republic.
Emmanuel Paulker is a Nigerian politician who was elected Senator for the Bayelsa Central constituency of Bayelsa State,Nigeria,taking office on 29 May 2007. He is a member of the UKIP.
Niger Delta University (NDU) is in Wilberforce Island,Bayelsa State in the southern part of Nigeria. It was established in 2000. It is a Bayelsa state government-funded university. In 2002,It was established by Chief DSP Alamieyeseigha,then governor of Bayelsa state. It has two main campuses,one in the state capital,Yenagoa,which contains the law faculty,and the other in Amassoma. It also has its teaching hospital known as Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital (NDUTH) in Okolobiri.
The Niger Delta Liberation Front (NDLF) is a militant group in Nigeria's Niger Delta. The group's former leader John Togo claims that their main goal is to secede from Nigeria and gain independence from Nigeria. The group is best known for their notorious leader John Togo who is known throughout Nigeria as a fierce soldier. Although Togo is the NDLF's most notorious member he was killed on July 19,2011,by a Nigerian air strike near Warri in Delta State. The group is closely linked to the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta and fight side by side against the Nigerian Army. In early 2013 war erupted within the NDLF after 2 different commanders claimed to be leader. It ended after one was killed in March 2013.
The Kaiama Declaration was issued by the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) of Nigeria on 11 December 1998 to attribute the political crisis in Nigeria to the struggle for the control of oil mineral resources,while asserting that the degradation of the environment of Ijawland by transnational oil companies and the Nigerian State arise mainly because Ijaw people have been robbed of their natural rights to ownership and control of their land and resources. The council was formed in the town of Kaiama after 5,000 Ijaw people representing over 40 Ijaw clans,chose to articulate their aspirations for the Ijaw people,and to demand an end to 40 years of environmental damage and underdevelopment in the region.
Godknows Boladei Igali is a Nigerian public servant,diplomat,author and scholar. He was appointed by President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua in September 2007 as an ambassador to the Scandinavian countries - Sweden,Denmark and Norway,a position he occupied until he was appointed a Federal Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Water Resources on 4 May 2010.
Christopher 'Pere' Ajuwa was the first man from the Niger Delta region of Nigeria to run for the office of the President of Nigeria. He was an astute businessman during the 1980s and 1990s,and was best known for his humanitarian benefactions.
The 2007 Bayelsa State House of Assembly election was held on April 14,2007,to elect members of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly in Nigeria. All the 24 seats were up for election in the Bayelsa State House of Assembly.