As various ethnic groups in the Niger Delta are jostling for the appointment of their kinsman as Petroleum Minister, the leaders of the Itsekiri ethnic nation in Delta state has slammed their Urhobo counterpart over perceived tactics of blackmail to achieve the aim
The Warri Study Group (WSG), in reaction to a statement credited to the Urhobo Consultative Forum (UCF), said the Urhobos are not qualified to seek one of the juiciest ministerial position, contrary to the claim by the UCF and its ‘falsehood and misinformation’ on Urhobo’s oil production quantum,.
WSG, in a statement signed by Edward Ekpoko and Tony Ede, Chairman and Secretary debunked the claim that “The Urhobo contributes over 80 per cent of the nation’s income.”
They said: “Though they (UCF) did not name their resources, but since it is the Petroleum Ministry they want, we can safely say it is oil and gas. If it is so, it is false; no state in Nigeria produces up to 50 per cent of its oil and gas. The leading oil producing state in Nigeria presently is Akwa-Ibom State. Delta State comes in after Rivers and Baysela States. The Urhobo are among the least producers of oil and gas even in Delta State. They produce about 20% of Delta State production, far behind the Itsekiri and Ijaw in Delta State going by records of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and DESOPADEC.
“The Ijaw as an ethnic nation remains the leading oil producing ethnic nationality in Nigeria followed by the Itsekiri of the three Warri Local Government Areas of Delta State.
“One may ask; why do they want the Ministry of Petroleum Resources? Is it the opportunity for looting in the industry that has now been exposed and being investigated? When have ministerial appointments, being filled by advertorial placement?
“We are surprised our Urhobo neighbour has not imbibed the palpable change the Buhari era has ushered in! Advertise for ministerial appointment! Perish the idea, you are not qualified,” Ekpokpo and Ede said in the statement.
They also faulted the UCF’s claim that the late Yoruba sage and former Premiere of the Western Region, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, gave the Itsekiri undue advantage to marginalise the Urhobos of Warri through policies and programmes in that era.
“All Nigerians, except the sponsors of this falsehood, blackmail and treachery, are fully aware of the well-published and well-known facts about Itsekiri of Warri in Nigerian history.”
The Warri group also lambasted the UCF for castigating President Goodluck Jonathan in the statement stressing that they were not fair to him in spite of his largess to the Urhobo nation.
While conceding that President Jonathan’s policies were hostile towards Itsekiri and many other ethnic groups, the WSG said same cannot be said of the Urhobo, who got various ministerial appointments and board membership under the former president.
“Though, it is now fashionable for those currying favour from President Buhari to accuse President Jonathan of all evils, the truth must be told. The Urhobo under President Jonathan had two Ministers – Chiefs Kenneth Gbagi and Stephen Oru and Chairpersons of Boards including the National Judicial Institute.
“President Jonathan’s sweet romance with, and benevolence to, the Urhobos made the Urhobo Progress Union (UPU) take a vow to neither eat nor drink until President Jonathan was voted in at the last election to the extent that UPU even refused to welcome General Muhammadu Buhari, then campaigning for election.
“President Jonathan’s alleged largesse caused the disgraceful fragmentation that belittled and mocked the Urhobo nation before and after the election,” WSG added.
The Federal Government has empowered Itsekiri Fishermen Co-operatives in the Niger Delta with 24 Yamaha outboard Marine boat Engines, Fishing Nets, Floats and Marine ropes.
Presenting the equipment and input to the representative of the Olu of Warri and the facilitator of the government support, Mrs Rita Lori Ogbebor at the ministry’s Store in Sheda, Abuja, the Deputy Director, Artisenal Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr. Olusegun Babatunde, stated that the gesture was in line with government effort at increasing local production of fishes with an additional 200,000metric tonnes in Nigeria.
Babatunde said artisanal fishing has contributed to the 80 per cent of fishes produced locally in Nigeria, saying the inputs would provide employment opportunities to the Itsekiri Youths and helped them in contributing their quota to the fisheries sector in the country.
He said the government has designed a programme that is targeted at 27 selected states that are engaged in artisanal fishing with focus on 200 fishermen per state. According to him, such fishermen are expected to benefit from the empowerment drive in form of fishing inputs like boats and canoes, as a way of support and not subsidy from government.
Receiving the fishing inputs on behalf of the Itsekiri Fishermen Co-operatives, Mrs Ogbebor, thanked the Federal Government for empowering the youth in the region, saying the gesture would reduce restiveness in the Niger Delta.
Mrs Ogbebor stated that government gesture would also address some of the grievances in the Niger-Delta region and pleaded for more assistance in swamp rice production and piggery. She said such assistance could be in the area of equipment for rice processing, harvesting and polishing.
Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa appears to be heading for a revolt from the Ijaw and Itsekiri because of their perceived neglect in key early appointments by the new administration.
It was gathered that the groups expressed anger over the purported hijack of key positions, such as Chief of Staff at the Government House and the Director of Protocol by Okowa’s and his Deputy’s Ika and Ijaw ethnic groups.
It was also learnt that Okowa will today announce a former member of the National Assembly, Tams Brisibe, as the Chief of Staff to the Government House.
Brisibe and Deputy Governor Kingsley Otuaro are Ijaw.
It was learnt that one of Okowa’s kinsman, whose name could not be confirmed last night, would be inaugurated as the Director of Protocol (DoP).
Also, a former Commissioner of Finance from Urhobo in Delta Central is being touted to become the Secreatary to the State Government (SSG), a move that some sources said may scuttle the ambitions of Itsekiri members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who hoped the position would be zoned to them.
Reacting to the development, Omovudu Jaro Egbo, a lawyer and member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, warned that it signalled danger for the state.
Egbo said: “Delta is for all Deltans; prosperity must be for all Deltans.”
The APC chieftain noted that a situation where key positions are grabbed by a section of the state would not augur well for the government or the people.
But he added: “Change is surely coming to Delta; APC is the answer to a united Delta State.”
Also, Okowa’s action is being perceived as a continuation of his alleged cold war with his predecessor and key members of the past government, particularly Comrade Ovouzorie Macaulay, who is seen as a diehard supporter of former Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan’s.
One of the aggrieved PDP leaders in Warri, who spoke in confidence, likened the early appointments to “Okowa putting his worse foot first.
He said: “This is a clear indication that Governor Okowa is coming in with a clear mindset to witch-hunt a section of the state, particularly leaders from the two ethnic groups. It is now clear that the new administration is a government of a selected few for a selected few.”
The leaderships of two Itsekiri ethnic organizations in Delta State, the Itsekiri National Development Initiative, and Itsekiri Amnesty Beneficiaries, have written to President-elect Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President-elect Prof Yemi Osinbajo, on the need to review perceived unfair policies of the outgoing President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.
The groups called for the review of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, which they perceived as being unduly skewed in favour the President’s Ijaw kinsmen at the expense of other groups in the region.
INDI, in the letter by Comrade Dennis Mene and Tsaye Edeyibo, Chairman and Secretary, congratulated Gen. Buhari and Prof. Osinbajo “on their merited resounding and well-deserved victory” in the March 28 election.
They said the incoming Number 1 and 2 citizens represent the virtues of integrity and consistency which the nation and all Nigerians needed at such a critical time as they facing.
“We are confident that under your leadership, Nigeria will once again enthrone equity, justice and fairness so as to make room for peaceful co-existence. We pray that God would grant Gen. Buhari and his team the wisdom and understanding to elevate Nigeria to enviable heights among the comity of nations.”
The group condemned perceived selective implementation of the amnesty programme by the outgoing administration, particularly its slant towards the president’s kinsmen to the detriment of other ethnic groups, particularly the Itsekiri ethnic group.
“We frown at the selective implementation of the presidential Amnesty programme especially as it concerns the Itsekiri beneficiaries. The Itsekiri were given just 500 slots and less than 100 have been sent for their studies.
“We have over 100 Itsekiri students with admissions to study in the United Kingdom for their Masters and PhD as well as 300 skilled and vocational, which up till date are yet to be sponsored; while it is on record that the Ijaws are regularly being sent for their studies/training overseas.
“Among the beneficiaries 73 of them are yet to receive their monthly stipend from January to December 2013, although this has been brought to the attention of the Amnesty office, they have remained mute about it,” they added.
Consequently, the INDI urged that “the incoming Buhari-led administration to investigate, review and restructure the current Presidential Amnesty Programme with a view to ensuring fair play, equity and justice for all beneficiaries under the programme so that maximum dividend of the programme will rebound to the advantage of the Nigerian Society.
“We have no doubt that the incoming administration will entrust the programme into the hands of credible managers and persons of enviable integrity and moral rectitude. We do hope the remaining Itsekiri beneficiaries both educational and vocational yet to be trained will be trained in your administration.”
Similarly, the group kicked against the purported expulsion of their kinsmen, Dr Alex Ideh, Hon Temi Harriman and Sunny Mene from the All Progressive Congress in Delta State, describing it as witch hunting of their kinsmen.
“We warn those behind this dastardly to retrace their steps against the Itsekiri ethnic nationality.”
Peter Tidi and Bokhan Otone of the Itsekiri Amnesty Beneficiaries while facilitating with Buhari and Osinbajo, on their well deserved victory, also called for a review of the amnesty programme to stop “victimisation of the Itsekiri amnesty beneficiaries.
“We appeal to the incoming government to ensure full implementation of the Presidential Amnesty programme based on equity, justice and fair play. This is because the Itsekiri ethnic group has been unduly victimized in the programme so far.”
Over 18 months after oil spills from the facilities of the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) and fire outbreak ravaged Ikara in Ikpoba Okha Local Government Area of Edo State, the people of the Itsekiri community are still waiting for succour, writes SHOLA O’NEIL
Over 18 months after several crude oil spills from the facilities of the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) and fire outbreak ravaged Ikara, Ajatiton and Kolokolo communities in Ikpoba Okha Local Government Area of Edo State, the people of Ikara, an Itsekiri community, are still waiting for the management of the national oil firm and the National Oil Spill Detection and Remediation Agency (NOSDRA) to act on the spill.
It was learnt that the management of NPDC, a subsidiary of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is resolute that it would neither negotiate with nor pay compensation to the communities, due to an extant policy of not paying for spills caused by “3rd Party Interference”.
•Area impacted by spills in 2014
The people of Ikara, one of the affected communities told Niger Delta Report that the spills, which occurred from late 2013 through January and February of 2014, wreaked untold havoc on the environment and ecology of their land. They said resulting fire from the spills later ravaged the forests, fish ponds and farmlands around the area, leaving in its wake gale of destruction, hunger and poverty.
It was learnt that a Joint Investigation Visit (JIV) carried out by NOSDRA and other stakeholders on January 6, 2014, over one month after the first incident, recommended the immediate repair of the pipeline, environmental assessment, clean up and post-clean-up investigation of the impacted areas.
Our findings, collaborated by documents from NOSDRA and other agencies, revealed that the repair of the damaged pipeline was not properly done. One of the independent valuers said, “It was the clamps placed to contain the initial damage that ruptured and led to at least two other spills in the proceeding months.”
Just one month after, on February 18, 2014, there was another report of spillage from the NPDC’s Oziengbe/Oredo 6″ Export pipeline at Ikara swamps. Equipment failure and failed clamp was indicated as the cause of the spill.
The JIV which led to the revelation was carried out on March 13, nearly one month after, contrary to the NOSDRA regulation, which recommended that such investigation should be done within 72 hours (three days) after the spill is reported.
The investigation nonetheless identified oil stains on vegetation, fishing nets, dead floating fishes and withering vegetation as the nature of impact of the spill. Properties affected were listed as crops, fish farm and ponds and fishing nets, among others.
The document signed on behalf of the agency by Adanu Charles and I A Jonathan, remarked that the spill was caused by a previously clamped section of the pipeline, which was leaking and recommended that immediate repair of the facilities be effected. “NPDC should intensify surveillance.”
Two weeks after the visit, a fire outbreak occurred on 27/03/14 at the same facility and around the same area. The impacted areas were delineated as within and outside the company’s ROW (Right of Way). A JIV, three days later remarked that “The cause of the fire incident is not known”. The report though conceded that “crude oil was all over the area before the incident, which was not cleaned-up.”
NPDC was asked to “Commence immediate cleanup and remediation of the impacted area”, by NOSDRA’s Olawumi Oladapo, who led the team along with NPDC and community representatives.
Just a month later, on 23/04/14, there was yet another spill from a “failed clamp” on the 6″ pipeline. The remark on the JIV report, which was obtained by NDR read: “As at the time of visit, the crude oil was seeping out of the failed clamp.”
Although it noted that the spill was still within the confines of the firm’s ROW, the JIV report advised that “NPDC should respond to the spill immediately to prevent the oil from moving out of the ROW”. It also urged the company to do “immediate clean-up of the impacted area”.
One of the community leaders, Chief John Eyejamuro, told our reporter in a telephone chat that the company’s perceived “irresponsibility has led to suffering and hardship in the community”. He accused the company of neglecting the impacted community and shirking its responsibilities to them.
But NPDC source said the community members were responsible for the spill through sabotage of the company’s facilities because they wanted to be compensated.
An environmental consulting and engineering services firm engaged by the communities, Fredorosa Casolini Limited, petitioned the Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives, Abuja, urging for urgent intervention of the House to save the people of Ikara and other impacted areas.
The petition, dated 9th May, 2014 was signed by Eyimofe Brown-Dibofun. It decried “The consequences of the unwholesome environmental practices by the NPDC”, which he said resulted in “continuous pollution of surface and underground water which is the source of drinking water for the people; the unending pollution and degradation of rivers and creeks, mangrove and vegetation leading to a depletion of its flora and fauna.
The consultant also lamented the non-completion of Post-Spill Impact Assessment (PSIA), which usually ends in the damage assessment of resources and properties. “We are to mention that we are also disturbed that the mandatory PSIA, which must come before cleanup and remediation has not been done and yet the polluter (NPDC) is eager to clean-up the polluted sites and the waterways in order to obliterate scientific and visual evidence required for this matter.”
The petition demanded that NPDC proceed to Ikara and other communities with stakeholders for the PSIA and Post-fire Impact Assessment of forest and resources as well as the cleanup and remediation work in the impacted area.
“NPDC must supply adequate relief materials (foodstuffs, water and medication) to be determined by NOSDRA to assuage the sufferings of the people occas0ioned by the oil spill.”
Several months after the 2013 spill, NPDC engaged the service of Mytec Links International Limited for the cleanup, remediation and restoration of the impacted areas. The company mobilized to sight in August 2014.
Apparently unimpressed with the processes leading to the planned cleanup, FREDOROSA, on December 30, 2014, wrote to NOSDRA’s Director General, Sir Peter Idabor, reminding the agency of the legal imperative to ensure the PSIA and Post Impact Assessment for Ikara” are done.
The letter stated that “It is a legal imperative that NOSDRA, as an Agency of the Federal Ministry of Environment, must ensure the assessments.” A further reminder was sent to the agency on January 22, 2015.
The letters, our findings revealed, was the culmination of distrust between Ikara leaders, NOSDRA and NPDC. Before the petition to the NASS, the communities had also raised concern over purported attempted by the NPDC to “destroy JIV evidence”. They claimed that the oil firm tried to mutilate the JIV forms signed by the stakeholders “with a view to destroy evidence against them on their unwholesome environmental practices.”
Speaking with our reporter on Monday, Brown-Dibofun insisted that the ploy to destroy the evidence of the JIV was hatched in connivance with some official of NOSDRA who went for the JIV. “When we noticed this, we protested to the then Zonal Director in Warri, Mr Bunmi Akindele, who later queried some of the officials deployed for the JIV.”
The FREDOROSA boss’ claim could not be independently confirmed because Akindele was no longer the Zonal Director at the agency’s Warri office at the time of this report. The result of the ‘query’ was also unknown.
Nevertheless, Eyimofe-Brown insisted that the NPDC spill management process was not transparent. He said, “Over 80percent of spills are wrongly listed by the company as 3rd party intervention in order to escaped liability.
“It is not only in the cause that they plan pranks; they also under report the quantity of crude oil spill. There was a case when the company said just 40 barrels of crude was spilled but when it awarded the contract for the recovery, the contractor was asked to recovered hundreds of barrels; where did the extra came from?”
Our problem with Ikara, others – Npdc
Our reporter’s effort to reach the Managing Director of the NPDC, Mr. Anthony Ugonna Muoneke and other staff competent to speak for the company was abortive.
However, a very reliable and high ranking officer of NPDC, who spoke on condition that his name would not be mention in this report, explained the company’s position on oil spills and other issues in the area. The source said some inhabitants of the areas were notorious for attacks on oil installations, stressing that it got so bad that the company reached out to prominent leaders in Itsekiri nation to help curb the attack on NPDC’s pipelines.
“When we notice incessant cases of vandalisation of our pipelines in the area – sometimes they put fire on the pipeline – we became concerned. We approached one Chief Johnson and asked him to take up a contract to guard our pipeline. Immediately they started writing petition that they want the contract broken into pieces. We said not because we want to be able to hold somebody responsible. We were sure that he could do it and he has helped us arrest a lot of suspect. “
Speaking on the process of cleanup and remediation of the spill site, the source debunked allegation that a JIV report was tampered, stressing that it was a desperate ploy to malign the company. It noted that the community leaders knew the channel of dealing with the issues .
“The truth is that in any oil spill, we invite DPR (Department of Petroleum Resources), NOSDRA, community for a JIV and they look at to find out if its equipment failure or vandalism. It is DPR that issue report about the JIV it is the report of DPR that determines what happens. If we have done JIV and DPR decides its sabotage, then that is what it is. The DPR is an independent government organ saddled with the responsibility.
“The problem of the community is that they are not willing to accept the report of DPR. Communities are using the press to blackmail and forcing us to do what is not right. They should have reported us to the Ministry of Environment and the NOSDRA; why go to the press? The Ministry of Environment asks questions when there is disagreement and we respond with documents.
“The law is that if it is vandalism which we have been experiencing, no relief materials, no compensation and nothing will be provided. If after vandalizing our equipment, making us lose production, shutdown and spend money on repair they still expect us to give them relief material?”
About five weeks to the end of his tenure, Delta State Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan has got a request from the Itsekiri in Ogheye Dimigun community.
They urged him to complete the abandoned Ogheye Ultra-Modern Concrete Floating Market before he leaves office on May 29.
In a letter to the governor through Mode Augustine and Johnson Boyo, chairman and secretary of the market’s monitoring committee, it urged Uduaghan to complete the project.
It regretted that the project, initiated by ex-Governor James Ibori, had been abandoned for a long time.
The letter explained that the contractor said it abandoned the project because of funds.
“We appeal to Your Excellency to complete the Ogheye Ultra-Modern Concrete Floating Market before the end of your administration or possibly before year-end.
“This project started in April 2007 is yet to be completed as the major contractor has moved out of site since October 2012 on the grounds that the state government had refused to pay them.”
The community stressed that if measures were not taken, parts of the area that had been built would rot away,’’ the letter said.
It noted that this would amount to a waste of state’s resources.
“We are sure, if the project is completed in this dispensation, you would have created another history, not only for Ogheye people and the Benin River communities but the Itsekiri nation, as you will finish not only strong but stronger,” the letter added.
Uneasy calm pervaded the Escravos area in Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State following midnight reprisal attack by suspected Ijaw militias on Madangho, an Itsekiri community.
At least two houses were were torched when about 30 heavily armed Ijaw youths stormed the community from Gbaramatu, an Ijaw home clan of former warlord, Chief Government Ekpemupolo (AKA Tompolo). Two suspects were also arrested for the initial attack, which left a 50-year-old security guard in critical condition.
It was gathered that the attack was a revenge mission by the marauders following an unprovoked machete attack on the Ijaw security guard at Kpokpo, site of the $16bn gas city project by three Itsekiri youths from Madangho.
An Ugborodo source, who denounced the action of his kinsmen, said, “The old man was guarding tractors and swamp bogey being used to clear the land for the deep sea port when he was attacked by our brothers from Madangho.
“The Ijaws later came back in anger and started shooting and burning. Two houses were burnt before they left at about midnight.
“They came back very early in the morning again and I counted over 30 youths armed with sophisticated weapons. They shot for several minutes until some soldiers came and engaged them in a shoutout, which forced them to flee,” a source said.
The Commanding Officer, 3 Battalion of the Nigerian Army, Lt Col Ekong Bassey, confirmed the report, adding that calm had been restored. He said the matter was being handled by leaders of both communities amicably.
Nevertheless, it was gathered that the incident heightened tension between the two ethnic groups that have been locked in a cat-and-mouse game over the $16billion Gas City and Deep Sea Port project. Kpokpo, the site of the deep sea port, is a subject of contention between the two sides.
Various sources told our reporter that the face-off almost degenerated into a full blown war on Tuesday morning following a blockade on the waterways around Gbaramatu kingdom by the Ijaw militias.
“Boats leaving Ugborodo and other Itsekiri villages for Warri and other upland communities were turned back by the Ijaw youths. They also didn’t allow boats coming into their barricades to Ugborodo.”
However, it was learnt that calm was gradually returning to the area at the time of this report (3:30pm) on Tuesday following the intervention of Tompolo and Itsekiri leaders who are suing for peace.
It was gathered that the peace shuttle was helped by the arrest of two of the three recalcitrant Itsekiri youths who carried out the unprovoked attack on the Ijaw night guard.
The proposed over $16bn Delta Gas City Project located in Ogidigben and the Gbaramatu Deep Sea Ports in the Escravos area of Delta State have been plagued by what many see as avoidable problems. Intrigues and controversies led to three delays of the groundbreaking ceremony. Now, a section of Deltans believe that the ceremony might have become more political than developmental and there are fears over its successful take-off, reports Southsouth Regional Editor SHOLA O’NEIL
When the idea of the $16 billion Export Processing Zone for Delta State was first introduced nearly four years ago, it was greeted with glee, back-thumping and eulogies for the federal and Delta State governments by the benefitting communities. It was touted as a magic wand to tackle mass unemployment, youth restiveness. It was also expected to bring prosperity to not only the state, but the entire country. But four years on, the debate over ownership of the land and alleged victimisation of the smaller Itsekiri host communities by their more populous Ijaw neighbours and kinsmen of the President Goodluck Jonathan have brought several dimensions and polemics into the project.
The original site of the key project was Koko, an Itsekiri town and headquarters of Warri North Local Government Area. The home town of the famous Chief Nana Olomu, the famous Niger Delta nationalist, who put the town on world map in the late 19th century, is in need of positive development following the infamous toxic waste saga of 1987 and wanton destruction by ethnic militias during the Warri crisis. The town has significantly lost its attraction as one of the major port cities of the state. Massive warehouses built by companies in its yore days have been converted into churches and other uses.
It was against this background that the July 25, 2011 visit by a group of foreign investors led by Mr Matouq Janna, Senior Vice President of Xenel/Safra Group of Saudi Arabi and PP Singh of Nagarjuna Group from India was received by indigenes of the town, including Chief Victor Nana, scion of the famous Koko patriarch, with fanfare and expectation.
Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan was also ecstatic as he enthused: “The benefits are quite huge. The completion of the plants will lead to the employment of thousands of persons and many of them will be Deltans. So, we have a lot of benefits from it and there are several industries that will spring up from these plants. Industries that will utilise the bye-products and others that will make parts for these plants will also benefit… the future is very bright.”
The hopes and expectation of the Koko people were cut short after the visit as they were told that the project would no longer be sited in their town. Information later emerged that the narrowness of the Benin River access to the Atlantic Ocean was the reason. Mr Paul Odili, Communications Manager to Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan, and a key member of the think tank, told our reporter that more than $1billion was needed to dredge and expand the river to accommodate bigger vessels.
The unwillingness of the Federal Government, the Nigerian Ports Authority and other stakeholders in the project to commit the fund scupper the project. The search for a new site led to Escravos area, where Ogidigben, another Itsekiri community on the fringe of the ocean, was chosen.
Nearly four years down the lane, at least three false starts on, people of the area are wondering if the project is jinxed. The latest bump on the long tortuous road was last Monday’s failure of President Goodluck Jonathan to perform the groundbreaking ceremony for the Ogidigben Gas City Project and Gbaramatu Deep Sea Port in Warri South West Local Government Area of the state.
The March 16 no-show was the third of such disappointment: in November 2014 over 200 foreign investors, local businessmen, community leaders and the state government were left red-faced when the Ministry of Petroleum Resource, in a terse statement, announced that the President would not be in Escravos for the ceremony. ‘Security report’ was cited as the reason for the abortion.
Performing the groundbreaking ceremony of the Export Processing Zone (EPZ), notwithstanding, all Itsekiri voters have been charged to keep faith with their conviction to vote for the presidential candidate of the All Progressives’ Congress, General Muhammadu Buhari (Rtd), Saturday.
President Goodluck Jonathan Thursday performed the groundbreaking ceremony of the EPZ at Ogidigben, Warri South-West council area of Delta state, following up on four previous postponements of the same ceremony.
But a chieftain of the APC and an opinion leader in Itsekiri nation, Dr Alex Ideh, who accused Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta state of attempting to blackmail him during the groundbreaking ceremony, has said while Itsekiri people appreciated President Jonathan’s gesture in performing the ceremony, their resolve about the Saturday’s election had not changed.
According to Dr Ideh, the governor’s attempt at ‘roping him in’ during the ceremony would not make either him, or the entire Itsekiri nation to abandon their views, which they had held of the president before now, urging the Itsekiri to go out tomorrow to cast their votes for General Buhari.
“This afternoon at Ogidigben at the grounds of the Ground Breaking Ceremony of the EPZ Gas Industrial Complex, the Governor of Delta state Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan while making his remark singled me out twice for mention. He alluded to the fact that I am an APC cheiftian and hoped that now that Mr President has come for the Groundbreaking he hoped I would join the train to vote for Mr President.
“Being an influential member of the Ogidigben/Ugborodo community on which this project is situated and out of share respect for the office of Mr. President I stood up and gave a bow. I believe that the governor, knowing I have always been a strong critic of the president, either wanted to embarras my person or set me up in an environment where Mr. President’s supporters and kinsmen abounded in huge numbers.
“In as much as I applaud Mr. President for coming to do the groundbreaking, my views and the views of tens of thousands of Itsekiri have not substantially changed. I therefore urge our people to go out there and vote for the choice of Change which they have believed in all along,” he said.
Since the Federal Government awarded the multibillion pipeline surveillance contracts to some ex-militants in the Niger Delta and leaders of the militia leaders in the Southwest, the some Itsekiri and Urhobo people in Delta State have been unhappy.
In Delta, the pipeline protection contract was re-awarded to the Oil Field Surveillance Limited (OFSL), a company jointly owned by Government Ekpemupolo (Tompolo) and some Itsekiri youth leaders. It was welcome by some oil industry operators because of the success recorded in the state. Operators said the OFSL performed well, particularly in the Ijaw areas of the state, where Tompolo held sway, adding that even after the end of the contract in 2012, oil facilities in the areas were still protected due to the influence of the company and fear of the dreaded ex-warlord.
However, it was gathered that the Tompolo/Ijaw performance was not replicated in the Itsekiri areas where the sharing of the booty from the contract was enshrouded in controversy. It is against this background that some interest groups are kicking against their leaders and principal beneficiaries of the initial contract in 2010, who are poised to front for them in the new dispensation.
Mr Michael Diden, the enigmatic PDP House of Assembly candidate in Warri North Local Government Area, Chief Ayirimi Emami and others are the arrowheads of the Itsekiri’s interest in OFLS.
It was gathered that long before the contract expired in 2013 the surveillance deal had flunked and was dogged by allegations of mismanagement and underhand dealings.
A window into the allegedly mismanagement of the contract was opened recently when Itsekiri youth leader and activist, Comrade Omolubi Newuwumi spilled the bean on his erstwhile boss and ‘leader’ Hon Michael Diden, who goes by several monikers, including Ejele and Agumba.
The allegations by Newuwumi, who is the Chairman of Iwere Development Association (IDA), are even weightier considering that he was a notable member of the mafia-like clique known as the ’12 Disciples’. Comprising more than the dozen indicated by its name, the group is made up of some very powerful Itsekiri youth leaders who for more than a decade bestrode the Itsekiri nation like the Colossus of Rhodes. They dictated everything from business, contracts to the politics of Itsekiri villages and towns spread across the three Warri LGAs of the state.
‘The 12 Disciples’ is reportedly led by Diden, a former chairman of Warri North Local Council. A source in Koko said: “They (12 disciples) have cornered all the juicy contracts, employment slots and political appointments and deals accruing to the nation. They disbursed such benefits as they deemed fit and to whom they felt worthy.”
Addressing reporters recently at the 911 Hotel in Warri, Newuwumi expressed regret over his role in the group. He said he was coming out to “reject and reveal what have been existing under the umbrella called 12 disciples….in Itsekiri Kingdom where I play a formidable role.”
The press conference, turned out to be a precursor to an open letter, which was dispatched to President Goodluck Jonathan and Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan, who appointed Newuwumi Commissioner for Youths Development in the fallout of his botched Warri North Local Government chairmanship aspiration.
He said: “I am writing this letter based on my conviction on what the Itsekiri nation has suffered and I am saying that ‘enough is enough’ for a few individuals to continue enriching themselves with our collective wealth which Almighty God has given us.”
“This open letter has become necessary”, Newuwumi continued, “based on recent attempt to re-award the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) pipeline surveillance contract in Delta State to a surveillance company where Mr. Michael Diden represents the Itsekiri interest again.”
He hinged his reservations about the contract on how the employment slots and emoluments from the first phase of the contract were shared, stressing that although the term of the first phase provided for the employment of 1,500 Itsekiri youths who were entitled to a month salary of N120,000, it was not implemented.
He disclosed that the 1,500 staff were each entitled to a pair of rain boots, rain coat, safety shoes, life jackets, uniforms, batteries, flash lights, pairs of cover-all among others for three years. He lamented that although funds were duly provided to procure these items they were not expended but cornered by few individuals.
The former commissioner challenged the OFLS Itsekiri representatives to provide proof that workers were paid or vehicles and equipment budgeted for were procured to facilitate the security of the pipelines as specified in the contracts.
“They should also show the world the invoices/receipt of vehicles, speedboat or any equipment bought with the huge contract sum which was being paid during the years under review.”
Concluding, Newuwumi said: “I want to invite the Economy and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) and other relevant anti-corruption agencies to investigate these allegations for the purpose of bringing” those behind them to book and to justice.
Several efforts, including telephone calls and text messages soliciting for Mr Diden’s comment were abortive. He was also yet to respond to our SMS inquiry, which was sent to one of his telephone numbers on Sunday, March 8, even though a report showed that it was delivered.
However, one of his associates, who spoke on condition of anonymity, defended him, stressing that the he was only a victim of the bitter politics that has engulfed the Itsekiri nation in the run-up to the 2015 election.
“Why are these allegations coming up now? Is it not clear that people like Omolubi (Newuwumi) and others who benefited from this same Ejele are the ones trying to drag his name to the mud simply because he is running for office?”
Besides, the source said Diden was not entirely responsible for the success or failure of any of the programmes, noting: “Some very top Itsekiri leaders and politicians know everything about it. Those who are making these spurious allegations should be wary of throwing stones in the market place.”
The Urhobo are also not happy about the turn of event. An ex-militant leader, General Evans Akponana aka Che Ernesto Gueverra, held a meeting at Ughelli North Local Government Area, where different groups of the 2nd phase Amnesty, 3rd Phase Amnesty and women demonstrated against the non-inclusion of Urhobo in the pipeline surveillance job.
Akponana said: “We all read with dismay, on the cover page of The Nation of Thursday, March 12, 2015, with the caption “Jonathan Okays Oil Jobs for Tompolo, Dokubo, Others. In the said piece, different companies belonging to different individuals from different ethnic nationalities were mentioned as beneficiaries of the Federal Government Oil Pipeline Surveillance Contracts.
“Here lies injustice; where lies justice and equity? Fellow Youths, Amnesty -Generals, Women leaders, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, considering these elephantine degrees of injustice and oppression being hauled at us, the Urhobo Nation, it does appear to me as though I am in a dream; and if I am in a dream; am I still asleep?; and if I am still asleep, when shall I wake up?
“Can the Nigerian state be kind enough to wake me from this bad dream to the reality of justice-for-all, including the Urhobos as beneficiary of the Federal Pipeline Surveillance?
” May I seize this opportunity to inform Mr. President that the President-Generals and Secretaries as well as all Traditional Rulers of Oil/Gas Producing and Pipeline bearing Communities in Urhobo land have given a Power of Attorney and recommendation to one of their own for the surveillance job and we remain steadfast with that. We are not given to violence; neither shall we succumb to any act of intimidation.”
For now, it is not clear how the Federal Government will address these complaints.
