Operations Of Agip, Okpai’s IPP, Others Risk Shut Down In Ndokwa Land

Operations of Agip oil company operators of Independent Power Plant, Okpai, Midwestern Oil and Gas Company and others may be disrupted in Ndokwa land over alleged gross neglect of the area in scheme of things in Delta state.

This followed renewed agitations in the Niger Delta by host communities over sundry issues including exclusion from oil and gas marginal fields allocations.

This also comes as Ndokwa ethnic nationality joined growing list of ethnic nations in Delta State threatening to disrupt oil and gas operations in the state over alleged gross negligent and exclusion from marginal field bid recently opened by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR).

Marginal fields are known oil or gas discoveries on an IOC-owned block and where there has been no activity in at least the last 10 years. With the agreement of the IOC, the DPR carves-out a piece of land surrounding the discovery and this becomes a Marginal field.

BIGPEN recalls the Ijaw, Itsekiri, Urhobo and Isoko people of Delta State had earlier issued warning of possible breakdown of law and order over failure of the Federal Government to address their plights after expiration of earlier handed ultimatum.

The Ndokwa people, in a press conference statement released on Wednesday, gave the  Federal Government fourteen days to meet with their demands or they would cripple oil and gas operations in their domain .

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Youth wing of Ndokwa Neku Union (NNU) at the press conference held at Kwale, Ndokwa West Local Government Area of Delta State, lamented the neglect of the area which they said, generates 50 per cent revenue of the Federal Government. 

According to them, “We call on the Federal Government to quickly attend to our demands in two weeks, or all oil facilities including those of Nigeria Agip Oil Company, Sterling Global Oil, Pillar Oil, Platform Petroleum company, Chorus Energy, Midwestern Oil and Gas, and others in Ndokwa nation, will be brought to their knees.”

A statement containing the ultimatum signed by Comrades Afam Ogbolu, Bright Enueshike and Azuka Justice Odanike reads; “We wish to state categorically that all marginal oil fields in Ndokwa nation belong to Ndokwa people, and non should be sold to anybody under any guise, but to Ndokwa people; failure by the FG to try to sell any oil field in Ndokwa land will be met with full scale resistance.

“NDDC and other Niger Delta agencies managerial appointments: It is crystal clear that the FG is trying to cut out Ndokwa nation from Niger Delta; if not, how do you explain the non inclusion of Ndokwa people in the NDDC board, or any Niger Delta agencies since their inception. We call on the Federal Government to appoint Ndokwa an Ndokwa person as the Managing Director of NDDC now.

“There is no Federal Government’s presence in Ndokwa nation, except for a Correctional Center. We call on the FG to immediately cite a Federal Polytechnic or a University of Technology in any part of Ndokwa nation.

“We call on the Executive Director, Social Services in DESOPADEC, to also, lead the two other commissioners to start the processes of oil quantum review in Ndokwa nation. We cannot continue to accept the 9 per cent derivation formulae done in 2007, even after more oil companies have being established in Ndokwa nation, and Ndokwa nation has the highest gas deposit in Sub-Saharan Africa.

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“We urge all multinational oil companies in Ndokwa nation, to immediately relocate their headquarters to Ndokwa land, or we stop them from operating in Ndokwa nation.

“The step-down of electricity project in Ndokwa nation should be immediately completed.

“We urge the Federal Government to immediately, rehabilitate, the Agbor/Sapele Road, and other federal roads in Ndokwa nation, as they have turned to nightmare to road users.

“We call on INEC to immediately, reactivate the existence of Constituencies 2 in both Ndokwa East and West, as it were before now.

“The Federal Government should, as a matter of urgency dualize the Okpai/Ashaka/Kwale/Ogume/Amai/Obiaruku road.

“The FG should immediately compel all multinational oil companies in Ndokwa Nation to sign a favourable Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with host communities in Ndokwa nation, and abide by it.

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“We call on the Federal Government to immediately repatriate over 2000 illegal immigrants from India, China, Lebanon and others illegally working in oil companies in Ndokwa nation, as they have also illegally taken the jobs belonging to our youths for themselves.

“We call on the Delta State Government to immediately approve the take-off of Aboh Polytechnic and develop the Delta State School of Marine Technology, Kwale Campus.

“We urge the Federal Government, to immediately, complete the shore protection project initiated by the NDDC in the riverine communities in Ndokwa nation.”