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..Demands full implementation of NDDC Act

…says PIA’ll not work

By Emmanuel Elebeke

Right activist and veteran broadcaster, Chief Mrs. Rita-Lori Ogbebor, has warned Federal Government to, as a matter of fact, withdraw the N4.5 billion monthly pipeline contract awarded to the leader of Movement for the Emancipation of Niger-Delta (MEND), Government Ekpemupolo aka Tompolo, describing it as an invitation to anarchy. 

Ogbebor lambasted Federal Government for failing in its responsibility to manage oil resources in Niger Delta and maintaining peace in the country.‘‘

‘‘Gentlemen of the press, I have called you because of anarchy in our land. There is anarchy in Niger Delta. Some weeks ago, I was a guest at Arise Television and Rufai asked me what was my position on insecurity in the country. What he was asking me then was connected to the train tragedy. But I told him then that the instability in the country, which is in the Northern areas of the country was little compared to what was coming in Niger Delta. 

‘‘I said to him that there will be anarchy and it will be very serious. I told him that is what he should be worrying about, for two reasons. One, the Niger Delta is where the food is produced, the food basket of the nation and is also what gives us foreign exchange. Till today, people have been crying about foreign exchange and it keeps worsening every day.

It is not only that our food basket will stop, our food production, and even the foreign exchange of Nigeria will keep going down the drain.

I told them, that kidnapping is one thing but killing, bloodshed, and kidnapping together with a lack of foreign exchange will be a double tragedy.

 At the time I said it, Rufai did not understand the question he was posing to me. But I am sure now that he understands. It is not more than four weeks and everywhere is running amok, with revelations coming out.

When I talked about small and big thieves, they did not understand me. When I talked about vessels being used to take our oil to the high seas and oil bunckering, they did not understand me.

 I warned then that it is not the small thieves that they should worry about but the big thieves and since then, they have pursued vessels out of our waters.

Mallam Kyari, GMD of NNPC agreed that stealing is everybody that is involved, that they even found pipelines into churches and Mosques, that is how bandit is.

 I said then that the problem we have is the Federal Government, all they do instead of tackling this problem, they give a few people money to go and give few boys in the communities’’.

For her, the award of the humongous contract sum to one individual in the Niger Delta is a clear demonstration of the government abdicating its responsibilities to the people.

Chief Egbebor, who spoke at a press briefing in Abuja, cautioned that both states and Federal governments must demonstrate the needed political will to implement the NDDC Master Plan and avoid enriching a few individuals to the detriment of the common good of the people of Niger Delta region, insisted that failure to heed the advice could spell doom for the country.

‘‘Because people at the very top are involved in oil bunkering, the country has become broke and everything is getting worse and worse, that is the situation we have found ourselves in today.

As a result of this, the Federal Government is unfortunately socked and unable to get out of the waters and meet its commitments.

‘‘In fact, it is unable to manage oil in Niger Delta, take control of the country. They now went back to what we cried against in some years past, dumping money in the hands of some people, abdicating their responsibility for the people to take care of Niger Delta.

This is why a week ago, they handed over pipeline surveillance to Tompolo and another man who is part of them, Asari Dokubo has come out to say no, that Tompolo is nobody, and that he dare not come to his area.

‘‘I am not to say who is right or who is wrong but the truth is that dare not go to another man’s land to take care of what he labored to plant.

‘‘So, Dokubo has said that when they were fighting the Itshekiris, they knew that the oil in Delta state belong to Itshekiris but they all converged to fight the Ishekiris, that the main oil is in Ijaw land. The main oil is in Ijaw territory, Bayelsa, Rivers, Kalabari, and other areas. 

‘‘Now, Dokubo has said Tompolo should not come to his area, whose area will Tompolo go with money being paid to him to look after? because it is clear now that the Itsekiri people have more oil in Delta State than everybody? What is Federal Government going to do? now the house is divided against itself?

‘‘The Federal Government is busy creating NNPC limited to come and carry oil in Niger Delta, and they want to do that very quickly, and talks unequivocally as if all is well but all is not well.’’

‘‘Recently, Dokubo was brandishing assorted weapons and the Federal government kept quiet. If this is allowed to continue anarchy will consume the nation. The Federal Government must stand up to its responsibility against any form of lawlessness and do the needful so that peace will return to Niger Delta and Nigeria in general,’’ she said.. 

To achieve lasting peace in the region, she advised that the Federal Government must withdraw the Tompolo pipeline contract award, constitute the NDDC board properly, and ensure a holistic implementation of the Act.

“Should the Federal Government continue to watch insecurity caused by kidnapping, terrorism, banditry, and other crimes deteriorate to an unimaginable level, and the situation will be a child’s play when Niger Delta militants pick up arms again. 

“There is anarchy in the Niger Delta and I feel that the world should know about it. I have earlier said that the insecurity Nigerians should worry about is not the type going on in the northern part of the country, but that of the Niger Delta.”

“Interestingly, they didn’t see it the way I saw it. I am from the place and I know what I am talking about. What we have today will be a child’s play if the insecurity in the region fully manifests itself. If it has not, it will soon do so in another few months.” 

“You will take a pipeline contract in Delta State, your place and then you come to Kalabari to take another one saying you are an Ijaw man because you are the only one that knows how to eat.

“You took the ones that belong to Gbaramatu, Itsekiri, Isoko, Urhobo, Kwale, you took all because you are the only one that knows how to eat. You went to Bayelsa and took everything then you came to take the one in Kalabari.

“If Timipre Sylva gave you because he said he wanted to clip my wings as if he were a god, when Sylva was a member of the House of Assembly, did I clip his wings? I am older than Sylva?

“When he was a governor, did I clip his wings? He is now a minister, did I clip his wings? Sylva said I was becoming too powerful and connived to give pipeline contracts to only Tompolo so that he would destroy what we are doing for the government he serves.

“We are making the government be stable, but he is destabilising the same government he serves. So he brought Tompolo, gathered people, saying he would buy guns for them. Let them come. I am not boasting, let soldiers bring the Tompolo boys here.

“I am not talking about Rivers. I am saying they cannot take Kalabari. They can take every other place but I won’t allow them to take Kalabari. You are collecting over N4.5bn a month for doing nothing and people are supporting you. You must leave the 82km pipeline for Kalabari. You can’t take it” she stated.

On the controversial Petroleum Industry Act, PIA. the Niger Delta activist said it will not work because it was skewed against the interest of the Niger Delta people.

 ‘‘They are talking about PIA but PIA is a problem. It is when they start that they will know PIA will not work. Today, Silver and Akpabio and Omo Agege have formed a clique to truncate the NDDC Act. 

I took them to court in the last three years and we are still in court. 

We are demanding outcome of Federal government audit report because if it is not made public, there will be no peace in the land.’’ 

She, however, made the following demands: that the Federal government should implement NDDC Master Plan to the letter and stop circumventing the law; publish the Forensic Audit report on NDDC and prosecute anyone found culpable; NDDC Board should be properly constituted in line with the the Act that established it; that Federal government should withdraw the surveillance contract awarded to Tompolo and engage all the stakeholders and also withdraw the PIA and review it in the interest of the oil region and the nation at large.