From Ben Dunno, Warri
Indigenes of Ogbudugbudu Community, one of the Itsekiri oil bearing settlements in Warri North Local Government Area of Delta State, have called on the management of Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL), to accord them the right and privileges of a host community in its operations at Olero and Saturn 1 Oilfields in the interest of peace and justice.
They have consequently appealed to Delta state Governor, Senator (Dr) Ifeanyi Okowa and the Olu of Warri, HRM Ogiame Atuwatse III, to intervene in the matter before it degenerates to the break down of law and order in the area.
This appeal by the community was contained in a statement signed by Mr William Motekuro Ugular and Gere Bawo Benson ( Esq) Chairman and Secretaries, respectively, of the Ogbudugbudu Itsekiri Community Trustees with registration certificate number 183695 in Olero and Saturn 1 Oilfields, belonging to Chevron Nigeria Limited.
The statement reads in part; “that the Non inclusion of their community among the communities playing host to Chevron Nigeria Limited in both Olero and Saturn 1 Oilfield in the Present Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) host Communities Development Arrangement will be highly resisted”.
“There will be no room for Chevron to play down on the host community developmental benefits, stating that it has being the gimmicks of Chevron Nigeria Limited to deprive them of their benefits for the past 32 years”.
While expressing dissatisfaction with Chevron classifying their community as a satellite settlement, they noted that; “Ogbudugbudu is a separate and distinct Itsekiri community as contained in the then Bendel State legal notice of April 21, 1980”.
They disclosed that Chevron Nigeria is aware that the land which they have singled out: Jakpa, Udo Tebu and by extension Gbokoda and Ajamita as host communities in the present PIA Arrangement,
leaving our Community (Ogbudugbudu Itsekiri Community) belongs to Uwangue.
They maintainaed that the community have written to the Delta Government through the ministry of Oil and Gas and Ministry of Justice with documents showing claims including the security agencies in the state.
They added that the community have written to the Olu of Warri through His Advisory Council on
the Petroleum Industry Act host Community development plan, a body presently working with Chevron to put the host community development committee in place saddled with the responsibility of developing the entire Itsekiri land.
“We, (Ogbudugbudu Itsekiri Community) also copied Chevron Nigeria Managing Director, Lekki Lagos, the Zonal Controller of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission and the Aghofen Alternative Dispute Resolution and Management Panel on our stand for inclusion as host community in Chevron Olero and Saturn 1 Fields, respectively, in all our letters”.
“As it is now, we are the only Uwangue Descendants left out to benefiting from the Judgments of Appeal Court of 1965. This is not fare, and we have vowed to resist it to the very last point and with the resources available to us.”
“We call on the Delta state Government, Olu of Warri Ogiame Atuwatse 111 to intervene quickly on the matter before it degenerate to something else”