Paul Osuyi, Asaba
Diebiri community in Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State is host to the Batan Oil Field. It houses the Batan Oil Flow Station and over 35 oil wells (OML 42 and 30) with various pipelines of Petroleum Product Marketing Company (PPMC), Shell/NPDC, the Nigerian Gas Compnay (NGC) among others.
But these facilities may be shut down by youths of the community who are aggrieved by the recent of appointment made by Governor Ifeanyi Okowa into the board of the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOPADEC).
The youths, in a protest, raised the alarm over alleged marginalization and short-changing of the community in the appointment of a representative of the Ijaw nation on the board of DESOPADEC. They threatened to shut down the facilities if the appointment was not reversed.
The governor had nominated Mr Paul Bebenimibo from Gbaramatu Kingdom as a member of the board to represent Ijaw ethnic nationality. Efforts by Diebiri to stop his screening by the state House of Assembly failed. The board members will be sworn in on July 31.
But the youths have vowed to resist the swearing-in of Bebenimibo on the ground that his nomination, in the first place, was unduly influenced by the deputy governor, Kingsley Otuaro, who also hails from Gbaramatu Kingdom. The aggrieved youths contended that there was an agreed sharing formula among oil bearing communities to represent Ijaw nation on the board of DESOPADEC at the inception of the interventionist agency in 2006.
Diebiri Youth Council (DYC) in a rotest letter addressed to the governor insisted that it was the turn of the community to produce the next Ijaw representative on the board, noting that four other kingdoms to the rotational agreement have had their turns in the past.
The letter was signed by the president, Godwin Yokiri; secretary, Sunny Ofowinor; student union president, Esegha Morris; youth leader, Peter Egberibo; IYC woman leader, Esther Douglas and youth leader, Bob Endurance. The youths threatened to shut down the Batan flow station if the governor failed to reverse the appointment or went ahead to swear in Bebenimibo as the representative of Ijaw ethnic nationality on the board.
A copy of the letter was made available to Daily Sun in Asaba. The aggrieved youths claimed that the other four kingdoms of Ogbe-Ijoh, Gbaramatu, Egbema and Ogulagha had earlier taken their turns on the board:
“The under listed kingdoms had taken turns to represent Ijaw in the board. They are Gbaramatu Kingdom, W.O. Okrika (chairman); Ogulugha Kingdom, late Francis Temewei (member); Gbaramatu Kingdom, Kingsley Otuaro (member); Egbema Kingdom, Philip Gbasin (executive director); Ogbe-Ijoh Kingdom, Favour Izuokumor; Diebiri Kingdom, none.
“It is clear that it is now the turn of Diebiri Kingdom to represent Ijaw ethnic nationality on the board of DESOPADEC. In this vain, we are giving the state government five days ultimatum to reverse this injustice done to us, else the kingdom youths will have no option than
to shut down all operations (Batan flow station) in the kingdom.”
Diebiri is the fifth oil producing Ijaw kingdom in the state with 11 per cent with Ogulagha having the highest quantum of production of 20 per cent. Gbaramatu has 19 per cent, Egbema, 17 per cent and Ogbe-Ijoh, 14 per cent.
Chairman of the governing council of the community, Mr Michael Douglas, who lamented the neglect of the community, said the denial of Diebiri Kingdom membership into the board of DESOPADEC was highest level of marginalization and injustice. He wondered how the community will develop when it was not being represented at a place where decisions are taken on which community gets what and when.
Douglas said the nomination of a Gbaramatu person into the board again when Diebiri has not be represented since the inception of DESOPADEC negated the production quantum theory of the commission and the sharing formula maintained by Ijaw nation: “We want to state categorically that it is now the turn of the Diebiri people (Diebiri Kingdom) to be appointed into the board, since all other Ijaw oil producing kingdoms have had their turns in the commission.
“We are making this known that Diebiri people should not be short changed or denied their legal right into the board of DESOPADEC. And we sincerely anticipate the quick correction of this gross marginalization and injustice done to Diebiri Kingdom in order to avoid any form of unrest and crisis.”
Diebiri Governing Council had earlier forwarded a protest letter to the governor on the nomination of Bebenimibo. The letter was signed by the chairman, Douglas; secretary, Kingsley Oluba; public relations officer, Bob Collins Igetei; chairman of Batan community, Ambrose Ogulasuogha; leader of thought, Moses Douglas; councillor representing Diebiri ward, Frank Pukon; leader of thought, Henry Suoware; and ex-chairman of Diebiri governing council, Wellington Bob Igetei.