Don’t provoke fresh crisis in N’Delta, monarch cautions Presidency

By Emma Amaize,

Regional Editor, South-South

FORMER National Chairman of the Traditional Rulers of Oil Minerals  Producing Communities of Nigeria, TROMPCON and paramount ruler of Seimbiri Kingdom, Delta State, His Majesty Charles Ayemi-Botu, has advised the Presidency not to stoke fresh fire in the oil-rich Niger Delta region with the marginalization of Niger Deltans in the issuance of licenses for the establishment of Modular Refineries.

His Majesty Ayemi-Botu, aka Lion of Niger, spoke to Saturday Vanguard on the backdrop of  a recent revelation    by Hon Christian Ahiakwe representing Omoku Constituency, Rivers state in the House of Representatives, that President Muhammadu    Buhari hurriedly approved 56 licenses for modular refinery with no single Niger Deltan benefiting.

The obviously dismayed    monarch said:    “If President Buhari hastily approved 56 modular refinery licenses sequel to nine days of assuming office and no single Niger Deltan was given as alleged by Hon. Christian Ahiakwe of the House of Representatives, then we will demand that the list of the beneficiaries be published without further delay by the Presidency to allay the fears of the people of    the oil- rich Niger Delta,    which is naturally bequeathed to our domain,    but controlled by the federal might.”

“When we visited President Buhari on November 1, 2016, by the Pan- Niger Delta Forum , PANDEF,    led by the elder statesman, Chief Edwin Clark, the issue of modular refineries was among the 16 -point agenda we submitted to him and when he directed the Vice President,    Prof. Yemi Osinbajo to parley with us during his confidence- building visit to Delta State on    January 16, 2017, precisely at Gbaramatu, he said   the Federal Government has approved modular refineries and sent a bill to the National Assembly to formalize the Nigerian Maritime University,    Okerenkoko in fulfillment of some of d demands of PANDEF.

“In practice , we do not know which is which, of course,    it is the same way the north whisked away 83 percent of all the oil blocks to themselves and their kinsmen during the military era and Obasanjo also followed suit and only Jonathan did not muster courage to toe their line. Absolutely, it is a case of robbing Peter to pay Paul and wise counseling suffices that it is high time the powers did a rethink to stop stirring the hornet’s nest,” he added.

The monarch noted: “It is rather absurd and ridiculous in this time and age for someone like Alhaji Usman Bugaje as a lead speaker in a northern leaders’ conference to make an unguarded and very embarrassing statement and people were applauding him that 72 percent of Nigeria’s land space belonged to the north, therefore, the oil belongs to the north.”

He queried: “Is that Alhaji Bugaje’s definition or analogy of the principles of derivation? He should stop fanning the embers of discord and instead, think of how the country will remain united by doing the needful through restructuring and true fiscal federalism, which is a panacea to grave yard peace in Nigeria.”

Need for restraint

His Majesty Ayemi-Botu implored the presidency to be transparent and objective on the issue of modular refinery, saying that South-South monarchs and leaders have mobilized the people in respect of the PANDEF demands and visit of the Vice President and any aberration in the implementation would suggest that government has a dishonest motive.

“So far, on the issue of modular  refineries, communities have been asked to create cluster groups so to establish the refineries to make up for any shortfall in the supply of petroleum products by the NNPC (Nigeria National Petroleum  Corporation). These are indications that the government is responding  to our demands and it should do nothing to short-circuit it,” he further cautioned.

In view of the upsurge in oil production, the monarch, who commended the Presidency over the planned take-off of academic activities at the Nigerian Maritime University, NMU, Okerenkoko, in September, said: “By now, we (PANDEF) should have held another meeting with  the Presidency. In fact, we should hold another meeting to work out  the modalities for serious dialogue to sustain the increased oil production and peace in the region.”

“Now that we have been able to convince the boys (agitators) to drop their guns and embrace peace,    we should be cautious not to lose everything we have been able to gain so far as a country,” he admonished.

PANDEF’s oil bloc demand auspicious

He said the demand by PANDEF for allocation of oil blocs to indigenes of the region at its inaugural meeting with President Buhari was done in good faith, adding: “There is obviously some shortchanging. Anybody that gets to the presidency always bank on oil wealth, which keeps Nigeria one, a senator in the last dispensation openly asserted that 83 percent of oil blocs in the country belong to northerners.”

“When Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan assumed leadership of the country he did not think it wise to correct the anomaly by allocating oil blocs to some of the indigenes of the area, as was the case of his predecessors did for their people, be it military or civilian because it is the prerogative of the incumbent president to allocate oil blocs.

“I issued a press statement on Isaac Boro Day on 16th of May, 2013.and advised Dr. Goodluck Jonathan that posterity will not forgive him, if he did not rectify the imbalance in his time but he did not heed anything. He has unenviably become the President that performed abysmally in his geopolitical region for six wasted years in comparison with his predecessors, who empowered their people,” he maintained.

Buhari should address oil bloc fuss

The monarch charged the current government    to address this anomaly, asserting: “ You will discover that the only Niger Deltan with an oil bloc (Malabu) is Dan Etete, the oil bloc has been a subject of controversy and has in fact been taken  over. And considering a situation where some Emirs and retired Generals from the North have oil blocs, it does not speak well about fairness, equity and justice in the Nigerian system.”

“We are just dillydallying. Since oil is an exhaustible product, the people who suffer the problem of oil exploitation and exploration, going through acid rain, epidemic and untimely death are not given a portion of the national cake. To say the least is a misnomer, absurd and man’s inhumanity to man. Some people are rated as second class citizens and subservient to others, who claim rulership of Nigeria is their birthright and so they are born to rule.

“The present government should be able to address the oil bloc issue and ensure that not only people of the Niger Delta, but others should benefit. The oil blocs sharing should be done in line with the principles of derivation. Those who are the producers of the oil should have a larger share. The region which produces the oil is been underdeveloped and its youths  are denied employment opportunities.

“The people of the Niger Delta should prepare for the rainy day because by the time oil is exhausted,    they will have nothing to live on and have themselves to blame. The government has come up with a policy of diversification whereby the government will use the proceeds from oil to do tourism and so many others,” he asserted.

No need for hoopla over restructuring

On the furore over the demand for restructuring, he said: “Restructuring of the country into the already existing six geo – political regions and implementation of true fiscal federalism as enshrined in a Presidential system of government worldwide are the panacea to the grave yard peace in the Niger Delta. Do the right thing and the era of oil boom will resurface and our beloved country will take her pride of place in the committee of oil producing countries.”

Oil companies should heed Osinbajo’s relocation advice

The former TROMPCON leader said the recent directive by the acting President, Professor Yemi to the multinational oil companies to relocate to the Niger Delta region where they carry out exploration was a godly one.

“The oil companies cannot be operating in the Niger Delta and employ their workforce from outside the region. Not only that,    the companies spend large sums of money to shuttle via choppers daily from Lagos to the Niger Delta where they do exploration. Some of the choppers convey the oil companies’ workers to and fro at least twice daily which is quite expensive and risky. The revenue that is supposed to come into the purse of the oil producing states is being denied them. So, they should relocate to the region.

“Any member of the NASS kicking against the order of the acting President is not doing the country any good. Selfish and self- centred people’s  delight in placing their personal interest ahead of the national interest. It should be noted that what is good for the goose is also good for the gander. To allow peace to reign in the country, members of the NASS should rise above mundane interests. The NASS should speak in support of the acting President’s order,” he advised.

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