The Itsekiri National Youths Council, INYC has accused the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari of attempting to subjugate the oil bearing people of Warri kingdom following the nominations for both the Chairman and Managing Director in the composition of the new board of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC.
INYC made this known in a statement made available to Journalists in Warri titled, ‘NDDC Board: Itsekiri Youths Set To Stage Massive Protest.’
The statement signed by Isaac Oritseweyinmi Agbateyiniro, Appearance Afejuku,
President and Secretary-General of INYC respectively, urged the federal government to look into the Act Establishing the NDDC, the rotational principles by Alphabetical order of the oil producing states and the principle of oil production quantum, for the sake of equity, justice and fair play.
“The composition of the Government of the Federation or any of its agencies and the conduct of its affairs shall be carried out in such a manner as to reflect the federal character of Nigeria and the need to promote national unity, and also to command national loyalty, thereby ensuring that there shall be no predominance of persons from a few State or from a few ethnic or other sectional groups in that Government or in any of its agencies.
“Significantly, The principle of rotation by states in the NDDC has completed its first cycle where the itsekiri ethnic nationality has been evidently short changed or overlooked severally.
“Curiously, for this second leg and the imminent inauguration of the new board, the Itsekiri ethnic nationality has once again raised their minority voices and take their peaceful struggles to the doorsteps of all the relevant authorities in the country to be accorded their God-given rights and privileges as determined by the NDDC Act.
“We have stated for the umpteenth time that by divine providence, it is the turn of Delta State to produce both the Chairman and Managing Director of the NDDC and going by the provisions of all extant laws, the Itsekiri ethnic nationality by virtue of being the highest producer of cude oil and gas in Delta and Edo States and being the second highest producer of Oil and Gas in Nigeria deserves to be appropriately rewarded,” the statement reads.
The group said the have contributed a lot in the production quantum’s and therefore appealed to President Buhari and the Nigeria Senate to consider this as a matter of profound attention going by what they contribute to the industry.
The group further stated that they are host to a lot of IOCs like Chevron, Shell, NPDC, Conoil, WRPC, Total Energy Nig. Ltd and others.
“The Warri Refinery, The multi-billion dollar Chevron Tank Farm, Ugborodo, The Ecravos Gas To Liquid (EGTL ) facility, Ugborodo
Shell flow station
“We have numerous crude Oil and Gas tank farms including Matrix Energy, Pinnacle Oil & Gas, A & E Petro, AYM Shafa Energy, Kenonamex Petroleum, Salbas Oil and Gas etc all at Ifiekporo Town, in Warri South LGA.
“The Itsekiri Ethnic Nationality also hosts the Bonga, Okan and other critical major oil fields in Nigeria like Egwa, Odidi, Jones creek, Escravos Beach, Yokri, Meji, Meren, Marun, Abiteye, Saghara, Dibi, Otumara, Ogidigben, Olero Creek, Opumami, Utonana, etc operated by Shell, Chevron, Seplat, consolidated Oil, Neconde and other multinational corporations contributing billion of Dollars to the Nigerian Federation,” the statement reads further.
The group added that nn ethnic group cannot boast of the above “enobling credentials and yet still being overlooked during nomination or appointment to serve on the board of a critical agency such as the NDDC. This has been our agitation in recent appointments in the NDDC.”
The group warned that always imposing or promoting the interest of those who produce little or nothing at all over the interest of those who carry such magnitude of burden for the economic sustainability of the nation is not only an infraction/ infringement on the law establishing the NNDC but also an invitation to anarchy and sure recipe for unwarranted crisis.
They therefore, demanded that, deriving their position from all extant laws guiding the oil industry, persons from Itsekiri (foremost oil and gas producing area in Delta state) should immediately be nominated on the list.
They also demanded that “the position of Chairman, Board of the NDDC zoned to Delta State should be unconditionally given to the Itsekiri ethnic nationality for the huge economic contribution/responsibility she is carrying on behalf of the Nigerian state.
“The senate should suspend the screening of all nominees on that list until the right thing is done. We truly deserve to benefit from our labour.”
