ADDRESS ITSEKIRI MARGINALISATION IN THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY OR FACE TOTAL SHUTDOWN OF FACILITIES, GROUP WARNS FG

A social-political group, Movement for Development of Itesekiri Oil/Gas Producing Communities has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to address the outright marginalization of Itsekiri Nation in project execution, employment opportunities and in the recently announced 57 marginal field offer within fourteen days or expect total shut down of operations of international Oil and Gas Companies in our land.

The group made this known in a statement jointly signed by its chairman, secretary, and publicity secretary Mr. Isaac Botosan, Mr.Steven Atete, and Mr.Irone Maurice noting that “we are faced by marginalization on daily basis, by those in charge of managing affairs in the Oil and Gas Sector in this country. By this, we mean the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and its subsidiaries such as NAPIMS and DPR.

The statement read, “The marginalization is also clearly evident in the way and manner your administration shockingly abandoned the Multi-Billion Dollar Gas Revolution Industrial Park Project and Deep Sea Port in Warri Southwest Local Government Area, Delta State. The project has the potential to create thousands of direct and indirect jobs as well as boost the economic diversification narrative, a supposed core philosophy of your administration.

“We are also at a loss as to why the age-long Omadino – Escravos Road, expected to connect the Oil and Gas- rich Coastal Communities in Warri South and Warri South-West Local Government Areas, remain abandoned till date, despite exploitation of the huge natural resources from the area.

“Despite the huge environment hazards, poor sanitary conditions, lack of health care facilities, and zero Federal Presence in any of the Itsekiri Oil and Gas Producing/Impacted Communities in the Niger Delta. The Itsekiri Nation contributes over 28% of Nigeria’s Crude Oil & Gas Resources

“We wish to put it on good record that the Itsekiri Ethnic Nationality has been grossly marginalized in bid offers, since the discovery of Crude Oil in our Homeland over 60 years ago.

“We reject the recently announced 57 Marginal Fields, offered by the Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR. We can no longer continue to sit down and watch non-indigenes, being offered Oil Mining Licenses in our homeland, when we have capable Itsekiri Sons and Daughters, whose firms are qualified, but repeatedly denied such licenses by the sustained-structural bias of the DPR.

“We call on you to immediately halt the current process of bids for the 57 Marginal Fields and come up with new modalities, where competent companies owned by Itsekiri Sons and Daughters, would be given “right of first refusal: on fields in our homeland, before being thrown open to outsiders

“If competent companies owned by Itsekiri indigenes are not considered by DPR for the 57 Marginal Fields in the next 14days, with effect from Friday, June 26, we will shut-down operations of the multi-national oil and gas companies (IOCs) operating in our homelands.

“We call on you to order the immediate resumption of work at the Multi-Billion Dollar Gas Revolution Industrial Park Project, GRIP, and the Deep-Sea Port in Warri Southwest Local Government Area, Delta State.

“We calling on you to direct the relevant MDAs/IOCs to embark on large scale shore protection/sand-filling projects in Itsekiri riverine/oil-producing communities”.

The post Oil/Gas Industry: Address marginalization of Itsekiri or expect total shut down, group tells FG appeared first on Vanguard News.