***IYC threatens to shut down all operations if their demands are not met
The leader of the Ijaw nation and elder statesman Chief Edwin Clark has declared that the Niger Delta and the Ijaw nation can no longer tolerate the exploitation by multinational Oil companies especially the The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC)
Speaking on Thursday in Abuja when he received a delegation of Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) who paid him a courtesy call led by their national Vice President Atigbi Freedom he urged the Multinationals to first clean up the oil spills in the Niger Delta before exit and sale of their assets
The IYC had drawn the attention of chief Clark to the plan of Shell to sell their assets as they prepare to exit despite the effect of the oil spillage and the degradation of their environment with all the attendant health hazards on the people.
Continuing Clark said Niger Delta can no longer tolerate the injustice adding that it is unfair and unacceptable as they will explore all legal options
“I have a list of court issues containing 147 cases taken against Shell and some of the oil companies, more of them are coming. Enough is enough we can no longer tolerate their exploitation.
“If You go to Gbagada today Chevron has an estate there. Their workers who work in Niger Delta don’t pay their taxes to Niger Delta because they live in Lagos.
“There could not have been Lekki if Chevron, Mobile and other companies are not there.
Can you imagine a situation whereby NNPC which was established in 1977 to look after the oil industry, one would have expected that the capital would be in Niger Delta possibly in Portharcourt.
“No those who feel that they own this country would put it wherever they want. Out of 11 members appointed by the President the chairman very qualified, he is from Akoko in Ondo State, five of the 11 members are from the North, the only two executive directors are from the North.
“South East have one. The President of the senate Godswill Akpabio gave one to a lady who was commissioner in his government when he was governor Akwa Ibom State.
“Miki is very well qualified from Ogoni, and I know who put him there. Delta State at the moment is the leading oil producing State, not a single person from Delta. Bayelsa State another major oil producing State no person was appoint but people who have nothing to do with the oil industry they are thereof supervising, maintaining treating us as strangers in our own home?
“This can not continue, the situation whereby Almighty God gave the Niger Delta the resources. We are living in a very difficult terrain. We give you this oil to compensate but those who believe that Nigeria belongs to them said no. When the white leaves they will take over for us to be colonized by Nigerians again.
Clark declared, “These are my grand children, you know I am the leader of our people. I did not buy it, they.made me. In 1975, March in Bomodi the entire Ijaw gathered, traditional leaders, politicians, ministers gathered to honour me with the Title Izon leader. A man who look at the interest of the Ijaw people.
“Since then I have been a leader, I have not betrayed then. They came to me to report the new development. I agree with them that we will follow the issue in a legal way.”
The spokesperson of the Council Ambassador Binabai Yerin Princewill indicated that the Federal Government and the Shell Development Company is now selling off their functional assets in Niger Delta.
“So the IYC met and addressed the press rejecting what they are planning to do. We are not in tandem with that until the Ijaw people are carried along.
“Until the Niger Delta people are included in this process because our environment had been destroyed, damaged, our environment has been violated and abused for so many years. “Shell is yet to even clean up our environment properly and now they are talking about selling off the assets. Most of these assets are in Ijaw land. Now they have not done the clean up and they want to sell the assets to other people with out recourse to the Niger Delta indegenes, Ijaw people whose lands these facilities are located.”
“For us we see that as an insult and this is another form of neocolonization. We are not going to accept it until the Ijaw people are carried along this time around. That is the reason we addressed the Press Conference.
The deputy President of the Council Atigbi Freedom said since the Tinubu administration came into office they have been following some of the antecedents of his government.
“Just a few months ago, Agip assets were also sold to crannies and friends and political allies of this government. The stake of the Niger Delta people that are working in these companies nobody knows
“Following from that development is the purported rumor, and from our findings, we have also gotten some of the names of these cronnies and none of the Niger Delta persons, most especially the Ijaw people was comsidered
“We have people who are very deep in this oil business. We have seen it as the style of this government that has constantly been using state power to use people clandestinely to acquire the assets, most especially in the Ijaw nation and Niger Delta at large
“Today, the president is planning to move certain assets and multinationals to Lagos. If he wants to be fair to himself, some of these assets they are moving to Lagos are supposed to be in the Niger Delta
“If this was the way our brother Goodluck Jonathan operated when he was in government, I do not think they would have tolerated him.
“We have come to brief you, for us in this nightmare we are not going to end our speech with mere briefing and political statements, that is why we are reaching out to you as our father and any other person in Niger. “We have seen Tompolo, Asari Dokubo, and every other stakeholders and political leaders who matter in this country
“If Shell fails to meet our demands by the grace of God Almighty, we will shut down every operation that is taking place in Niger Delta. We would not allow those individuals from other parts of this country to come and operate these facilities, and we will take steps to mobilize all structures.
“This is why we want to seek advice and counsel from our leaders that if they do not acceed to our demands, we will shut down all operations of Shell and other multinational companies in the Niger Delta
“When we begin to take this action, the world will be crying to you that your sons have started again. We know the Nigerian State will be at your neck. The international community will be on your neck to call the boys to order. You will now say my children you cannot do this with telling me?