By Sam Akadoro - Sapele
The oil and gas communities in the Niger Delta, especially those in Delta State are unrelenting in the search for ways and means to get maximum dividends from the gift of God buried in their land. Analysts propound that the greatest cause of youth restiveness, militancy, kidnapping, pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft is the marginalization of indigenes where the oil and gas that feeds the nation are explored and exploited.
In order to meaningfully engage the government and oil companies, indigenes of these communities decided to come together and establish what they called Host Communities of Nigeria, Delta State chapter. Hence, the group at Cyprian Hotels along NEPA Expressway, Ekpan, near Warri, decided to inaugurate a new set of executives that would lead them in the achievement of their goals.
Chairman of the third executive body of the Delta State oil and gas producing communities, Dr. Peter Egedegbe, stated: “It will interest you to know that the swearing in ceremony you are witnessing today marks the beginning of a new executive body of the Delta State chapter of the oil and gas producing communities which is the third executive body since the inception of this pressure group in the state.”
Egedegbe stated that as the chairman of the HOSTCOM, he needed to inform all concerned that the body has a rotational policy among the five ethnic nationalities where oil and gas is produced in the state for four years each. He said that the rotational policy started with the Ijaw people which terminated in 2008, then Itsekiri ethnic nationality assumed the leadership position in 2008 which was supposed to end in 2012 but rather terminated in 2013 due to the amendment of the articles of the HOSTCOM as registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission 2009.
The chairman informed that the Urhobo would hold sway for four years, while the Isoko mounts the saddle thereafter.
Continuing, Egedegbe assured the government of Delta State that “the oil and gas host communities of which you are the grand patron, is not and will never be a parallel government in this state.” He noted that “this pressure group is established to stand as a mouth piece and to speak with one voice to the generality of the oil and gas producing communities and for equality of treatment in terms of development as the government in the past was insensitive to the plight of the oil and gas producing communities.”
On the duties of the pressure group, he said that the group is to approach government for dialogue when they feel that certain amenities are lacking in the communities which perhaps have not been noticed. He added that the government graciously established DESOPADEC to develop the mandate areas of the oil and gas producing communities.
Still directing his speech to the government, Egedegbe informed that,
“We want to assure you of our complete commitment to the ideas of your administration and work in consonance with the DESOPADEC which you have strategically posited to develop the mandate areas.”
Egedegbe stated, “We therefore seek for cooperation of government, the commission, House of Assembly members and our traditional rulers. We need your blessings to succeed. We have started the struggle to work with our dear government to push for higher derivation funds from 13 – 25 percent from the federal government, the position we presented at Yenogoa, Bayelsa State in the last
Revenue Mobilization, allocation and Fiscal Commission meeting.”
He also enjoined the executives not to drawback from their duties, but to give their best to validate the trust put in them.
According to Egedegbe, one of the duties of the new executive members is “to liaise with the commission to ask for provision of certain amenities in communities where they are lacking. By so doing, they would equally project compliance and prevent poor quality jobs.”
It is the hope of pundits that given the confidence reposed in the calibre of those involved in these parley between the oil and gas host communities and the government, only rancour-free and result-oriented engagements would come up in further proceedings.
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