Delta: Discontinue 57 Marginal Field Bidding, Ilaje Communities Urge FG

By Oasis Magazine

Concerned Ilaje Coastal Communities in Warri South-West Local Government Area of Delta State on Thursday urged the Federal Government to discontinue the ongoing 57 Marginal fields bidding until their sons and daughters are given what rightfully belongs to them in the interest of peace.

The Ilaje Coastal Communities made the call in a statement signed by Prince Abayomi.Ogunfiyimi, Hon. Akin.J. Ojamani, Adewale Adesuyi and Ebu-Olu Adegboruwa, SAN, Chairman, Secretary and PRO respectively and made available to Our Correspondent in Warri.

“Our sons and daughters should be given their rightful place in both government parastatals as well as multinational oil and gas companies operating within our domain.”

The Ilaje Coastal Communities vowed to join forces with their Itsekiri and Ijaw brothers of Ugborodo and Gbaramatu Kingdom to completely shutdown all oil facilities in Warri South-West Local Government Area of Delta State.

“Your Excellency, Ilaje people cannot continue to live in excruciating pains of this grossly marginalized and neglected, impoverished and deprived area.

“We also wish to advise our Itsekiri and Ijaws that at this time around, we shouldn’t involve greed because we suffer same ecological and environmental hazards of exploration and exploitation operations from multinational companies.

“In fact, Itsekiris and Ijaws should join hands to fight this battle together instead of fighting ourselves. We will be at the loosing end if we because of greed allow the Federal Government to divert any projects from our land to the northern part of this country.

“Your Excellency, we earnestly await your positive response to the above subject matter to avert crisis in the oil and gas industry.”

The Ilaje coastal communities noted that their people have been grossly marginalized, sidelined, deprived and sidetracked in the areas of employments in the multinational oil companies and government establishments.

It stressed that, “Our sons and daughters are not being considered always where we have lived for over 280 Years” despite their contributions of its God given natural resources economic stay of the nation without gaining anything in return.

The communities added that instead of being rewarded with good life, the various environmental hazards and negative adverse effect of the multinational oil and gas companies operations have greatly affected some of the homogenous communities which are along the Atlantic Ocean.

The Ilaje Coastal Communities who earlier demanded for the immediate commencement of the Multibillion Dollar Gas Revolutionary Industrial Park, GRIP, Deep Sea Ports, Omadino-Escravos Road projects and others in Warri South-West Local Government Area without unnecessary delays,

The Ilaje Coastal Communities message was conveyed to President Muhammadu Buhari, Governor Arthur Ifeanyi Okowa, the Minister of Defense, the Chief of Army Staff, the Chief of Naval Staff, the Director General of the Department of State Security, the Chairman of Warri South-West Local Government Council, the Multinational Oil and Gas Companies, IOC’s(E.g, SPDC and CNL).