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Nigeria: Oil Wells - Community Seeks FG's Help
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This Day (Lagos)
24 June 2008
Posted to the web 25 June 2008
Udeme Clement Ogbuanu
Lagos
The Federal Government has been called upon to intervene in the case of 260 oil wells involving the local communities in Delta and Ondo States.
The Chairman, Ondo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (OSOPADEC), Chief Adewale Omojuwa, made this call, saying that if government does not do something urgently to intervene in the matter, the nation may experience yet another tragedy of boundary clash capable of claiming innocent lives .
According to him, the 260 oil wells located in Ilaje community in Ondo belong to the state government, but were wrongly ceded to Delta state some years back.
He said when the Federal Government and National Boundary Commission later investigated the matter in 1996, they corrected the mistake and the wells were given back to Ondo State government on the fact that the wells are sited in their territory where their people are already living.
He added that the two states accepted the settlement and continued their affairs peacefully.
Omojuwa explained that recently, the Delta State government went back to court to challenge the decision of the Boundary Commission and government in the matter, and surprisingly, a High court sitting in Benin, Edo State, hurriedly gave judgement on the matter in favour of Delta without giving Ondo State fair hearing.
"To start with, the judge does not even have jurisdiction over the case . Secondly, he didn't give Ondo State fair hearing on the matter.
Also, he was not fair in the judgement because the oil wells belong to Ondo, and are located in offshore of Ilaje local government in Ondo where our people are living.
"For that reason, the state government is going to appeal the judgment and the oil producing communities are going to join in the suit against Delta State," he said.
The OSOPADEC boss maintained that indigenes of Ilaje territory where the wells are located are already protesting that they would never allow Delta State to carry out any production on the wells until justice is done. He said, "Our people had already organised a rally in Igbokoda the headquarters of Ilaje council where the wells are sited.
"We are appealing to the Federal Government to intervene in the matter because this is a very sensitive issue and this type of judgement could trigger crisis in the region and the entire Niger Delta region.
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"Also, the Judicial Commission should caution the judge so that he does not cause more problems in the Niger Delta. We would not allow anyone to trample on our right. Ondo is the most peaceful state in Nigeria and Niger Delta in particular. We would resist such attempt with the last drop of our blood."
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