The Niger Delta Community Youth Association has demanded that 40 percent of oil licences be allocated to people from the oil-producing areas.
The group made the demand through demonstrations staged across the Niger Delta states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), as well as a petition addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio through its lawyer, Blessing Agbomhere.
The group stated that its demand for a fresh licensing bid was in line with stipulated extant laws, including the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and the 1999 Constitution as amended.
It expressed concern over the recent alleged allocation of oil licences by the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) to corporate entities and individuals with no ties to the Niger Delta region.
In a statement in Abuja by the Youth Leader of the Association, Comrade Embale Jonathan; his deputy, Omeizah Ogumah; PRO, Boma Doreye; and Ex-Officio, Comrade Sunny Ifijen, it was stated that it is unacceptable for their ancestral lands, which have been ravaged and degraded by oil exploration, to be handed over to outsiders.
According to the group, it is unacceptable that oil prospecting licences and oil mining leases are not allocated to the Niger Delta people.
It said: “The recent barefaced, demeaning pattern of allocating oil-prospecting licences to non-Niger Delta interests is an unacceptable, unjustifiable, and anti-developmental trend of a high-wired plot against the people of the Niger Delta.
“The action of the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) deviates from the intent and spirit of the 2021 Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), which recognises Indigenous interests in the oil and gas industry. Hence, such non-inclusion of indigenous interests signals exclusion and nonon-transparency that will be counterproductive for the oil and gas industry and the entire nation.
“As indigenous peoples of the Niger Delta region, we have been historically marginalised, exploited, and excluded by the oil and gas industry. Our communities have suffered environmental degradation, pollution, and health hazards due to the activities of oil and gas companies. Yet, we receive pittances in benefits from both the government and internal oil companies.”
They called for a thorough review of oil block owners’ commitments to environmental cleanup in polluted areas and demanded adequate compensation for the affected communities.
Additionally, they stated that corporate social responsibility (CSR) obligations of individuals and entities owning oil blocks should be strictly enforced.
They urged the Senate and other necessary agencies to take the demands seriously and work towards a more equitable and just society for all Nigerians.
(The Nation)
