OIL & GAS: The Owaza Community in Abia State and their Ogoni counterparts as joint host communities of Oil Mining Lease 11(OML 11) has rejected the planned ceding of the field to Sahara Oil.
The communities which cut across Ukwa LGA Abia State and Rivers State also asked the federal government to come to their help and save the people from hardship and deprivation.
The call came while the Communities inaugurated the Ogoni Asa Imo River OML 11 Oil Producing Communities executive, on Monday 1st of August at the palace of the Eze Oha 1 of Etitioha Owaza Oil and the Gas Ground Kingdom.
In his speech, the traditional ruler asked the Federal Government to fulfil it’s promise of cleaning up Asa Community.
According to him, the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osibanjo while on official visit had promised that the Communities would be cleaned same way the Ogoni clean up is been handled by HYPREP.
However, years after the visit, their Community remains unattended to contrary to the promise by Osinbajo.
On his part, the chairman of the new executive, Gani Topba, noted the plights of Ogoni ethnic nationality and Owaza community, who are the owners of OML 11, in the hands of multinational oil companies.
The vocal Gani Topba further stated that the Abia and Rivers oil-producing communities have not given social license to any company to resume oil exploration on their land.
He however affirmed that they had resolved with Federal Government on the Niger Delta Petroleum Company (NDPC).
He insisted that, while the communities had given consideration for NDPC, the oil firm must do the needful by proper consultation with the owners of OML 11.
Oil Communities and oil companies in Nigeria have over the years been at loggerheads over poor management of the environment and equally poor or non existent corporate social responsibilities to the host communities.
The above has resulted to periodic disruption of the activities of the oil firms and crisis in the oil communities.
