THE festering controversy between the Bayelsa and Rivers state
governments over the ownership of some oil bearing communities which produces
300,000 barrels of crude oil daily in Kalabari deepened on Wednesday as the
governors of the warring states, Mr Seriake Dickson and Rotimi Amaechi
respectively laid claims to the oil wells.
The development came against the backdrop of the recent Supreme
Court verdict, which affirmed that the disputed oil wells, which had been in
existence, even before the creation of Bayelsa State out of the old Rivers
State, actually belong to Bayelsa.
Apparently resting his submission on the pronouncement of the apex
court, the Bayelsa State governor, Dickson said there was no need for his
Rivers State counterpart to dissipate energy on a matter that had been laid to
rest by the Supreme Court judgment, confirming that the Kalabari oil wells
belong to Bayelsa State.
Speaking through his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Daniel
Markson-Iworiso in a press statement on Wednesday, the Bayelsa State governor
said: “We have made our stand sufficiently clear on this matter. And our stand
is duly backed by law. The law, as we know it, deals with facts and concrete
evidence.
“On the issue of ownership and the claim by the Rivers State
government to Soku Oil wells, I believe it is no longer news that the Rivers
State government took Bayelsa State to the Federal High Court on this same
issue and lost. Instead of appealing the matter in the Appeal Court, the Rivers
State government invoked the constitutional provision and filed a suit in the
Supreme Court in 2011 and this year, the Supreme Court upheld Bayelsa State’s
position,” Dickson contended.
He emphasised that: “I do not think we should dissipate energy
over what has already been established as incontrovertible fact. Besides, we
live in a country governed by laws and there are recognised institutions where
people can go to seek redress, when they are in doubt. We should not belabour
the issue any further, submitting that, “as far as this issue is concerned, I
believe the fact speaks for itself.”
But, Amaechi, the governor of Rivers State, insisted that he would
not spare any effort to fight the battle, with a view to retaining the
ownership of the controversial Soku oil wells, urging the people of the state
to stand by him in winning the seeming war looming between Bayelsa and Rivers
states.
The governor, who spoke while receiving protesting Kalabari
chiefs, women and youths, who stormed the Government House in Port Harcourt to
register their grievances over the matter, stated that, “We will not allow the
attempt by the Bayelsa State government to collect our oil wells. I have read
what the Bayelsa State governor said that the 11th edition of the
(administrative) map of Nigeria gave them the oil wells. When? They didn’t talk
about the first edition to the 10th edition, they chose to avoid that and went
to the 11th edition.”
According to Amaechi, “It won’t work, it will certainly not work,
no matter how they try to intimidate the agencies of the Federal Government, we
will continue to go to court and let our people know that the agencies of
the government are being intimidated, that is what we are saying.
“All we want is for Rivers people to stand by us; Soku community
has been in Rivers State long before the creation of Bayelsa. Elem-Sangana is
not a ward in Bayelsa, but they said they want a territory, they want
derivation, how can that work? Does oil come from the air? We must struggle to
get our oil wells back,” the governor contended.
“We condemn the deliberate and mischevious attempt to link the
president with what is clearly an exercise of Bayelsa State government’s right.
The government of Rivers State itself has made several such claims of wrongful
payments of derivation monies and has severally received refund in deserving
cases.”
“We take serious exception to the antics of the Rivers State
government in its attempt to always blackmail President Jonathan in a bid to
gain unnecessary advantage.
“The facts remain that all the relevant maps of Nigeria produced
in 1992 (10th edition) and the 11th edition produced in 2000 were clearly
produced long before Jonathan became the vice-president and later president,”
Governor Dickson said.
While Amaechi was accusing the presidency of complicity in the
raging controversy, the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission
(RMAFC), on Wednesday, said the allegation that the commission moved five oil
communities from Rivers to Bayelsa was misleading.
Clarifying the position of RMAFC on the matter, in Abuja, during a
press conference, the chairman of the commission, Mr Elias Mbam, said “it is
worth mentioning that the commission does not act in isolation without
reference to other relevant agencies at all level of governments.”
He added that the commission relied on data from relevant
government agencies, including the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), the
National Boundary Commission and the office of the Surveyor-General of the Federation.
Source: tribune
No comments:
Post a Comment