The Ijaw Youth Council has warned oil companies to comply with its ultimatum for them to relocate their headquarters to the Niger Delta region in 90 days.
The group complained that despite Acting President Yemi Osinbajo’s directive for oil companies to relocate their headquarters in the region and its ultimatum, which started on July 12, that none of the oil companies has complied with the directive.
Osinbajo had on February 13, 2017 directed oil companies operating in the Niger Delta to relocate their headquarters to the region.
Speaking at a press conference on the matter in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital on Wednesday, IYC president, Pereotubo Oweilaemi, said it is now compulsory for the oil companies to relocate to the oil rich region to ensure a sustainable development in the area.
He said, “You are all aware that not too long the Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, had asked all IOCs to relocate their headquarters to the area they producing the oil, but as we speak, the companies have no way to comply with the directive.
“We want to state it categorically that irrespective of some security challenges, this region is the safest in the country for business. There is nowhere in the country without pockets of criminal activities, but unlike the forgone past, our [Niger Delta] states are safe and very conducive for business.
“We therefore once again call on the companies to, as matter of urgency, return to our area for the interest of all stakeholders. We cannot continue to pay the price of having our land suffer from oil exploration activities, while other states benefit from the taxes that are due to us.”
According to Oweilaemi, relocation of headquarters of oil companies to Niger Delta will amount to the creation of more jobs for the youth in the region and would lead to a reduction in crime.
Read also: SERAP: How OBJ, Yar’Adua, GEJ wasted N11tn on electricity, plunged Nigeria into darkness
He further said, “The 90-day ultimatum started July 12 and in no distant time the 90 days will elapse. So, we want immediate compliance with the Federal Government’s directive.”
Also calling on the Federal Government to fulfill its promises to the people of the region, Oweilaemi lamented the sluggish pace of infrastructural development in the region.
There appears to be discordant tunes in what groups in the Niger Delta region really wants. Many of them recently withdrew their support for Chief Edwin Clark led Pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDAF) and its peace talks with the Federal Government.
Some of the groups have even called for a referendum for a Niger Delta Republic and threatened to resume attacks on oil installation by October 1, if their demands are not harkened to
