The Ijaw Interest Advocates (IIA), otherwise known as Izanzan Intellectual Camp, has accused the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio of heightened greed that is threatening the peaceful existence of international oil companies in the Niger Delta.
The group stated that the self-serving tactics of the former governor of Akwa Ibom State has drastically caused a reduction in daily the production output of the oil companies operating in the region.
In a statement signed by its President, Amb Arerebo Salaco Yerinmene, the group tasked the Nigerian government to checkmate the activities of the former lawmaker, alleging that Akpabio’s actions is gradually chasing the multi-nationals away from the country.
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Arerebo attributed the cause of a growing tension in the Niger Delta to the failure of Senator Akpabio to inaugurate a substantive board for the Nicer Delta Development Commission.
The statement read in full;
“It is becoming glaring that the atmosphere in the region is getting charged as most major IOC’S operating in the Niger Delta are planning to exit or already having dwindling production in the region as the region is no longer conducive for operations following the continual agitations of host communities.
“Recently, most of Akpabio’s gimmicks over the NDDC board issue is adding to fuel the already battered discord between the multi nationals and the oil producing communities.
“Abuja should not be carried away and be sharing the goodies and mouth watering stories from Akpabio. Be informed, the silent damages been caused to multi nationals in their respective host communities which if not quickly attended to might majorly affect the entire country economy.
“Today as we speak, Agip oil company is at the verge of collapsing follwoing the reduction of production per day. Chevron is shaking, Shell is barely surviving and even threatening to exit Nigeria.
“As at 2015, Agip oil company was producing about 250,000 barrels per but today they are producing less than 30,000 barrels per day, Shell was producing about 600,000 barrels as at 2014 but today it has crashed down to the extent of threatening to pull out of Nigeria.
“There are many other factors but Indisputably, the main reasons has to do with communal challenges. Before now, the NDDC board members of various states were playing major roles in relationship between the host communities and multi nationals. Akpabio who is saddle with this primary responsibility do not even consider it as part of NDDC responsibilities to create enabling environment for the multi national companies to operate.
“Convincingly, Akpabio has failed woefully because he is only interested in the allocation that comes to the commission, which he usually share with his cohorts in Abuja. The oil producing communities too have lost total hope because Akpabio has moved all the activities of the only government agency NDDC around to far away Abuja, leaving the companies that came to do businesses in Nigeria to their fate.
“Abuja should act fast otherwise one man’s greed will snowball to unimaginable economic chaos to the nation.
“NDDC has never been perfect but still far better than now that Akpabio is in charge. It has never been this bad at anytime since the inception of the commission.
“Having gone around the Niger Delta region, we can authoritatively say that their are a lot of abandoned oil Wells now in the Niger Delta region and not because they can’t produce but due to communal issues that has forced the companies to abandon them but provokingly, People in Abuja keep sharing the commonwealth of the people with Akpabio without doing the right things which caused the oil companies more harm than good as they’re almost at their kneels thus we pity them when they have already invested billions of dollars.
“In 2021 alone Nigeria could not meet up their OPEC quota due to poor performance in the oil section, 60% of Agip oil operations are hampered by host communal issues. Instead of addressing the issues, the federal government is allowing Akpabio to fuel the these silent crises the companies are been confronted with on daily bases.
“If the presidency continue to fall into the deceitful acts of Akpabio that are huge negative contributory factors to communal challenges, causing unnecessary tension especially with the issue of the constitution of the substantive board, that means in the coming months the multi Nationals might not have no further option than to exit Nigeria as they are reporting already.
“The signals are not too good because surely it will crumble the Nigeria economy and undoubtedly there will be proliferation of insecurity in the Niger Delta region. Indeed a word is enough for the wise.
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