By BASHIR ADEFAKA
The intention of Nigeria Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), to site an crude oil flow station in Ogbeudu as against Emadadja community in the Udu Local Government Area of Delta State, has been kicked against.
People of Emadadja are saying that their community have the oil wells and deserves the location of the flow station rather than the Ogbeudu where the NPDC decided to locate it.
They are therefore calling on appropriate authorities not to shortchange them by this act of ‘wrong location’ of the flow station which is about to be built.
In a complaint message sent to The DEFENDER, it is stated that Emadadja has eight oil wells already flowing to Otorogu flow station and four awaiting to be drilled.
“The issue at stake is NDPC decision to build a flow station in another community by name Ogbeudu which does not have crude oil well, instead of building it in Emadadja Town, which has the crude oil wells is a misplacement of priority that will neither favour the NPDC nor our community.”
The community, which has Mr Daniel Keleju Ovedje as its union President General, is saying that it will always be seen as injustice should the NPDC deliberately take the flow station from Emadadja community that has oil wells away to that which has nothing.
Upon his emergence, Ovedje had promised to work for accelerated development of Emadadja community and that is what the leadership is doing currently because, according to source in the message sent to us, location of a flow station in the community is one of the ways development can be brought to an oil rich community like Emadadja.
The DEFENDER gathered that as at Friday, officers of the community union and their lawyers had arrived Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city with a view to getting in touch with necessary contacts in a bid to achieving their aim of bringing the flow station back to where they believe it fits more, Emadadja community.
Emadadja, an Urhobo community, is one of the many towns that make up the Udu Local Government Area of Delta State. Other towns include Udu, Ahadja, Asgba, Ayama, Edjophe, Egiegi, Egini, Ekete, Ekorota, Erhieulohor and Obodo.
It will be recalled that another community in the Urhobo race, Otor-Udu, had in June last year threatened to shut down operations of the same NPDC over the same issue of neglect.
Neglect by authorities has always been the main reason for the unrest that Nigerian Niger Delta sub-region has witnessed over the times.
“I think our leaders should come to the aid of this community at least at this time that every eye in Nigeria is on Niger Delta and how people who should use government money meant for the development of the area have turned it into their individual pockets leaving the people in abject poverty.
“Don’t forget that Niger Delta of Nigeria, by the design of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) is supposed to be the best good looking place even more developed and better patronized than the Federal Capital. But what can you see? Poverty written in the face of every Niger Delta person so much that the only thing you hear people outside the place using to qualify any Niger Delta person is militancy, kidnapping, bombing of oil installations. It is sad,” a source told The DEFENDER.
He said however that those who want to show that they are serious about developing the Niger Delta should rise to the challenge just raised by Emadadja people and do what is right for them by pressing the NPDC to locate the flow station to where it rightly belongs.
“It is like you building a seaport in the desert. If the riverine people then raise eyebrow and fight ensues between the two communities, who would you blame for the problem? Politics, religion, herdsmen/farmers economic clashes? No. You must blame yourself for your lack of proper prioritization planning. For that not to happen, please leaders of Nigeria, let us use Emadadja as test-run for the Niger Delta intervention that we desire,” the source said.
