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From Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, has taken a swipe at oil communities over unfair treatment to host communities in Bayelsa State and other Niger Delta communities.
He also did not spare regulatory agencies over what he called unfair collusion against the interest of host communities in the Niger Delta.
Diri who spoke when he received the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor, in his office at Government House, Yenagoa linked insecurity in some oil communities to unfair treatment.
A statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Daniel Alabrah, quoted Diri as citing November 2021 month-long oil and gas spillage in Nembe Local Government Area of the state from an AITEO Exploration and Production Limited facility, which eventually resulted in litigation due to the manner the company and the regulatory bodies treated the impacted communities as an example of unfair treatment.
His words: “For us as a government, from the moment we assumed office, we have always preached peace and security and looked for constitutional, legal and legitimate ways of addressing the injustices over the years in our state.
“A case in point was the AITEO oil spill. That facility was said to be unproductive, was not decommissioned and it spewed oil for over a month, which was the first of its kind in the history of oil exploration in this country.
“At the end of the day, a potential source of conflict was during the joint inspection visit, which has caused a rift between the state government, AITEO and, to an extent, the supervisors from the oil and gas sector.
“However, because of our disposition, we have been able to calm down our communities. Now it is the state government with the local government on one side, and of course AITEO and the supervising oil and gas bodies on the other side, which I feel should not be if we do what is right, and if there is equity and fairness.
“For the fact that the environment has been affected as well as the source of livelihood of the people, it is very human for the oil companies to have immediately responded by way of compensation. Unfortunately, what we have seen is that there is some collaboration and collusion with AITEO and the regulatory agencies and we were forced to take legal action against AITEO.“
Diri stressed that his administration was open to collaborate, synergise and strengthen the existing relationship between the state and the security agencies.
Gen Irabor said he and his team were in Bayelsa because they recognise the crucial role of the state government in accommodating and strengthening the operations of the country’s armed forces.
He added that the visit was also to solidify the partnership between both parties, particularly in combating oil theft, kidnapping and the destruction of oil facilities across the state.
The Defence Chief noted that any form of destruction of the nation’s oil investment is a direct attack on the future of the country’s oil wealth and thanked Governor Diri for his unrelenting support to the military and other security agencies.
