Oil and gas exploration and exploitation have been crippled as angry youths drawn from the oil-bearing communities of Eastern Obolo local government area of Akwa Ibom State took over pipelines, oil wells and stopped oil workers from going out and coming into the area, LEADERSHIP gathered yesterday.
This followed the remapping of the communities by the state government, which they alleged, has ceded parts of no fewer than 12 of their oil-bearing lands to other non – oil communities spreading across three LGAs of Onna, Ikot Abasi and Mkpat Enin.
The House of Assembly had concluded work on the bill entitled, “State Map Establishment Bill”, and passed into law, and is awaiting the assent of the outgoing Governor Udom Emmanuel, who assured that the mapping of the borderlines, was for peaceful purposes to stem frequent boundary disagreements and skirmishes.
It was learnt the decision had also sparked pockets of violent protests in other oil bearing LGAs of Mbo, and Ibeno respectively, where couple of deaths have been reported, as people expressed resentment that government decision was targeting at the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), which is expected to award 3 percent of the oil proceeds to the oil communities.
Addressing journalists, the youths’ leaders of Eastern Obolo, and dozens of protesters, who occupied the only access road leading into the community at the Okoroettte junction of the town, as early as 7:30 am on Saturday, vowed to sustain the demonstration till government rescind the decision. Some of the placards carried by the protesters read: “We don’t want illegal remapping”; We will resist attempt to cede our land” and “Government is not sincere in the remapping process.”
Addressing the protesters, the president, Eastern Obolo Interest Group (OIG), Mr Gabriel Gabriel, vowed that no one community in the area would be ceded to another LGA in the name of remapping the state, adding that the decision was unilaterally taken without consulting the traditional rulers, the youths and other community stakeholders.
He said: “We are out today because we perceived the state government has ulterior motive in sending surveyors to survey our land for a new map, and we are saying no to that because they have not come to us to create awareness on what they want to do; we just see them coming up with a new policy.
“And for now, about 12 communities will be affected and we are saying that none of our communities will leave Eastern Obolo, because they have the reason why they are doing this. Why did the state government not do the remapping before now? For 35 years they have not done anything, if you look at the area, no development. They use the money produced here to develop other places.”
Also, a former leader of the Eastern Obolo Forum (EOF), Mr Samuel Adasi, said, “We call this remapping because when the state government started this in 2021, it was remapping, it is only now that they have changed to mapping. The state government is saying that Akwa Ibom does not have a map? this is a very big lie. If you check in the website, and in the office of the surveyor-general, the state map is there. All they want to do is cede our communities to others for the sake of oil, and we are saying no to this.”
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