Group Seeks Host Communities In Pipeline Surveillance Contracts

The Organised Ndokwa Effort (ONE), a non-profit, non political organisation driven by sons and daughters of Ndokwa in promoting the wellbeing of Ndokwa people, has declared its 10-point position for the uplifting of the area and the empowerment of Ndokwa youths.

Speaking at an extraordinary meeting of the leaders, youths, and elders, ONE noted that Ndokwa land as a major oil and gas producing hub in the Niger Delta, with a network of several pipelines, must be encouraged to protect the petroleum industry’s critical economic assets in high threat areas across the region.

In a statement issued at the end of its extraordinary meeting signed by the chairman of ONE, Ossai Udom, the organisation said the youths of the various host communities in Ndokwa should be appreciated and encouraged for their efforts in ensuring that people in the area do not engage in oil and gas pipeline vandalisation or illegal refining.

At the meeting attended by youths, community leaders and elders of Ndokwa, ONE demanded that government must involve Ndokwa youths for safeguarding the right of way of the pipelines within the locality against migrate pipeline vandals fleeing from neighbouring communities where their operating bases were being closed. ONE said the path of collectivity should be preferred to ‘singularity’ as no individual or corporate body equates to a consortium of communities.

According to ONE, “Ndokwa strongly objects to their exclusion as acts that could destabilise the already existing regime of peace and security in the area, and says yes to our direct inclusion. Our preference for constructive, humane, and matured approach to the path of destruction, does not mean that we should be undermined, despised, and provoked to halt our age-long peaceful disposition. This can easily compromise the supply of gas resources for the multi-billion US Dollar Nigeria Morocco Gas pipelines and the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Gas Pipelines projects, amongst others, that are directly wheeled away from the locations we know very well within our communities.”