Ayiri, Delta Youths Take Protest to National Assembly over Fraudulent Issuance of Oil Mining License
Youths from Delta state protesting government sale of oil mining licenses OML in their communities
Protesting Niger Delta youths at the National Assembly in Abuja, have vowed to shut down oil installations in the state over fraudulent allocation of Oil Mining Leases.
The protesters, comprising youth leaders from Itsekiri, Ijaw, Urhobo, Isoko and Ndokwa ethnic nationalities in Delta State shut down activities at the National Assembly complex in Abuja, as early as 7 o’clock Thursday morning barring vehicles and people from entering.
Chief Emami Ayirimi who led the group told Daily Trust that the allocation of Oil Mining leases at site 4, 26, 30, 34, 38, 41, and 42 were fraudulent.
According to him, they are staging the protest and submitting a petition to the leadership of the National Assembly as a first step before shutting down operations at the oil installations if their demands are not addressed.
Chief Emami said they are angry that the communities were excluded from the bidding process for the OMLs and denied their indigenous rights to preemption and or first refusal.
Part of the petition reads, “We are compelled to bring to the notice of this hallowed chambers the manner…which the allocation of the Oil Mining Leases were fraudulently allocated by the Minister of Petroleum Resources, the official of the Ministry and the Shell Petroleum Development Company Limited.”
They claimed that, “the NNPC secretly transferred production rights in four large oil blocks, OMLs 26, 30, 34, and 42 to Atlantic Energy drilling Concept Limited, a company that neither tendered nor bid for the blocks.”
They demanded that, “the ongoing handover of OML 4, 26, 30, 34, 38,41, and 42 to Atlantic Energy and Septa Energy be put on hold pending the determination of the issues raised in this petition.”
The petition also urged the National Assembly to order a cancellation of all awards on the OML in question and an opportunity of Rights of Pre-emption and first refusal be given to qualified indigenes of the local government.
The protesters carrying placards chanted and danced at the front entrance of the National Assembly.
Source: Daily Trust
