Tuesday, 12 November 2013

Total E & P, Akwa Ibom people at war over reparation

Akwa Ibom people, through the association of indigenes of oil and  gas communities  and the frontline  stakeholders, have  dragged TOTAL  E & P,  a multi-National company who has  operated in the area for about 50 years to a Port  Harcourt Federal High Court for alleged non-compliance  to agreed nascent  MOU between  them and Akwa Ibom communities since  2009.

 The group, led by Hon. Engr. Frank Okuku, Mr. Edet Okpoyo, Comrade   John Okon and 17 others, alleged that TOTAL  E & P, has connived with some members of the implementation committee to deprive Akwa Ibom communities of their  rights to foreign, post  graduate, under  graduate scholarship, skills acquisition, microfinance assistance, SR projects, infrastructural  developments.

According to reports, they wrote severally to the management of TOTAL E & P Nigeria Ltd at home and abroad and also to the state Government between 2009 to 2012, yet nothing has been done to correct the  fraud,  yet the ministry of Environment cajoled  to accepting  to signed  “yet another empty MOU upon the expiration of the former in 2012”. These are other reasons that have caused the group to drag the company to court.

 Their prayers in the court were as follows: payments to Akwa Ibom State  communities, the sum of $784m about N130 Billion as reparation over the off shore/onshore  dichotomy  between  2000-2010, that  the company should   locate a liaison office or  corporate  branch in Akwa Ibom State, that the company should pay 3% of their annual  production output to the Akwa Ibom State communities  according to UNITED NATIONS CHARTER on community  benefit with multinational companies in oil and gas; that  TOTAL   E & P should account  for over N384m project funds for “non existing  projects.” etc.

And as their conditions for settlement, the seek that Engr. Onome Unauvwodo, chairman  of TOTAL  E & P Nigeria/Akwa Ibom implementation Committee (2009-2012) and all members of the committee should be   dissolved  by law. The group also demand that an Akwa  Ibom person, who is  a staff of  TOTAL E & P should  manage Akwa Ibom Memorandum of  Understanding  (MOU) as it’s done in Rivers and other states.

 It is gathered that the company during the last hearing in Port Harcourt on October 14th, begged to settle out of court but they decried interference from the state ministry of environment noting that the multinational company intends to “cut corner and hide behind the ministry to delay the process of settlement.” We  gave the government  enough time, having  written  severally  but nothing was done,  but now that the court has given us one for the Alternative  Despute  Rosulation, TOTAL  wants to hide  behind  the ministry  to cut corners. “ As experts  who  have been in the oil industry for  decades,  we  know   their  politics, they  behave in divide and rule  and in using the communities  to fight  the communities.  They are trained  to spend  less and gain more, that’s  why  they want  to use  those  who do not understand the rudiments and mechanics of the oil politics to continue  to exploit and defraud Akwa Ibom people. We beg our dear Governor to wade into the matter and ensure that justice is done in Akwa Ibom State.

 The group also reported that several threats have been launched to their leaders by Akwa Ibom people who want to connive with the company and exploit the state. They warned them to desist from the act in the interest of the development of the state.

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