NPDC Benin River HCDT, tantamount to INEC’s proposed ward delineation– Oyibo, raises concern

A concerned Itsekiri stakeholder, Ebisan Jolomi Oyibo, has called on the Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse III, Itsekiri Leaders of Thought, ILOT and opinion leaders of Itsekiri extraction, to ensure that Itsekiri and Ijaw communities, under Nigerian Petroleum Development Company, NPDC operational areas in Benin River axis, have their own Host Communities Development Trust, HCDT, saying the Joint Benin River Host Communities Development Trust, HCDT being constituted, can be likened to “the proposed INEC fraudulent ward/unit delineation in Warri Federal Constituency.”

While insisting that the Itsekiri and Ijaw communities should have their separate HCDTs, Oyibo, alleged: “Out of the 50 communities of Ijaw and Itsekiri, Ijaws have more communities with most of them being fishing camps (chanties) on Itsekiri land. There is no defined sharing formula that will be used to appropriate the money coming into the HCDTs between Ijaw and Itsekiri, such arrangement should be discouraged to avoid future disaster.”

According to him, a ticking time bomb is being prepared by an Itsekiri chief, via Nigerian Petroleum Development Company, NPDC and Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC, in connivance with some Ijaw leaders, to establish the Joint Benin River HCDT.

Oyibo, in a statement made available to Fresh Angle International, Wednesday September 24, noted: What is surprising is, in the presence of Itsekiri chiefs and communities’ leaders, the Ijaws are claiming Itsekiri lands and establishing fishing camps as communities, without any opposition from the Itsekiri leaders in that axis.

“The intended Joint HCDT, covers parts of Warri North and Warri South-West in Delta State as well as Edo and Ondo states: where the Ijaws, have fictitious communities from Edo, Ondo and Delta State.”

He asked: “Why did Itsekiri agree to have a joint HCDT in Benin River with Ijaws? Why the silence from Itsekiri people, while Ijaws are adding fishing camps as host communities? What will be the sharing formula between Ijaws and Itsekiris in the HCDT? Why did Itsekiri agree that an ethnic bigot, is made the joint HCDT Board Chairman, with Itsekiri novices, representing Itsekiri on the board of trustee?”

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