.
By Wole Adewumi
As the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is winding down, many Nigerians are not satisfied with the performances of some of the appointees in the administration. Also, as an oil-producing country, matters relating to oil prospecting, refining and even use by the people are always of public interest.
For the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, in which Chief Timipre Sylva is the Minister of State, a number of issues such as the harrowing experience people go through over the increase in prices of petroleum products, and the return of the dark days of long queues at filling stations, with the untold consequences of high cost of living and transportation beyond the reach of ordinary Nigerians, have become dark spots for the government.
Also, despite the billions of naira sunk into providing private security for the upstream and downstream sectors of the oil industry in the name of surveillance service, the frightening increase in statistics of oil theft is not only a worrisome legacy of the government but will remain a nightmare in the lives of Nigerians.
As a former governor of Bayelsa State, the people of the state are wondering what could have led to the revocation and the subsequent re-allocation of the only prized asset of the state where Sylva calls the shots. He is a political leader in the state, by virtue of his current position, the most prominent eye and voice of the state at the federal level too. So, if there is any issue the people want an answer to, regarding the relationship between the state and federal government, Sylva is the appropriate person they would turn to. And that is why the people want answers to questions relating to the revocation of the oil field.
Bayelsans find it befuddling that the company that took over the oil field was incorporated in 2019 with no technical and financial capabilities. The people of the state want answer to the question as to why other oil blocs were spared and only OML-46 also known as Atala Oil Field that is expected to be jealously guarded by a son of the soil was taken away from the people of the state.
The people of the state are also seeking answer to the question of who are the real promoters of HALKIN E & P, a company incorporated in September 2019 and which took over OML 46.
The people of Bayelsa want people like Dr Kelechi Ofoegbu , Mr. Olaowei Indiamaowei and others to come out and explain if they were involved in the matter or not and what roles they played, so that they would know who to hold responsible for the loss of their prized asset.
Even the registration of Halkin E&P through an application with Ref No. DPR/1160/A/Vol.11/144 received on the 8th of March in the Office of the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources leaves some issues hanging. The company was registered with RC 16113 on the 5th of September, 2019 after it reportedly invested $60 million as well as satisfying all relevant conditions precedent for re-allocation. The registration process was done in a record time and the jiffy with which it was done was more than amazing.
Also, the claim of some people that they were acting on the orders of the President to revoke the oil field should be thoroughly investigated, as the people believe there was nothing like that. The Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions during their public hearing, discovered the claim to be false.
Interestingly, President Muhammadu Buhari had earlier issued a directive to reverse all actions leading to the revocation of the ten oil blocs. The Senate Committee on Public Petitions, Ethics and Privileges unequivocally asserted their recommendation as they presented their report in the red chambers over the revocation of OML 46 without due process and in breach of the presidential directive.
The Senate in plenary, upon submission of report by the Senate Committee on Public Petitions, Ethics and Privileges totally condemned in unison, the criminal act of the NUPRC (DPR) and directed the compliance with the presidential directive to return Atala Oilfield to their original owners, which is the Bayelsa State government.
Trying all efforts to retrieve their commonwealth, the host communities (Azagbene Federated Communities) and other critical stakeholders have expressed their desire to challenge the revocation of Atala oil field by embarking on mass protest and also blocking the ever-busy East-West Road, to shutting down of oil installations as well as banning culpable Bayelsans from visiting Bayelsa.
The stakeholders vowed to tackle persons involved in what they described as criminal conspiracy against a state that has been the epic centre of agitation against years of marginalisation of oil producing communities. Therefore, this obvious act of broad day robbery of their property will not go unchallenged through every available means at their disposal. This is an avoidable danger signal particularly at this critical moment of the forthcoming general elections which any public officer in his right senses should do everything possible to avert instead of compounding a nationwide security challenge. Any further delay in implementing the presidential directive will not only amount to official abuse of public trust, but also uncharitable disservice to the country’s quest for good governance and fair deal.
Atala will not go away until the right thing is done.
*Adewumi, a lawyer-cum-journalist, lives in Lagos.
The post Atala Oil Field Revocation: Questions Timipre Sylva should answer appeared first on Vanguard News.
