Why agitation for resource control persists, by Delta
From Sunny Ogefere, Asaba
DELTA State government's relentless agitation for resource control has been attributed to the degradation of the environment and dehumanisation of the people through oil exploration and exploitation by some multi-national companies.
The people, the government added, have also been alienated from the wealth generated from resources in their areas.
An end to the trend will only come if the people have control over the oil and gas exploited in their communities, the Commissioner of Environment, Mr. George Ugbomah, has said.
Ugbomah said in Asaba, the state capital, yesterday that the Land Use Act and the rules on the exploitation and exploration of oil and gas had denied the people access to their resources.
Said he: "The whole scenario is that when you come to a place where oil is being produced, what is expected would have been affluence on the faces of the people and their infrastructure. But it is not, what you find is misery, agony and poverty of the worst form.
"There is a serious level of contradiction of existence that where wealth is obtained, rather than seeing it being replicated abundantly, what you see is wanton distraction, devastation and dehumanisation".
Ugbomah said though the oil firms signed memoranda of understanding (MOU) with the people, their activities go beyond establishing a small healthcare centre, installing a 50 KVA generating plant, building a six-classroom block or a tiny stretch of road in places where they get several billions of funds.
This plight of the people, he said, informed Governor James Ibori's resolve to continue with the crusade for resource control.
On oil spillage, the commissioner lamented that the devastating effects could not be redeemed.
He said that the Warri Creek, which stretches from Udu to Ubeji down to Warri Refinery and Petrochemical Company, has suffered the worst pollution.
Ugbomah accused some oil firms of worsening the plight of people in Edioh, Egwa, Oghara, Sapele Jones Creek, Otumana, Escravos, Chanomi, Forcados, Opuama and Saghana throughout frequent oil spillage.
The commissioner named a firm, which he said had spilled over 218,204.16 gallons in the creeks, rivers and streams in the last six months.
His ministry, he stated, had embarked on routine monitoring to ensure compliance with environmental laws.
