IT has been blame game in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area (ONELGA), Rivers State, since Vincent Job, the council Chairman declared war on oil theft and the hazardous soot inducing illegal refineries in response to matching oders handed by Governor Nyesom Wike.
At the stakeholders meeting in Omoku Job where Job unveiled ONELGA’s Task Force against oil thieves and artisanal refineries, fondly called ‘Kpofire’, traditional rulers, security operative, political officeholders among others present dived into blame passing following the stern warning that no found wanting would be spared punishment.
Job had told the gathering that, “If the vandals and illegal refiners continue to operate unabated, the socioeconomic lives of our people as well as the environment will seriously be affected.
“I therefore enjoin all Traditional Rulers, Community Development Committees, youth bodies and other stakeholders to brace up to the challenge of this menace by cooperating with the taskforce already constituted by the Council to identify and report illegal refining sites in your domain for further action.
“ONELGA hosts major oil and gas exploration and production companies from where the Federal Government draws its revenue. It will not make any economic sense seeing that we will use our hands to destroy the environment.”
In the blame game that had followed, Divisional Officer of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps, (NSCDC) in ONELGA, Eze Victory, accused politicians of interfering in the fight against oil theft.
“When we arrest suspects, it’s still the politicians and the elites who are always calling us to release these arrested suspects. Political elites should stop calling our bosses and interfering. They will say he is my boy, please release him.
“Oil companies should respect MoUs with host communities. If they keep to what they promised the communities, I don’t think youths will go to break their pipelines. They should empower the youths because an idle mind is the devil’s workshop”, the NSCDC official alleged.
Member representing ONELGA Constituency I in the Rivers State House of Assembly, Christian Ahiakwo, stated, “I have carried out research and found out that over 80 percent of hacked pipelines are so smoothly done, which means it takes the expertise of experts, who are also workers of these oil companies.”
Rivers Commissioner for Youths Affairs, Prince Ohia, in passing the blame, said, “Law enforcement agents should live up to responsibilities. The money you want to make from illegal oil bunkering is blood money because people are dying everyday from asthma, bronchitis and other respiratory ailments caused by soot.”
Nze Obi of Egbema, His Majesty, Evaristus Amuda, blamed the rising cases of illegal oil bunkering escalated in his domain on the connivance of personnel of the NSCDC.
“Oil bunkering became pronounced in our community with the establishment of Civil Defense in ONELGA. It is time to question them (NSCDC operatives). Will they allow us to fight the bunkering? The oil company workers are also involved”, the monarch asserted.
