Delta Communities Clash Over Oil Field

 

Protests Rock Delta Communities Over Naming, Ownership Of Proposed Oil Field Located At Petroleum Prospecting License (PPL) 220.

— Alema Of Warri Accuses Okpe Leadership Of Distorting Facts. 

Leaders of Sapele Okpe community in Okpe kingdom and Abigborodo community in Warri kingdom of Delta State are at loggerheads over the naming and ownership of a proposed oil field located at Petroleum Prospecting License (PPL) 220, with both parties presenting competing historical, legal and administrative claims.

While leaders of Sapele Okpe rejected the use of the name ‘Abigborodo Oil Field’, insisting that the land in question lies within their territory, their Warri kingdom counterpart affirmed that the oil field was correctly named and that Abigborodo in Warri North Local Government Area is the rightful landowner.

The rift followed the alleged submission by the Alema of Warri Kingdom, Chief Emmanuel Oritsejolomi Uduaghan, to the Federal Ministry of Environment, urging the ministry to disregard protests by the Udogun Okpe, the apex traditional authority of the Okpe Kingdom, over the EIA public display for PPL 220.

Speaking for the Sapele Okpe, the leaders cited archival records, colonial correspondence and a 2020 White Paper issued by the Delta State government after a judicial panel of enquiry.

They dismissed assertions that Chevron Nigeria Limited previously operated in the area, saying Chevron’s activities were confined to Abigborodo territory and did not extend to Okpe land.

They argued that naming the oil field after Abigborodo represents an attempt to confer ownership without legal basis.

The leaders urged the Federal Ministry of Environment and the project operator, Navante Exploration and Production Limited, to ensure that the EIA process correctly identifies the host community, warning that errors could lead to environmental injustice.

In his submission to the Ministry of Environment, the Alema of Warri, Chief  Uduaghan accused the Okpe leadership of presenting ‘half-truths and outright falsehoods’,  arguing that historical and legal records support Abigborodo’s claims.

The Alema stated that Abigborodo, Gbekoko and Otonyatsere are administered under the Warri Kingdom and the overlordship of the Olu of Warri.

He argued that Okpe authorities did not administer the Okpe Sobo Forest Reserve, citing archival documents which, according to him, show that Okpe representatives informed colonial administrators in 1931 that they had no land to contribute to the proposed reserve.

He also cited subsequent colonial investigations, petitions by Abigborodo leaders, and forest ordinances that in his account, led to excisions and boundary adjustments in favour of Abigborodo.

While defending the EIA public display, the Alema stressed that the exercise was environmental in nature and not intended to reopen land ownership disputes, adding that the naming of the oil field followed established industry practice.

Meanwhile, indigenes of Abigborodo have expressed concern over the continued exclusion from benefits and employment opportunities linked to the operations of an indeginous oil giant operating in the area.

The people who came out to protest recently vowed to halt company’s operations if their demands were not addressed.

However, a counter protest was organised in Oton community, with demonstrators carrying placards bearing inscriptions clearly expressing their claim that the area of the oil company’s operation falls within Oton land.