CITING mischief, Bayelsa State
government has accused Rivers
State Governor Rotimi Amaechi of
distorting the facts on the Soku oil
wells and also blackmailing
President Goodluck Jonathan.
Amaechi recently accused some Kalabari chiefs of betraying
the state over the ownership of the Soku oil wells.
The Bayelsa State government also accused Governor
Amaechi, who recently defected to the opposition All
Progressives Congress (APC), of using Soku to incite the
Kalabari in Rivers State against their Nembe kinsmen in
Bayelsa State.
A statement by Mr. Daniel Iworiso-Markson, Chief Press
Secretary to the Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson,
said the controversy on Soku oil wells had long been resolved
by the Supreme Court, National Boundary Commission (NBC)
and several presidential committees.
The statement expressed surprise that Amaechi, being fully
aware that the matter had long been resolved, was now stoking
the matter just to attract media attention and score cheap
political points.
Iworiso-Markson said Amaechi was aware that Soku was
merely a name adopted by Shell, being its nearest operations
base at the time, and not necessarily the location of the oil
wells.
This fact, noted the Chief Press Secretary, has been attested
to by the NBC, as well as a committee set up in October 2000
by the then President Olusegun Obasanjo and headed by Maj.
Gen. A. B. Mamman (rtd).
According to Dickson’s spokesman, “the crux of the matter is
whether the said oil wells, which bear the name given by Shell,
are within Bayelsa or Rivers States according to the
administrative map of Nigeria and other instruments for
purposes of derivation.”
He said: “It is instructive to note that not only are the survey
coordinates of the affected areas within the geographical
area of Bayelsa State, it is also in Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC) delineated electoral
constituency as electoral ward 13 in Nembe Local Council Area
of Bayelsa State.”
The statement quoted Chapter 3 of a report of the Revenue
Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) dated
August 2006:
“The Bayelsa/Imo/Abia State governments complained that
the naming of oil fields was often done arbitrarily without any
regard to the culture and particular environment of the people
where the wells or fields are located. This has given rise to
wrong attribution by relevant agencies.
“Incidentally, Soku village in Rivers State is about 10
kilometres, as the crow flies, from the flow station while the
Oluasiri/Soku oil wells/field is completely surrounded by
various Oluasiri communities such as Etukekiri, Ijawkiri,
Fredkiri, Adokonikiri etc, all in Nembe Local Council Area of
Bayelsa State.”
The statement also quoted sections of a report of the General
Mamman committee: “Soku Oil Field: The team relied on the
legal notice captioned “The Eastern Region Local Government
Law, 1955 E.R. NO 26 of 1955. Instrument Establishing the
Nembe District Council” tendered by Bayelsa State on Pages
40-41 of its submission.
“It should be noted that while the Kalabari of Rivers State
call the area Soku, the Nembe people of Bayelsa State call it
Oluasiri, which is one of the councils mentioned in paragraph 5
of the above mentioned instrument.
“In the light of the above, it is recommended that the
production from Soku Oil Field be attributed to Bayelsa
State.”
The statement held that it was the reports that paved the way
for Bayelsa to apply for the monies that had been placed in an
escrow account when Amaechi approached the Supreme Court.
“From July 2004, the Revenue Commission officially
attributed the Oluasiri (Soku) Oil well to Bayelsa State and
the amount of N7,292,218,892 was subsequently released
from the ESCROW account to Bayelsa State on March 19,
2007, during the administration of President Olusegun
Obasanjo,” it said.
The government said the application for a refund of N17,405,
702,164.34 was made during the administration of President
Umaru Musa Yar’Adua on the reconciliation on Nembe-South
oil field in Bayelsa State and was found by RMAFC to be true.
The statement said Amaechi failed to disclose that Rivers
State made a similar claim on Nda and Okwori oil wells from
Bayelsa, Imo, Abia, Akwa Ibom and Delta states, and got a
refund of N17.5 billion.
It accused Amaechi of leading a smear campaign against
President Jonathan and threatened the peace and security of
the nation.
www.ngrguardiannews.com/index.php/news/national-news/142997-amaechi-distorting-facts-over-soku-oil-wells-says-bayelsa

Amaechi`s lies being torn apart bit by bit.

luvinhubby: Amaechi`s lies being torn apart bit by bit.

I told one Demdem on this forum that Amaechi is only a propagandist on this Soku oil wells. The Kalabari/Nembe are Ijaws and would not want to fight on this issue anymore but Amaechi says no. I am from Rivers and really want my state to own those wells if really they belong to us but not distorting the facts. The Oil companies have contributed largely to the problems in the ND. Once an oilfield is discovered and named, irrespective of the defining boundary of the reservoir, it carries the same name all through knowing fully well it could stretch several kilometers into neighbouring communities territory and even when infill wells are drilled in these distant locations they still carry the original field name.

Complete nonsense! I was with some Kalabari elders just 2days ago and they are quite sentimental about the disputed area. According to them, the dispute in the area is older than Nigeria and Jonathan cannot just come in one day and seed the land to Nembe. They've fought several ancient wars with Nembe over that area and are still ready to fight over it. They said Obasanjo created a neutral account where kept the proceeds in order to avoid crisis. This is a 1st hand information from responsible men and not from a secondary source. Kalabaris are generally not happy.

Abagworo: Complete nonsense! I was with some Kalabari elders just 2days ago and they are quite sentimental about the disputed area. According to them, the dispute in the area is older than Nigeria and Jonathan cannot just come in one day and seed the land to Nembe. They've fought several ancient wars with Nembe over that area and are still ready to fight over it. They said Obasanjo created a neutral account where kept the proceeds in order to avoid crisis. This is a 1st hand information from responsible men and not from a secondary source. Kalabaris are generally not happy.

ABAGWORO! Where you did you see kalabari elders to have this discussion. what about what the kalabari King said recently? what about did elders that where shown on national TV who supported the FG. You expect us to ignore this ones who came publicly to give the true picture of things and your support your faceless virtual elders? ok o. but is it true that the oil wells were ceded to Bayelsa before Jonathan became vice president and the money released to them before he became president? if so why the noise now? why blame Jonathan for something he didnt do? why is only amaechi crying wolf while the people themselves are saying sheep?

Person wey him Papa na Judge for him own matter, case no dey dey against am ooo. Na so my people talk oooo

lagosph:
ABAGWORO! Where you did you see kalabari elders to have this discussion. what about what the kalabari King said recently? what about did elders that where shown on national TV who supported the FG. You expect us to ignore this ones who came publicly to give the true picture of things and your support your faceless virtual elders? ok o. but is it true that the oil wells were ceded to Bayelsa before Jonathan became vice president and the money released to them before he became president? if so why the noise now? why blame Jonathan for something he didnt do? why is only amaechi crying wolf while the people themselves are saying sheep?

Please don't join issues with that perpetual sycophant and senseless liar! Nobody takes Abagworo seriously anymore on NL.

The statement held that it was the reports that paved the way
for Bayelsa to apply for the monies that had been placed in an
escrow account when Amaechi approached the Supreme Court.
“From July 2004, the Revenue Commission officially
attributed the Oluasiri (Soku) Oil well to Bayelsa State and
the amount of N7,292,218,892 was subsequently released
from the ESCROW account to Bayelsa State on March 19,
2007, during the administration of President Olusegun
Obasanjo,” it said.

Hmmmm

lagosph:
ABAGWORO! Where you did you see kalabari elders to have this discussion. what about what the kalabari King said recently? what about did elders that where shown on national TV who supported the FG. You expect us to ignore this ones who came publicly to give the true picture of things and your support your faceless virtual elders? ok o. but is it true that the oil wells were ceded to Bayelsa before Jonathan became vice president and the money released to them before he became president? if so why the noise now? why blame Jonathan for something he didnt do? why is only amaechi crying wolf while the people themselves are saying sheep?

You are the one saying it. I told you something I was a witness to and not political party meeting but a gathering of responsible elders from different parties. They see it more as a pride of what their forefathers fought for than politics.

Gradualy facts are coming out,gradualy Amechi and co is been xposed,gradualy the refined politicians are taken over governace,gradualy we are gettn close to the promise land.had it bn that GEJ is like OBJ,Amechi wil be in a big trouble come 2016,but he's such a humble man

You know that when Amaechi jumped over to the APC he told his supporters that he did that in the interest of the Rivers people, so he needs to hold on to every other straw to make the people believe him on that. But bad enough for both the Rivers and Bayelsa people, this particular straw carries an ember on it! I commend the Kalabari people for not allowing the political ruffles in this to drag them into unnecessary communal crisis.

Abagworo: Complete nonsense! I was with some Kalabari elders just 2days ago and they are quite sentimental about the disputed area. According to them, the dispute in the area is older than Nigeria and Jonathan cannot just come in one day and seed the land to Nembe. They've fought several ancient wars with Nembe over that area and are still ready to fight over it. They said Obasanjo created a neutral account where kept the proceeds in order to avoid crisis. This is a 1st hand information from responsible men and not from a secondary source. Kalabaris are generally not happy.

CHAI THIS ABAGWORO CAN LIE

AKUNWATA1: CHAI THIS ABAGWORO CAN LIE

Guy this ain't no child's play. You won't understand though. Its a very sensitive issue.

From Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa

The protest in Abuja by the Kalabari National Forum (KNF) allegedly accusing President Goodluck Jonathan of subtly conniving with some Federal Government agencies to cede some oil wells belonging to Rivers State to Bayelsa, his home state, has set the stage for a bitter and fierce war between the two sister states.

The protest which was attended by renowned Ijaw sons who recently commended Governor Henry Seriake Dickson for providing a rallying point for the Ijaws to support Jonathan was full of venom. There are indications that the Rivers State government is ready to go the whole hog to claim what they insist belongs to them.

The development comes even as the Bayelsa State government on its own part has refused to shy away from the fight and in equal measure replied the Kalabari people and by extension the Rivers state government. The state government led by Seriake Dickson thinks that the president and the Bayelsa government deserve an apology for statements credited to the protesters.

But rather than apologize like the Bayelsa state government demanded, Kalabari monarchs and the Rivers State government have fired more salvos where they further dragged the name of President Jonathan into the case, alleging that the boundary between Kalabari and Nembe has been adjusted without their knowledge leading to loss in revenue accruing from oil.

Close observers of political relationship between Rivers and Bayelsa states are of the view that the new controversy has reopened the dangerous rivalry between the two sister states. Beyond that however is the link to the 2015 Presidential election which political pundits believe would set off a chain of reactions in the Niger Delta region.

Flashback

In 1992, fight broke out in the then Old Rivers State between the Kalabari people in Akuku- Toru local government area and the Nembe people in Brass Local government area. They engaged each other in a fierce war over rights to territories around the Oluasiri area. People were killed and property worth millions of naira was destroyed.

On September 7, 1992, the Rivers State government set up a Judicial Commission of Inquiry to look into the crisis and make recommendations. In one of its recommendations, the committee stated: “Having seen that the issue is one of territorial claims, there is now the need to decide firmly what the legal boundaries are and establish them once and for all. The state Boundary Delimitation Commission should be activated and assigned this important task. As soon as the actual delimitations are fixed, a state apparatus for the enforcement of compliance should be in place. Thereafter, Exhibit SG1 should be withdrawn and relegated to the archives as a mere artifact of history and a competent administrative and political map of Rivers State should replace it”.

It advised that any party not satisfied should go to Court to seek redress and on the strength of that, the Rivers government commenced a legal process against Bayelsa state.

 The Controversy

Checks indicated that after dragging the Bayelsa State government to the Federal High Court where the verdict delivered favoured Bayelsa, Rivers State invoked the constitutional provision and filed a suit in the Supreme Court in 2011 on the matter.  On Tuesday, July 10, 2012, a panel of Supreme Court Justices which has the then Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Dahiru Musdapher as one of the panel members struck out the case filed by Rivers State laying claim to the oil fields in the disputed areas.

Immediately after the judgment, the Chairman Oil and Gas Committee of Nembe Kingdom, Chief Nengi James, said the judgment had finally ended the intimidation the people had faced since the oil fields were disputed.

Investigations revealed that based on the Supreme Court verdict, the revenue accruing from the disputed oil wells which the River State Government alleged was N17 billion has been paid to the Bayelsa State Government.

While warning that Bayelsa government should leave its oil alone, it described as fictitious a map produced between 2000 and 2002 which suggests that the disputed areas belong to Bayelsa. According to them in the new map, the boundary was moved from Sancta Barbara to St Bartholomew.  The state deputy-governor, Tele Ikuru stated that Soku had been part of Rivers State before the boundary was adjusted.  One of the protesters, Mr. Ibim Dokubo pointedly accused Jonathan of masterminding the boundary adjustment since he was deputy- governor and has actualized it to favour Bayelsa now that he is the President. The Amayanabo of Kalabari Kingdom, Prof. T. J. T. Princewill, described as illegal, plans to excise 80 per cent of the oil and gas bearing communities and settlements in Akuku-Toru Local Government Area, and making them part of old Brass Division.

The Rivers State Commissioner for Information, Mrs Ibim Sementari in a statement titled: “Soku Oil Wells, Our Story,” accused the Bayelsa government of contradicting itself as regards who owns the land.

The Rivers government wondered why the money that was kept in an escrow account pending the determination of the case would suddenly be paid to Bayelsa.

The Bayelsa government in a statement by Daniel Iworiso- Markson which sent the signal that it is not going back on its position declared that its stand is backed by law. Making references to the Supreme Court verdict in July, Markson on the Soku oil fields said, “on the issue of ownership and the claim by the Rivers State government to Soku Oil wells, I believe it is no longer news that Rivers State Government took Bayelsa State Government to the Federal High Court on this same issue and lost.

“Instead of appealing the matter in the Appeal Court, the Rivers State Government invoked the constitutional provision and filed a suit in the Supreme Court in 2011 and this year, the Supreme Court upheld Bayelsa State’s position”.

The Bayelsa State Commissioner for Information, Orientation and Strategy, Mr Markson Fefegha in a statement, “Soku/ Oluasiri Oil Wells/ Oil Fields: Rivers State Government Should Stop heating the Polity” accused Rivers of denigrating the office of the President.

He said it is well known that the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) erroneously gave the name Soku to oil fields located in Nembe area of Bayelsa state.

“The Rivers State Government had previously filed two suits against the Bayelsa State Government at the Federal High Court and the Supreme Court respectively in order to assert its purported ownership over the said oil wells/ oil field and woefully failed as the said suits were all struck–-out by the courts. Soku is a village in Rivers State while the oil wells/oil field and the flow station are located in the Oluasiri clan in Nembe Local Government Area of Bayelsa State. The name Soku oil wells/oil field was wrongly given by Shell Petroleum Development Company Ltd (SPDC) since Soku village was their operational base at that time.

“This is not peculiar to Soku. For example, the Idu oil wells/oil field is named after a town in Ekpeye land in Ahoada East LGA of Rivers while the oil field is actually located in Biseni of Bayelsa. Similarly, the Omoku west oil field is in Biseni land of Bayelsa but Omoku is a town in Rivers State”,  he said.

Oluasiri people speaks

The King of Oluasiri where the disputed oil wells are located, the Olua, and Ibenyanaowei of Oluasiri, Chief Iyerite Awululu in an interview set the matters straight when he accused Kalabari people of deliberately attempting to blackmail the President on an issue they knew predates the birth of Jonathan.

He provided a peep into the past: “Oluasiri is the 13th ward in Nembe local government. It has boundary with Akuku Toru people in Rivers state.

“Soku became famous because of the LNG Gas plant, but the plant itself is at the centre of Oluasiri land. It is far from Soku. It is a minimum of 22 minutes drive from the Gas plant to Soku. Soku is very close to Degema and Abonnema. The gas plant which has been in contention for the past 20 years is located in Oluasiri, Nembe land. Why is it called Nembe Land? I was born in 1957 and I as came on board, I realized that there was an instrument of the Eastern Government creating Nembe city council and putting Oluasiri as part of the council. Before I became King, the place has been widely acknowledged as Nembe territory. This case matter predates my birth. There have been issues between the Kalabari and Nembe even before the Gas Plant. We have cases of 1913, 1918 and 1923, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court cases. There was once a clash in 1992 between Akukutoru and Brass which was the mother local government of Nembe in old Rivers state.

“The crisis generated led to the establishment of a commission of inquiry headed by Justice Peter Akere to investigate the disturbances. There was a map allegedly doctored which favoured the Kalabari people and the map was contested in the commission of inquiry. The commission recommended that the earlier map erroneously known as Exhbit SG1 misled the state. The commission further stated that the Boundary Commission should urgently demarcate the boundaries between Brass and Akukutoru. From then till date, the boundary commission has done nothing”.

Awululu disclosed that under the government of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, a Presidential Verification Committee was sent to the area to verify who owns which oil fields. He said the report of the committee was signed by representatives of the two states who were co-opted into the committee.

He said, “The Boundary Commission should facilitate the delineation and demarcation between Rivers and Bayelsa to bring a permanent solution to this problem.  Kalabari people know Nembe people; they should not shift the blame to Mr. President. They signed the verification report of the Presidential Committee. Government should do their work, it should not be afraid. For 20 years, that matter has been left to linger.  The Federal Government’s reluctance to take decision is causing this problem”.

Emerging trends

Close observers of oil politics in Nigeria are of the view that the present controversy should be handled delicately before it triggers an unimaginable crisis, the end which nobody can predict. Unfortunately, President Goodluck Jonathan who would have been in the best position to intervene has been dragged into the fray as an interested party by the Kalabari people and Rivers State government. The mutual suspicion and tension between the two states when Bayelsa State was created in 1996 has suddenly returned.

This accounts for why Kalabari chiefs and elders who were in Yenagoa on October 1 to celebrate the unveiling of the  Bayelsa State Coat of Arms, Flag and Anthem where they praised Jonathan and Dickson to high heavens are now at loggerheads with the duo.

In its first statement on the disputed oil wells, the Bayelsa government cautioned the Kalabari people on the allegation that Bayelsa plans to annex Kalabari communities warning that “the purported claim is an attempt by detractors of the Ijaw nation to create unnecessary strife and hostility within the Ijaw ethnic family to our collective disadvantage”.

Amaechi’s allegation that the attempt to cede the oil wells to Bayelsa is part of plans to emasculate him ahead the 2015 Presidential election is very weighty and the reverberations it has generated cannot be ignored by the Presidency.

The allegation which some PDP chieftains in Abuja insist is not far from the truth has boxed Jonathan into a tight corner as he looks for a way out of the crisis. Political pundits believe the row over the disputed oil wells with open accusation and the deployment of strong languages against President Jonathan by his kith and kin from Rivers is not good for the fragile unity of the Ijaw nation which incidentally Governor Dickson is labouring hard to solidify.

Many believe that now is the time for Dickson to bring his skills as a consummate consensus builder to the fore and salvage what is left of the camaraderie between the Kalabari and the Nembe people. Jonathan during the last Presidential Media chat said relevant government agencies are seeking ways to resolve the issue amicably.

Political observers believe the President and the two governors must rise above political and primordial sentiments to resolve the issue. They cannot afford to use the issue of the oil wells to engage in political shadow boxing as the ripple effect would not only ensure they suffer collateral damage but also turn the disputed land into killing fields.

 

http://sunnewsonline.com/new/politics/bayelsarivers-oil-war-jonathan-between-devil-deep-blue-sea/

Demdem:

Shut ur trap. My position remain.
A traditional ruler that rejoices without a fight when he loses territories deserves to be de-robe. That was my argument for that day.

Bayelsa has stated their stance which automatically is FG position. Wait for Rivers position. Interesting to note though that the details of the supreme court ruling wasn't highlighted.

Always keep mute on Rivers issues. You are ashamed to mention your village and state yet you want to talk what you do not have idea. You lack identity. The same supreme court ruling you and co-travelers are blaming and making noise about. Was the judgement not clear enough for you to see what is wrong.

Abagworo, you have no shame?
So you can still refer us to Ameachi's two years old propaganda as justification of his obvious lies?

Shebi na this Rivers State when all of dey so? When GEJ leaves office wheather 2019 or 2015 that Soku oil field issue will degenerate to war between the Kalabaris and the Ijaws.
For now they have a common enemy which is Ameachi an Ikwerre Man. So they can agree to whateva pleases their deity GEJ.

Nigeria, The More You Look, The Less You see...Mio le Waku

Meanwhile

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Demdem:

Am not ashamed, its just that it has no bearing to issue at stake. And of cos ur kind is notorious of using that as basis of discussion. That SOKU well is at ur backyard doesn't mean u fully understand the issue at stake. U surely don't though u think u know.
My position remain that the useless king deserve not that throne, case closed.
Do u even know the full details of the judgement itself or u just decides to join the bandwagon of ignoramus shouting supreme court judgement. Nonsense.

The full details of the supreme court was posted here recently and of course I knew when this judgement was passed in 2012. I told you here on NL I am aware of the dispute since in the early 1990s. I know most of the villages mentioned in the Bayelsa response and the rivers state adjourning villages. I lost several friends including one of our pastors then. I do not want to be sentimental but politics should not come into it-that's all. I have no other concern hence my replying you. Peace my brother!

Demdem:

Am also not interested in conflict but peace. I put it to u that u don't know the details of this judgement. Please,i let's chill out and await RVSG response to this release.

[size=13pt]What again does Ameachi have to say apart from the doses of lies he's been dishing out? He deliberately refused to let us know the truth that:

1) President GEJ has nothing to do with the loss of the oil wells

2) That the Wells were ceded since 2006 under former President OBJ

3) That the Supreme Court had since ruled on that matter

4) That it was OBJ (not GEJ) that handed out the money in the ESCROW account to Bayelsa since 2006

5) That he Ameachi is a devil incarnate for deliberately attempting to drag the name of the President in the mud[/size]