Bayelsa Govt: Amaechi Lied About Soku Oil Wells

09 Jan 2014
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Rivers State Governor, Mr. Chibuike Amaechi,


Accuses governor of bid to blackmail Jonathan
By Davidson Iriekpen

The Bayelsa State Government yesterday accused the Rivers State Governor, Mr. Chibuike Amaechi, of distorting the facts on the controversy surrounding the ownership of the Soku oil wells in a bid to blackmail President Goodluck Jonathan.

It also accused Amaechi, who recently defected to the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC), of using Soku to incite the Kalabaris in Rivers State against their Nembe kinsmen in Bayelsa.

A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the state governor, Mr. Daniel Iworiso-Markson, said the controversy on Soku 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 grab media attention and score cheap political points.
It said Amaechi was aware that Soku was merely a name adopted by Shell Petroleum Development Corporation (SPDC), being its nearest operational base at the time and the tag did not necessarily reflect the location of the oil wells.

This fact, noted the state government, had been attested to by NBC as well as a committee headed by Maj-Gen. A. B. Mamman (rtd), set up in October 2000 by former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

According to the Bayelsa State Government, “The crux of the matter is whether the said oil wells which bear the name given by Shell are within Bayelsa or Rivers State according to the administrative map of Nigeria and other instruments for purposes of derivation?

“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 delineated as an electoral constituency by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as electoral ward 13 in Nembe Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.”
The statement quoted chapter three 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 10km, 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 LGA of Bayelsa State.”

The statement also quoted sections of the 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 Kalabaris 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 five 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 state government 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 wells to Bayelsa State and the amount of N7,292,218,892 was subsequently released from the escrow account to Bayelsa State on 19th March 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 the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, on the reconciliation on Nembe South oil field in Bayelsa State and was found by RMAFC to be true.

It added that 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 further accused Amaechi of leading a smear campaign against Jonathan and threatening the peace and security of the nation.


“The Government of Bayelsa State assures our brothers, friends and the good people of Rivers State that our thoughts and prayers are with them at this trying moment in the life of our parent state, where a good number of our citizens still reside and call home,” the statement said.


Source: http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/bayelsa-govt-amaechi-lied-about-soku-oil-wells/168423/

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We were all aware from the onset that Ameachi was a mere silly liar.
The details has always been there for all to see.