The Oil and Gas rich Egi Clan in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers State has asked the Governor and members of the state House of Assembly to put in motion processes that would ensure the establishment of Oil and Gas Minerals Producing Communities Development Commission in the state.
The clan equally welcomed the proposed 10 per cent equity share in petroleum industry for host communities.
A press statement issued by the Egi National Congress (ENC) at the close of the end-of-year general meeting held at Obite, the people are also demanding the implementation of the full reports of the Mittee-led technical committee on Niger Delta.
Signed by its president, Pastor Nonye Nwokomah, secretary, Mr. Vincent Ake, and the Public Relations Officer, Ihukumere Edward, said the impacts of 13 per cent derivation fund is not felt by oil producing communities, and therefore asked the state government to constitute a body through necessary legal frame work to manage it for the sake of equity and justice.
According to them, Egi people are not seeing the impact of the fund in their area as a major single oil producing community in the state, “If we are not benefiting who are those benefiting”.
The said demand has become inevitable because the clan can no longer continue to suffer in silence in the midst of total marginalisation, deprivation and clear injustice.
They lament that while the people had remained peaceful, oil extraction going on uninterrupted over the years, the money from “our land is being used to pacify those vandalising pipes and outright stoppage of oil business in their territory”.
The Congress meeting, which was attended by opinion leaders, chiefs, women and youth groups and representatives of the 17 towns and villages that make up Egi clan, noted that unless the biased, divide and rule tactics employed against oil and gas producing communities of Niger Delta region is stopped, there may be more crises that the authorities would not be able to curtail.
The statement, however, urged Egi people to have confidence in the ability of Governor Amaechi to address their developmental needs, the statement said.
This, they could is to be proactive in supporting all government policies and programmes while using legitimate means to demand their rights.