Oil Wells: 65% Ownership Or Nothing - Niger Delta lawmakers

Lawmakers from the Niger Delta region have called on the Federal Government to review the ownership structure of oil wells in the country to allow for 65 per cent ownership by the people of Niger Delta region as a means of facilitating development in the region.

The lawmakers also condemned the activities of herdsmen and called for the establishment of special task force drawn from the various security agencies and Neighbourhood Watch in each local government area to check their criminal and nefarious activities, and ensure justice.

The House members said, “The people of the Niger Delta region should possess at least 65 per cent of the oil wells contrary to the present ownership structure where less than 10 per cent of the oil blocks belong to our people.”

“There is an urgent need for the Federal Government of Nigeria to put in place adequate machinery that would ensure direct payment of derivative oil funds into the hands of Niger Delta benefiting communities,” the principal officers and members of the Houses of Assembly in the region said.

“Legislators of the Houses of Assembly in the South-South and South East can no longer watch helplessly as our region drifts aimlessly while our people walk the razor edge under the strain of impoverishment, environmental degradation, insecurity and uncertainty on the one hand and the destruction of oil/gas installations and the attendant consequences including their impact on the eco-system and the economy on the other hand.”

“They must embrace dialogue and diplomacy and channel their grievances through various constituted platforms.”

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