We the Urhobo Youth Leaders Association (UYLA) welcome the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Professor Yemi Osibanjo (SAN) on the occasion of his facts-finding visit to the Niger Delta towards providing a lasting solution to the Problems of the Region.
Urhobo youths are in full support of the Pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) to negotiate with the Federal Government to ensure sustainable peace in the region.
We wish to quickly recommend that the security of the oil and gas facilities should be given to the youths of various ethnic Nationalities in the Niger Delta. We demand the immediate restructuring of the amnesty office to give equal opportunity to all ethnic nations in the Niger Delta.
In anticipation of the Niger Delta negotiation with the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) on peace and sustainable development, the following matters are proposed for deliberation and submission to the PANDEF:
Fiscal federalism, equity and justice:
- We demand a graduated increase in derivation from 13% to 50% over 5 years period.
- Repeal and abrogation of all unjust and oppressive legislations, laws, policies that vest ownership and control of oil and gas resources in the Federal Legislature List in the 1999 Constitution as amended.
- Repeal and abrogation of all anti-federal and inequitable laws and policies related to the oil and gas industry such as pipelines, etc.
- Repeal of the Land Use Act and return of all lands to communities, families, and individuals.
- Repeal of the 1997 Inland Waterways Act that vests in the Federal Government the ownership of all rivers and waterways and their banks.
- Review of oil bloc licenses to ensure majority equity ownership by Urhobo investors; the next review is due in 2017.
- Passage of Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) into law by 2017.
- Minimum of 75% of workforce in all oil and gas business in Urhobo Land to be reserved for Urhobo professionals and indigenes.
- Relocation to Urhobo Land of the head offices of all oil and gas companies doing business in Urhobo area, especially NPDC now in Benin to be relocated to Ughelli and Pan-Ocean Petroleum Corporation to be relocated to Oghara.
- Compensation and rehabilitation via Affirmative Actions of the families of all the 1000 persons who perished in the October, 1998, pipeline fire in Idjerhe (Jesse) near Sapele.
Let there be light in Urhobo land:
An MOU to guarantee the step down of adequate energy/electricity generated in the gas turbines in Delta Power Station (Ughelli) and Ogorode Power Station (Sapele) to supply subsidized electricity for all communities and Local Government Areas in Urhobo Land. This Affirmation Action is to transform the economic, environment and make it juicy and attractive to investors in small, medium and large-scale enterprises. Similar policies have been run by Shell and other MNOs in places like Shetland (Scotland).
MOU with Utorogu Gas Plant, the biggest in West Africa, for supply of subsidized and uninterrupted electricity to all communities in Ughelli South and Udu Local Government Area which jointly host the facility. It is cruel and oppressive on the part of the Nigeria Gas Company that the gas processed in Utorogu is piped through the Escravos-Lagos gas grid to industries in Ogun and Lagos State in Nigeria and thence to the Republic of Benin, Togo, and Ghana yet the immediate host communities have not had steady electricity supply since 1989 when the facility was opened. This injustice has to stop.
Ports and waterways:
- Construction of Okwagbe Inland Port approved by the Federal Ministry of Transport several years ago.
- Return of Sapele Port to civil use by taking it over from the Navy.
- Development of Warri Port to boost maritime business.
- Dredging of Escravos Bar to admit larger ocean liners to Delta ports of Warri, Burutu, Sapele and Koko. The Escravos Bar facility was built in the early 1960s by the government of the First Republic, thanks to the patriotism of Chief Festus Okotie-Eboh, the then Minister of Finance.
- Clean-up and restoration of silted and weed-choked rivers and waterways in Urhobo Land, especially Ethiope River, Warri River, Forcados River, Owahwa-Esaba River, Egiegi-Oleri Creek, Okpare-Ughelli Creek, Eghwu-Arhavwarian River, Gbaregolor- Okwuama Creek, Ogunu-Ughoton-Sapele Creek.
Industries and agriculture:
Buy-back or genuine privatization of Delta Steel Company (DSC), Ovwain-Aladja to revamp economic activity and generate employment. About 80 ancillary industries were planned with DSC and their location/citing was to spread from the DSC area to Patani along the River Niger. This plan of multiple enterprises should now be implemented in order to stimulate economic recovery in the Western Niger Delta.
Setting up of Central Bank of Nigerian (CBN) and Bank of Industries (BoI), a stimulus Fund to support investment in small and medium scale enterprises in Urhobo Land to absorb thousands of unemployed persons and create innovation and inventions.
Special Federal Stimulus Fund for Agriculture to boost production of food-crops such as cassava, plantain, sweet potato, fisheries, and rice as well as cash/industrial crops such as palm, raffia palm, coconut, mango, orange, ogbono, kola nut, etc.
Upgrading of the Otegbo sub-station of the Nigerian Institute for Oil Palm Research in Ughelli South LGA to a full-fledged research institute to support agriculture research and industrial production of oil palm and raffia palm for palm produce, bottled palm wine, yeast, ethanol and other derivatives.
Highways and railways:
- Dualization of Sapele-Eku-Abraka-Agbor Federal Road, the oldest motorway in southern Nigeria.
- Dualization of Effurun-Eku Federal Road.
- Construction of Egini-Esaba-Ophorigbala-Gbekebor-Burutu Federal Highway to link Udu, Ughelli South and Burutu LGAs to the Warri-Effurun economic axis.
- Construction of Otor-Udu-Oghior-Okolor Inland, Ogbe-Udu-Okolor Water Side Road.
- Dualization of Ughelli-Okpara-Out-Jeremi-Okwagbe-Egbo-Ide Road.
- Dualization of Ekakpamre-Otor-Udu-Egini-Ovwian Road.
- Dualization of Ughelli-Agbarha- Otor-Orogun- Sanubi Road.
- Return to Uvwie Kingdom of unused areas of Uvwie land acquired by the Nigerian Army in the 1970s.
- Accelerate the construction of Lagos-Benin-Effurun-Ughelli-Port Harcourt-Uyo-Calabar Railway within three years.
Education and students loan scheme:
- Increase budgetary allocation of funds to accelerate development of facilities at the Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Effurun, and employment and appointment of qualified Urhobo Indigenes in/into the Institution.
- Establishment of three (3) Specialised Technical Colleges in Urhobo Land, with one each in the three Federal Constituencies.
- Establishment of Federal Student Loan Scheme for all Niger Delta States.
Signed by:
Comrade Francis Arhiyor, President of Urhobo Youths Leaders Association
Comrade Vincent Oyibode, Secretary
Also read: Niger Delta: Osinbajo fact-finding visit angers Urhobo monarchs