N’Delta groups plans to take over oil blocks

Top community and militant groups in Delta State have cautioned that
they will not accept the exclusion of the Niger Delta people in the
allocation of oil blocks in Nigeria.
It was learnt that one of the interest groups said that following the
failure of President Goodluck Jonathan to secure the support of
northerners and south-westerners in the March 28 presidential
election, the people of the region now want to take a stand on how
they want the oil blocks allocated.
The source said several meetings had been held and more meetings would
still hold to arrive at a common position, as renewal of the oil block
licences will become due soon.
He said, "You can see how they voted during the election. Every ethnic
group voted for their own. But they want to come back to the Niger
Delta to take away our resources without even recognising that we
should be involved in the allocations.
"Let them come. We are waiting for them," the source said.
The source also said the recent series of destruction of oil pipelines
and formations in the Niger Delta area was just a warning signal to
the authorities that the people would not be ready to take it lightly
anymore.
"You can see that most of the oil block licences come from the North
and other parts of the country. But when it came to voting, they
mobilised their people against our son," he added.
Meanwhile, the Police in Delta State have yet to find a clue to the
explosions that rocked the Ekiugbo-Ighrenene-Afiesere oil pipeline.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Celstina Kalu, a Deputy
Superintendent of Police, said her office had not been briefed on the
incident. But she promised to reach out to the Divisional Police
Officer in Ughelli to get situation report.
Urhobo Gbagbako had claimed responsibility for the Friday bombing of
the NPDC oil pipeline at Ighrenene community between Afiesere and
Ekiugbo, and the shutting down of all the oil fields in Urhobo and
Isoko nations.
The group's spokesman, Priest Omodjuvwu, had said the bombing was to
protest the neglect of the ex-militants of Urhobo extraction in the
award of pipeline surveillance contracts by the Federal Government.
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