By Politicsgovernance.com
The land owner’s families of Ukolobi, Okpohro, Enuru and the representative of the Odiologbo of Oleh clan, in Isoko south Local government Are of Delta state have denied an allegation of sponsoring group of persons to shutdown oil facilities being operated by Heritage Energy Oil Servicing limited and Agip Oil Company at the Oleh/Olomoro flow station in Oleh, Isoko South Local Government Area of Delta State.
The land owners’ families also known as Etesa represented by Chief Obaro Ekokobe and the Monarch in an online publication were accused by the president general of Oleh community Development Union, OCDU, Chief Believe Alakri of sponsoring miscreants to shutdown the Oleh/Olomoro flow station.
While denying the allegation in the publication in a briefing, Chief Obaro Ekokobe, chairman of Community Development Committee, CDC, said, “On the 28 of September, 2020, I received a call from the CDB asking, if I was aware of any protest to shutdown facilities in Oleh as a result of the sacking of one of our son, Leonard Ovrawah? I said I was not aware, then I was mandated to ensure that the purported protest did not hold.
“Few hours later, there was a pronouncement by the president general of the Oleh Community Development Union, Chief Believe Alakri summoning all the women, youths and men of the community to converged in his compound for a protest the next day 29th of September, 2020 to shut down the oil facilities in Oleh.
“Because I knew that I and the Itesa quarter people nor the Odiologbo of Oleh have no hand in that issue, I never attended. The outcome of that protest was the allegation that, I, Obaro Ekookobe, the Landlords, the Odiologbo and others were those that masterminded the protest.
“We want to state it clearly that these allegations and information have been given wrongly and if not corrected, some unreasonable persons may have presumed that they are correct without fair hearing and we are here to set the records straight that we the ‘itesa people’ the owners of the facilities where Heritage is operating have no hand or embarked on any protest and were never associated with such protest because we are at peace with oil companies, Heritage, NPDC and Agip operating in our domain.
“It is surprising that touts, disgruntled and illegitimate persons would come up with a publication that some persons are miscreants while we knew very well that they are touts and probably non indigenes of Oleh and they are structured by neighboring communities to cause mayhem.
“As the paramount leader of Oleh kingdom, the supremacy lies with Odiologbo, His Royal Majesty, Ovrawah Omogha I, and every other authority under him. And we are the landlords of the facilities and on no account should any one bridge the existing peace between the ‘Itesa quarter people’ who are the landlords, the nine families, the Odiologbo and the oil company. Ekokobe warned.
Also speaking on behalf of the Traditional ruler, the spokesperson of Oleh kingdom, Chief Benjamin Onojerame said, “When the oil companies came in the early 60s, they never discussed with communities rather with families and that of Oleh was not an exception and it is never true that the traditional ruler organized some persons to go and shutdown the flow station.
“The traditional ruler is a man of peace; Oleh is a land of peace that would not want to experience any crisis because we are yet to recover from the past one few years ago.
While I never deny his position, Chief Alakri is the executive president of Oleh Community Development Union, OCDU, and not the president general of Oleh.
“I also want to put the record straight that the publication he made against the monarch and Itesa quarter people are concocted lies from the pit of hell and the general public should disregard it”.
On his part, Chairman of the Landlords, Ejeke James described the online publication allegedly sponsored by Chief Believe Alakri as an act of bridging the existing peaceful relationship between us and the oil companies in Oleh.
“We are at peace with the Oil company operating in our land, we are peace with Chief Obaro Ekokobe, the traditional ruler and any publication from him and his cohorts should be disregarded because we want peace in Oleh. Ejele said.
Others who spoke in the same vein include, Chief Jeremiah Ejebe, the secretary of Etesa quarter women, Pa. Onogure, and the youths. According to them, we are the land owners and landlords of oil facilities, the president of Oleh cannot dictate for us on what to do”.
