By Michael Veloh
EX-AGITATORS from Isoko nation in Delta state, have issued a 24hrs ultimatum to the federal government to include them in the recent pipeline contract awarded to Tompolo else, all pipelines in Isoko nation would be blown up.
The group in a statement warned Government Ekpemupolo Tompolo and his men not step his foot on any oil installation in Isoko land.
This ultimatum and warning was given by the self styled ex-agitators from the oil mining lease OML 28 and 30 cluster 5 and 6 from various Delta communities of Isoko when they spoke to selected journalists in one of the remote rural communities in Isoko land.
Leader of the group who identified himself as “General” Do-Good, said, “The twenty-four-hour deadline given to the relevant government agency in charge of the contract award is for them to address our concerns as they threatened to blow up pipelines in their communities with effects from Monday, October 10, 2022.
Pipeline
He said, “We are being marginalized in oil mining leases (OML 28 and 30) clusters 5 and 6 from various Isoko communities. Nearly every community in our region has a pipeline running through it, but Tompolo has taken over our surveillance work, so we’re doing this to warn him that we need our fair share of the pipeline job. If we don’t get our share soon, we’ll blow our lines. We have been excluded for far too long.
“If these problems are not resolved within the next 24 hours, we will blow everything related to oil in Isoko Land.
“And we are also warning Government Ekpemupolo Tompolo not to visit Isoko to manage our oil pipeline.
“We have been marginalized for too long,” General” Do-Good continued. The Niger Delta region is home to more people than just Ijaws who have oil.
“We, the Isoko, have some of the largest oil and gas facilities in the Niger Delta region, but we are usually marginalized and treated with disdain.
“Even in the Presidential Amnesty Programme, we were treated shabbily, and in every other thing coming to the Niger Delta region, we were not treated well.”
“Even in this pipeline surveillance contract, we have been schemed out, so we are giving them 24 hours to call us and address our needs, otherwise, every pipeline and oil facility in Isoko will be blown up.”
“We are waiting for Tompolo to enter our territory to guard any pipeline here, We are not afraid of him.”
“We are not against him getting his share of the pipeline surveillance contract but he should not come here to lord over us, we want our own pipeline surveillance job to be given to us otherwise we will seize all the oil facilities and shoot all of them down”.
