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IPF Urges FG to Halt Oil Drilling Plans Without Proper Negotiations and Development of the Niger Delta Swamps
By Luck Ebide
The Ijaw Publishers’ Forum (IPF), a prominent media organization in the Niger Delta, has called on the federal government to suspend any plans for new oil exploration in the region unless meaningful dialogue and developmental agreements are reached.
This statement follows a report by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), published in ThisDay newspaper on January 4, 2025, which highlighted the need for 123.48 million barrels of crude oil to supply Nigeria’s nine refineries in the first half of 2025. With the Dangote Refinery receiving the largest share, the report emphasized the need for more oil drilling to meet growing domestic and international demands.
In a statement signed by its National President, Comrade Ozobo Austin, the IPF expressed discontent with the lack of development in the Niger Delta, particularly in the riverine Ijaw areas, despite decades of oil exploration. “We are making it clear that the Ijaw people will no longer permit further drilling of oil wells in our territories unless the federal government addresses critical issues such as capital development and allocates a fairer share of the oil proceeds to the region,” ” our oil money cannot be paying for colossal development elsewhere while we don’t have roads to drive to our ancestral homes, schools for our people to learn, and hospitals to treat our people.” the statement read in part.
The group highlighted the plight of riverine communities, which have suffered the consequences of oil exploitation for over 50 years, including environmental degradation, lack of infrastructure, and health crises. According to the IPF, the government’s neglect has left many parts of the region in darkness and poverty, with no single federal projects implemented since Nigeria’s independence.
The IPF emphasized the need for a comprehensive review of existing oil and gas ownership laws through a roundtable discussion that would prioritize developmental projects in the Ijaw riverine areas before any further oil exploration. “If the federal government cannot engage in such negotiations, they should look elsewhere for oil,” the statement added.
The forum also raised concerns about the future of the Niger Delta, especially Ijaws, once oil reserves are depleted. They cited Oloibiri, the site of Nigeria’s first commercial oil discovery, as a cautionary example of a community left in ruins after its resources were exhausted.
Furthermore, the IPF criticized the disparity in how natural resources are managed across Nigeria. They pointed out that mineral resources such as gold and lead in northern states like Zamfara are treated as private assets for local communities, while oil and gas from the Niger Delta remain under federal control. “If gold, iron ore, and other minerals in the North are considered indigenous resources, then oil and gas in the Niger Delta must also belong to the local people,” the statement argued.
The group called on governors, lawmakers, traditional rulers, and civil society organizations from the Niger Delta to advocate for the region’s rights and educate the federal government on the need to abandon any plans for new oil exploration in the area without a fair deal for the Ijaws. They stressed that such actions are essential to ensure long-term benefits for both the region and the country.
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Federal University Otuoke to Host Public Lecture on Political Economy and National Integration
By Divine Perezide
Bayelsa State – The Faculty of Social Sciences at the Federal University Otuoke (FUO) is set to host a one-day public lecture on the pressing issues of local government council and state creation, as well as resource control in Nigeria. The event, themed “The Political Economy of Local Government Council/State Creation and Resource Control: Implications for National Integration in Nigeria,” is scheduled to take place on Monday, May 5, 2025, at 10:00 AM.
The venue for the event is the Prof Seth Accra Jaja School of Postgraduate Studies Conference Hall at FUO, and it promises to be a platform for robust discussions on governance, economic policy, and national unity.
The lecture will be graced by distinguished academics and experts in political economy. The Vice-Chancellor of FUO, Prof. Teddy Charles Adias, will serve as the Chief Host, while Prof. Francis A. Oluleye, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, will be the Host. The keynote speaker for the event is Prof. Benjamin Okaba, a renowned scholar and the President of the Ijaw National Congress.
This public lecture aims to provide insights into the socio-economic and political dynamics of state and local government administration in Nigeria. It will also explore how resource control impacts national integration, a subject of great significance in Nigeria’s federal system.
Academics, students, policymakers, and members of the public interested in governance and national development are encouraged to attend.
For further inquiries, interested participants can contact Dr. Anthony C. Okoye (08060101369) or Dr. Gboyega K. Oyeniran (08033872053).
Stay tuned for more updates on this event and other academic engagements at Federal University Otuoke.
By Warefa Pereke.
April 2, 2025.
The CEO and Editor-in-Chief of Iduwini Voice Newspaper, Dr. Bibaikefie Clintin Peretengboro, has extended a sincere and heartfelt appreciation to all donors, attendees, and well-wishers who contributed to the resounding success of the newspaper’s unveiling ceremony.
The highly anticipated event, which took place on March 29, 2025, at the prestigious MBB Event Center, Refinery Road Effurun, Delta State, Nigeria, marked a significant milestone in the history of Iduwini Voice Newspaper.
Dr. Peretengboro expressed deep gratitude to the numerous individuals and organizations that supported the newspaper’s launch. “We are overwhelmed with joy and appreciation for the outpouring of support we received from our donors, attendees, and well-wishers,” Dr. Peretengboro said. “Your contributions, whether financial, moral, or otherwise, have been invaluable to us, and we are deeply grateful.”
The CEO and Editor-in-Chief also extended special greetings to the following persons:
Chief Dr. Julius Takeme JP. (PhD), Chairman, Burutu LGA, Hon. Julius Pondi, Member Representing Burutu Federal Constituency, House of Representatives, Prof. Benjamin Ogele Okaba, President Ijaw National Congress, Chief Comrade Sheriff Mulade, DG. Centre for Peace and Environmental Justice (CEPEJ), Pastor Adonis Osarobo, the Zonal Pastor of the Redeemed Christian church, Comrade Newworld Endoro, Chairman, Odimodi Community, Hon. Dennis Yenbri Bibaikefie, Mr. Akin Benikrukru, PIA Chairman, Iduwini Host Community Development Board, Comrade Isaiah Tamaraunimi Ingo, SA to the NDDC Chairman, and the Ijaw Publishers Forum (IPF), for their tireless efforts in promoting the newspaper’s launch.
Dr. Peretengboro also thanked the organizers, volunteers, and staff who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure the success of the event.
Iduwini Voice Newspaper is committed to providing accurate, timely, and engaging content to its readers, while promoting the values of fairness, justice, and equality. With the support of its donors, attendees, and well-wishers, the newspaper is set to make a meaningful impact in the region.
Again, we at Iduwini Voice extend our heartfelt appreciation to all those who have supported the newspaper’s launch. We look forward to continuing to serve our readers and the clan with integrity, professionalism, and dedication,” Dr. Bibaikefie concluded.
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Guest Article: The Battle for Nigeria’s Oil Security – Exposing the Forces Undermining National Revenue & the Tompolo Factor
By Tosan Blessing
Long before the conspiracy of evil men led EFCC to declare Tompolo wanted over a case the EFCC could not directly pursue, a case where the facts in issue revolves around the ownership of the land upon which the Nigerian Maritime University was built for which the federal Executive council paid a paltry 13 billion out of a projected 26billion being a buy over of Mieka Diving institute, propety of Tompolo, which property became part of the charter facility of the Nigerian Maritime University, Tompolo and some itsekiri elements were the ones the pipeline security contract was given. Soon after in the unwarranted and cynical rage of the then Hon Minister of Transportation, the contract was pulled off Tompolo and given to one of the APC ilks known for circumvention and volte face characteristics. Once this company this guy represents took over it became business as usual. Even the companys MD/CEO visited Tompolo and said he was going to offer him 900m as part of his commitment to rein in him into what they were doing in the oil river but known for being averse to greed, Tompolo refused, telling that company’s MD/CEO to go ahead with his job, that they are brothers. No one raised the issue of the scope of works given to that company then. Under the watch of that company over 80 percent of oil revenue went into private pockets. At this time the nations foreign reserves began to deplete. The sub national governments began to live by Paris loans refund. No Nigerian or CIvil societies organisations questioned the activities of that interlocutor survellance company. It took Mr Bashir Jamoh a then DG of NIMASA, even in the seeding congruence of losing his job to allege that the new company engaged in pipeline protection for NNPC and by extension ancillary revenue sourcing for NIMASA had not been able to meet its projected revenue ceiling. He insisted that a previous Messrs Global West run by Tompolo and others, evilly removed from the job by the conspiracy of evil power brokers in government then was doing better and collecting thrice as much to breaking its given fiscal ceiling. The NNPC board ruffled by the alarm coming from a government agency announced it was taking its part of the job of pipeline surveillance from that company. It was at this instance given the energy emergency, that Tantita came on a national rescue and in quick raids it conducted even against the open aversion for its operation by some elements of the military, the nation is beginning to see the results- illegal pipelines here and there have been toppled, arrest and decommissioning of bunkering vessels, sacking of kpofire artesanal activities, and other evil grandstanders running kiti kiti kata kata. Now that oil revenue has peaked the evil profiteers have re emerged and in the name of legal actions are asking for an order mandamus for Tantita to produce the scope of its assignment. I argue that Tantita has no business with any third party intruder on the job it got freehold from the NNPCL that was publicly quoted and bidded for. Any one asking for such spurious order should approach the NNPCL. I further argue that if God cannot manage his own people in Egypt but ensured all of them died in a difficult journey through the wilderness, the presidency needs to go after these evil men who ensured this countrys export output had remained at a perilous margin with concomitant effect on the country’s GDP and growth economics to clear their doubts of their evil demeanours everywhere and their accomplices. I think if the government can summon the will to do this it will checkmate this errant attitude of criminals who still want to ensure that the Nigerian State remain rentier.