Niger Delta
Niger Delta must be cleaned up before Shell can sell assets, exit, says Edwin Clark

***IYC threatens to shut down all operations if their demands are not met
The leader of the Ijaw nation and elder statesman Chief Edwin Clark has declared that the Niger Delta and the Ijaw nation can no longer tolerate the exploitation by multinational Oil companies especially the The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC)
Speaking on Thursday in Abuja when he received a delegation of Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) who paid him a courtesy call led by their national Vice President Atigbi Freedom he urged the Multinationals to first clean up the oil spills in the Niger Delta before exit and sale of their assets
The IYC had drawn the attention of chief Clark to the plan of Shell to sell their assets as they prepare to exit despite the effect of the oil spillage and the degradation of their environment with all the attendant health hazards on the people.
Continuing Clark said Niger Delta can no longer tolerate the injustice adding that it is unfair and unacceptable as they will explore all legal options
“I have a list of court issues containing 147 cases taken against Shell and some of the oil companies, more of them are coming. Enough is enough we can no longer tolerate their exploitation.
“If You go to Gbagada today Chevron has an estate there. Their workers who work in Niger Delta don’t pay their taxes to Niger Delta because they live in Lagos.
“There could not have been Lekki if Chevron, Mobile and other companies are not there.
Can you imagine a situation whereby NNPC which was established in 1977 to look after the oil industry, one would have expected that the capital would be in Niger Delta possibly in Portharcourt.
“No those who feel that they own this country would put it wherever they want. Out of 11 members appointed by the President the chairman very qualified, he is from Akoko in Ondo State, five of the 11 members are from the North, the only two executive directors are from the North.
“South East have one. The President of the senate Godswill Akpabio gave one to a lady who was commissioner in his government when he was governor Akwa Ibom State.
“Miki is very well qualified from Ogoni, and I know who put him there. Delta State at the moment is the leading oil producing State, not a single person from Delta. Bayelsa State another major oil producing State no person was appoint but people who have nothing to do with the oil industry they are thereof supervising, maintaining treating us as strangers in our own home?
“This can not continue, the situation whereby Almighty God gave the Niger Delta the resources. We are living in a very difficult terrain. We give you this oil to compensate but those who believe that Nigeria belongs to them said no. When the white leaves they will take over for us to be colonized by Nigerians again.
Clark declared, “These are my grand children, you know I am the leader of our people. I did not buy it, they.made me. In 1975, March in Bomodi the entire Ijaw gathered, traditional leaders, politicians, ministers gathered to honour me with the Title Izon leader. A man who look at the interest of the Ijaw people.
“Since then I have been a leader, I have not betrayed then. They came to me to report the new development. I agree with them that we will follow the issue in a legal way.”
The spokesperson of the Council Ambassador Binabai Yerin Princewill indicated that the Federal Government and the Shell Development Company is now selling off their functional assets in Niger Delta.
“So the IYC met and addressed the press rejecting what they are planning to do. We are not in tandem with that until the Ijaw people are carried along.
“Until the Niger Delta people are included in this process because our environment had been destroyed, damaged, our environment has been violated and abused for so many years. “Shell is yet to even clean up our environment properly and now they are talking about selling off the assets. Most of these assets are in Ijaw land. Now they have not done the clean up and they want to sell the assets to other people with out recourse to the Niger Delta indegenes, Ijaw people whose lands these facilities are located.”
“For us we see that as an insult and this is another form of neocolonization. We are not going to accept it until the Ijaw people are carried along this time around. That is the reason we addressed the Press Conference.
The deputy President of the Council Atigbi Freedom said since the Tinubu administration came into office they have been following some of the antecedents of his government.
“Just a few months ago, Agip assets were also sold to crannies and friends and political allies of this government. The stake of the Niger Delta people that are working in these companies nobody knows
“Following from that development is the purported rumor, and from our findings, we have also gotten some of the names of these cronnies and none of the Niger Delta persons, most especially the Ijaw people was comsidered
“We have people who are very deep in this oil business. We have seen it as the style of this government that has constantly been using state power to use people clandestinely to acquire the assets, most especially in the Ijaw nation and Niger Delta at large
“Today, the president is planning to move certain assets and multinationals to Lagos. If he wants to be fair to himself, some of these assets they are moving to Lagos are supposed to be in the Niger Delta
“If this was the way our brother Goodluck Jonathan operated when he was in government, I do not think they would have tolerated him.
“We have come to brief you, for us in this nightmare we are not going to end our speech with mere briefing and political statements, that is why we are reaching out to you as our father and any other person in Niger. “We have seen Tompolo, Asari Dokubo, and every other stakeholders and political leaders who matter in this country
“If Shell fails to meet our demands by the grace of God Almighty, we will shut down every operation that is taking place in Niger Delta. We would not allow those individuals from other parts of this country to come and operate these facilities, and we will take steps to mobilize all structures.
“This is why we want to seek advice and counsel from our leaders that if they do not acceed to our demands, we will shut down all operations of Shell and other multinational companies in the Niger Delta
“When we begin to take this action, the world will be crying to you that your sons have started again. We know the Nigerian State will be at your neck. The international community will be on your neck to call the boys to order. You will now say my children you cannot do this with telling me?
Niger Delta
APC fumes as Court bars pro-Wike lawmakers from sitting

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State has expressed displeasure with the court order restraining the pro-Wike lawmakers from further sitting.
Following the battle for supremacy between Wike and Fubara, the 27 pro-Wike lawmakers defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the opposition All Progressives Congress(APC)
However the PDP, on whose platform they were elected, swifty approached the court, seeking an order declaring their seats vacant.
The Rivers State government, however, welcomed the development.
The Commissioner for Information and Communication, Joseph Johnson, said, “The law has spoken, and once the law speaks, rascality must cease.”
But the Publicity Secretary of the Rivers APC, Chibuke Ikenga, alleged judicial compromise and executive interference.
The injunction, which restrains the 25 lawmakers from holding legislative activities, followed a similar ex parte order on May 10.
In the latest ruling, Justice Wali restrained the 25 pro-Wike lawmakers “from parading and holding out themselves as members of the Rivers State House of Assembly and/or meeting/sitting at the auditorium of the House of Assembly Quarters located at off Aba Road, Port Harcourt, or at any other place whatsoever to purport to carry out the legislative business of the Rivers State House of Assembly, their legislative seats having been declared vacant, pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.”
The judge also restrained Fubara and the Rivers State Attorney General, who were joined in the suit as the 26th and 28th defendants, respectively, “from dealing with, interfacing, accepting any resolutions, bills and/or however interacting with the first to 25th defendants in their purported capacities as members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, their legislative seats having been declared vacant with effect from December 13, 2023, pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.”
Its Publicity Secretary, Ikenga, said the party was not surprised, alleging that the executive was procuring pronouncements outside the law.
He said, “We do know that there is an integrity question on Justice C. N. Wali. We are not unaware that they have all been compromised, particularly himself and a few others.
“They are pandering to the whims and caprices of the executive who today is their paymaster represented by the governor. So, it is expected that they will continue on that trajectory by taking decisions outside the provisions of the law.
“They are doing so for pecuniary reasons and we understand that. They have descended into the arena of politics, which is disturbing. They have nosedived integrity, they have compromised their positions of authority and behaving in an unholy manner,” he said.
Asked if he would advise the Amaewhule-led lawmakers to appeal the ruling, he said there was already a subsisting judgment by a Federal High Court.
Niger Delta
Clark tackles Ganduje, Damagum for colluding with Wike to sabotage Rivers people

Elderstatesman and the leader of the Ijaw nation Edwin Clark has accused the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Umar Ganduje and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Amb. Umar Damagum of colluding with Former Governor of Rivers State Nyesom Wike to sabotage the elected Government and Governor or Rivers State, Sir, Siminalayi Fubara
In an open letter to the duo he urged the other executive members to order.
“As a patriotic old statesman, I strongly believe that I should address this letter to you to call to order FCT Minister, Chief Nyesom Wike, because he is dancing naked in the open market in the politics of madness in Rivers State with one leg each in the two parties.
“I know both of you are fully aware and involved in the political crisis in Rivers State which is caused by Wike who is controlling the two parties in Rivers State particularly the PDP.
He advised both chairmen to withdraw from the madness of politics of Rivers State to avoid the dangerous crisis facing Rivers State, one of the most important states producing the resources used to sustain the economy of this country.
“I hope you do not forget that the International Oil Companies (IOCs) and the deep seaport of Onne are very well established in Rivers State.
“How can the Federal Government and the two main political parties allow an individual to disrupt and cause confusion, harassment of the democratically elected Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara on the guise that he alone and not the people of Rivers State made Fubara Governor, in his provocative and inciting statement?
According to him, the support given to Nyesom Wike by both party Chairmen has made him courageous enough to intimidate and anger the Rivers State Governor and Government and this is seen as an act to overthrown the duly elected Governor, which is criminal.
Finally, I am therefore appealing to you, in the interest of peace and stability in Nigeria to disassociate yourselves from the diabolical and mischievous plan by Wike for no just cause to bring down the Government of his successor, Governor Fubara.
“I strongly advice both of you to retrace your steps and take charge of your political parties in Rivers State and not leaving it for Wike who is neither PDP nor APC.”
“Nyesom Wike aggressively boasted that nobody can remove the member representing Ogu-Bolo Constituency. Therefore one is tempted what this dangerous, diabolical and mischievous politician can do to breach the constitution and cause a breakdown in law and order in the country.
“He is not in a position to amen section 109 (1g) of the constitution and he is not in a position to undermine the Supreme Court judgement which has now been firmly accepted as precedent, which binds all Courts in Nigeria.
“Listening to Wike who is a self imposed leader of the party PDP and the champion of madness in Rivers Politics is also controlling the ruling party APC by appointing a caretaker committee under the former Chief of Staff to Governor Rotimi Amaechi, Chief Tony Okocha, while he is not the legitimate chairman of APC in Rivers State.
“The legitimate Chairman Emeka Beke was suspended and was replaced with Chief Tony Okocha, because of his close relationship with the Leader of APC in the state, in person of Rt Hon Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi. “Chief Tonye Cole, the APC gubernatorial candidate in Rivers State also belongs to the elected executives. “Nyesom Wike, in order to impress the Presidency and APC in Abuja, decided to create the Chief Tony Okocha led caretaker committee with which he now deals with the APC in Rivers State with the approval of the National Chairman of APC.
“One maybe tempted to ask the National Chairman of APC why he chose to deal with a caretaker committee of APC which the Minister of FCT, Nyesom Wike had earlier presented the committee to him in the APC secretariat in Abuja before constituting it as a caretaker committee.
“But curiously, you now deal with a caretaker committee instead of the elected Chairman. I hope you are aware of the court action filed against you and APC by the elected Chairman of APC in Rivers State, Emeka Beke.
“The old APC members by law are the APC leaders because they were never removed before the illegal caretaker committee was imposed on Rivers State, who are loyalist to Wike.
“The legally constituted executives are in court, challenging the imposition of the caretaker committee on Rivers State chapter of the APC by the NWC.
“By his statements, he made it very clear that he is at work in Rivers State to intimidate, harass, disorganise the state in order to replace Governor Fubara with the former Speaker of the House of Assembly, Hon Martins Amaewhule, through impeachment. In his usual contradiction, he stated at a new year banquet on Sunday 7th January 2024, in his massive building standing tall in a large expanse of land, that this trouble between him and the elected Governor started when the Governor and others planned to remove Hon Amewhule as speaker of Rivers State house of Assembly and Wike reacted that you can’t do that to an Obiakpo son. “Meanwhile, he had held meetings with his loyal 27 members of the House to impeach the newly elected Governor of Rivers State. The House met at an ungodly hour at 7am and 23 members signed the notice of impeachment against the Governor and as part of the arrangement, the 27 members again met at the same venue on 11th December 2023 and defected en mass to APC, singing APC songs and waving APC flags and both of you were part of this wicked arrangement made by Wike.
“Indeed, that was the day the almighty Wike wanted to install an APC Government in Rivers State to show President Bola Tinubu how influential he was in Rivers State.”
Niger Delta
Fubara moves to probe Wike’s adminiatration

Governor Sim Fubara of River State is not resting as he has announced his next move to probe the administration of former Governor Nyesom Wike
The Governor made the dusclosure while swearing in Hon Dagogo Iboroma as the Attorney General of the State and Commissioner for Justice.
The Governor charged the newly sworn-in Commissioner to be prepared for what was ahead, as he would be overseeing the setting up of a panel of enquiry to probe the activities of Government within the last 8 years in the State.
The governor lamented the grand-scale sabotage against his administration, saying that the state was in a critical situation.
He said it had become obvious that the political crisis could no longer be resolved
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