Bayelsa community flays Kachikwu over comments on OML 29 lease

Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu, has come under attack over his statement that the litigation over the lease of OML 29 to Aiteo will not affect crude oil production.

Kachikwu made the statement while speaking with journalists on the sidelines of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Opportunity Fair (NOGOF) in Yenagoa last week, saying he was yet to be served the processes.

He had stated that the disagreement between the host community and the operators of the oil bloc will not affect the licensing process, saying, “To start with, I have not been served with the court processes and the case cannot affect oil production; we cannot halt oil production because there is a disagreement with the community.”

But, the Opu-Nembe Kingdom of Bayelsa State, which is one of the host communities of OML 29, has described Kachikwu’s statement as shocking, according to one of their legal counsels, Iniruo Wills.

Wills, who is also president of the Ijaw Professionals Association (Homeland chapter), said: “That is a careless lie and a shocking disregard for the legal process and rule of law.

“It unveils the minister’s sheer contempt for oil producing communities of the Niger Delta, and is extremely insensitive coming from such a highly placed public policy executive, especially a very senior lawyer, for its obvious potential to provoke host communities to take matters into their own hands, which we do not encourage and must do everything to avoid, including the plaintiff communities’ adoption of the legal process that Ibe Kachikwu is now thumbing his nose at.”