Bayelsa women demand N20bn from FG, NDDC over dead fishes in Atlantic Ocean

Women are drawn from over 40 crude oil-producing communities in Southern Ijaw, Ekeremor and Brass Local Government Areas of Bayelsa State yesterday stormed the Yenagoa office of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), demanding N20billion as compensation for suspected toxic pollution that killed thousands of fishes in coastal communities in Bayelsa and Rivers State.

The women protesting holding placards with inscriptions “NDDC our people are helplessly starving. Come and provide funds for our business”, “empower us, we are devastated by the ecological disaster” and ” why NDDC robbing impoverished oil host Communities that fought for the establishment of NDDC” also demanded that the commission immediately intervenes in the issue of erosion and ocean surge that is gradually pushing their communities into extinction.

One of the protesting women who hail from Ekeni Communities in Southern Ijaw LGA, Sophia Ogunu said they are protesting over the many years of neglect they have suffered in the hands of the Federal Government and International Oil Companies, saying that since fishes were mysteriously found dead in communities along the Atlantic coast, they have not gotten any form succour or support from the interventionist agency.

Explaining further she said “what we are protesting for is that we are communities that come from Niger Delta including Southern Ijaw. Everybody knows how wealthy the Niger Delta region is yet we are protesting over neglect. We are women from Ekeremor, Southern-Ijaw and Brass Local Government Areas protesting today and that goes to show how huge the problem is. Early this year fishes in our water died without any know natural causes.

“Right now as we are talking, we are dying because there is nothing for us to eat. We go to the river and find no fish, we do not catch any fish, nothing is coming out. Even in our bush where we farm, because of the activities of all these oil companies, we are not seeing any improvement in our farms. So that is why we are here. We don’t even have money to do business in our communities. To eat or feed our families is a problem. So that is why we are here for this protest.

“What we want the NDDC to do for us, they are representing us, it’s our oil that ensured their establishment so they must ensure we have improved livelihood. In the NDDC office, there is nobody representing our interest, nobody has been employed from our communities, which is very bad and yet they are giving loans every year to people but nobody from our communities has been given such opportunities.

“Also we want them, right now if they want to continue to exist, to talk to the Federal Government because our oil is going into private pockets. Is our oil they are using in developing Nigeria. But if you go to our communities, you will cry. If you see the people that are producing oil, you will cry. So let the Federal Government come to our aid especially for the women, we have nothing to do.

“Some of us are graduates but yet we don’t even have a job, we don’t have employment, we don’t have anything. This office if they are employing, at least a few of us should be considered. But as we speak there is no employment from NDDC in our area, nobody is representing us. Let them employ those that are qualified to be employed and let them give us money to do business. If they fail we are still coming back to lock-up this office.

“After one month if they fail to do what we have come for, we will still come back in our numbers, even though our transportation fare is very high, we will source for money to be here and die with them. From here to my community is four thousand something but I will sell my wrapper to pay that fare but that time the trouble will not be easy for them. We are many but today we just selected a few persons from each community to here but if they play with us we will surprise them.”

Another protester, Inekinimi Alfred, from Azagbene community in Ekeremor Local Government Area decried the fact that crude oil exploration activity in her Community has destroyed her farmland which serves as her primary means of livelihood, calling on the interventionist agency to help provide an alternative means of livelihood for women in crude oil-producing Communities in order to cushion the adverse economic effect that comes with environmental pillion and ecological disaster.

“The essence of this protest is that the Federal Government will send Foreigners and they will come to our communities, drill our crude oil and the rest. They will pollute our rivers, kill all the fishes and even make the river water that we have been using for domestic proposes useless and leave us in poverty. If you plant, no crop will germinate because crude oil has polluted everywhere.

“Now this group of persons of foreigners, when they come, they will pay the Federal Government and the Federal Government in the process established what now the NDDC to come and develop our communities but when they came, they refuse to develop our communities. They will go to places that do not even have crude oil and carry out projects and abandon us.

“Now if you get to my village Azagbene community, you will see crude oil flotations here and there almost fifteen oil pipelines are there, the gas pipeline is up to twenty. When you talk of Crude oil, fifteen pipelines are there, every corner there but there is no sign of development. Yet you will see crude oil floating in our rivers, killing everything.

“We can no longer drink our water, NDDC instead of them to come to the communities and drill boreholes for our people to have water to drink, they will carry the money to another dimension we don’t even know. So today we are here for our rights. As you can see, there are different faces here drawn from different communities, we are gathered here to demand our rights.

“So NDDC should go to our communities and do the right thing. They should develop our communities, construct roads, provide drinkable water for us and then give scholarships to our children to go to school and give our women empowerment. In our communities, there are so many women that are suffering. Even my chairman, he is trekking on the street. Even Okada, they did not buy for him.”

Addressing the women, the principal manager of the NDDC liaison office in Yenagoa, Mr Diete Amiefamonyo said the Commission is desirous to lift the people of the region out of poverty but suggested that the women channel their grievances through writing to the commission.

“We are in support of all the grievances we have expressed but we want to plead that you put your grievance in writing and we would call you in a later date for us to meet and understand you better. It is only when we have a better understanding of your agitations that we can raise a memo to the headquarters for appropriate response and action.”

Kogi Govt Writes US, Protests Visa Ban

Kogi State government has protested the recent visa ban imposed on politicians alleged to have rigged the November 2019 election…Bayelsa women demand N20bn  Bayelsa women demand N20bn

Third Mainland Bridge Phase One Rehabilitation Almost Complete ― Controller

The Federal Controller of Works in Lagos, Mr Olukayode Popoola, on Friday assured that Third Mainland Bridge repairs were progressing…Bayelsa women demand N20bn  Bayelsa women demand N20bn

Ondo Amotekun Arrests 65 Cows, Herder Over Farm Destruction

No fewer than 65 cows and the herdsman in charge, Adamu Adamu Yusuf , have been arrested by men of the Ondo State Security…Bayelsa women demand N20bn  Bayelsa women demand N20bn

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE