Why we extended 14-day ultimatum given to Conoil on PIA implementation —Ijaw community

The Ijaw community of Tsekelewu (Polobubo) in Warri North Local Government Area of Delta State, has extended initial 14-day ultimatum it handed to Conoil Producing Limited to come up with visible plan to implement Chapter 3 of 2021 Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) for Tsekelewu (Polobubo) Host Community and Bloc of Communities – OML 103 by 10 days or be ready for a showdown.

The earlier 14-day ultimatum was issued on January 4, in a statement jointly signed by Dr. Abulu Bright and Reverend Tiemo-Doyah Clement, President-General and General Secretary, Tsekelewu Community Development Association (TCDA) respectively.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the signatories said the community was extending the time frame based on interventions of some well-meaning individuals.

“We have decided to extend the ultimatum by 10 days. This implies that the extended ultimatum will expire on January 20.

“Our decision to extend the ultimatum is based on interventions by well-meaning individuals and to give Conoil Producing Limited management time to act in compliance with provisions of the 2021 Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) Chapter 3 sections 235(4), 251(4), 236 and 242, and 2022 Nigeria Upstream Host Communities Development regulations as contained in Regulations 4, 7, 9, 12 and 20.

“This extension will also give time for the management of the oil firm to call for a consultative meeting for peaceful resolution of the impasse.

“We are open to dialogue and consultation as clearly stated in the PIA.

“We are in receipt of an ambiguous and doubtful letter asking Tsekelewu and Opuama communities to nominate undefined numbers of board of trustee members.

“There is a legal burden in the said letter because it does not bear the name or position of the ‘authorised signatory.’ Therefore, we cannot authenticate the veracity of the letter.

“Also, we wish to state that our request to make available the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) by your company stands in the light of the fact that your sweeping and dredging activities are negatively affecting our people.

“Once more, we request the management of Conoil Producing Limited to call for a consultative meeting with us and our sister community to resolve this impasse and progress the implementation of Chapter 3 of the PIA before the expiration of this extension on January 20,” the statement read in part.

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