A PLEA FOR HELP: AKWA IBOM OIL COMMUNITIES DROWNING IN NEGLECT

By: Daniel Edon

Residents of Ndon Eyo, Ikot Akpatek, Ikot Ntuen, Ikwe in ONNA local Government Area and Odio Community in Eket, Akwa Ibom State, are sounding the alarm over the deplorable state of their communities.

These communities that are located few kilometers to the Atlantic shores, has been plagued by poor infrastructure, including roads, electricity, and water supply. The road that traverses the five villages, is in a state of disrepair, making it difficult for residents to access basic amenities like healthcare, education, and markets.

According to the Village Head of Ikwe, Eteidung Friday Robinson Inyang, the road is impassable during rainfall, cutting off the community from Ndon Eyo Town. “When it rains for about 2-3 hours, my village would be completely cut off from Ndon Eyo Town. No vehicle including motorcycles can access my village and the nearby Odio village,” he lamented.

The Chairman and Secretary of Odio Village Council also share the sentiment of the Ikwe village Head, says road is their major challenges. They wonder if Odio is in Akwa Ibom State or in Cameroon. In a short interaction with this Reporter, they said they were at the their center to revalidate their membership of the All Progressive Congress, the APC, in accordance to the directives of the Governor, so we are always in support of the leadership of the State but they have nothing to show. They are however optimistic that Governor Umo Eno being a man with a compassionate heart will come to their rescue shortly.

Also speaking, the former PDP Chapter Woman leader for Eket and now Supervisor in Eket local Government Council, and an APC leader in Odio, Hon. Emem Francis, equally lamented over the poor State of the road. She said she had to go through another local Government Area before she could access her community- Odio. She was also optimistic that as a man of God, a talk and do Governor, Pastor Umo Eno, will surely alleviate their age long suffering by constructing the road.

The community’s plight is further exacerbated by the poor state of their economy, which is largely dependent on fishing and farming. The bad road has led to a significant increase in transportation costs, making it difficult for farmers to transport their produce to markets.

“We used to pay about N500 to Ndon Eyo junction, but now it’s N3,500, return is N7,000,” said Mr. Sunday, the Youth President of Odio. “We begged the Governor to come to our aid.”

The community’s cry for help comes despite the fact that the state government has awarded contracts for the construction of the road. However, the project was abandoned by the contractor, VKS, who was paid over N2 billion as mobilization fees. The current Governor, Pastor Umo Eno, revoked the contract and re-awarded it to another contractor, but over a year later, nothing has been done to improve the road.

The residents of these communities are calling on the state government to come to their rescue and provide them with basic amenities. They are also seeking the intervention of the Governor to ensure that the road is constructed and their community is developed.

The story of these community is a stark reminder of the neglect and marginalization of oil-producing communities in Nigeria, despite their significant contributions to the country’s revenue.

Though it is a normal practice for Government, both Federal and State to marginalized and neglect Oil communities, and deprived them of their Rights To Development despite their enormous contribution to the wealth of the nation.

Though the Federal government under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, since the removal of obnoxious fuel subsidy, has increased financial allocation to States of the federation especially that of the Oil Producing States, the Federal government has also passed into Law the Petroleum Industry Bill, now an Act of the Parliament. This PIA mandates all IOCs operating in the country to set aside 3% of her earnings to carter for the development challenges of Oil producing communities, via Host Communities Development Trusts, HCDT.

The Host Community Development Trust Funds runs into Billions every year. These funds are managed by Community leaders with the collaboration of the traditional Rulers. So the development challenges of the Oil communities now rest on the Federal government, the Niger Delta Development Commission, South South Development Commission (not yet operational) State Government and of course the different HCDTs.

Considering the huge funding of these sectors, there’s no reason why our communities should lack in anything aside corruption which to me is human wickedness.

Daniel Edon is Development Communication Journalist, The Publisher of The Bubbles and Umoenotimes Newspaper, Blogger and Public Affairs Analyst.