Niger Delta Elders’ Forum Urges Buhari to Inaugurate NDDC Board to Douse Tension

Niger Delta Elders’ Forum has earnestly urged President Buhari to inaugurate the NDDC Governing Board in accordance with the law, to guarantee equitable representation of the nine constituent states.  According to Chief Tonye Ogbogbula, National President, Niger Delta Elders’ Forum, inaugurating the substantive Board of NDDC “will inevitably douse the increased but avoidable tension in the region, and thereby ensure the stoppage of crude oil pipeline vandalisation which has suddenly reared up again in the Niger Delta to the detriment of the nation’s economy.” The group stated that it is “truly saddened by current reports in the international and national media of renewed attacks on crude oil pipelines in the Niger Delta, which have forced major International Oil Companies such as Shell Petroleum and Agip to declare Force Majeure as a result of their inability to meet their contractual daily crude oil production, thus leading to daily loss of huge revenue to the nation.” The group quoted ThisDay newspaper story of Tuesday, March 15, 2022, titled “Shell, Eni Declare Force Majeure After Attacks on Oil Facilities in N’Delta,” which reported that Shell Plc and Eni SpA both declared force majeure on key oil flows from the Niger Delta, threatening to disrupt supplies.
 Quoting a Bloomberg report, the newspaper stated that Shell’s measure has been in place since March 3, and applies to its Bonny export programme, while Eni’s relates to Brass crude cargoes and followed a pipeline blast recently in Bayelsa state. Shipments of the two grades had been planned at a rate of 170,000 barrels a day next month but have been in a state of decline over the past few years, according to loading programmes seen by Bloomberg. Flows back in 2020 were planned at about 320,000 barrels a day. NDEF also cited another report in a national daily on Tuesday, March 15, 2022, titled “Energy Crisis: Nigeria To Lose N1.2bn Daily Over Agip Oil Export Cut” which stated that Nigeria’s energy crisis on Monday took a multiple dimension as Agip announced a halt in oil export at its 25,000 barrels per day (bpd) Brass export terminal in Bayelsa sequel to a blast at its facility, which could trigger a $2.84 million (about N1.2 billion) daily oil export loss.  According to the paper, “Nigeria has been battling with activities of oil vandals who have been using advanced technology to blow up oil installations,” stating that “such activities have made it difficult for Nigeria to meet its OPEC quota and by extension lose billions of dollars at a period of rising oil prices in the international market.” The newspaper reports that the latest incident was the second attack in a few days after an earlier incident on February 28 at its Obama flow station led to a production shortfall of 5,000 barrels per day, according to the oil company. According to NDEF, although Nigeria’s OPEC production quota is pegged at 1.8 million bpd (barrels per day), our country is presently struggling with a production level of between 1.25 million and 1.4 million bpd. Niger Delta Elders’ Forum recalled that the Ijaw Interest Advocates (IIA) also known as Izanzan Intellectual Camp, in a statement by its President, Ambassador Salaco Yerinmene, earlier in the year, also urged President Buhari to inaugurate the NDDC Board and douse the rising tension in the region. IIA, in the statement regretted that “the multi-national companies are now suffering silently, they have been exposed to confront host communities on their own. 
“Nigeria as a major oil producing nation cannot meet up their OPEC production quota just because of some selfish individuals who want to line up their pockets with funds meant to sustain peace and development of a sensitive region like the Niger Delta.” NDEF also drew attention that, earlier in the year, the 21st Century Youths in Niger Delta and Agitators with Conscience (21st CYNDAC), in a statement by its Coordinator, Izon Ebi, while restating its demand for the inauguration of the NDDC Board so that all the nine constituent states in the region will be duly represented, stated that the region and the country will blame President Buhari for “plunging the Niger Delta region into fresh crisis and grounding the economy of the nation if he fails to inaugurate the NDDC Board.” 
Izon Ebi also cautioned then that with government’s dismantling of hitherto thriving illegal oil refinery activities in the region, the youths of the region would again resort to destruction of oil pipelines if they are not productively re-engaged, which equitable representation of the nine constituent states on NDDC Board can guarantee. Chief Ogbogbula however stated that the “fundamental basis for the most significant issue that the authentic stakeholders of the Niger Delta have ceaselessly and legitimately demanded is for an end to the illegal Interim Management / sole administratorship at the NDDC and for President Buhari to inaugurate the Board of the Commission in compliance with the law, the NDDC Act.” 
Ogbogbula recalled that President Buhari also promised the nation on the 24th day of June 2021, while receiving the Ijaw National Congress (INC) at the State House in Abuja that the NDDC Board would be inaugurated as soon as the forensic audit report is submitted and accepted.
The group therefore stated that to “douse the increased tension in the region, we therefore reaffirm our demand of ending the illegal Interim sole administratorship at the NDDC; inauguration of the NDDC Governing Board in line with the NDDC Act to represent the nine constituent states of Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Imo, Ondo, and Rivers, and thereby ensure proper corporate governance, accountability, transparency, and probity in managing the Commission.”