•Insists 3% for host communities too low 

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

The Ijaw National Congress (INC) has raised concerns over what it described as two different kinds of laws guiding the sharing of proceeds from crude oil production in the Niger Delta and solid minerals in the North.

The apex Ijaw elders organisation made this public in Abuja at the 10th anniversary lecture of Gbaramatu Voice, themed: “Gaps and Silences in Nigeria’s Oil and Gas Economy: Appraisal of Resources Control, Security and Media Dynamics.”

Speaking at the event, the President of INC, Prof. Benjamin Okaba noted that it was serious injustice for communities in the North to be allowed to extract their resources, while the government continues to give handouts to the people of the Niger Delta.

In Nigeria, the treatment of solid mineral exploitation in the North compared to crude oil exploitation in the Niger Delta has long been a source of perceived injustice and grievance. The discrepancies lie mainly in how revenues, ownership rights, and community benefits are handled under existing laws and policies.

For solid minerals, the practice has been largely informal and weakly regulated, with communities and state governments in the North often directly benefiting from mining activities, sometimes through artisanal mining, royalties, or local taxes.

It is believed that federal oversight exists on paper, but enforcement has been lax, allowing local actors significant leeway in controlling or profiting from resources in their environment.

In contrast, crude oil in the Niger Delta is governed by strict federal laws, including the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and earlier petroleum decrees, which vest exclusive ownership and control of oil and gas resources in the federal government, thereby creating a sharp contradiction.

Okaba, who decried the ‘injustice’, said that this portends danger for the country as there are two different sets of  laws for the country.

“The answer to this is that we have a country with multiple nationalities and different rules for different people. This is not law. It is endo-colonialism. Our people are reduced to host-communities, a sanitised term for hostages. Our people have been reduced to penury and slaves in their own land in the midst of plenty,” Okaba stated in his keynote address.

Besides, he rejected the 3 per cent host communities fund as contained in the PIA, noting that despite that it’s very low, many communities were yet to benefit from it because of bureaucratic bottlenecks created by the authorities. “This is preposterous. The 3 per cent is an insult,” he stated. 

The INC helmsman also condemned the degradation of the Niger Delta environment, alleging that the government must differentiate between persons who steal Nigeria’s oil in humongous quantities with the connivance of the authorities and the locals who are satisfied with just a drum.

“Those who suffer degradation, those who bear the oil, those who God has chosen and given for whatever reasons to own the oil, should be the primary benefactors of dividends of the oil industry. Anything otherwise will keep us in this trajectory of suffering, of crisis, of conflict. At the end of the day, we end up all losing,” he argued.

In his remarks,  the Ovie of Idjerhe Kingdom, His Royal Majesty, King Obukohwo Monday  Whiskey, Udurhie 1, stressed that at all times the truth about the injustice done to the Niger must be told despite whose ox is gored, recalling how he championed the cause of the region as a journalist.

“The truth of the matter is, there is nobody from the Niger Delta who does not truly appreciate development. But when you take what belongs to us, no matter the volume of military installations and personnel that you put on ground, we will find a way of coming out with our information, our voice,” he stated.

While commending Gbaramatu Voice for its strides in the last 10 years, he argued that despite years of oil exploration and exploitation in the Niger Delta, the region has nothing to show for it. “We do not have anything really tangible to show for what we are producing,” he maintained.

Also speaking, the representative of the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Olufemi Oluyede, Maj. Gen Oluremi Fadairo, explained that there was need for peace in the Niger Delta so as to fully maximise the production of Nigeria’s crude oil.

“We must report positively and ensure that Nigeria meets its quota in the production of oil. Security is our collective efforts. When in the area, you see something, you say something. And the security agencies will do something. 

“Security in the Niger Delta is our responsibility. We must say no to militancy. We must say no to oil bunkering so that we can have a better Nigeria,” he emphasised.

In his intervention, the Ibenanaowei of Ekpetiama and Chairman, Bayelsa State Traditional Rulers Council, Bubaraye Dakolo, lauded the consistency of Gbaramatu Voice, stressing that news medium has been telling stories that the mainstream media has not been able to tell. 

“And we know why. If you don’t really understand the creeks of the Niger Delta, and so you’re not able to go there, and you remain in Abuja, what you hear will be different from what really happens there.

“And so Gbaramatu Voice has come in to fill a gap, a lacuna that has been there. And the least we can do as citizens is to applaud them, to encourage them, to be part of them, and to honour what they represent today,” he stated.

Also speaking, an environmental activist, Sheriff Mulade, highlighted the contribution made by the Gbaramatu Voice in telling the stories in the Niger Delta.

In his welcome address, Publisher/CEO of Gbaramatu Voice, Jacob Abai, stated that Gbaramatu Voice was born—not out of luxury, but out of necessity. 

“We saw a Niger Delta whose stories were too often told by others, whose struggles were overlooked, and whose voices were muted in the national conversation. We began with a modest monthly tabloid, circulated across communities in the creeks and towns of the Delta. But what beganas a small flame soon became a beacon. 

“From those first pages, we have grown into a multimedia platform with readers, viewers, and followers across Nigeria and beyond. Over time GbaramatuVoice has evolved into a digital media platform. We now use multimedia storytelling, social media, and journalistic content to inform, engage, and advocate for the Niger Delta,” he stated.

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