Odahiekwu Ogunde, Yenagoa
Leadership of Bilabiri I and II communities in Ekeremor Local Government Area of Bayelsa State has warned the people of neighbouring Letugbene community to, in the interest of peace, steer clear of Tunu Oil Wells 4 & 5.
They also told the people of Letugbene to desist from using the oil wells as a platform to stage their protest against Shell Petroleum Development Company as the said oil wells do not belong to them.
The warning followed a recent protest by the people of Letugbene community at the location of Tunu Wells 4 & 5, where they demanded employment and other entitlements from SPDC.Chairmen of the Community Development Committees of Bilabiri I and Bilabiri II communities, Mr David Bazigha and Mr. Esau Darosha,in a joint statement on Monday, condemned the protest and shutdown of SPDC operations by Letugbene community.
They said the Tunu Oil Wells 4 and 5 belonged to Bilabiri communities and had never been a subject of litigations, adding that it was wrong for Letugbene community to use the Tunu Oil Wells 4 and 5 to stage their protest against SPDC.
They noted that using the oil wells as a protest point could be misconstrued and capable of triggering communual clash between the two communities, saying the said oil wells were not part of the litigations between Letugbene and their neighbouring community of Egbemo-Angalabiri.
The communities’ leaders said, “We the people of Bilabiri Kingdom, comprising Bilabiri I and II communities in Ekeremor LGA and landlords of Tunu Oil Wells 4 & 5 operated by SPDC, wish to state that the said oil wells have never been a subject of litigations or disputed as it is located in Bilabiri Kingdom land and rightly belong to Bilabiri Kingdom.
“Therefore, we condemn the use of Tunu Oil Wells 4 and 5 as the location by the people of Letugbene Community to stage a protest against SPDC to demand and agitate for employment and other entitlements from SPDC.
“It is instructive to note that using our oil wells as a platform for the protest could be misconstrued and capable of igniting communual conflict between the communities and distrupting the cordial relationship that has existed between the two neighbouring communities.
“We understand that there is a litigation between Letugbene community, Egbemo-Angalabiri community and SPDC. Therefore, Bilabiri commmunities do not want to be dragged into any conflict that does not concern us.
“We are calling on the state and local governments and security agencies to caution the people of Letugbene community to steer clear of Bilabiri Kingdom and Tunu Oil Wells 4 & 5 in the interest of peace. Any further attempt to stage whatsoever protest in the territory of Bilabiri Kingdom in whatever guise will be resisted by our people.”
End.