ODAHIEKWU OGUNDE, Yenagoa
The Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) Worldwide has backed the position of Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, that the Federal Government should return the revoked Atala Oil Marginal Field (OML 46) to the state.
The licence for the oilfield was revoked by the Federal Government through the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) last April.
Diri had for the first time on Wednesday reacted publicly, the revocation, which had been surrounded by controversies since the incident.
The governor had expressed shock over the revocation, saying the oilfield remained the state’s prized asset to which it was sentimentally attached and urged the Federal Government to reconsider its decision on the matter.
The IYC, on Friday, through its National Spokesman, Comrade Ebilade Ekerefe, said there was an imperative need for the DPR, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, to return the oilfield to the state under the doctrine of first refusal.
Ekerefe said though the revocation might have been triggered by a purported mishandling of the Atala oilfield between the state and the relevant agencies of the Federal Government, it was not a cogent reason to revoke the licence.
He said the recent show of capacity by the Douye Diri administration to provide an atmosphere conducive to agencies of the Federal Government to strive, such as the Brass Fertilizer Company and the Brass Liquefied Natural Gas, was enough evidence for the relevant agencies to reconsider the revocation and reallocation.
According to him, the Bayelsa State government which is the rightful owner of the Atala Oil Marginal Field (OML 46) should have been granted the right of first refusal before it was revoked and re-awarded.
“Why not allow Bayelsans to have their prized asset and allow them to operate it for the betterment of the state and the Federal Government,” he questioned.
He called on the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, to assist his state of origin to secure back its prized asset for the peace and development of the state and the Niger Delta region.