Tension is brewing in Akwa Ibom State over the deferral in the reconstitution of the Effiat Oil and Gas Relations Committee in Mbo Local Government Area of the state.
The youths have threatened that if urgent steps were not taken by the state government to address the logjam, they would have no option than to resort to self help to change the old executives.
In a letter by the Effiat Ikpoto Oil and Gas Relations Committee addressed to the Commissioner of Transport and Petroleum Resources, the youth accused the former chairman of misusing N3 million donated by Exprotech Nigeria Limited for the purchase of vehicle for His Royal Highness, Obong Asukwo Okon Ekpo IV.
The former chairman of the committee, Okon Bassey Okon was on November 13 removed after a vote of no confidence last year, leading to crisis and tension in the oil rich community in Mbo council.
Another committee headed by Mr Saviour Itabana, was elected to run the affairs of the committee, but Okon has continued to parade himself as the chairman of the committee and use such position to allegedly curry favours from oil companies operating in the area.
Some of the aggrieved youth leaders lamented that the continuous stay in power of the Okon-led exco would only breed acrimony in the community.
Samuel Bassey and Uduak Udo, both community leaders said that the discovery of crude oil in their communities had brought pains and sorrow instead of blessings to the people.
When contacted, the chairman of the newly reconstituted Effiat Ikpoto Oil and Gas Committee, Itabana, said the Effiat community has been raped by previous leaders, lamenting “it is unfortunate that a clan that play host to multinational companies such as Oriental Energy Resources Limited, Addax Petroleum Development Company limited, Moni-Pulo Nigeria limited, Total Exploration and Producing Nigeria limited, Mobil Producing Unlimited, Associated Oil and Gas Services Limited and Universal Energy Limited has no primary school.”
Okon could not be reached as at the time of filing this report.
