Security: Niger Delta group asks President Buhari to place Rivers state under watch

macfranc007 October 26, 2017 Nigeria News today & Breaking news ▷ Read Nigerian newspapers 24/7 Jerrywright Ukwu

- News making the rounds that Shell Petroleum Development Company is fine-tuning plans to move its corporate headquarters from the Niger Delta has been generating reactions

- The Niger Delta Diaspora Professionals Forum (NPDF) has waded into the issue

- The influential group is of the opinion that the company's relocation will worsen the security situation in its host state, Rivers

The Niger Delta Diaspora Professionals Forum (NDPF) has decided to wade into the ongoing controversy and threats that the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) may be relocating their headquarters out of Port Harcourt, Rivers state.

The interim secretary of the group, Dr Godknows Fubara, dropped the hint in Coventry, United Kingdom, after their quarterly meeting to review developments in the Niger Delta region.

NAIJ.com gathered that Dr Fubara frowned at the news that the SPDC's decision is due to the rising insecurity in the state and the high handedness of the state governor, Barrister Nyesom Wike.

We'll beg Shell not to leave Rivers state - Diaspora group

Governor Wike has been having a running battle with the security agencies in Rivers state. Photo credit: Government House, Port Harcourt

His words: “We read a disturbing information on page 67 of the State of the States Report 2017 published by a Lagos based non-governmental organisation Budgit.

“The report which was launched on the 19th of October at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja, stated clearly that Shell is threatening to withdraw again from our state.

“We are not surprised but the board of NDPF have decided to intervene. We know the implication of such an action on unemployment in the state. The worsening insecurity in Rivers state is of great concern to us. The internally Generated Revenue (IGR) has dropped drastically. The state is heavily indebted.

“However, our fear is that if SHELL relocates the economic indices and by implication insecurity will worsen.”

NAIJ.com checks revealed that SPDC relocated back to Port Harcourt during the Amaechi administration in 2009.

An official of the company was then quoted to have said its relocation was due to the “availability of the right facilities and conducive environment.”

The NDPF lamented that the situation in Rivers state is due to the politicisation of ecurity in the state by Governor Wike.

“Since the beginning of the year, the security situation in the state has continued to deteriorate. News coming from the state point to the fact that most of the gains of the former administration have been lost due the actions of political actors in the state.

“Recently gun men suspected to be members of a notorious cult group have been on rampage attaching police officers in the state. This development has led to an alleged issue of a quit notice to Special Anti-robbery team (SARS) in the state.

“Analysts are worried about what has been described as the politicisation of security in the state by the Chief Security Officer in the State, Governor Nyesom Wike.

“According to many concerned residents of the state, it now seems that the state governor who was voted in to protect lives and property is now at loggerheads with security agencies who are fighting crime thereby further endangering lives and properties of citizens,” the group lamented.

The NDPF further lamented that residents of the state are now leaving in fear, stressing that it has become urgent for President Muhammadu Buhari to place Rivers state under watch.

Meanwhile, the delegation from the Diaspora Group will be expected back into Nigeria where they will be meeting with relevant stakeholders including the senior management of SPDC, relevant committees in the National Assembly and Rivers state government to address the issues.

In a related development, a group has filed a suit against the Shell Nigeria Exploration & Production Company (SNEPCO) in London.

The group under the aegis of Oil Spills Victims Vanguard, in its suit, accused SNEPCO of causing oil spillage in Nigeria's Niger Delta region in 2011.

The group filed the case at the TTC High Court of Justice in London on behalf of all the victims of Bonga oil spill, alleging that the spill caused by an operational error from SNEPCO led to the discharge of about 40,000 barrels of crude oil into the Atlantic Ocean.

INEC officials indicted for bribery and corruption during the Rivers state rerun elections in court on - NAIJ.com TV