Omo-Agege’s aide reveals how agencies, firms frustrate security in Niger Delta for ‘personal aggrandizement’

Prince Christopher Akpojotor Agaga, a resident of the Niger Delta and Senior Special Assistant to the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, has raises alarm over imminent crisis in the Niger Delta due to security breaches in the region.

Prince Agaga raised the alarm in an essay he made available to ElombahNews within the week regarding Chevron Escravos Gas projects (EGP-3 and EGTL) and the forthcoming NLNG Train 7 Project in Bonny Island.

He noted that a serious assistance to prevent the imminent crisis in the Niger Region is being sabotaged by managers of Federal government Agency, in collusion with Joint Venture Partners.

In the write-up, Agaga, however, exonerated the federal government of President Muhammadu Buhari, which, he said, really had good intentions for the Nigerian people.

He slammed Agency managers and their Partners for ‘frustrating Buhari’s sincere intentions for their own personal aggrandizement and to the detriment of the original owners of the land’.

Read the explosive essay in full below:

I am the SSA on Community Affairs Conflicts Resolution and Local Content Matters to the Deputy President of the Senate.

We all are so much concerned about the security situations in this country and as a man from the Niger Delta region and also a longtime Community relations consultant to the oil and gas industry, specifically on the oil and gas construction projects in the oil and gas industry.

I have known that the greatest problems which pose serious challenges on each major oil and gas Construction projects is the piracy, kidnapping, hijacking of vessels, robberies, terrorism etc.

A case study was the series of security challenges which the federal government went through during the Chevron Escravos Gas projects (EGP-3 and EGTL) from 2006 – 2011.

The security challenges led to the formation of the JTF by the FGN and the waterways security committee set up the Delta state government and also the creation of the ministry of conflict resolution and inter-ethnic relations headed by Comrade Ovusiere Macaulay as the commissioner.

Ironically, since 2011 to 2020 Nigeria has never experienced the execution of any major oil and gas projects and lately there had been serial killings which can be seen as security pandemic mostly in the northern part of the country and some parts of the west, but only became prominently exposed in a lot of cities and villages of the Niger Delta region just after the EndSARS Saga.

Luckily for the Niger Delta people, I have feelings that this security challenges in the north might extend by some mean through the waters or land into the Niger Delta region through the forthcoming NLNG Train 7 Project in Bonny Island.

Unless the federal government quickly do a rejigging of the security architecture of the oil and gas construction project sites and host Communities, and then per adventure, the project start without the federal government security Agencies are not involved in the planning  and my suspicions comes to pass, it may be too late to contain or prevent from spreading.

This thought then made my office to approach the Inspector General of police in the month of June, 2020, long before the EndSARS Saga.

The IGP graciously bought the ideas/ proposal and ordered the Deputy Inspector General of Police (Operations) to lead and work out all the necessary modalities to make us form a joint tactical squad.

The squad will be saddled with the responsibility of providing a modern state of art and well-articulated security architecture for the NLNG Train 7 Project.

The DIG Operations immediately swung into action by inviting and the required stakeholders of the project which included the management of both the NLNG and the Consortium contracting companies, the CP of Rivers State, the Amanayanbo of Bonny Kingdom and his chiefs and youth Federation members.

Unfortunately for us, every other stakeholders attended and credibly contributed perfectly on all the meetings called by the office of the IGP except the management of NLNG who for reasons best known to them are against the federal government Police formation being concerned with the safety of the people of the Bonny Kingdom.

They in fact never cared about the almost everyday killings the happening in Bonny Island and as such do all they can to thwart all the efforts of the IGP office not until just four days when kidnappers again entered Bonny Island and killed some of the youths which were just buried two days ago.

This then aggravated their anger to write a letter yesterday addressed to the IGP request for his mobilsing urgently the proposed IGP Joint Tactical Squad to save them or else they shall take their destiny into their hands.

So when we were called we felt that the whole world should at least for once know that the federal government of President Muhammadu Buhari really had good intentions for the Nigerian people.

However, it is the Managers of the Federal government Agency/Joint Venture Partners that are frustrating his sincere intentions for their own personal aggrandizement and to the detriment of the original owners of the land.

The relevant records of correspondences from the IGP office of all the meetings are available.

Meanwhile, they want to start the project this month not taking into consideration of the host Communities and the Niger Delta people.

Ironically, it there is any starting act of insecurity, then we shall again be holding the federal government and the security agency leadership responsible for the flaws or failure.

This is my reason of want a serious support of the media to spread the letter from the youth leadership of the Bonny Kingdom which they are submitting officially to the Rivers State Police Commissioner tomorrow morning and then the Inspector General of Police.

I also need your boosting up of the process to shore up serious supports and praises on the part of the Inspector General of Police for his foresight in planning to provide total security for the Operations not minding the all the frustrating tactics of the management of the NLNG.

Thanks.

Prince Christopher Akpojotor Agaga
Senior Special Assistant to the Deputy President of the Senate