Ten major oil-producing communities in Ekeremor Local Government Area of Bayelsa State and one community in Ahoada West Local Government Area of Rivers State have dragged the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to the Federal High Court II in Yenagoa.
The communities are Agbidiama, Amatu 1, Bilabiri I and 2, Bisangbene, Egbemo-Angalabiri, Letugbene, Ogbotobo and Peretorugbene all in Ekeremor Local Government Area of Bayelsa State and Oshie community in Ahoada West Local Government Area of Rivers State
The plaintiffs in suit No. FHC/C8/218/2023 are challenging the implementation of the Commission’s approved sharing formulae in line with the NDDC Act, insisting that they have been neglected by the NDDC for over two decades.
They are also praying the court to scrutinize and interpret the NDDC act regarding resource sharing or distributing formulae to host communities as well as to order the commission to start paying the neglected communities their due entitlements.
Speaking to journalists at the court premises in Yenagoa after the first hearing of the legal battle, the coordinator of the ten communities, Comrade Efegi Kemeabogha, explained that provisions of the NDDC prioritise volume of crude oil and gas productions including onshore and offshore operations when allocating resources to communities and local government areas.
“The inter-state sharing formula states that 35% by volume of oil and gas production by state, 20% for equality among the oil-producing states, 5% for ecological issues, 25% for regional integration projects, and 15% for administrative costs.
“Also, for the smooth operation within individual states, the intra-state sharing formula states that 60% of the resource distribution for the volume of crude oil and gas produced by each local government area and by extension the host and neighboring community, 20% for equality among local government areas and communities, 10% for pipeline and wellheads LGAs and communities and 10% for exploration zones” he said.
Efegi claimed that oil production from the nine communities alone is more than half of the entire Bayelsa State oil production.
He accused officials of the federal government agency and elites of consistently diverting resources meant for the development of these communities over the years.
“If these sharing formulae were religiously implemented, every community and local government area of an oil-producing state would have developed appreciably.
“Unfortunately, the operators of NDDC and the elites have consistently diverted projects and programs due for oil-producing communities to the places of their interest.
“That is why our communities: have been neglected for over two decades by the managers of NDDC.
“For instance, Amatu 1, Bilabiri 1 and 2, Bisangbene and Letugbene are neighbouring communities to the popular Bonga oil field, Agbami oil field, EA & EJA whose combined production is more than half of the entire Bayelsa State oil production according to NNPC annual report, have never benefited any project or employment from NDDC since inception.
