Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide has called on the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led Federal Government to activate plans to relocate the headquarters of International Oil and Gas Companies (IOCs) operating in the Niger Delta to the region.

The umbrella body of Ijaw youths in a statement yesterday, in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital, by its spokesman, Amb. Binebai Princewill, said with the recent relocation of some departments of federal establishments to Lagos, there was no more justification for refusing to relocate IOCs’ headquarters to their operational bases in the region.

He urged President Tinubu, his National Security Adviser (NSA), Malam Nuhu Ribadu, Federal Executive Council (FEC) and other relevant agencies to set machinery in motion to move those IOCs to the Niger Delta without further delay.

He said: “IYC believes that there will be no excuse on the part of the Federal Government and multinational oil companies in relocating their headquarters, as Niger Delta people cannot continue to be sacrificial lambs in this country.

“There should be no argument, as the Federal Government has relocated Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) from Abuja to Lagos.

“As if that was not enough, it was later followed by announcement from the Central Bank of Nigeria that it would be moving some key departments from the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja to Lagos, the country’s commercial nerve centre.

“The Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) also said it would relocate some of its departments and units from Abuja to Lagos despite spending N70billion to build a new headquarters in Abuja.

“From the foregoing, we believe IOCs’ headquarters will urgently be relocated to their original base, which is the Niger Delta, without any further delay. You cannot rob Peter to pay Paul. This is long overdue and if not done may lead to unimaginable consequences.

“Before our very eyes, a multinational oil company was sold through the back door to some cronies in the Presidency. In a similar manner, Shell is planning to sell off its onshore assets under the guise of divestment to a consortium without giving host communities the right of first refusal, coupled with the many years of environmental damage without clean-up.”

The spokesman urged the President to roll out well-conceived policies to check the current inflationary trend in the country with a view to ameliorating the sufferings of the masses.

He said: “The steady fall of the naira against the dollar, removal of fuel subsidy and hike in pump price of fuel have made prices of commodities in the market astronomically high and they have affected virtually every aspect of citizens’ lives.

“Niger Delta people, particularly the Ijaw living in the riverine parts of the country, are more affected in this biting economy. For example, if a litre of fuel is sold for N700 in the cities, the riverine communities’ indigenes, who depend on black market, will be buying a litre of fuel above N1,000. The situation also has concomitant effect on the prices of other commodities they will be buying at the markets that are located in the rural areas,” he handed. (The Nation)

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