The Urhobo Renaissance Group (URG) has urged the Federal Government and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to award the pipeline surveillance contract in Urhobo land to a qualified indigene, insisting that such a decision is backed by the Constitution and other enabling laws.

In a statement signed by its National Chairman, Olorogun Akpoyibo Clifford Erhiegueke, the group argued that excluding Urhobo people from the contract would violate federal laws and international treaties protecting the rights of host communities in oil and gas–producing regions.

The group cited Section 162(2) of the 1999 Constitution, the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act 2010, and the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 as legal bases for its demand.

It noted that the NOGICD Act specifically gives preference to Nigerian operators in the award of oil blocks, licences, and contracts, while reserving land and swamp operations for indigenous service companies.

Quoting provisions of the PIA, URG also stressed that host communities are held accountable for vandalism or sabotage of petroleum infrastructure.

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It therefore maintained that it would be unjust to penalize Urhobo communities for breaches when non-indigenes are contracted to protect pipelines located in their territory.

Beyond local laws, the group referenced international treaties ratified by Nigeria, which guarantee host communities rights to self-determination, prior consultation, and participation in decisions affecting their resources.

“The quietness of the Urhobo people should not be mistaken for weakness or stupidity. Nobody has a monopoly of violence.

Since the pipelines and facilities are in our backyard, their protection must be entrusted to a competent Urhobo indigene, not a non-indigene,” the statement read.

LUKMAN ABDULMALIK
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