Investigations
INVESTIGATION… ITSEKIRILAND: Abandoned projects litter community as leaders ‘swallow’ Chevron’s N7.2bn development fund
In 2005, Chevron Nigeria Limited established the Itsekiri Regional Development Council (IRDC) and disbursed N7.2 billion to it for the development of 24 Itsekiri communities. Eighteen years after, Itsekiri land is still in shambles as money disbursed by Chevron seems to have gone down the drain.
Kelechukwu Iruoma, a freelancer with RIPPLES NIGERIA, went through the creeks and visited four Itsekiri communities to unravel how over N7.2 billion meant for Itsekiri-land development was apparently mismanaged with abandoned projects littering everywhere.
Twenty four Itsekiri women sit on three benches at one side of the State High Court chambers in Warri, Delta State, Nigeria waiting for the arrival of the Chief Judge. With rage etched on their faces, they hiss and continuously shake their heads in defiance.
The moment the Judge stepped in, everyone in the court rose. The court clerk read out the case file and the first case was Chief (Mrs) Rita Lori Ogbebor against Keystone Bank, Chief Ayiri Emami, Austin Oniyesan, Richard Omare (representing Itsekiri Regional Development Council) and Chevron Nigeria Ltd (CNL).
The case was what brought the women from 24 Itsekiri communities to the court. After the proceedings, the Judge adjourned the case. The women stood and headed towards the exit. As they walk hesitatingly, they began calling the defendants criminals, lamenting that Itsekiri people do not have anything to show for the oil and gas they own.
They want the Itsekiri Regional Development Council (IRDC) and Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL) to be held responsible for the lack of development in Itsekiri land.
Aggrieved… Itsekiri women at the State High Court, Warri, Delta State
Chevron established IRDC to develop Itsekiri communities, but…
Chevron is one of the oil companies exploring crude oil in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria. Its exploration activities have allegedly caused environmental pollution, which has affected the biodiversity of the Niger Delta areas, contaminating rivers and farms. The Itsekiri people protested, claiming CNL would not explore their oil without assisting in the development of the oil producing communities, which were in shambles — no good roads, no hospitals and electricity supply and they no longer go to the river to fish — because of the pollution of the waterways. Itsekiri land was so uninhabitable that the indigenes had to relocate to Sapele and Warri.
In 2005, Chevron introduced a Global Memorandum of Understanding (GMoU) governance model to promote sustainable development and foster community engagement in its areas of operation in the Niger Delta, including Itsekiri communities.
The GMoU led to the establishment of IRDC whose function was to award contracts and execute various projects for the sustainable development of 24 oil producing Itsekiri communities. The Council in partnership with Chevron tours the communities, and the council proposes projects that could ameliorate the sufferings of the people, for which the company makes funds available.
The communities are located in Warri North, Warri South and Warri South West local government areas. They include Aja-Amita, Ajudaibo, Bateren, Deghele, Ebrohimi, Eghoro, Gbokoda, Ijaghala, Jakpa, Kolokolo, Madangho, Obaghoro, Ugborodo, Ogidigben, Omadino, Sagharatie, Tebu, Tisun, Udo, Ugboegungun, Ugbolegin, Ureju and Usor.
From the commencement of the GMoU in 2005 to date, CNL in a response to Ripples Nigeria through its General Manager, Policy, Government and Public Affairs, Esimaje Brikinn, claimed the company has disbursed over N7.2 billion to the IRDC. The company said the documents showing the disbursement of money to IRDC annually are available but cannot be shared.
IRDC opened seven accounts with the Keystone Bank. After 18 years of operation, Itsekiri communities are still in shambles as there is still no sustainable development, Ripples Nigeria can confirm.
Two abandoned two-bedroom bungalows in Deghele community
In 2015, the Council led by the past chairman and current Ologbotsere of Warri Kingdom, Chief Ayirimi Emami, was alleged to have embezzled the money meant for the development of the communities, with abandoned projects littering the communities. This issue led to an internal leadership crisis within the IRDC.
Did Chevron connive with IRDC to halt development in Itsekiri?
Itsekiri people not only believe that the Council embezzled the money; they also allege that Chevron Nigeria Limited connived with the Council to halt development in the communities. It was the Igba of Warri, Chief Rita Lori, who took the Council and Chevron to court.
In September 2017, the State High Court granted an order of interlocutory injunction restraining Keystone Bank from releasing any sum of money in any of the seven bank accounts to IRDC.
The court in its judgment also gave an order of interlocutory injunction restraining Chevron Nigeria Limited from further paying the IRDC any money that accrues to any of the oil and gas producing communities of Itsekiri nation pending the hearing and determination of the court. The amount in all seven accounts estimated to have been frozen was N2.1 billion.
The crisis within the IRDC led to a change of leadership. With the intervention of the Delta State Government and the Olu of Warri, the IRDC resolved its leadership dispute and appointed Mr. Austin Oniyesan the new chairman. The new leadership, however, wants the court to unfreeze the seven accounts in Keystone Bank, but the lawyers representing Chief Ogbebor have refused until Chevron and IRDC give an account of how the N7.2 billion was disbursed and spent.
“Chevron cannot leave America and come to Nigeria and take our monies and destroy our communities. Whatever money that is due to Itsekiri land, should be properly accounted for and spent for the benefit of the Itsekiri people not just for few men who overnight turn to billionaires and are now using the youths as their thugs,” said Kunle Edun, one of the lawyers.
“We don’t have any hospital where we give birth,” Queen Aweto, one of the women tells Ripples Nigeria. “Some of our children have gone to the university but there is no work and some are done learning trade but no money to start a business. And all the people (IRDC) are stealing the money meant for the Itsekiri. We are suffering.”
“When you reach our communities you will pity us. I am a trader but for three years, I have been sitting at home doing nothing. Because of pollution, our water has been contaminated and I don’t see fish to catch anymore”, she lamented.
The women are furious that despite the fact that Itsekiri people are the ones controlling the Council, they still pocket money which is supposed to be used to develop the communities. “Itsekiri women will not allow Itsekiri to spoil. Itsekiri is a nation known in the whole world. Our men (IRDC) have sold Itsekiri to foreigners and we will not agree,” Queen Tenu lamented.
Abandoned health centre in Deghele community
IRDC is an illegal body not known to law
Peter Aihiokhai is the second Itsekiri lawyer representing Chief Ogbebor. He and Edun called IRDC and Chevron criminals, noting that when IRDC was established by CNL, it was not registered by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). Ripples Nigeria also confirmed that IRDC is not registered by CAC. Aihiokhai described IRDC as an “illegal body of a group of persons formed to get hold of what the Itsekiri nation is entitled to.
“Chevron is in conspiracy with IRDC,” says Aihiokhai. “IRDC is a body set up by Chevron in cahoots with Delta State government and few people in Chevron to loot the treasury and deny the people — the children, the women and youth of Itsekiri land — of their commonwealth,” alleged Edun, who is the vice chairman of Nigeria Bar Association, Warri branch.
“How can Chevron, an international entity and a responsible company be paying billions of dollars into an account open by an unknown and unregistered entity?” Edun questioned. “Look at Itsekiri land today, you cannot see anything that you can call paradise in an oil setting and this is where billions of dollars are being made from and there is nothing to show for it.”
Kunle Edun… Lawyer for the Itsekiri people
After 18 years of existence, Chevron said IRDC is “currently undertaking the process of registration with the CAC.”
A journey to four Itsekiri communities
When he commenced his investigation, our reporter was severally warned by some Itsekiri people he spoke to not to take unnecessary risks that lives have been lost due to the internal crisis within IRDC. Despite a series of warnings, he embarked on the journey, albeit discretely, to the creeks. The plan was to visit Deghele, Bateren, Tebu and Gbokoda communities in Itsekiri, and the only access to the communities is by water with a speedboat.
That Thursday morning at Rex Jetty, it was cloudy. Gabriel, the speedboat rider prepared the two boat engines for a journey he described as “long journey.” The trip started at 8:07 am and they reached Deghele, the first community at 10:27 am.
Welcome to Deghele Community
When the team arrived at Deghele, we could not alight from the boat as there was no jetty. Three persons from Deghele helped to evacuate the journalist and his fixer from the speedboat with the help of a canoe.
“Who are you?” A man with a thick voice asked. Knowing that there could be serious consequences if he identified himself as a journalist, the reporter claimed to be representing a non-governmental organization looking at underdevelopment in Itsekiri land with a view to assisting the communities.
Abandoned N12 million IRDC 2-bedroom bungalow in Bateren
Itsekiri communities in shambles
Deghele is swampy, with a long tarred road constructed by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). Only a few people were seen living in the community as lack of housing had made indigenes leave for Warri and Sapele.
The community does not have a functional health centre as the one built has been abandoned and no equipment or health officials had been deployed to there. Some indigenes without houses have turned the health centre to living quarters.
The school in the community has been abandoned. The road leading to the school has been covered by weed and flood has made it impassable. No teacher or equipment was deployed to the school when it was completed. Children are taken to Warri and Sapele to attend schools by their parents.
“We drink river water contaminated by crude oil and we drink well water because we don’t have a borehole; the borehole project has been abandoned”, says Steven Golly, the youth chairman of Deghele”.