The Deputy Governor of Delta State and Chairman of the Delta State Advocacy Committee Against Oil Facility Vandalism, Barr. Deacon Kingsley Burutu Otuaro, has called on Ogiame Ikenwoli I, the Olu of Warri, to use his exalted throne to add value to the Committee’s key assignment of ending the menace of oil and gas facilities vandalism in the state.
Otuaro, who said Governor Ifeanyi Okowa was worried by the rising spate of oil facility vandalism in the state, made the appeal when he paid a courtesy call on the Olu of Warri, today Monday, to kick-start weeklong tour of the creeks to engage the locals on how to end the trend that has put the resources of the state at risk.
“As a nation and as a state, we are already in deep economic crisis by virtue of the fall in oil price in the world market, any further attacks on oil facility will worsen our already bad situation”, Otuaro said, adding: “This is why we have come to you as the custodian of the peoples culture and land in your kingdom to help government deepen intelligence towards stopping the bombings.
In his reaction, the Olu of Warri noted: “I will send my chiefs to all nooks and crannies to help resolve the problem”, adding: “The fact that the Governor had to send you, his deputy, to the creeks, shows that the thing is touching”.
The Olu recalled that it was first the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) and now it is the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) whose activities have had the economy crippled and hampering government capacity to deliver projects to the people.
“What are they avenging? Vengeance belongs to God. Man’s vengeance is limited”, the Olu wondered, lamenting that “the spate of vandalism was giving the state a bad name”.
Sounding fatherly, the Olu said he remembered that the Deputy Governor, Barr. Otuaro, a son of Warri, joined other Nigerians to grace his coronation, and should always feel free to come to his palace even outside times like this.
Immediately after visiting the Olu of Warri, the Advocacy Committee moved, via Koko, to visit the Agadagba (King) of Egbema Kingdom at Ogbudugbudu community, in Warri North local government area of the state. The committee subsequently engaged select youth leaders in Ogbudugbudu community with a view to fashioning ways to end the worrisome menace of oil facility vandalism.
The committee, will on Tuesday, continue its advocacy tour to the creeks of Gbaramatu Kingdom in Warri South-West local government area.
