Gov. Akpabio
From: Eno Effiong Akpabio (Uyo)
Controversy has continued to trail the on-going saga between ExxonMobil and its host communities in the Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria over an oil spill that occurred late last year in November in which the regulatory authorities claimed 300 barrels of crude oil leaked from the Mobil pipelines.
Fresh indication has emerged that Mobil has already made an upfront payment of N2bn to the dedicated Zenith Bank account of the State government, as part of the agreed N8bn which was to be her contribution to the state Government’s construction of the access road to the operational base of the oil company , the Eket – Ibeno Road.
In a meeting with the stakeholders last week in Uyo, it was reported that the state government had denied the speculations that it demanded for the oil spill compensation money to execute projects including the Eket –Ibeno road.
But Exxon Mobil in its reaction on the media had claimed that it was using over N24.5bn to execute several projects in Akwa Ibom State including contributing N8bn for the Eket-Ibeno road, as part of its corporate social responsibility, but denied that the money was related to the oil spill compensation.
in a widely published rebuttal, Mobil said on the print media that it has made commitments for N8bn towards the construction of the Eket -Ibeno Road. A source hinted that the payment of the N2bn by Mobil was to enable CCECC, a Chinese construction company to be mobilized to site by the state government, adding that Mobil had also made commitments to pay up the N6bn balance next year.
This arrangement therefore makes it practically impossible for Mobil to be able to pay the N26.5bn it had earlier promised to the host communities. And ahead of their meeting with representatives of the host communities to resolve the crises that has stalled activities at the oil company, it remains to be seen how they will convince them that they obviously cannot and would not pay the earlier agreed N26.5bn.
But the indigenes of Eket Federal Constituency, the host communities are insisting that the state governor Chief Godswill Akpabio should prevail on the oil company to pay the due oil compensation money to the community, irrespective of how much it volunteers for development projects across the state.
Eno Effiong Akpabio
admin
