Grinding under the burdens of over 63 years of gas flaring and lacking basic infrastructure such as motorable roads, hospitals, and schools, the Gelegele Community in Ovia North East Local Government Area of Edo State has issued a 14- day ultimatum to the Federal Government, Edo State government, and oil companies operating in the community.
While protesting their neglect, the community warned that if the governments fail to address these basic needs, they will have no option but to shut down all oil company operations in their community.
The protesters, which included women, youths, and the elderly dressed in traditional Ijaw white cloths tied on their heads, carried placards with inscriptions such as: “No road to Gelegele,” “Our secondary school is dilapidated,” “Tantita come to our aid,” “There is no NDDC project in Gelegele,” and “Say no to gas flaring in Gelegele,” marched from the Gelegele Town Hall to their ancestral home, where prayers were offered before proceeding to the operational site of Dubri Oil Company Limited, where gas flaring has been ongoing since 1963.
The protesting community
Speaking at the protest in the oil-rich community, Chairman of the Gelegele Executive Council, Mr. Omaghomi Olu-Derimon, said over 300 communities have been cut off from the rest of the state due to a lack of access roads. He also lamented the absence of functioning hospitals, stating that the only secondary school in the community is dilapidated, lacking chairs and teachers.
He questioned why their community has been excluded from NDDC projects, why their ecosystem has been devastated by oil exploration since 1963, and why they have no representatives in the Edo State House of Assembly or the Edo State Executive Council.
“We are here today not because we are happy or celebrating, but because we are mourning. We want Nigerians and the world to know how we feel about oppression, injustice, and the subjugation of our rights by the federal, state, and local governments—successive administrations alike.
“The Gelegele story is a pathetic one. As you can see, we are standing behind a gas flare. I want the United Nations, the Nigerian Government, the Edo State Government, and the local government to know that this gas flaring has been ongoing for 63 years, since oil was discovered in Gelegele Community in 1963. We have been roasted by this gas flare. Neither the federal nor the state governments pay any attention to the pains of the Gelegele people.
“But today, we are rising. We are saying that our education system has been destroyed, everything that is dear to us has
been destroyed. It is pathetic that we don’t have teachers in our schools, despite being an oil-producing community—home to the largest forest reserve in West Africa, the Gelegele Forest Reserve. We have held more than three press briefings, yet the government remains adamant about renovating our only secondary school. As we speak, we are cut off from the rest of the state. Gelegele Community is the gateway to over 300 Ijaw riverine communities, yet there is no road.“Today, there is no NDDC project in our community, despite being an oil-producing area and hosting the first indigenous oil company in Nigeria, Dubri Oil Limited.
“As we speak, people are dying in the community because there is no doctor in the health clinic, no nurses, and before a sick person can be rushed from Gelegele to Benin, they often die on the way due to the poor state of the roads.
“We have lost over 500 persons due to inadequate health facilities. Our women have no health support or facilities.
“Life has been very difficult for the youths, who struggle daily to make ends meet with no support despite living in an oil-producing community.”
“As we speak, we don’t have a representative, we have no voice in Edo State. No Gelegele person is in the Edo State House of Assembly or Executive Council. When this administration came to power, it inaugurated the board of the Edo State Oil and Gas Producing Area Development Commission (EDSOGPADEC), yet no one from Gelegele was appointed, despite our status as an oil-producing community. We bear the brunt; we are roasted day and night, yet we do not feel the benefits of our crude oil—the gold mine.”
He continued, “We youths say that if these issues are not addressed within 14 days—two weeks—we will have no alternative but to shut down the operations of all oil companies working between Gelegele Community and the Gelegele Forest Reserve.
“We want to inform the Ijaw Nation, the Ijaw Youth Congress, and other critical stakeholders in the Ijaw Nation about this 14-day ultimatum. Should anything happen to us, the federal, state, and local governments should be held responsible. It is time to define our destiny,” he said.
“We also want to inform the Minister of Regional Planning that we can no longer tolerate marginalization. While things are going well elsewhere, we who are suffering, see no benefit,” he concluded.
When contacted, the Edo State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Hon Paul Ohubamu did not pick repeated calls to his line but a senior aide to the governor who did not want his name mentioned said “For the issue of gas flaring it is an issue at the door steps of the federal government but I know the governor will definitely raise it with the relevant authorities because he is passionate about the people of the state.
“As for development, I can assure you that the Governor Okpebholo administration will not leave any part of the state out, they should be patient but they will be reached.”
