| THE Ijaw Freedom Fights, IFF, has issued Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited a 14-days ultimatum within which to commence payment of the communal claims in respect of their 1998 Idoho platform oil spillage or they would wreck havoc on their installations even as they called on Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan to immediately wade into the matter as a key participant in the environmental impact and valuation process. The Commander of the IFF, Mr. Bena Bena issued the warning yesterday in Warri when members of his group stormed Vanguard office to complain of the delay tactics being employed by the oil company through Court adjournment of the case brought against them since 2002 at the Federal High Court in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State. According to him, the state government has summoned the company to several meetings that yielded no result and Mobil has allegedly been offering mouth watering sums in bribes to some people to kill the case, saying that they have run out of patience and are now prepared to lay down their lives for the course of getting their due share of compensation as agreed to by all stakeholders. Vanguard learnt that the spill which impacted five communities was evaluated to cost the company a whopping N29,909,200,000 billion by a10-man team of expert with Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan, then a lecturer, as the Hydrobiologist/Ecologist and Mr. S.K. Waide a Chartered Surveyor/valuer . At the end of the said Environmental Impact and Valuation exercise, it was agreed that Mobil should pay the claims in three categories of individuals, communal and state with the company having paid the individual claims but reluctant in paying the claims, a situation that has pitched the communities and the company in battle at the law court. The state government had in a letter addressed to the managing director of Mobil February 23, 2004 expressed sadness over the unwholesome act of the company. |
Dec212007