Resource Control: Igala Group Fumes, Kicks Against Alleged Exclusion From Kogi Oil Commission Top Leadership
The Ane-Igala Socio-Cultural Development Association, led by its National Coordinator, Chief Akwu Umar Goodman, has rejected a reported gazette or proposed legislation by the Kogi State House of Assembly allegedly seeking to bar the Igala people of Kogi East Senatorial District from occupying the position of Chairman of the Kogi State Oil Producing Areas Commission.
In a statement jointly signed by Chief Goodman, Dr Fred Attah, Secretary General, and Chief Yakubu Ali, National Treasurer, the association described the alleged move as discriminatory, provocative and capable of undermining peace in the state.
The group warned that excluding the host communities from leading an institution established to manage resources extracted from their land amounts to oppression rather than governance.
“Silence is no longer an option,” the association said, accusing political actors of orchestrating what it termed a “calculated political robbery” against oil-producing communities in Kogi State.
According to the association, it is unjustifiable for the leadership of the Oil Producing Areas Commission to rotate among non-host communities while excluding the Igala people, whose land hosts the oil resources. It likened such reasoning to banning indigenes of Mecca from serving as Chief Imam, describing it as “absurd, insulting and dangerous to unity and peaceful coexistence.”
The group noted that while global trends emphasise resource control, inclusion and community participation, Kogi State appears to be moving in the opposite direction by allegedly enacting what it called “anti-owner policies.”
It argued that laws are meant to protect citizens, not marginalise them, warning that any legislation that sidelines host communities is a direct invitation to crisis.
Referencing practices in Nigeria’s Niger Delta, the association said oil-producing regions traditionally play influential roles in the management of petroleum resources, adding that attempts to constitutionally exclude the Igala people from similar participation in Kogi State are unacceptable.
The association also expressed disappointment over what it described as the silence of Igala political office holders at both state and federal levels, including the Deputy Governor, members of the State House of Assembly, National Assembly members and ministers of Igala extraction.
“History will not forgive representatives who watch while their people are stripped of their rights in broad daylight,” the statement warned.
To illustrate its argument, the group said a law barring an Ebira indigene from leading the Ajaokuta Steel Company despite hosting it would provoke widespread outrage, insisting that the same moral standard applies to the oil-producing communities of Kogi East.
The association therefore demanded the immediate repeal of any law, gazette or policy excluding Igala people from chairing the Kogi State Oil Producing Areas Commission, insisting that host communities must lead the management of their resources.
It warned that continued suppression would breed resistance rather than peace and called on all Igala sons and daughters to lawfully and collectively defend their heritage.
“The Igala people are not beggars in their own land. We are stakeholders, owners and partners in the destiny of Kogi State,” the association stated, adding that any attempt to marginalise them from their resources could trigger political and social instability.
EDITOR
Sam Udekwe is a journalist working in the News and Current Affairs department, Enugu State Broadcasting Service (ESBS) Enugu. He is well trained in all genres of journalistic venture.
Mr Sam read Mass Communication, graduating all with Distinction in National Diploma, Higher National Diploma and Postgraduate Diploma at IMT, Enugu and Madonna University, Okija, Anambra state, as well as M.Sc Mass Communication with Second Class(Upper Division) at National Open University of Nigeria.
He is the immediate past NUJ Chairman, Enugu state.
samowailo@gmail.com
