PRESS RELEASE IJAW YOUTH COUNCIL (WORLDWIDE) THE OIL BELONGS TO THE NIGER-DELTA COMMUNITIES AND PEOPLE: IYC BLAST NORTHERN LEADER: ALHAJI USMAN BUGAJE The attention of the Ijaw Youth Council (Worldwide) has been drawn to a statement made by Northern Leader and former National Secretary of the now defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (CAN), Alhaji Usman Bugaje at the Northern Elders Forum meeting on the National Conference on Tuesday, the 11 th of March, 2014 in Kano to the effect that it is wrong for any state in Nigeria to claim that it is oil producing because 72% of the total land mass in the country belonged to the North and by the United Nation’s Law, it is only the North that actually has the right to claim ownership’’. Dr. Bugaje then went further to assert ‘that whatever mileage you get in the sea, according to the United Nations Law of the Sea is a measure of the land mass that you have. And that is what gives you the mileage to the sea and that the land mass of this Country (Nigeria) that gives it long 200 nautical miles or more into the ocean is because of that 72% of the land mass of this country, which is the North. Dr. Bugaje then concluded by saying that the investment in the oil and gas industry came from the Nigerian state and the territory belongs to the Nigeria State. That what the Niger Delta people claimed is the off shore oil is actually the oil of the North. The statement was aired in channels television and some other media houses. The IYC, Worldwide wish to react as follows: 1. That Dr. Usman Bugaje’s statement is reckless, provocative, baseless, misleading and displays the highest level of ignorance. It is disappointing that such a statement could come from a Northern elite such as Dr. Usman Bugaje. To the IYC, such a misleading statement coming from an elite such as Dr. Bugaje brings to the fore the reason behind most of barbaric acts coming from that part of the country. 2. Contrary to Usman Bugaje’s assertion, the IYC wish to state that there is no United Nations Law which states that the maritime boundary of a country is determined by the land mass of the country. For the records, there is nowhere in Articles 3, 5, 57 and 76 of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) where it is stated that the landmass of a coastal state determines its mileage into the sea or its maritime boundary. The United Nations Law of the Sea which is the primary law which determines the maritime boundary of coastal states defines the Exclusive Economic Zone and the Continental Shelf to be up to 200 nautical lines measured from its baseline which is the low water mark along the coast. Hence, the land mass of a country is not a consideration in determining its maritime boundary 3. Therefore, Dr. Bugaje’s statement is a deliberate ploy to mislead his northern brothers to prepare the ground to oppose the legitimate demand of the Niger Delta people to control their resources at the forthcoming National Conference. The IYC is very much aware of the game plan of the Northern Elders Forum. The IYC is watching and ready for the challenge! 4. We wish to further state that the initial and present investments in the oil and gas industry is not the investment of the Nigerian state or Northern Nigeria as Dr. Bugaje would want people to believe. It was the multinationals who came to explore for oil during the colonial and post-colonial era that did the initial investment and subsequent investment of government in the oil industry is from the proceeds of the Niger Delta oil. Furthermore, the groundnut and economic resources produced from the North were never used to develop the Niger Delta and the oil and gas industry. 5. Northern leaders and especially elites like Dr. Usman Bugae are advised to bury their frivolous claim to Niger Delta oil and think of creative means to harness the resources found in the North. 6. The IYC wish to state clearly that the Niger Delta oil belongs to the communities and people of the Niger Delta and by extension the states where the oil is found and produced. Niger Delta oil does 0not belong to Northern Nigeria and the Nigeria State. The IYC is capable and ever ready and willing to defend, protect and assert the Niger Delta communities and people ownership of its oil and gas resources both onshore and off shore. Stay clear of Niger-Delta oil! 12th day of March, 2014 Signed for Ijaw Youth Council (Worldwide): Eric Omare (Spokesman)
Posted on: Thu, 13 Mar 2014 05:33:27 +0000
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