By David Augustine
The Akwa Ibom state government has of recent activated its most combative mode. Over time the
government and its agents have taken up verbal arms against individuals
and institutions, who in the estimation of the government dared to
criticise the government and its policies.
The government and its agents
have, like a headless chicken, moved in a chaotic frenzy against just
anybody and any institution, utterly disregarding the time-tested
admonition that we choose our fights wisely and deliberately.
On the line of fire had been individuals like Senator Ita Enang, whose
famous interview sessions on Planet Fm radio had often elicited the most
vociferous and acerbic attacks from the governor and his handlers.
It was in response to one of such Ita Enang interviews that the governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel made what is still considered as the most infamous declaration of war against federal appointees, in his now fabled idiot speech.
He had then declared; "If you use your appointment to come into the state and cause disunity, I can reassure you I have the full assurances of the youths, that any idiot who will come forthwith to make any nonsense proclamation in the state, the youths will not let him go".
The "youths" have since taken the governors speech literally. They have used all available platforms to haul verbal attacks against Senator Enang and any other that dared voice any discontent with the state of governance in the state.
The "youths" have also taken on Obong Nsima Ekere and the agency he is running on behalf of the Nigeria people.
Goaded by high officials of government, rampaging pretenders to journalism have made mincemeat of Nsima Ekere and the NDDC, using every available media platform at their disposal.
Their concern and those that fund their activities cannot be said to be in the interest of the state, rather the attacks have been to diminish Ekere and his agency in anticipation of what lies ahead in 2019.
Perhaps the one fight I have found to be so meaningless and shameless is the fight against oil giant, ExxonMobil. What triggered off the intense, but senseless attack on Mobil, was the bringing to the fore of a billboard mounted by the company to showcase its efforts at corporate social responsibility to the communities around its operation areas and the state, by people the government and its "youths" considered as political opposition.
The Mobil billboard has been on display for almost a year without anybody noticing it. But following the almost monotonous advertisement of the Eket/Ibeno road by the government as one of its core achievements in the two years of the Udom administration, the billboard indicating an N8 billion counterpart funding by the Mobil on the same project became a subject of importance.
It is still difficult for anyone to actually pinpoint why government lost its cool as a result of the publication of the billboard. In a more transparent setting, the state government ought not to have waited for any such discoveries before it gives a full disclosure on the funding of the project.
The "youths" have in their attempt to vilify Mobil re-written facts to suit their premeditated intentions and have generally sought to incite the populace against the company that has for the past two years been struggling to come out of the terrible operational difficulties it got into as a result of several unfavourable circumstances.
The better part of 2016 was a critical period for the Akwa Ibom state government, arising from a steady decline in revenue earning as a result of short falls in oil production by ExxonMobil.
The state lost its number one oil producing status to other oil producing states. At some point Akwa Ibom state moved from number one to number four on the oil production table.
We are also living witnesses that Akwa Ibom state rose to its oil production apex during the most horrendous period in the history of militancy and its resultant effect on the nations oil exploration and exploitation activities.
When militancy was at its peak in the country, Akwa Ibom state remained insulated and production blossomed.
It was an act of intelligent leadership ability by the immediate past administration of Senator Godswill Akpabio that the state was operating as if it was not in the volatile Niger Delta region. The administration ensured that the oil giant operating in the state had relative peace to operate and the result was impressive.
Revenue to the state rose, and with it came the money boom era and what is today known as the uncommon transformation era. The administration knew what it meant to have industrial peace and community friendly relationship.
Unfortunately, as soon as that administration left, community unfriendly activities and security challenges became the order of the day and the results were the fall in revenue and a slide on the position of beneficiaries of the 13 per cent derivative allocation from the federal government.
The recent attempt to further vilify Mobil and cause further heightening of tension around the operating environment is a serious situation the government of Akwa Ibom state must not toy with.
The company already has its fair share of the terrible economic situation in the country and the instability in the international oil market.
In one of its recent releases to explain the situation of things with its operations, ExxonMobil Nigeria, had indicated that when compared to the profitability level in 2015, there was a sharp drop of over 75 per cent in 2016. Added to this was a whooping 1.2 billion dollars cash-call debt owed it by the NNPC, its venture partners.
In the same period, the company noted rising cases of vandalism, abduction of staff members, abduction of contractors from sites, incessant protests and community unrests that led to a near stoppage of production activities.
This inevitably led to the scaling down of operations; led to limited hire of new labour, reduced personnel in the employ, projects deferment and contract renegotiations.
Even though like Oliver Twist, the state and the oil producing communities are asking for more from the company, Mobil has proved over time to be a partner in the development of the state.
For instance, the company has it on record that it has trained about 665 youths in its venture Technical Training Center, with 75 per cent of the beneficiaries now engaged by Mobil and 50 per cent of that number, are indigenes of Akwa Ibom state.
With the company's 35 per cent of the company's total national workforce coming from Akwa Ibom state, Mobil remains the largest private sector employee in the state.
For a long time, the state remained the topmost 13 per cent derivative earner, with a large revenue windfall from the federation account, all thanks to the peace the company enjoyed and its ability to produce.
The company notes that it pays a minimum N230 million annually as ground rent to the state government and N50 million annually to Ibeno and Eket local government areas.
It says an annual Pay As You Earn (PAYE) of N7 billion is paid to the state government. Since 2001, the Niger Delta Development Commission has also statutorily benefited; Mobil has made its contributions to the intervention agency's funds running into N140 billion.
In the past ten years, the company records that it has spent about N100 billion on direct community assistant projects in the state.
In July 2013, Mobil Producing Nigeria, commenced what it calls its multi-year investment in Akwa Ibom state totalling N26 billion.
The social investment projects contained in this special module, the company notes, does not include the regular community projects going on in its catchment areas.
Rather, the projects are short and long term in nature. The company's counterpart contribution of N8 billion paid in 2014 is part of the short term projects captured in the multi-year investment programme.
The upgrade of the University of Uyo Engineering faculty and the design and construction of the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital Trauma Center, form part of the long term projects of the programme.
The Mobil Special Projects II programme was kick-started in 2015. The SP II, Mobil will spend N1.5 billion. Of this amount, about 80 per cent has all ready been paid out for projects, with completion at 70 per cent.
In Eket, SP II will take N1.2 billion, of which 25 per cent has already been paid out at 26 per cent project completion. In ONNA, SP II will cost N981 million, 90 per cent of this has been paid out, with 80 per cent project completion.
Esit Eket is expected to benefit to the tune of N1.2 billion, with 4o per cent already paid out and with 46 per cent completion. Ikot Abasi, Mkpat Enin, Eastern Obolo and Mbo got N250 million each worth of projects, with 25 per cent paid out to each.
The company had insisted that Special Projects programme has nothing to do with anything palliative or compensation for anything, but purely acts of goodwill done in good faith. In terms of project governance and payments, there is an existing Steering Committee comprising Akwa Ibom state government, the communities and Joint Venture partners.
The projects are being supervised by indigenous project managers, while projects and contractors are nominated by benefiting communities. Project managers are paid by Joint Venture partners on agreed performance milestones.
It was expedient to go into some details of the financial involvement of the company in the development of the state to show that the hue and cry over the N8 billion paid as counterpart funding for the Eket/Ibeno road are misplaced as the company has done more than that in other areas.
The United Nations Sustainable Development in the Extractive industries recommends that extractive industry companies should not go into direct development of infrastructure in communities.
Rather, companies are expected to collaborate with local governments in the provisions of such infrastructure such as roads, hospitals, schools etc.
This, the UN report says is to ensure that the people hold their government accountable in the way resource revenue from extractive industries are utilised.
In Nigeria, the expectations are high on the companies. To many, the companies are super governments that would be held responsible for lack of infrastructures. The extractive companies have gone out of their way to provide these developmental needs.
Have we stopped to ask how much percentage of the 13 per cent derivative the Akwa Ibom state government has over time, spent on the actual oil bearing communities? How much special projects has the government earmarked for the development of these areas?
Why is it that the country pays special funds for the cushioning of the effects of oil production to the state and the state gives no thought to such considerations when they get the money?
Most of the states within the Niger Delta catchment area have an equivalent of the NDDC in their states; have the youths commissioned to attach Mobil stopped to ask their state government what special arrangement it has for the oil bearing communities? It is time for our youths to stop and think.
It is time for them to hold their governments to account for their collective commonwealth they spend as if it belongs to them.
Mobil is but a business enterprise, they are statutorily made to pay taxes, they contribute to the federal government intervention agency meant to develop oil producing areas, they are expected to pay statutory oil royalties, yet they are expected to become another parallel government.
No one cares to question governments on what they do with their own share of the joint venture profit. No one questions governments on what they do with the tax the companies pay; or what government does with the counterpart funding on projects.
If the youths that are attacking Mobil are sincere, they should begin to pressure the government of the day to make haste with the decision to establish an intervention agency that would use a fraction of what the state government collects from the 13 per cent derivation fund on the oil bearing communities.
They should insist on openness and accountability. For instance, the publicity-loving works commissioner recently told journalists in a press conference that the state government "earmarked" N56 billion for the contentious road and had so far spent N26 billion and went on to warn Mobil to desist from claiming a project solely funded by the state government.
In the usual manner of government, the commissioner failed to say clearly the total contract sum for the road. Was the "earmarked" N56 billion the entire sum? Meaning that the state has only paid the contractors N26 billion and now has a balance of N30 billion to psy.
Does this government's N56 billion include the N8 billion Mobil contributed as counterpart or is it strictly money spent by the state government? If it is strictly money spent by government, then it will be safe to conclude that the 19.5 kilometers of road cost a mind- boggling N64 billion. This should be a source of concern to genuine youths interested in his future and not the destruction of a Mobil billboard.
It was in response to one of such Ita Enang interviews that the governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel made what is still considered as the most infamous declaration of war against federal appointees, in his now fabled idiot speech.
He had then declared; "If you use your appointment to come into the state and cause disunity, I can reassure you I have the full assurances of the youths, that any idiot who will come forthwith to make any nonsense proclamation in the state, the youths will not let him go".
The "youths" have since taken the governors speech literally. They have used all available platforms to haul verbal attacks against Senator Enang and any other that dared voice any discontent with the state of governance in the state.
The "youths" have also taken on Obong Nsima Ekere and the agency he is running on behalf of the Nigeria people.
Goaded by high officials of government, rampaging pretenders to journalism have made mincemeat of Nsima Ekere and the NDDC, using every available media platform at their disposal.
Their concern and those that fund their activities cannot be said to be in the interest of the state, rather the attacks have been to diminish Ekere and his agency in anticipation of what lies ahead in 2019.
Perhaps the one fight I have found to be so meaningless and shameless is the fight against oil giant, ExxonMobil. What triggered off the intense, but senseless attack on Mobil, was the bringing to the fore of a billboard mounted by the company to showcase its efforts at corporate social responsibility to the communities around its operation areas and the state, by people the government and its "youths" considered as political opposition.
The Mobil billboard has been on display for almost a year without anybody noticing it. But following the almost monotonous advertisement of the Eket/Ibeno road by the government as one of its core achievements in the two years of the Udom administration, the billboard indicating an N8 billion counterpart funding by the Mobil on the same project became a subject of importance.
It is still difficult for anyone to actually pinpoint why government lost its cool as a result of the publication of the billboard. In a more transparent setting, the state government ought not to have waited for any such discoveries before it gives a full disclosure on the funding of the project.
The "youths" have in their attempt to vilify Mobil re-written facts to suit their premeditated intentions and have generally sought to incite the populace against the company that has for the past two years been struggling to come out of the terrible operational difficulties it got into as a result of several unfavourable circumstances.
The better part of 2016 was a critical period for the Akwa Ibom state government, arising from a steady decline in revenue earning as a result of short falls in oil production by ExxonMobil.
The state lost its number one oil producing status to other oil producing states. At some point Akwa Ibom state moved from number one to number four on the oil production table.
We are also living witnesses that Akwa Ibom state rose to its oil production apex during the most horrendous period in the history of militancy and its resultant effect on the nations oil exploration and exploitation activities.
When militancy was at its peak in the country, Akwa Ibom state remained insulated and production blossomed.
It was an act of intelligent leadership ability by the immediate past administration of Senator Godswill Akpabio that the state was operating as if it was not in the volatile Niger Delta region. The administration ensured that the oil giant operating in the state had relative peace to operate and the result was impressive.
Revenue to the state rose, and with it came the money boom era and what is today known as the uncommon transformation era. The administration knew what it meant to have industrial peace and community friendly relationship.
Unfortunately, as soon as that administration left, community unfriendly activities and security challenges became the order of the day and the results were the fall in revenue and a slide on the position of beneficiaries of the 13 per cent derivative allocation from the federal government.
The recent attempt to further vilify Mobil and cause further heightening of tension around the operating environment is a serious situation the government of Akwa Ibom state must not toy with.
The company already has its fair share of the terrible economic situation in the country and the instability in the international oil market.
In one of its recent releases to explain the situation of things with its operations, ExxonMobil Nigeria, had indicated that when compared to the profitability level in 2015, there was a sharp drop of over 75 per cent in 2016. Added to this was a whooping 1.2 billion dollars cash-call debt owed it by the NNPC, its venture partners.
In the same period, the company noted rising cases of vandalism, abduction of staff members, abduction of contractors from sites, incessant protests and community unrests that led to a near stoppage of production activities.
This inevitably led to the scaling down of operations; led to limited hire of new labour, reduced personnel in the employ, projects deferment and contract renegotiations.
Even though like Oliver Twist, the state and the oil producing communities are asking for more from the company, Mobil has proved over time to be a partner in the development of the state.
For instance, the company has it on record that it has trained about 665 youths in its venture Technical Training Center, with 75 per cent of the beneficiaries now engaged by Mobil and 50 per cent of that number, are indigenes of Akwa Ibom state.
With the company's 35 per cent of the company's total national workforce coming from Akwa Ibom state, Mobil remains the largest private sector employee in the state.
For a long time, the state remained the topmost 13 per cent derivative earner, with a large revenue windfall from the federation account, all thanks to the peace the company enjoyed and its ability to produce.
The company notes that it pays a minimum N230 million annually as ground rent to the state government and N50 million annually to Ibeno and Eket local government areas.
It says an annual Pay As You Earn (PAYE) of N7 billion is paid to the state government. Since 2001, the Niger Delta Development Commission has also statutorily benefited; Mobil has made its contributions to the intervention agency's funds running into N140 billion.
In the past ten years, the company records that it has spent about N100 billion on direct community assistant projects in the state.
In July 2013, Mobil Producing Nigeria, commenced what it calls its multi-year investment in Akwa Ibom state totalling N26 billion.
The social investment projects contained in this special module, the company notes, does not include the regular community projects going on in its catchment areas.
Rather, the projects are short and long term in nature. The company's counterpart contribution of N8 billion paid in 2014 is part of the short term projects captured in the multi-year investment programme.
The upgrade of the University of Uyo Engineering faculty and the design and construction of the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital Trauma Center, form part of the long term projects of the programme.
The Mobil Special Projects II programme was kick-started in 2015. The SP II, Mobil will spend N1.5 billion. Of this amount, about 80 per cent has all ready been paid out for projects, with completion at 70 per cent.
In Eket, SP II will take N1.2 billion, of which 25 per cent has already been paid out at 26 per cent project completion. In ONNA, SP II will cost N981 million, 90 per cent of this has been paid out, with 80 per cent project completion.
Esit Eket is expected to benefit to the tune of N1.2 billion, with 4o per cent already paid out and with 46 per cent completion. Ikot Abasi, Mkpat Enin, Eastern Obolo and Mbo got N250 million each worth of projects, with 25 per cent paid out to each.
The company had insisted that Special Projects programme has nothing to do with anything palliative or compensation for anything, but purely acts of goodwill done in good faith. In terms of project governance and payments, there is an existing Steering Committee comprising Akwa Ibom state government, the communities and Joint Venture partners.
The projects are being supervised by indigenous project managers, while projects and contractors are nominated by benefiting communities. Project managers are paid by Joint Venture partners on agreed performance milestones.
It was expedient to go into some details of the financial involvement of the company in the development of the state to show that the hue and cry over the N8 billion paid as counterpart funding for the Eket/Ibeno road are misplaced as the company has done more than that in other areas.
The United Nations Sustainable Development in the Extractive industries recommends that extractive industry companies should not go into direct development of infrastructure in communities.
Rather, companies are expected to collaborate with local governments in the provisions of such infrastructure such as roads, hospitals, schools etc.
This, the UN report says is to ensure that the people hold their government accountable in the way resource revenue from extractive industries are utilised.
In Nigeria, the expectations are high on the companies. To many, the companies are super governments that would be held responsible for lack of infrastructures. The extractive companies have gone out of their way to provide these developmental needs.
Have we stopped to ask how much percentage of the 13 per cent derivative the Akwa Ibom state government has over time, spent on the actual oil bearing communities? How much special projects has the government earmarked for the development of these areas?
Why is it that the country pays special funds for the cushioning of the effects of oil production to the state and the state gives no thought to such considerations when they get the money?
Most of the states within the Niger Delta catchment area have an equivalent of the NDDC in their states; have the youths commissioned to attach Mobil stopped to ask their state government what special arrangement it has for the oil bearing communities? It is time for our youths to stop and think.
It is time for them to hold their governments to account for their collective commonwealth they spend as if it belongs to them.
Mobil is but a business enterprise, they are statutorily made to pay taxes, they contribute to the federal government intervention agency meant to develop oil producing areas, they are expected to pay statutory oil royalties, yet they are expected to become another parallel government.
No one cares to question governments on what they do with their own share of the joint venture profit. No one questions governments on what they do with the tax the companies pay; or what government does with the counterpart funding on projects.
If the youths that are attacking Mobil are sincere, they should begin to pressure the government of the day to make haste with the decision to establish an intervention agency that would use a fraction of what the state government collects from the 13 per cent derivation fund on the oil bearing communities.
They should insist on openness and accountability. For instance, the publicity-loving works commissioner recently told journalists in a press conference that the state government "earmarked" N56 billion for the contentious road and had so far spent N26 billion and went on to warn Mobil to desist from claiming a project solely funded by the state government.
In the usual manner of government, the commissioner failed to say clearly the total contract sum for the road. Was the "earmarked" N56 billion the entire sum? Meaning that the state has only paid the contractors N26 billion and now has a balance of N30 billion to psy.
Does this government's N56 billion include the N8 billion Mobil contributed as counterpart or is it strictly money spent by the state government? If it is strictly money spent by government, then it will be safe to conclude that the 19.5 kilometers of road cost a mind- boggling N64 billion. This should be a source of concern to genuine youths interested in his future and not the destruction of a Mobil billboard.
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