Michael Ita Bassey
A Niger Delta Militant Group under the auspices of Urhobo Liberation Force,ULF, Monday, threatened to blow up Oil and Gas installations in Urhobo land if the federal government fails to make adequate budgetary provision for the Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Effurun,FUPRE as stated in the Acts establishing the university which was signed on the 17th October, 2017.
The group made the threat in a statement signed by Generals Orubu Ekpe , Mike Agbalele ,G.O.C’s Operations and Defence respectively.
They said, “We are giving 14-day sultimatum to the Federal Government to make adequate budgetary provision for the Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Effurun,FUPRE”
The militants alleged that the Urhobo nation which is the 5th largest ethnic nationality in Nigeria with rich oil and gas facilities has been marginalized under the administration of President Muhamadu Buhari.
Other part of the statement reads,”The Buhari Administration refused to give Urhobo Nation a Ministerial appointment and any viable position in the Oil and Gas related Agencies. And a budgetary provision for financial implementation of the Petroleum Varsity in Urhobo land was deliberately left out in the 2018 Appropriation bill (2018 Budget) sent by the President to the National Assembly. N45 Billion was captured in the 2018 budget for North East Development Commission,NEDC, it will interest you to note that North East Development Commission,NEDC Act, was accented to a week after Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Effurun(FUPRE) Act by the president.”
“We appreciate His Excellency for signing the FUPRE bill and the smooth take off of Academic activities of the Nigerian Maritime University, Okerenkoko. We will appreciate FG more, if it makes quick U-turn to direct the National Assembly Committees on Appropriation to adequately allocate from the Excess Crude funds realized in the increase of the Oil Benchmark as it rose from $45 per barrel to the current benchmark of $72 per barrel – yielding an excess of about N152Billion (One Hundred and Fifty Two Billion Naira) derived from Urhobo Nation in the Niger Delta Region in the 2018 Appropriation bill, this should be done without shedding blood.”
“It has come to our notice, that the plot of the Federal Government for not making Budgetary provision for the smooth take-off of the University is as a result of the Northern agenda to relocate the University to Kaduna that is a parasitic State that have no single oil well and contribute nothing to the nations treasuring”.
“Recall that, the National institute of Petroleum Policy and strategic(NIPPS) and the National College of Petroleum, Kaduna was established to kill FUPRRE which plot has failed in several attempt made. These are Institutions that are trying to kick-off without students at the moment was given the sum of N15billion and N10.4bilion respectively by PTDF yet FUPRE that has graduated students and being up running for 11years now has no single funding from PTDF . This is to show the level of Federal Government bias towards the Niger Delta.
“We the Urhobo Liberation Force, will be ready to return the country to zero Oil and Gas production and force the country into another recession if adequate provision is not made within this period of the 14 days of our ultimatum.”
“We call on all militant group with genuine intent towards the development of the Niger Delta Region to join forces with us to correct this wicked and devilish agenda of this administration aimed at under-developing the oil rich Niger Delta. We also call on the leadership of the Pan Niger Delta Forum, PANDEF, to wade into this issue as a voice of the Niger Delta People with all our mandate. If we strike, we will not listen to their call for peace. This should not be taken as a threat but all necessary machinery to carry out this operations has been put in place. All oil and Gas facilities in the upland will been blown off, we advise all oil and Gas companies operating the upland to take note because this operation shall be bloody.”
