By Festus Ahon
UGHELLI—Delta State governor has taken steps to stem the looming hostilities among over twenty communities in Burutu local government area making claims to have been negatively impacted upon by the operations of Agip oil company in its “Ekrepene Deep A oil well location.

The Special Adviser to the governor on Oil and Gas, Mr. David Ekereokosu, working on the directive of the state governor, Dr. Emmanuel  Uduaghan, visited the communities in the creek where he appealed for calm while government looked into the various claims raised in the petitions before it.

Ekereokosu said the peace efforts of the state government must be felt in all parts of the state, saying that investors must be encouraged to come to invest in Delta State.

The special adviser appealed to oil bearing communities to give peace a chance and partner with multinational oil companies operating in their localities to achieve the maximum benefits of oil production in their areas.

Ekereokosu noted that unemployment problem was still very high in the country, adding that the state government would encourage any move that would help provide employment to teeming Deltans.

He charged communities involved in the various claims to encourage Agip to establish fully in the area as the benefits of doing so were enormous.

Ekerekosu assured that all the claims in the petitions would be addressed, saying that compensations would be paid to those that genuinely earned it.

He disclosed that the governor was very interested in peaceful and quick resolution of the issues at stake, hence his directive for on-the-spot assessment of the situation.

He noted that no oil bearing community would be shortchanged from the wealth of their land.

The representative of Agip, Mr. Albert Ejuwe, thanked the state government for the  manner it was addressing issues involving oil companies and their host communities and urged it to sustain the exercise.

On the issues raised in the petitions, Mr.Ejuwe stated that the company had settled with Oyangbene and Laboluseigha communities before others rose that their communities would be impacted by the proposed oil well.

He said what the company was currently doing was preparation of the sites for operation and charged the people to remain calm and co-operate with government in seeking lasting solution to issues raised.

The representatives of the various communities promised to follow the part of peace and progress, saying that they were prepared to do business with oil companies operating in their localities.