No impact on oil bearing communities despite losing lives in struggle to make Anambra oil producing state – Sir Awogu

By Alphonsus Nweze, Onitsha

The National Coordinator of Ikemba Front, an All Progressives Congress (APC) support group in Anambra State has lamented the loss of human lives in their attempt to make Anambra State an oil producing state.
Speaking in Atani in Ogbaru Local Government Area of the State, Arinze who was Political Adviser to the the Governor, Chief Willie Obiano and later Caretaker Committee chairman of Ogbaru Local Government Area paid glowing tribute to the former Governor and all those who lost their lives in the struggle.
He expressed shock that some expartriates were even more corrupt than Nigerians as they were busy drilling and bunkering Anambra oil in the name Delta and Rivers State oil but were silent on fate of the real owners of the oil.
When they confronted the expartriates they attempted to compromise: “us but were not people who could be easily compromised with money.
“Then we took steps. Thank God for Chief Willie Obiano. It is only him and myself who can talk how many lives we lost in the struggle to make Anambra an oil bearing State” said Awogu.
He said however that it is disheartening that after all this efforts, not even the slimmest of benefits have accrued to the oil bearing communities of Ogbaru local Government Area.
The former Local Government boss said: “Oguaniocha is a desolate place today.The king of Oguaniocha is still missing up till today. The State Government has done nothing to unravel the disappearance of of Igwe Oliver Nnaji. And who will be happy with that. The town has remained a rendezvous of all manner of unspoken activities and the State Government has turned a deaf ears”.
Continuing Awogu said: ” Half of Oguikpele is the centre of River Niger. There is a terrible water erosion ravaging the community that oil is being produced, yet our State Government pretends nothing is happening there, whereas billions of oil accrue to the coffers of the State through derivation. So it is really a concern”.
He also said that the stretch of road from Osomala -Obeagwe-Akili-Ogidi- Oguikpele remained impassable year in, year out.
In the same vein Osomala -Umunankwo-Oguaniocha road is in the same state in spite of the fact that these communities bear the oil with which Anambra State garner billions every month.
Awogu queried: ” What then would be more wicked? what then can be man’s inhumanity to man that a place you are generating a whole lot, you care less about them, carry out roughshod against the people. There is no amenity there.The road infrastructure is in the worst State . There is no electricity. The people of Oguaniocha, Oguikpele have never seen electricity since the days of Adam and Eve. They also have not seen good roads. And somebody is telling me we should count Ogbaru as part of Anambra State”.
He said during this struggle nobody bothered where the people came from but their commitment, stressing that is how one of them from Imo State became Special Assistant to the then Governor.
” If we could do that in APGA, we would do far more in APC . So, everybody would be accommodated . What we want is our commitment and we will get there,” assured Awogu.