Lagos State Governor
Vanguard gathered
that there are about 15 Tank Farms sited within Ijegun/Ibasa, a riverrine
community in Amuwo-Odofin Local Government. The residents under the aegis of
Ibasa/Ijegun Concerned Youth Movement issued the threat in an interview with
Vanguard in the community, lamenting that they had waited for six months to
allow the Federal Government through the Department of State Services, DSS, to
set up a ‘joint committee’ to resolve the face-off between the host community
and the Tank farm owners. On January 13, 2016, a meeting between the DSS, the
Tank Farms, Omo-Oloko and the host community was held at the DSS head office in
Lagos.
After the meeting, a communiqué signed by the parties present, was
issued; stating that a joint committee comprising the community representatives
and Tank Farm owners be setup to harmonize community demands. It was learned
that the DSS was expected to inaugurate the committee at his headquarters, in
Magodo.
President of the Movement, Mr. Taofeek Odunewu, argued that till date,
no committee has been setup; “leaving us to our fate.” He stated that since
January, this year, they had yielded to the Communiqué issued, demanding that
they “maintain peace pending the final resolution of the issue at stake.”
Secretary to the Movement, Mr. Kareem Adewale, explained that they yielded to
the communiqué because they “are peace loving citizens and that was why we
decided not to tow the line of militants in the Niger Delta region, Boko Haram,
Indegenous People of Biafra, IPOB and other groups.”
He argued that after six
months, they cannot continue to yield to the communiqué adding that “the oil
depots and the State Security Services, SSS are not cooperating with” them.
According to Adewale, “Hence, we hereby give the tank farms 24 days to sign the
Memorandum of Understanding, MoU (earlier set aside for the negotiation) with
the host community or move their tank farms out of our land.”
The MOU stated
that whenever the tank farm decides to employ, certain percentage of the
required manpower must be indigenes of the host community. His words, “And if
they fail to adhere to the ultimatum, we could decide to adopt the violent
strategy. And the strategy could take any form-setting the tank farms ablaze,
shutting down activities of tank farms and others.” Also, a member of the
movement, Fatai Akinyanmi, alleged that the tank farms had since the release of
the communique, been working to ensure the proposed committee was not
inaugurated; “even as they continued to make huge revenue from the community.” vangardngr
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