TheCable

Host communities to the ongoing Ibom deep seaport project have been assured of Akwa Ibom state government’s decision to include them in all stages of the project and when it commences.

This assurance was given by the state government through  Akan Okon, commissioner for economic development and Ibom deep seaport, when he led officials of his ministry and the technical committee on Ibom deep seaport on a courtesy call on Effiong Archanga, the paramount ruler of Ibeno, at his palace in Ibeno on Saturday.

Okon said the essence of the visit was to get feedback from stakeholders of host communities concerning the design of the project.

“The reason for this visit is to obtain the feedback and opinion of the stakeholders regarding the design of the project,” he said.

“We are here to start on the right note. We want to ensure that at the end of this meeting we have stakeholders’ support for this project and this will not be the last community engagement, it’s going to be a continuous process untill the project is completed.”

The commissioner maintained that input from all stakeholders will help in the environmental impact assessment (EIA) and to assess the social performance of the project, adding that the people oriented approach was a strategy to ensure a seamless execution and operation of the project.

“Investment and capital, that is money, is a coward and will not go to where there is problem. As such, this project being a public private partnership model needs to have the backing of the people so that we can have a seamless and peaceful operation,” he said.

He said the meeting was to brainstorm on the system of consultation and grievances handling mechanism, saying it is important to take into consideration the views of stakeholders at every stage of the project.

While describing Ibeno as the most peaceful oil producing community in Nigeria, Okon expressed confidence that looking at a cross section of very “enlightened participants” at the visit there was assurance of peaceful resolution of any conflict that may arise during the course of the project.

In his remarks, the paramount ruler thanked Udom Emmanuel, the governor, for taking pragmatic steps to bring the Ibom deep seaport project to reality after many years.

He commended the governor for entrusting the project into the competent hands, saying the courtesy visit was very significant to Ibeno people and the entire Akwa Ibom state.

“The Ibom deep seaport project is very dear to Ibeno people and we ask that the project be handled with efficiency in order to reap its benefits when operational,” he said.

The royal father, however, noted with regret that Ibeno has been a victim of oil and gas exploration in the past and have learnt hard lessons as such any project in the area should first of all have a functional EIA/MoU and an operational MoU with Ibeno people.

He also made a case for adequate compensation for relocation of affected people and property, good community relationship between investors, contractors and the people, implementation of local content law especially on employment, speedy completion of the Eket – Ibeno road as well as renaming of the project to Ibeno Deep seaport, Akwa Ibom state, to reflect the location of the project and honour the contributions of Ibeno people to the project.

He assured government of the cooperation and support of the traditional stool and entire Ibeno people towards the success of the project.