Former Commissioner, Special Duties, Delta State, Ovuozourie Macaulay, has canvassed for locals to be made part owners of oil-producing companies operating in the Niger Delta area.
Macaulay, speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Monday, stated that subscribing to this development would curb the rise in illegal oil bunkering in the state.
He lamented that the role of host communities in protecting the pipelines for the Federal Government should be de-emphasised but to the livelihoods of community members.
“People should not be talking about their [indigenes] participation, we should be talking of part ownership. Everybody wants to protect where his daily bread comes from,” he said.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) stalwart noted that getting them involved in menial jobs or surveillance was proper but would not be sufficient to secure their confidence.
“Before 2003, jobs were not given to the communities at all and we sat down as security council and said, ‘No, these people have to be involved.’
“We met with Shell, we met with Chevron and worked out how they can be taken along and that helped to reduce the agitation and solve many issues but thereafter, it ended there,” he said.
Speaking further on the idea of “part ownership” for indigenes of the oil-rich region, Macaulay said, “Five percent or 10 percent interest of the people in that organisation would help them look forward to something at the end of the year”.
He added that if the locals had part ownership of the companies’ shareholding, there would be fewer incidents of pipeline vandalism and oil theft.
