DELTA State Commissioner for Youth Development , Comrade Omolubi Newuwumi, is a Niger Delta activist and President of the Iwere Development Association, IDA, an Itsekiri group, ever before his appointment and till date, he has not abandoned his activism. Recently, he stirred the hornet nest when he took his tribesman, Hon Michael Diden, aka Ejele, to the cleaners over the first phase of the multi-billion naira pipeline surveillance contract in Itsekiri communities.
He warned the contract should not be re-awarded to him, but NNPC re-awarded the contract to him. Hon Diden was, however, emphatic when contacted by Niger Delta Voice that he does not want to be dragged into any controversy on the pipeline contract, but suffice it to say that he performed the contract according to specification. Newuwumi thunders afresh in this interview.
RECENTLY, you raised some fundamental issues over the pipeline surveillance contract as regard the way it was handled by one of the Itsekirii Trustee, Hon. Michael Diden, alias Ejele, now that the contract has been re-awarded to the same person, what is your take?
I am not against the re-awarding of the surveillance contract to the company per say, I .am against one of the trustees representing the Itsekiri interest, Hon. Diden, who huge appetite for money has denied the people the benefit inherent in the contract. While I want to commend the federal government for awarding the contract, I want to also want to urge them and other trustees of the company to compel Hon.
Diden to pay the youths he allegedly recruited for the first phase their backlog of salaries and allowances he owes them and also make sure that justice, equity and fair play are respected in this new contact.
Equity andfair play
In the first phase of the contact, the sum of 2 million dollars were meant to train about 5, 000 youths locally and international and the contract agreement equally reveals the name of the outfit to train these youths, so Ejele should show us those he trained during the first phase.
Some people are of the opinion attacking Ejele because he stood between you and Warri North chairmanship ticket which you fought tooth and nail for?
For those that knows my antecedents, even Ejele himself and many Itsekiri know that I do not just say something because I am fighting a personal war, This thing is not about me, it is about us, it is about the youths of Itsekiri, it is about being fair, it is about how one man can collect what was meant for the empowerment of the youth and the communities, sit on it alone and impoverish many people.
Now that a new contract has been signed, what are you doing to make sure that these anomalies do not occur again, especially as regards recruitment and payment of the youths required to monitor the pipelines against vandalization?
We, the (Itsekiri) will not fold our hands again and allow this to happen, we will follow this particular contract and make sure that every beneficiary get what is meant for him/her in the contract. We will follow and monitor with all the required laws in the land and make sure that people like Ejele will not enrich themselves with our collective wealth again.
While I want to commend Government Ekpemepulo, alias Tompolo, for the maturity and sincerity in the handling of the contract as regard the Ijaw end of the deal, I want to also urge him to compel the other trustees to play by the rule and regulation guiding the contract, especially as it regards the beneficiaries and the host communities. The contract like I say is welcome and I was never against the re-awarding of the contract in my first letter to the Presidency, but against the manner it was handled by our own representative, Ejele, who use it to enrich himself rather than the people and the communities.
The Federal Government and the trustees of the company should also follow up these contracts with incorruptible monitoring teams in making sure that equity, fair play and accountability come to play. I am asking him to pay the backlog of salaries he owes because I am very aware that the other trustee from Itsekiri paid the over 700 people he recruited for the period of time the contract lasted.
I am also aware that recruitment of people into the second phase of the contract has commenced and we will mobilize to make sure that this time around those employed will get their wages and working equipment.
*Tompolo
We will not allow what happened in the first phase to repeat itself. We also look forward to seeing speed boats and vehicles to patrol some of these pipeline, especially in the creeks as these where some of the things lacking in the first phase.
Why did you wait for so long before making these allegations?
I did not react at first because I have been engaging him on some of these issues, on the need to pay those he recruited just like others had done and I believe he will see reason until recently when it became clear that he was not ready to pay. I have evidence that he has not paid and I was worried. You are also aware that I have fought other battles for my people.
I am a youth leader with conscience and a passion to see that things are done fairly, that the people are not short-changed, that equity and fair play should be the watchword in everything we do. Some of the youths are very bitter that their salaries are not paid and an activist I have to fight for them. It is not about me or about Ejele or about the governor, but about justice and equity, about empowerment for the youth.
If we do not correct this now, it means we are setting a bad precedent and these are some of the things that led to crisis because a rich man who fails to empower the youth is like the man who goes to the bush fetch home ant- infested firewood, that rich man should not complain when lizards start visiting him at home.
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