Possibility of the Federal Government meeting its oil production target set in the 2025 national budget may have been disrupted, as a protest by the Itsekiri community in the Niger Delta halts operations at a 28,000-barrel-per-day Escravos oil production facility at Ogidigben, one of the seven communities in Ugborodo.
Our correspondent reports that the action is in response to what they describe as an unfair proposed ward delineation by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
The affected facility, previously operated by Shell and now managed by Renaissance Africa Energy Holdings, was peacefully occupied early Wednesday morning by men, women, and youths from the Itsekiri community.
The protesters accused INEC of deliberately reducing Itsekiri representation in the newly proposed wards for Warri Federal Constituency while increasing wards for other ethnic groups in the region.
The aggrieved protesters have also warned that additional shutdowns of oil facilities may follow in the coming days.
The development comes as Nigeria battles to meet its daily oil production target of 2.06 million b/d of crude oil production for 2025.
The country is also currently reeling in a drop in oil revenue due to dwindling crude oil prices as a result of sweeping trade tariffs by the United States.
Last week, the Donald Trump administration imposed various tariffs ranging between 10 per cent and 65 per cent on different countries across the world, including Nigeria which got a 14 per cent tariff on its exports to the United States.
The Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, said that the Federal Government will boost non-revenue as a means of cushioning the adverse effects to trade tariffs imposed on countries by President Trump.
Edun hinted that Nigeria’s oil revenue is being affected.
He, however, assured that the Economic Management Team (EMT) will meet to assess the likely impact of the 14 per cent tariff on goods exported from Nigeria to the United States.
“It’s the price effect, the oil price effect that may affect Nigeria. And it is the job and responsibility of the economic management team of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, amongst others, to look at the various scenarios that might play out.
“There’s global uncertainty at a huge level, so nobody knows exactly what will happen- the announcement that has been made. We’re not sure what will be delayed, what will be reversed, or what will be implemented.
“So, it is not an announcement that the budget is being reviewed. It’s an announcement that it is our responsibility to look at the various scenarios and options and advise government accordingly,” he said at the Ministry of Finance conference in Abuja on Monday.
While Nigeria’s current oil production is around 1.75mb/d, OPEC’s quota for the country is set at 1.5mb/d.
In a video sent in by our correspondent, the protesters were seen singing and chanting in front of the facility as armed security personnel were seen barricading them from gaining access to the facility.
Before the shutdown, signs of unrest had already begun. with some Itsekiri youths and women marching across the three Warri lgas, rejecting INEC’s proposal. The peaceful protest was held at the Olu Palace field.
They lamented that the delineation favours the Ijaw and Urhobo groups by creating new wards for them while reducing those of the Itsekiri, even in historically established Itsekiri areas.
In a similar development, while also rejecting INEC’s proposal, leaders of the Okere-Urhobo kingdom in Warri South, lga said the community, too, was shortchanged.
They argue that their population size warrants at least four to six wards, not the single one recommended by INEC.
As tensions grow, the Itsekiri have vowed to escalate actions, threatening more shutdowns across critical oil and gas installations in the region if the ward delineation is not withdrawn and re-evaluated.
INCE, a few days ago, presented a report on a fresh delineation exercise as mandated by a Supreme Court judgement, asking the three ethnic nationalities affected to look through the report and come up with their positions.
In the report presented:
* Warri North lga has a total of 18 wards, with the Ijaws controlling 10 and the Itsekiris having eight.
* Warri South-West lga has 19 wards, with the Ijaws allotted 14 and the Itsekiris five.
* In Warri South lga, there are 20 wards, distributed among the Urhobo (nine), Itsekiri (eight), and Ijaw (three) groups.
