NIGERIA: NIGER DELTA YOUTH LEADER ON CHEVRON

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LAGOS 000245 SIPDIS DOE FOR GPERSON,CHAYLOCK TREASURY FOR DFIELDS, AIERONIMO, RHALL DOC FOR 3317/ITA/OA/KBURRESS STATE PASS USTR FOR AGAMA STATE PASS USAID FOR GWEYNAND AND SLAWAETZ E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/25/2016 TAGS: PGOV PREL EPET NI SUBJECT: NIGERIA: NIGER DELTA YOUTH LEADER ON CHEVRON PIPELINE, IJAW LEADERS, LOCAL CONTENT REF: SEPTEL Classified By: Consul General Donna Blair, Reasons 1.4 (B,D) ¶1. (C) Summary: Sheriff Mulade (strictly protect throughout), President of the Gbaramatu Youth Council (GYC),told Acting Consul General July 4 that youths from the Gbaramatu Kingdom blew up the Chevron pipeline while he was in the United States; Tom Polo allowed the youths to take the equipment and explosives from Camp Five near Warri in Delta State. Chief E.K. Clark, His Royal Majesty Charles Ayemi-Botu, Chief Samson Y. Mamamu, and Chief Melford Okilo are strong leaders who command respect in the Ijaw community. Timi Alaibe has spent his time as Chief Executive Officer of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) "dividing up the money"; and under Chief Wellington Okirika, the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOPADEC) has not lived up to its potential. Companies owned by Ijaw or other Niger Delta ethnicities do not get contracts because Yoruba and Igbo employees in charge of local content for major oil companies steer contracts to Yoruba and Igbo companies. End Summary. Youths Blow Pipeline with Explosives from Camp 5 -------------- --- ¶2. (C) Sheriff Mulade (strictly protect throughout), National President, Gbaramatu Youth Council told Acting Consul General July 4 that youths from the Gbaramatu Kingdom blew up the Chevron pipeline while he was in the United States on an International Visitor leadership Program (Septel). Tom Polo is putting himself forward as a peacemaker, but he allowed the youths to get the equipment and explosives they used from Camp Five near Warri in Delta State, Mulade said. Now, repairs on the pipeline are underway, but nearby communities are saying that they want five million naira as compensation for allowing the repair crews access to the area. According to Mulade, militant leader Boyloaf commandeered the use of military Joint Task Force (JTF) boats. (Comment: Mulade did not indicate when or how the boats were used. End Comment) Mulade Assesses Ijaw Leaders -------------- ¶3. (C) Asked his assessment of a number of Ijaw leaders, Mulade said: -- Chief Edwin Kiagbodo Clark is a strong leader who consults widely before expressing views. When he speaks, he shapes the opinion of others in the Niger Delta. -- His Royal Majesty Charles Ayemi-Botu, traditional ruler of the Sembeiri Kingdom in Delta State, is considered by Niger Deltans to be one of the most effective traditional rulers. Well-educated and capable, Ayemi-Botu was elected Chairman of the Traditional Rulers of Oil and Mineral Producing Communities (TROMPCOM) even though no oil is produced in his kingdom. -- Chief Samson Y. Mamamu, Chairman of the Western Zone of the Ijaw National Congress, is a strong leader, who has stood firmly against kidnapping and illegal bunkering. When former President Obasanjo visited the Niger Delta, Mamamu is said to have told him to his face that he was behind much of the illegal bunkering taking place in the region. -- Chief Melford Okilo, former Senator and Governor of Old Rivers State, was in the past an influential leader; he has been very ill for some time. Acting Consul General was notified by the Okilo family on Saturday, July 5 that Chief Okilo passed away during the evening of July 4. -- Timi Alaibe, Chief Executive Officer, Niger Delta Development Commission, was Chief Financial Officer for the NNDC before becoming CEO. During the three years he has been CEO, the NDDC has accomplished little; Alaibe has spent the time "dividing up the money." LAGOS 00000245 002 OF 002 -- Chief Wellington Okirika is a weak leader, in Mulade's opinion, and that is why the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Commission (DESOPADEC),which Okirika heads, has not lived up to its potential. Chief Okirika "changes his mind whenever the militants contact him." Niger Deltans Do Not Benefit from Local Content -------------- -- ¶4. (C) Accordng to Mulade, Chevron recently organized a training on local content in Warri, Delta State for local contractors. This was a good thing, because Niger Delta indigenes are seldom able to afford to attend major meetings on local content policy, which are held in Abuja or Lagos. It cost him 12,000 naira (approximately USD 102) to travel from the Lagos airport to the site of a meeting on the Lekki Peninsula that he was attending (Septel),and the least expensive hotel room can cost over 10,000 naira (approximately USD 85),which makes travel to Lagos prohibitively expensive for most Niger Deltans. Mulade has his own companies, including a supply company, which qualify for contracts because he keeps his registrations up to date with the relevant offices. However, he has never gotten a contract from Shell, and he gets contracts from Chevron mostly because he has been helpful to them in keeping the peace in the Escravos area, he said. ¶5. (C) He believes that the major reason he does not get contracts is because the Yoruba and Igbo local content managers steer contracts to Yoruba and Igbo contractors. It is not only Ijaws who are discriminated against, he said, but also the Itsekiri, Urhobo, Ikwerre and other smaller ethnic groups as well; he estimates that there are thousands of local companies that would like to get contracts. Once, back in 1996 when he was trying to get a contract from Shell, he was asked for a bribe of 150,000 naira; foolishly he paid it, then discovered that the individual had left the contracting office and that he had to start all over again dealing with a new person. Often, he said, indigenes blow up a pipeline, then demand that one of the local companies get the contract to repair it. BLAIR