HCDT Member Debunks Finima Youth Congress’ Claims on BelemaOil

A member of the Host Community Development Trust of BelemaOil Producing Limited for Bonny/Ifoko, Sylvestre Idanye has debunked claims by the Finima Youth Congress (FYC) that Finima Community is the landlord to BelemaOil in Bonny Local Government Area of Rivers State.

In a telephone interview with Kristina Reports on Tuesday, January 14, 2025 in Bonny, Rivers State, Idanye, who is the immediate past President of the Jumbo Major House Youth Association (JMHYA), clarified that BelemaOil’s major asset in Bonny Island, is located on land belonging to the Jumbo Major House.  

The Lease Automatic Custody Transfer (LACT) unit, a metering station that measures and transfers crude oil from production sites to the Bonny Oil and Gas Terminal (BOGT), is located along the Bodo-Bonny Road around the Ntamoku axis of Bonny.

The facility, which is one of Chevron’s onshore facilities in Bonny and passed on to BelemaOil during the divestment process, gauges and transfers crude oil to the BOGT, which is West Africa’s largest crude oil storage facility belonging to Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC).

The former JMHYA President stated that by a judgement of the Rivers State High Court in suit number: PHC/949/1998, the land where the LACT unit is situated belongs to the Jumbo Major House of Bonny Kingdom.

He revealed that aside the LACT unit, BelemaOil also has pipeline assets, one of which runs through Finima Community to Lighthouse Fishing Settlement connecting the LACT unit to another of the company’s facility in the Atlantic Ocean located between Bonny and Ifoko in Degema LGA.

He added that another pipeline belonging to the company runs through Jumbo Major House lands and connects the LACT unit to the BOGT.

“So, you can see that aside the pipeline running through to Lighthouse, the major assets of BelemaOil are all on Jumbo Major House lands. So, it’s wrong for the FYC to claim that Finima Community is landlord to BelemaOil.”

“It is because of the small pipeline running through their community that Finima is accommodated in the Trust, not because they’re landlords. It is Jumbo Major House that is the landlord to BelemaOil.”

When Kristina Reports contacted the company, an official of the company, who pleaded anonymity, said the company will not be speaking on the matter as it is subjudice.

But another source within the company, who also pleaded anonymity, disclosed that the company would rather not be caught up in community tensions, stating that it has been intentional about ensuring inclusivity for all its stakeholders in Bonny.

The source further revealed that the HCDT was split between Bonny and Ifoko, with four persons – two from Finima and two from Bonny, adding that of the two from Finima, one person is from Attoni House and one person from Tobin House, stressing that this arrangement may have spurred the Brown House to drag the company to court.

According to the source, in the said suit: FHC/ABJ/CS/926/2024, the Buoye Omuso Brown Major House is reportedly asking the court to clarify the issue of its status with the company given that it sold the said portion of land to Chevron in the first instance, thus qualifies to determine who the company deals with.  

“They insist it has to be two persons from Brown House or nothing; that they’re the owners of Finima, and that they sold the land where the LACT unit is located to Chevron, hence they should decide who should be on the HCDT.”  

“Curiously, we found out that the land actually belongs to Jumbo Major House, which has since secured a judgment from the court asserting their ownership of the land. This judgment has not been appealed till date as much as we know.”  

The HCDT member, Sylvestre Idanye advised the Finima Youth Congress to always consult with its elders before making unfounded public statements, noting that “as youths, we should do better in terms of due diligence and cross-checking facts. They should also desist from this land grabbing tendencies, after all we’re all brothers”.