Alhaji Mujahid Abubakr Dokubo-Asari, Dabaye Amakiri I, has challenged the Olu of Warri and social commentator Joel Omosere Agho to address substantive questions surrounding allegations of ₦2.7 trillion in pipeline security payments, rather than engage in personal attacks and name-calling.
In a statement issued by the Palace’s Spokesman and Chief Press Secretary, Alabo Daerefa-a Christopher Braide, Dokubo-Asari said the controversy raised important questions about transparency, consistency and accountability in the pipeline security business, as well as the persistent underdevelopment of the Niger Delta.
According to the statement, the recent response from the Palace of the Olu of Warri had failed to adequately address the issues raised by Da Amakiri Tubo in his live broadcast, which followed comments by Agho, popularly known as Mr Common Sense, concerning the earnings of Niger Delta leaders involved in pipeline security arrangements.
The statement clarified that the Dokubo-Asari was not defending High Chief Government Oweizide Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo, but questioning what he described as the selective criticism of certain Niger Delta figures while other alleged beneficiaries of pipeline security contracts remained outside the same public scrutiny.
“If accountability is the objective, no individual should be exempt from scrutiny because of ethnicity, political connections, traditional status or personal relationships,” the statement said.
According to the statement, Agho had challenged Niger Delta leaders, including Tompolo and Dokubo-Asari, over the region’s continuing underdevelopment despite the substantial sums reportedly associated with pipeline security contracts.
The Amanyanabo argued that these questions deserved serious public attention but insisted that they should be directed consistently at all relevant parties.
The statement challenged Agho to clarify the basis for focusing on Tompolo and Dokubo-Asari while allegedly overlooking the Olu of Warri and Osahon Idahosa, whom it identified as beneficiaries of pipeline security contracts reportedly receiving substantial sums.
It questioned whether the disparity in public scrutiny had any connection with ethnic affiliations, while stressing that the figures and contractual interests attributed to the individuals concerned should be established through verifiable evidence.
The statement also questioned why Dokubo-Asari was being associated with the controversy when, according to the Palace, he was not connected to the pipeline security contracts in question.
It maintained that the allegations concerning the amounts received by the named individuals should be independently verified and that anyone disputing the claims should provide documentary evidence.
A central argument in the statement was that private contractors should not be made solely responsible for the development failures of a region whose governance and public infrastructure fall under the mandates of elected governments and statutory institutions.
The statement recalled that Dokubo-Asari had maintained that his involvement in the Niger Delta struggle came at considerable personal cost, including repeated detentions and a treason charge during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
According to the Palace, his involvement in the struggle was driven by concerns over resource exploitation, environmental degradation, poverty, marginalisation and inadequate development in oil-producing communities.
The statement therefore questioned the basis for holding him responsible for the region’s development challenges without establishing the public office he occupies, the development funds he controls or the statutory responsibilities assigned to him.
It asked whether Dokubo-Asari had served as a governor or headed institutions such as the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), the Presidential Amnesty Programme, the Niger Delta Basin Development Authority or other interventionist agencies responsible for regional development.
The Palace argued that these distinctions were necessary to ensure that accountability was directed at institutions and individuals according to their actual responsibilities.
“Accountability must follow responsibility,” the statement maintained, adding that the earnings of private contractors did not automatically confer on them the constitutional duties of elected governments or the statutory mandates of public development institutions.
The statement, however, acknowledged that private contractors could legitimately be questioned about their earnings, contractual arrangements and corporate social responsibility obligations to host communities.
It insisted that a comprehensive assessment of the Niger Delta’s development challenges must also examine the performance of state governments, development agencies, oil companies and other institutions responsible for public services, infrastructure and environmental protection.
Responding directly to the reaction from the Palace of the Olu of Warri, the statement said personal exchanges and provocative language would not resolve the questions surrounding the reported ₦2.7 trillion pipeline security payments.
It called for clarity on the basis of the figures attributed to the alleged beneficiaries, the contractual arrangements involved, the identities and interests of the parties concerned, and the mechanisms through which host communities benefit from economic activities on their ancestral lands and waters.
The statement said that if the figures attributed to the Olu of Warri and Osahon Idahosa were inaccurate, the appropriate response would be to provide verifiable information to correct the record.
It maintained that the controversy concerned matters of public interest and should therefore be addressed through facts rather than personal attacks.
The Palace further argued that the people of the Niger Delta deserved a transparent account of the pipeline security business and a broader examination of why communities that contribute significantly to Nigeria’s oil economy continue to face environmental degradation, inadequate infrastructure and poverty.
The statement also addressed what it described as attempts to diminish the royal standing and ancestral pedigree of the Amanyanabo of the Source.
It identified Da Amakiri Tubo as a descendant of the Amakiri royal dynasty and the son of the late Justice Melford Goodhead Dokubo, a former Rivers State High Court judge.
According to the statement, the Kalabari traditional institution derives its identity from ancestry, customary law, historical continuity and the heritage of its people, rather than political patronage or the approval of another traditional institution.
It maintained that government recognition of traditional institutions for administrative purposes should be distinguished from the ancestral and customary foundations of those institutions.
The statement added that the Amanyanabo of the Source remained secure in the history of the Amakiri dynasty and did not consider it necessary to engage in a contest of royal status with the Olu of Warri.
The Palace urged all parties to avoid language that could distract from the substantive issues under discussion, adding that disagreements over historical standing should be addressed through credible historical records, customary traditions and verifiable evidence.
Reiterating its position, the statement challenged Agho to extend his scrutiny to all relevant beneficiaries of pipeline security contracts, as well as the governments and public institutions charged with the development of the Niger Delta.
It also called on the Palace of the Olu of Warri to provide evidence if it disputed the figures or allegations raised in the controversy.
The statement emphasised that the Amanyanabo’s position was not that private contractors should escape scrutiny, but that public accountability should not be selective.
It said the region’s development challenges required an honest assessment of contractual arrangements, public spending, institutional performance, environmental damage and the delivery of essential services to oil-producing communities.
“The issue is not who can trade the harshest words. The issue is who is prepared to account for the facts, accept responsibility where it properly belongs and answer the questions that matter to the people of the Niger Delta,” the statement concluded.
