A fresh crude oil discovery has stirred a bitter dispute in Okpe-Isoko community, Delta State, as the Adhakpor family rejects a purported lease agreement allegedly entered into with Sterling Global Limited for the exploration and development of the oil-bearing land.
In a statement, the family said the agreement was allegedly executed by individuals claiming to speak for it, who, it insisted, had neither the authority nor the mandate to do so. It said it had not authorised any person or group to negotiate, sign or enter into any lease, Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) or related document with Sterling Global Limited over its land. The family described the transaction as unauthorised and unacceptable, adding that no individual can bind it to any agreement without a specific mandate granted by the family.
According to the statement, the family’s duly constituted and elected executives, together with other authorised representatives, have been formally empowered to handle all negotiations, engagements and documentation concerning its land. The family said these representatives emerged from a resolution at its general meeting on October 4, 2026. It therefore directed that every negotiation, documentation, execution and implementation of any lease or transaction involving the land must henceforth go exclusively through them.
The family disassociated itself from any agreement, commitment or undertaking made by persons acting without its express authorisation and said it does not recognise any such lease, MoU or document. It warned prospective investors and other stakeholders to deal only with its recognised representatives, stressing that any transaction outside the authority it granted would carry no mandate and would not bind the Adhakpor family. In its words, the position is meant to ensure “transparency, accountability, proper representation, unity, peace, and the protection of the rights and interests” of the family.
The family also alleged that a community leader, working with some members of the community, unlawfully brought in persons who are not members of the family to join the negotiation committee. It objected strongly, insisting that only duly recognised members of the Adhakpor family should sit on any committee deliberating on its interests.
Reacting, the Head of the Adhakpor family, Chief Ide Abade, told Sunday Vanguard that the community leadership arrested him over his opposition to the purported lease agreement. He said the family had concluded plans to seek redress in court, arguing that non-members of the family have no right to negotiate or enter into any agreement over its land.
The President of the Okpe-Isoko Community, Chief Fred Efeh, however, painted a different picture. He told Sunday Vanguard that the Adhakpor family was duly represented on the negotiating committee and that the controversy stemmed from a disagreement between two branches, or “gates”, of the family over who owns the land where the oil well was discovered.
According to Efeh, one gate claims its forefather had shared out the land and that the portion holding the oil belongs solely to it. The other gate insists that proceeds from the land, including palm trees and other natural resources, should benefit the entire family and not one branch alone.
He said that when the oil exploration began, the company approached the palace and the community as procedure demands, and that he was present as President General. After the necessary consultations, a negotiation committee made up of representatives of both gates was set up. Efeh said some representatives later withdrew as talks progressed, and that the disagreement centred on the composition of the committee. His account contrasts sharply with the family’s insistence that those involved lacked any mandate to act for it.
Efforts to get the reaction of the Community Relations Manager of Sterling Oil Exploration and Energy Production Company (SEEPCO), Mr Rotimi Bakari, were unsuccessful. He told Sunday Vanguard he could not respond to the queries by telephone and asked the correspondent to visit his office in Warri, Delta State. The traditional ruler of the community, the Ovie of Okpe-Isoko, also could not be reached, as calls and messages to his lines went unanswered as of press time.
