A dispute has erupted in Okpe-Isoko community in Delta State following the discovery of crude oil, as the Adhakpor family has repudiated an alleged land lease agreement with Sterling Global Limited for the exploration and development of the oil-bearing land.

Vanguard reported that the family said the purported agreement was signed by individuals who claimed to speak for it but had neither the authority nor the mandate to do so.

In a statement, the family said it did not authorise or mandate any person or group to negotiate, sign or enter into any lease, Memorandum of Understanding, or related document with Sterling Global Limited over its land.

The family described the alleged transaction as unauthorised and unacceptable, stressing that no individual could validly bind it to any agreement without a specific mandate granted by the family.

It added that its duly constituted and elected executives, along with other authorised representatives, had been formally empowered to represent its interests and to handle negotiations, engagements and documentation relating to the land.

The family therefore distanced itself from any agreement, commitment or undertaking made by persons acting without its express authorisation, warning that such actions must not be taken as representing its position or interests.

According to the family, the authorised representatives emerged from a resolution adopted at its general meeting held on October 4, 2026.

It accordingly directed that all negotiations, documentation, execution and implementation of any lease or other transaction involving the land must from now on be handled exclusively through the authorised representatives it has presented.

The family also made it clear that it does not recognise or accept any purported lease, MOU or related document signed by persons who were not duly authorised to represent it.

It cautioned all parties, prospective investors and other stakeholders dealing with the land to engage only with its recognised representatives, adding that any transaction outside the authority it granted would be without its mandate and would not bind the family.

“This position is intended to ensure transparency, accountability, proper representation, unity, peace, and the protection of the rights and interests of the Adhakpor family.” The statement stated.

Meanwhile, the family alleged that a community leader, working with some members of the community, unlawfully brought persons who are not members of the family into the negotiation committee.

The family strongly objected to this, insisting that only duly recognised members of the Adhakpor family should sit on any committee set up to negotiate or deliberate on matters concerning its interests.

Reacting to the development, the Head of the Adhakpor family, Chief Ide Abade, told Vanguard that he was arrested by the community leadership because of his opposition to the purported lease agreement with Sterling Global Limited.

He added that the family had concluded plans to seek redress in court, since non-members of the family had no authority to negotiate or enter into any agreement concerning its land.

In a contrasting position, the President of the Okpe-Isoko Community, Chief Fred Efeh, said the Adhakpor family was duly represented on the committee constituted to negotiate the lease agreement.

Efeh said the controversy stemmed from a disagreement between two branches, or “gates,” of the Adhakpor family over ownership of the land where the oil well was discovered.

His words: “The Adhakpor family they are talking about has two gates. It is one of the gates that has come to complain.”

He explained that one branch claimed its forefather had shared the land and that the portion where the oil was discovered belonged exclusively to it.

“One of the gates said their father had shared that land. And the portion where the oil is, is solely their own”.

Efeh said the other branch maintained that proceeds from the land, including palm trees and other natural resources, should benefit the entire Adhakpor family.

“The other one is saying, no, that the palm trees and all other natural resources that may come from there are supposed to be for all of them, not only one gate of the Adhakpor family”.

He said that after the oil well was discovered, the company involved in the exploration approached the traditional institution and the community, in line with established procedures.

“So when the oil exploration came, the company duly, as ought to be done, came to the palace and came to the community. I, as the president general, was present”, he added.

According to him, after the necessary consultations, a negotiation committee made up of representatives of the two branches of the Adhakpor family was constituted.

“After fulfilling all normal ways of entering the land, we started negotiation. So the family, these two gates, we now formed a committee for negotiation, where the Adhakpor family people were truly represented,” he said.

Efeh said some representatives later withdrew from the negotiation, which led to the current dispute, adding that the disagreement centred on the composition of the committee.

“As we were going along on the negotiation, they withdrew,” he said.

His position stands in contrast to that of the Adhakpor family, which has rejected the purported lease agreement and maintained that the persons involved lacked the mandate to represent it or enter into any agreement on its land.

Efforts to get the reaction of the Community Relations Manager of Sterling Oil Exploration and Energy Production Company, Mr. Rotimi Bakari, were unsuccessful.

Bakari said he could not respond to the queries over the telephone and asked that the publication visit his office in Warri, Delta State, for further discussion.

Efforts to get the reaction of the traditional ruler of the community, the Ovie of Okpe-Isoko, also proved unsuccessful, as calls and messages sent to his telephone lines were neither answered nor responded to as of press time.