CSR: Delta Community Calls For Roundtable Meeting With AGIP to Avert Crises
ABUJA/Nigeria: With tension risen in many communities in the Niger Delta Region, the people of Utagba-uno Kingdom in Ndokwa West Local Government Area, had called for an urgent roundtable meeting with oil companies operating in the area to avert any protest and disruption of operations of International Oil Companies.
The community made the appeal in a meeting with the Senior Special Assistant to the President on the Niger Delta Affairs, senator Ita Enang in Abuja, the Federal government called on International Oil Companies (IOCs) operating in the Niger Delta Region to honour Memorandum of Understanding MoUs.
The community in their demands complained of the behaviuors of the companies, especially the AGIP Company, Operators of OML 60 who had not honoured the signed documents for 42 years of operations.
“The difficult and provoking situation of NAOC has made our agitation to be tensely and restive as people in the community are seriously threatening total shut down of their operations, being reason for this last effort to seek your urgent response to avert avoidable public disturbances”.
They people want the presidency to save them from the high handedness of NAOC by urging them to promptly engage with the community to develop, produce and sign a mutually beneficially Memorandum of Agreement and Understanding between the two parties.
According to their demand vide documents, submitted to the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President, Niger Delta Affairs. They also want NAOC to pay without delay, the long accrued compensatory benefits, including projects funds and unpaid 42-year land rents to Umusadege-Ogbe community as it hosts community to the tune of $211,483,713.68 (USD) Only covering land rent and remunerations due to the community in the 42 years of NAOC operations in the land which has not been paid yet.
They asked that the companies provides employment for the youths as prescribed under the local content law of the land, Award contract to deserving and qualified citizens and companies of Umusadege-Ogbe extraction and restore all the seven –year contracts and employment deficit for the benefits of qualified Umusadege –ogbe natives.
In his reaction, Senator Ita Enag, “the federal government will not tolerate any form of violence between IOC and host Communities given the fragile nature of the economy and the Covid-19 pandemic challenging the global economy, call on IOCs to respect all agreements”
According to the federal Presidential Aide, government of Nigeria will not allow the disruption of the economy of the country through irreconcilable differences between the host communities and International Oil Companies (IOC) due to violations of the term contained in the GMOU (s)
“This is because revenue from oil and gas transactions and the sustainable peace of the Niger Delta Region is strategic for the implementation of government policies and programms at all levels .“ he stated.
Earlier, The Umusadege –Ogbe Community of Ndokwa land, Delta state, called on the Presidency to urge Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) and all defaulting Oil and Gas Companies to immediately pay compensations and penalties for non-renewal of MOU and failure to pay ground rent to the host communities.
