Ugborodo community takes over Chevron tank farm

WARRI- PROTESTING elders, leaders,
women and youths of Ugborodo, an Itsekiri
community in Warri South-West Local
Government Area, Delta State, have laid
siege to the Escravos Tank Farm, belonging
to Chevron Nigeria Limited, CNL, alleging
neglect and discrimination by the
multinational oil conglomerate.
Vanguard learned that the angry villagers,
who set bonfires occupied the company’s
premises since Tuesday and remained their
till this morning.
Reports from the area said that the villagers
cordoned the gate preventing access in and
out of the company through the gate.
While the villagers were protesting outsiders,
some of affected workers complained
inside.
However, the company airlifted some
workers out with helicopters, while tension
has enveloped the area.
Security agencies were making efforts to
calm the irate villagers, who refused to
leave the company until their demands were
looked into, accusing the firm of playing
hide and seek with them.
Contacted, General Manager, Policy,
Government and Public Affairs, CNL, Mr. Deji
Haastrup, simply stated: “We are engaging
them.”
Youth President of the community, Mr. Ofe
Nene, confirmed the siege to Vanguard,
Wednesday morning, that the company was
breaching the Local Content Policy, LCP,
put in place by government to regulate its
operations with host communities.
He said: “The first thing is that there is
supposed to a New Town project in
Ugborodo because of the enormous Chevron
project in the area and impact on the
people, but the company has decided to
abandon the project because it believes the
people do not know their rights and cannot
speak.”
“Also, it is about doing turnaround
maintenance, TAM, but for about two
months that we complained in a letter to
them that they are not carrying us along,
they have been deceiving us. We are in
Ugborodo, but they will invite us to a
meeting in Warri, when we get to Warri, they
will either tell us that the date is not
feasible or that so and so management
official was not available,” he said.
Nene said: “They take us as fools, as
people who do not know their left from their
right, which is why they treat us this way.
We know about the LCP, but they are
engaging our people like without condition
of service as we are slaves.”
“For instance, we have over 400 community
people with them, they make them to work
for six months or so, after that, they would
sack them, make them to stay at home for a
month or two, then they say that they have
reengaged them again. Some of them have
been working for over 14 years and there is
not condition of service,” he bemoaned.
Another villager, who spoke on phone,
added: “They do not consider us in
employment; they just want to make casual
workers for eternity. Ugborodo is host to
over 200 oil wells, why should they treat us
as if we are inconsequential.”
“Even the Federal Government is also
neglecting us; we have not representation in
the federal government as I speak to you.
The appointment we have in the NDDC, they
have taken it away from us,” he asserted.