Delta Communities Threaten to Stop Protection of Agip’s Facilities

Goddy Egene

Nine host communities of the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) Limited in three local government areas of Delta State yesterday said they would withdraw their workers from protecting the facilities of the company following the alleged refusal of NAOC to pay the workers for the past six months.

The communities are: Irri, Idheze, and Orie (Isoko South Local Government Area); Okpe-Isoko and Ofagbe(Isoko North LGA), and Ibrede, Abalagada, Asemuku, and Beneku(Ndokwu East LGA).

The communities in a statement quoted the Chairman of the Joint Committee on NAOC Surveillance Contract, Hon Marcus Idike, to have told journalists during a peaceful protest at the NAOC flow station in Irri that the decision to withdraw the security workers could only be reversed if the company agrees to pay the six months’ salaries and comply with all items on the new surveillance contract disclosed to the communities on December 22, 2020.

Idike disclosed that the problem that degenerated into the protest started in April when the communities demanded, through a letter dated April 5, 2021, the payment of the then three months’ salary arrears (January to March 2021) of the workers that NAOC, on December 22, 2020, mandated them to employ.

He explained: “On December 22, 2020, NAOC invited the host communities to a meeting where we were told about modalities for the new surveillance contract effective from January 1, 2021, to protect the pipelines and other facilities of the company. We were then mandated to employ workers to begin work from January 2021. All the communities did as directed by NOAC and were expecting payment from the company. But to our greatest surprise, NOAC sent a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) through a contractor(Pajah Agency) stating that the payment of workers already engaged would commence from the date the MoU was signed contrary to the January 1, 2021, as we were told on December 22, 2020.”

He noted that following the new clause in the MoU, the communities wrote another letter of complaint on May 25, 2021, giving the company 14-day ultimatum to address the issue or they would withdraw their workers.

“In response to the letter, NOAC invited us to another meeting. At the meeting, officials of NAOC agreed that the communities were mandated to engage workers to protect their facilities from January 1, 2021. Yet the company insisted that payment would commence from the date the MoU was signed. The meeting ended in a deadlock. After the expiration of the ultimatum, the communities wrote another letter in June giving NAOC five days’ ultimatum which expired more than a week ago, and the company failed to accede to our request. With the fraudulent and arrogant manner NAOC is handling this matter to deny us our legitimate rights having worked for six months couple with attempt by the company to blackmail the leaders and incite the people of the communities, we are left with no other option than to tell the world that the workers would be withdrawn as from July 1, 2021,” he said.

He stressed that until the salaries are fully paid, “we are using this medium to inform NAOC, federal and state governments and all security agencies that as from June 30, the communities would cease to protect NAOC facilities as mandated on December 22, 2020, which the host communities complied with since January 1, 2021, but the company refused to pay for.”