Alleged Neglect, Marginalisation: Ugborodo Community Protests Again at Chevron Facilities in Delta

Sylvester Idowu in Warri

For the third days running, hundreds of protesting Ugborodo indigenes in Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State have continued their siege on the multi-million dollar Escravos Tank Farm of Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL), disrupting operations of the multinational oil company.

The protest, which began on Monday, was sustained till yesterday by angry indigenes of the community over alleged neglect, marginalisation in employment and the non-implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), particularly regarding the constitution of the Host Communities’ Development Trust (HCDT).

A sign that the protesters were not ready to vacate the occupied Chevron facilities was the carnival-like atmosphere marked by canopies, vendors selling snacks, drinks, and the presence of a disc jockey providing revolutionary vibes to sustain the protest.

They vowed not to vacate the premises until the company’s top management and the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) visit Ugborodo to address their age-long and immediate grievances.

The protesters, made up largely of youths, women, alongside elderly community members, displayed placards bearing inscriptions such as: “Ugborodo demands her 70% direct Chevron slots”, “Chevron JV and EGTL belong to Ugborodo community”, “Follow community local content law”.

Others were “Chevron EGTL PITSTOP please employ our indigenes”, “EGTL PITSTOP project must recognise Ugborodo as host” and “Federal and State Govt come to our aid,” among others.

Addressing journalists at the site of the protest yesterday, the Secretary-General of the Itsekiri National Youth Council, Hon. Raymond Pira, lamented what he described as the irony of living in the middle of affluence and everybody was living in abject poverty.

“In this yard, thousands are working, but there has been complete neglect of Ugborodo community. No jobs, no contracts. They pay us less than those brought from outside; they call them Lekki workers.

“They bring people from outside in droves to work here, and we are not employed. Chevron has to employ us; we (too) need a blue badge, direct employment.

“We are calling on the management of Chevron on the issue of PIA to implement that Ikpere Host Communities’ Development Trust.

“They are contravening the Local Content Law that provides some percentage for us. We are saying that until they attend to us, we are not going to leave here,” he said.

Also, the Chairman of the Ugborodo Management Committee, Mr. Emmanuel Onuwaje, alleged that in more than 60 years of Chevron’s operations in the community, there had been no meaningful development projects.

“We are not going anywhere to have a meeting with them; we will stay here till they come. We are appealing to the federal government to prevail in the issue,” he said.

National President of Ugborodo Youths, Mr. Wilson Ejeh, on his part, said the community had faced challenges with Chevron for decades, particularly in the areas of electricity supply, employment and contracts.

“We keep fighting and protesting, no response. Ugborodo is a peaceful community; we don’t like violence. We have sent countless letters to them (referring to Chevron Nigeria Limited) but got no response,” he stated.

In the same vein, the National Vice Chairman, Mr. Laju Udonju, lamented that despite hosting several Chevron facilities, including a tank farm and the Escravos Gas-to-Liquids (EGTL) plant, there was little to show in terms of development.

“There is a project, PITSTOP, going on here with at least 10,000 persons brought in, yet our people are not adequately engaged. We want top management personnel of Chevron and the NNPC GCEO to come here to address us.

“We won’t leave our community elsewhere to enter into any meeting. We need them to come here and see our plights, because the people here don’t want their top management to know the politics they are playing here.

“We have made our demands known to them on pen and paper for over five months now, but they have kept a blind eye over them. We don’t have light; we need potable water; we need empowerment; we need employment for our people;” reiterated.

As of the time of filing this report, Chevron management as well as the federal government have yet to come around to address the protesters.