TotalEnergies: Land Donors Protest Neglect, Marginalisation in Rivers

Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt

The Umu Aye family in Ogbogu, Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers State has protested an alleged neglect and marginalisation by TotalEnergies E & P Nigeria Limited.

The protesters, who said they are the principal land donors of Ogbogu Flow Station and associated facilities of OML 58, expressed sadness over 27 years of alleged neglect by the energy multinational.

They alleged that since 1999, no son or daughter of Umu-Aye has been employed in the multinational oil company, even when they have qualified people who are graduates and have the requisite qualifications for positions in the company.

THISDAY observed that the protesters, mostly women, were carrying placards with inscriptions such as, “Land rent agreement expired”, “No MoU since 1999”, “We need graduates and contract staff employment”, “Poverty rate is high”, “Replacement of sacked contract staff”, “Register our company with ECP,” among others

Speaking with journalists during the peaceful protest yesterday, the Umu-Aye Secretary, Mr. Nwakanma Agi, stated that the community has experienced serious infrastructural and human capital development neglect by the operators of the facility.

He said despite efforts made by the land donors to have the company come to understand their plight and proffer a lasting solution to it, the company continued to allegedly neglect their demands.

Agi, who noted that they are major landlords of TotalEnergies, disclosed that more than 60 percent of the company’s facilities are on their land, yet they hardly feel the impact of their presence.

“The essence of this protest is that since we gave our land to TotalEnergies more than 50 years ago, we have not benefited from what we are supposed to benefit.

“In 1999, we had a resolution, and they employed a few of our indigenes. That was the last time they employed people from the Umu-Aye community.

“Those people who were employed have all retired; no new person has been employed from our communities. The major contracts are given to outsiders, and what they give to our people are just menial jobs like grass cutting. The major jobs are given to outsiders.

“If you look at the flow station here, we have more than one thousand workers. Our community people who are working there are not more than 20.

“Every day, companies come into this place to do one job or the other. We don’t have a stake. We have a community relations department here, in that department, no indigene of Umu-Aye community is working there.”

Agi further alleged land land-grabbing incident in their land saying, “Apart from the original land that was taken from us, in addition, they recently took another land for the upgrade of their facilities.

“We don’t have any agreement for that land, so it’s as good as grabbing our land. In fact, the people are even saying they want their land back because they are not benefiting from their relationship with Total.”

He added, “We are demanding employment. Our children are not employed. For the past 27 years, no employment for Umu-Aye sons and daughters. We want to be part of the major contracts that are going on in our community, in our land.

“We cannot be here, and they bring people from outside to do major jobs. Any job that is above five million, they count the Umu-Aye man out. Meanwhile, we have qualified contractors, we have qualified people, and we have people who can do the jobs.

“Our children are qualified in all the professions and fields. Are you taking civil engineering, are you talking of mechanical engineering, are you talking of petroleum engineering? We have them. But each time they will do something that looks like an interview and they will come and tell us that our children are not qualified, out children did not pass the interview. We don’t want that again.”

Speaking on environmental pollution, he stressed that, “They (TotalEnergies) have a Flare Pit over there, they are supposed to be paying us but they are not paying us.

“They emptied their waste in one of our lands over there. That land is completely damaged. Apart from the ones they have taken, even the ones they left for us, they are devastating it.

“There is PIA here, but the Umu-Aye family is not benefitting from it. And of course, employment is not part of PIA’s responsibility and apart from PIA, contracts are still going on here, so will they use PIA as an excuse to exclude us from contracts?”

A woman leader from the family, Blacky Moses, said they no longer have access to their ancestral land, even as farmers.

“We are here to express displeasure with the way they are using us. For example; we don’t have access to our land occupied by TotalEnergies. We have graduates, but there is no employment for both males and females of this community. Every day the company employs workers, but when we approach them they say there is no vacancy.

“There is no contract for our community people. Our children are just lying about because they have nothing to do. Since 1999, there is no employment for our people. That same year our people fought before they could listen to us; by then, I was with my second son.”

Mrs. Moses lamented, saying, “Presently, our cassava, cocoyam are not producing because of pollution. They have used the oil to pollute everywhere, and we are suffering from bad sight and other illnesses because of the flare.

They are supposed to do something for us because we are the landlord. The women are suffering; they are supposed to be supporting us with some stipends. The pollution is seriously affecting us, our crops are not producing well, also some of our women have entered early menopause,” she added.