Oil Exploration: Anambra Community Protests Environmental Degradation, Lack of Amenities, Seek Urgent Help

David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka

Indigenes of Ogwu Ikpele in Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State have protested the activities of an oil exploration company, Sterling Petroleum Energy Exploration Company (SPEECO), in their community.

The indigenes chose the 10th anniversary of SPEECO in their community to stage a protest, calling for government attention over their plight, which mostly centers on a lack of corporate social responsibility by the company and of basic amenities.

In a two-day protest held on Friday and Saturday, members of the community who trooped out with placards lamented the lack of tarred roads, hospitals, electricity, pipe-borne water, and others.

Youths, women, children, and elderly people marched through the community in protest, saying SPEECO’s 10 years of oil exploration on their community has put them in agony, denial, rejection, and degradation.

The President General of the community, its traditional prime minister, and other important personalities who spoke to journalists during the protest stated in one voice that they will no longer accept the activities of the oil exploration company.

The President General of the community, Mr. Esumai Patrick Chukwudi, told journalists that a day before the commencement of the protest, the community had stopped all exploration activities, prompting the management of SPEECO to approach them for a meeting.

Esumai said: “The reason for the gathering and protest is to celebrate 10 years of rejection, humiliation, and insult from SPEECO exploration company, who have been mining oil in our land with nothing to show for it.

“No employment, no road, no water, no hospital, nothing that is coming from them, and we have been begging them since they started operations. There is no metering that will ensure the quantity of oil being moved out of our land, which affects the PIA (Petroleum Industry Act).

“No single person from Anambra is employed. We have a consensus 60/40 agreement on employment for our youths, yet they renewed.

“Yesterday, we shut down all the Wells. We have about 12 wells in Umuokike, seven in Umuayas, seven in Umuugbeleke, Umuogbulishi, and Umuogbu, 12 wells. We shut it down, and that is why they came today for us to dialogue, and we have told them our grievances. They said they are going to fix another meeting.

Also the Traditional Prime Minister of Ogwu Ikpele Kingdom, Chief Akaka Damian Anigboso, Odua Ukwu of Ogwu Ikpele lamented bitterly over the sufferings of his people.

He said: “Our oil is being explored and transferred to the Niger Delta. This is 10 good years SPEECO has been operating in our land, none of the agreement of understanding we signed with them have been fulfilled.

“They promised to give us scholarships from elementary, secondary, university, and up to Master’s Degree. No hospital, no piped-borne water, no electricity, we have made frantic efforts to the Enugu government and Anambra Government but they have neglected us.”

A former member of the House of Representatives from the area, Hon. Chuchu Onyema said: “What the people are doing today is celebrating regret, degradation, and all kinds of bad attitudes coming from the company.

“We have tried to negotiate with them, but for some reason best known to them, but this blockade today was for us to stop them from working and reach a round table talk for the final time. I believe in conflict resolution, not violence. There is social corporate responsibility.

“We are supposed to be receiving three per cent of what is metered, but nothing to show for it. The only street light you see in Ogwu Ikpele is the one I attracted when I was in the House of Reps. Other development projects are from the state government, yet we have an oil company mining our natural resources.

“Efforts to reach representatives of the company proved abortive as they declined to speak to journalists, saying the company’s public relations officer will officially address the media much later.”