Sylvester Idowu in Warri
The operations of Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) is now under threat following a crisis that engulfed Sokebolou Community Trust in Ogulagha kingdom in Burutu Local Government area of Delta State.
Sokebolou Community Trust is a sub-unit of the Ogulagha Kingdom Cluster Development Board (OKCDB) under the Global Memorandum of Understanding, (GMoU) operated by Shell Petroleum Development Company, (SPDC) and communities in Ogulagha Kingdom.
The crisis according to THISDAY investigations, arose over alleged mismanagement of the purpose for which the GMoU was entered into with SPDC by Sokebolou Trust put in place for its implementation.
A member of the Sekobolou Community Trust, Mr. Freedom Adowei Binaebi, in reaction to the development, resigned his membership of the committee.
Adowei’s resignation was disclosed through a letter addressed to the Chairman of the Community Trust dated 16th January 2020, a copy of which was made available to THISDAY.
Binaebi, who has been a member of the Sokebolou Community Trust since the inception of the current board, said he resigned for reasons very personal to him in the letter.
The letter reads ”I, Mr. Freedom Adowei Binebai who has been a member of the Sekebolou Community Trust from the inception of the current board wish to officially write and inform you of my intention.
“With reference to the above subject matter, I wish to resign my membership of the Sekobolou Community Trust of Ogulagha kingdom upon receipt of this letter for reasons best known to me and”, it stated.
But speaking with THISDAY, Adowei alleged that his reasons for resignation, though personal, was based on his conviction that the GMoU was a scam to members of the Development Board.
According to him, as members of the Sokebolou Community Trust, it ought to be their responsibility to sample the opinions of members of Sokebolou community to know projects that were needed to be executed in the community noting that, as a member of such vital Trust, he has been unaware of all the dealings with regards to the implementation of the GMoU.
Adowei noted that based on his insistence that due process should be followed, some members of the Community Trust were surreptitiously moving to undo him, stressing that, “there are lots of issues surrounding award of scholarships with the host of other issues as member of the community Trust.”
The Community Liaison Officer of SPDC, who said he was not authorised to speak on the issue, however confided in THISDAY that the crisis was becoming a threat to the operations of the company.
