The elected President Generals of host Communities in OML34, Delta State, have vowed to shutdown operations over alleged ill-treatment, negligence and failed promises by Management of NNPC E&P Ltd and ND Western Ltd Joint Venture.
They expressed total displeasure on issues that borders on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) which the operators have failed to fulfilled to the OML 34 Host Communities.
This was made known in a press release made available to newsmen on Monday in Warri, Delta State, and jointly signed by Akpos Maduku, PG Otor-Udu; Francis Uzoh, PG Effurun Otor; Edafe Kporharo, PG Ekakpamre; Solomon Okorodudu, PG Eruemukowharien; Stephen Asheshe, PG Okpare-Olomu; Pastor Moses Odata, PG Uwviamuge and 20 others.
“We wish to place on record that for the past one year, the 28 Host Communities of OML34 have been engaged in a running battle with the Management of NNPC E&P Ltd and ND Western Ltd Joint Venture over issues that borders on their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)/failed promises to the OML 34 Host Communities.”
” Our demands are non-payment of four years scholarship arrears spanning through 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 respectively. Non-payment of penalty fines from the expired GMoU spanning through a period of 2016-2019. Non-payment of Peace Award of 2022. Non-payment of Courtesy Call of 2023.”
” The Host Communities from the Utorogu, Ughelli East and Ughelli West fields (numbering 28 Communities) that have been operating one GMoU before the PIA came into force, want their own separate “Host Communities Development Trust“ (HCDT) from those Communities in the Warri River field that are in OML 34. Since the PIA is yet to kick off, the first tranche of the 2023 GMoU should be paid to the OML 34 Community Development Board (CDB) to enable it carry out some developmental projects in the communities and the amount so released should be deducted at source when the PIA 3% fund is eventually released.”
” This is because uptill now, the Management of NNPC E&P Ltd and ND Western Ltd Joint Venture are yet to call a meeting of the representatives of the Communities to pick the final names to be used for the incorporation of the OML 34 Host Communities Development Trust in addition to picking the name to be used to register the OML 34 Host Community Development Trust with the Corporate Affairs Commission at Abuja.”
They noted that there is non pensionable employment of the indigenes of the OML 34 Host Communities by the Management of ND Western Ltd from their quota of 45% equity participating shares since the Company acquired the OML 34 Oil and Gas facilities from SPDC in 2012 till date.
” It will be recalled that the Management of SDPC gave pensionable employments to the indigenes of the OML 34 Host Communities from their 45% equity participating shares while managing the OML 34 Oil and Gas facilities and some of these persons rose to the positions of Managers and Senior Staff of the Company before retirement and they are today drawing Pensions and Gratuities from SPDC. This was even before the Local Content Act came into force in 2010.”
According to them, a list few of OML34 indigenes who graduated with First Class and Second Class Upper Division or their equivalent in the field of Engineering and the Sciences had been forwarded to the operators for employment as Permanent Staff in line with Article 28(2), Local Content Act.