Delta community threatens to stop oil company’s operations

Operations of the Nigeria Petroleum Development Company may be crippled by the people of Polobubou (Tsekelewu) Community over the refusal of its management to sign the proposed Global Memorandum of Understanding.
The community has threatened a showdown should the company continue to operate in the locality, having been allegedly insensitive to the plights of its host community.
The National Council of the community, in an “Enough is Enough” protest, led by its National President, Ebilate Mac-Yoroki, flanked by other community leaders, lamented that three years after the company acquired the assets of Shell Petroleum Development Company, including over 50 oil wells in the community, its management had not deemed it fit to negotiate with its people.
Mac-Yoroki, who maintained the people of Polobulou are not ignorant of the fact that Shell sold-off its properties to NPDC during a briefing in Warri axis of the state, wondered why the company had in the last three years engaged its host community mischievously.
He said: “When Shell was in charge, the company signed a lease agreement with us. In it was a policy for staff employment and contracts defining stakes to the host community.
“NPDC is an intruder. The company came to our land illegally. If they must operate here, then they should give us fair treatment. We are suffering at the moment.
“Best practices dictate that NPDC signs new lease agreement and negotiates fresh GMoU before taking over the property. Chevron operates here too, with documented GMoU. NPDC is evasive. The management wants to operate with a draft GMoU and with a clause that the treaty will not be effective until it was negotiated and signed by parties in the matter.”
According to Mac-Yoroki, instead of the company to allow the community to include reclamation of land for the host community and scholarship scheme for its sons and daughters in the agreement, it was busy exploiting its people.
He added: “They have even commenced dredging of our river and land without carrying out its Environmental Impact Assessment. It appears the company has nothing in stock for its host community hence they should stop operation in on our land.”