Ijaw Youths Council Worldwide (IYC) has threatened to disrupt the activities of the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) in the Eastern and Western region over alleged violation of Nigerian content laws and the deprivation of its host communities and local contractors of oil and gas sector jobs, and businesses among others.
The national spokesman of the IYC, Comrade Ebilade Ekerefe, told journalists that despite the intervention of senior officials of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), the SPDC terminated jobs meant for indigenous contractors.
He said contracts that ought to be awarded to local contractors in the Niger Delta region as well as jobs are given to relatives of expatriates and other Nigerians at the helm of affairs of these multinationals thereby depriving the locals of their rights, describing the situation as unacceptable.
Ekerefe said local contractors from the Niger Delta region have met all value procurement requirements by the certifying bodies in the country to qualify to be awarded such contracts and be gainfully employed in those fields, expressing regret at the actions of the SPDC and other oil multinationals operating in the region.
He said, “The Ijaw Nation is troubled and angered by the ongoing deliberate deprivation and oppression against indigenes of host communities by the SPDC. It is an open fact that we are one of the major producers of crude oil in Nigeria and in view of our agitations for improved regulations of the oil and gas industry and the bloody sacrifices were made for peace to prevail for an improved crude oil explorations and end to militancy in the region.
“Despite the known sacrifices that had led to the existing Local Content Act and the Petroleum Industry Act, it is worthy to note that these companies that are supposed to abide by the laws are not obeying them. These are laws to regulate the involvement of indigenes of host communities in the businesses of crude oil exploration and the benefits to the people that kept the peace and assist in the security of the nation’s wealth.
“But it is an open fact that these oil multinationals, including the SPDC, Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) and others, have showed high level of disdain to host community indigenes with little or no benefits. Even the few small jobs being handled by indigenous contractors are being taken away from them. A case point is the GA Logistics Service Contracts. The small contract, which entails supply of speedboats and other logistics materials for the use of the security personnel stationed at the oil facilities in and around the host communities.
“Until now, this security contract was handled by indigenous oil host communities. But SPDC is taking away the said GSA contracts from the indigenous contractors and planning to give same to non-Indigenous contractors. In fact, SPDC had already sent termination notices to the indigenous contractors before the process was suspended after much protests from oil host communities. Just as they give contracts that ought to be done by local contractors to their relatives and subsidiary companies, they also give available employment opportunities that ought to be given to the indigenes of the host communities to their own relatives to the detriment of the people of the host communities.”
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