The Bonny Chamber of Commerce, Mines and Agriculture (BOCCIMA) has expressed worry over the prolonged disruptions at the site of Train 7 project of the Nigeria Liquified Natural Gas Limited (NLNG) in Bonny Island, Rivers state.
Recall that a dispute between labour unions and management of the EPC, contractors for the project, has led disruption of progress of work at the site.
BOCCIMA president, Sir Amairigha Edward Hart, in a statement yesterday, noted that the $12billion Train 7 is a huge project, which at the moment provides a major source of economic transformation in Bonny Island, and hope, especially, in the gas sector of the Nigerian economy.
Hart said: “The Train 7 project has employed many Nigerians in hundreds and thousands as well as engaged several businesses directly and indirectly aside expectations on proposed corporate social responsibilities and business opportunities for BOCCIMA members.
“Disruptions and scale down of operations at the project site does not necessarily help the controversial issue on union negotiations which we believe should be managed internally without affecting other stakeholders that depend on the project for sustenance. Rather, a continual operation of the project site with more strategic engagement would more likely facilitate a faster resolution of the dispute.
“As a Chamber, we will thus suggest the activities at the project site be managed with best practices and hereby call on all parties concerned within the dispute to seek a more amicable option in resolving their issues at this period the Country’s economy is undergoing a lot of challenges thereby affecting so many families and businesses.”
Meanwhile, the National Association of Plant Operators (NAPO) has criticised the management of Daewoo Engineering and Construction Nigeria Limited, one of the joint venture partners in the NLNG Train 7 project, for directing workers to evacuate from the site.
Addressing workers at the Workers’ Village in Bonny yesterday, NAPO President, Harold Benstowe, said the reasons adduced by Daewoo management for the evacuation were not genuine enough as the company had never cared about the security of the workers.
Benstowe said: “I want to use this opportunity to address the workers that are domiciled in the workers village. This is in respect to the memo that is making the rounds. Please everyone should stay put. There is no need to panic.
“You don’t just see a memo from the management and you decide to be on your heels. You should all overlook the memo for the time being until you hear further directive form the national president of NAPO.
“First of all, the management of Daewoo is releasing a memo for the evacuation of workers on the grounds that they cannot guarantee the security and protection of her staff. Have they always guaranteed the security of staff since the start of the project?
“Instead, they have been on the frontburner of violating the fundamental rights of the Nigerian workers that are members of NAPO, sending cultists, sending some of the security agencies led by Anthony Effiong, Mbe and the DPO of Finima, SUPO Abubakar Usman Sadiq to continue to violate the rights of Nigerian workers that are members of NAPO under the employ of Daewoo Engineering and Construction Nigeria Limited.
“They have been the ones sending the security agents to attack them. Why are they saying now that they cannot guarantee the safety of their workers as if they have always been there for them?
“Everybody should standby until we are convinced that they have made adequate arrangements, one, for their traveling allowance and two, for their standby salaries. We want to be convinced that these salaries would be adequately and in line with the law; not to just pay whatever they wish to workers.”
