Community Petitions Oil Firm Over Gas Flaring, Local Content Implementation

Angry youths and other residents of oil-bearing community of Eastern Obolo local government area of Akwa Ibom State have expressed dismay at the widespread devastation and gas flaring caused by the exploration activities of oil firms in the area.

LEADERSHIP gathered that tension has been heightened with the aggrieved residents issuing a two-week ultimatum to Sumedha Energy Limited over alleged marginalisation, rights abuses and failure to honour employment agreements in line with the local content provision in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).

In a strongly worded petition titled “A Letter of Protestation with a Petition for Justice, Human Rights, and an Unequivocal Demand for Liberation,” the aggrieved youths accused the company of systemic neglect and exploitation of the host community.

The firm, formerly known as Sterling Oil Exploration and Energy Production Company Limited, the petition alleged, has sidelined qualified indigenes in jobs, but favoured non indigenous workers in managerial and technical positions, including General Managers, Base Managers, Engineers, Accountants and ICT Supervisors.

The petitioners recalled the February 2024 confrontation between community workers and the company, alleging that security operatives deployed to quell the protest, used force against the locals demanding fair treatment and improved welfare conditions.

Although a tripartite meeting reportedly held after the crisis was resolved to address employment concerns and enhance workers’ welfare, the protesters claimed that none of the resolutions had been implemented.

According to them, while Eastern Obolo provides the land and oil resources that sustain the company’s operations, indigenes are relegated to casual and menial roles, often without formal employment letters or competitive salaries.

“We drink polluted water, breathe contaminated air and endure gas flaring heat, yet we are denied meaningful employment in our own land,” the petition stated.

The group further alleged that local employees who demand improved conditions are either demoted or dismissed on flimsy grounds, whereas similar complaints raised by workers in Lagos are promptly handled through structured human resources channels.

Beyond employment concerns, the youths accused the firm of forceful land acquisition for pipelines and other operational facilities without adequate consultation, leading to the shutdown of creeks and disruption of fishing activities until the intervention of Governor Umo Eno.

They also raised environmental concerns, alleging pollution of water sources, excessive gas flaring and noise pollution from heavy equipment.

At the February 2024 meeting, convened after workers’ strike led by Hon. Ukomkpa Bernard Okonko and attended by the then Transition Chairman of Eastern Obolo LGA, Hon. Uro Bill Nango, the parties reportedly agreed to immediately employ qualified indigenes, regularise staff without contracts, review salaries upward, appoint locals into key human resource and managerial roles, and establish a Community Affairs Department headed by a community representative.

However, the petitioners alleged that the implementation committee set up thereafter became ineffective and allegedly served private interests rather than the broader community.

Invoking the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act (NOGICD) 2010, monitored by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, the youths insisted that host communities are entitled to specific employment quotas.

They, therefore, demanded 100 percent allocation of unskilled roles to community members, 50 percent of semi-skilled labour, 10 percent of skilled positions, 20 percent operational phased jobs and 30 percent project-based training opportunities.

Copies of the petition, signed by Comrades Sylvanus Franks, Friday Peter George, Ezekiel Warribo and Kpunuataene Robert, had been copied to the Eastern Obolo LGA Chairman, the Commissioner for Labour and Productivity, security agencies and relevant federal authorities.

The group warned that the community would no longer “condone the excesses” of the company and insisted that failure to address their demands within two weeks could escalate tensions in the coastal oil-producing area.

Spokesman for the firm, Mr. Aniekeme Finbarr, said the firm has yet to receive the petition, promising that all the grievance areas would be addressed when the petition is received by the company.