Rivers: Land Donors To TotalEnergies Protest Alleged Neglect, Marginalisation

The Umu Aye community in Ogbogu Town, Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni local government area of Rivers Statel, has protested an alleged neglect and marginalisation by international oil company (IOC), TotalEnergies.

The protesters, who said they were the principal land donors of Ogbogu Flow Station and associated facilities of OML 58, expressed sadness over 27 years of alleged neglect by the energy multinational.

They alleged that since 1999, no son or daughter of Umu-Aye has been employed in the multinational oil company, even when they have qualified people who are graduates and have the requisite qualifications for positions in the oil company.

The protesters, made up of mostly women with placards bearing messages, accused the multinational oil company of refusing to give contracts and employment to the people of their host community, despite being landlords of the flow station.

Some of the placards read: ‘No employment since 1999’, ‘We need our land’, ‘No MoU since 1999’, and ‘Give us local content contract’, amongst others.

Speaking to journalists, a community leader, Pastor Nwakanma Agi, said five families that make up the Umu-aye community were involved in the protest, saying that they owned more than 60 per cent of the land on which the facilities are located.

“The essence of this protest is that since we gave our land to Total more than 50 years go, we have not benefitted what we are supposed to benefit. In 1999, we had a resolution and they employed a few of our indigenes. That was the last time they employed people from Umuaye community.

“And those people who were employed have all retired, no new person have been employed from our communities. The major contracts are given to outsiders, what they give to our people is just menial jobs like grass-cutting. The major jobs are given to outsiders.

“If you look at the flow station here, we have more than one thousand workers. Our community people who are working there are not more than 20. Everyday companies come into this place to do one job or the other. We don’t have a stake,” Agi said.

Also speaking to journalists, woman leader of Umu-aye community, Mrs. Blacky Moses, said Total Energies has refused to give employment to youths of the community who are qualified.

Moses said: “We are here to express displeasure on the way they are using us. For example; we don’t have access to our land occupied by TotalEnergies. We have graduates but there is no employment for both male and female of this community. Every day the company is employing workers, but when we approach them they say there is no vacancy.

“There is no contract for our community people. Our children are just loittering about because they have nothing doing. Since 1999 there is no employment for our people, that same year our people fought before they could listen to us, by then I was with my second son.

“Presently, our cassava, coco-india is not producing because of pollution. They have used the oil to pollute everywhere, we are suffering bad sight and other illnesses because of the flare.

“They are supposed to do something for us because we are the landlord. The women are suffering, they are supposed to be supporting us with some stipends. The pollution is seriously affecting us, our crops are not producing well, also some of our women entered early menopause.”