NEDU MARK, YENAGOA
Following the crisis that rocked Egbebiri, an Ijaw Community in Bayelsa state, the Joint Military Task Force, JTF in the Niger Delta, codenamed Operation Pulo Shield, has dispatched a 10-man team to mediate in the crisis between Agip and its host community which has led to disruption of oil production.
The Egbebiri community shut down six oil wells belonging to the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC), accusing the company of neglecting its corporate social responsibility to the people.
The aggrieved community members, comprising youths and women, barricaded the gate to the company’s facility with trees branches denying access to the oil wells.
A visit by our Correspondent to the Idu Oil fields Thursday, showed that the six wells that were shut down last Tuesday still remained shut.
Chairman of the Ijaw Youths Council in Egbebiri, Mr John Aniedima, said that the military personnel were already in the community to seek peaceful resolution of the crisis.
“The soldiers, numbering 10 are in the community to appeal that we open the blocked access roads and reopen the shut oil wells, they are not here to forcefully reopen the roads and wells, they are persuading us,” he said.
“We explained our position to them and the wells remain shut that is the situation as we speak, he stressed.”
He said further that “I am told that Agip had invited representatives of the community to a meeting at their Port Harcourt Office but we insisted that the meeting be held in our community,”
Chief Aniedima Nicholas, Paramount ruler of Egbebiri community said that the people disrupted oil production in the area because of NAOC’s refusal to renew the memorandum of understanding with the community.
The Monarch said the maiden agreement signed in 2001 lapsed in 2005, but efforts to get the oil firm to renew it had proved abortive.
“Our grievances are due to the insensitive posture of Agip to our developmental needs. Our needs and expectations are captured in that agreement and if you look at the few amenities we have here, they are products of the first agreement.
“From 2005 till date, Agip abdicated its role and that stagnated development here.The road you see was from that agreement. We have waited for too long and decided to take this final step.
“We are prepared to go to any length to bring them to the negotiation table, to pay us our outstanding liabilities for jobs done by the community for more than one year.
“Our surveillance jobs on their pipelines have continued in spite of the heavy debts owed us as well as pending compensation for oil spills since 2010,” Chief Nicholas said.
Contacted, Mr Filippo Cotalini, International Media Manager at Eni, the parent company of NAOC, said on Wednesday that the firm was investigating the incident and would issue a statement as soon as possible.
