Delta plans workshop on ethnic crises
...as Shell chiefs plead for peace in Warri
By Uwakwe Abugu
Bureau
Chief, Warri
In a bid to find
lasting solution to the problem of ethnic crisis in the state and across the
Niger Delta, the Delta Sate Government is planning a stakeholders’
workshop on ethnic conflicts in the Niger Delta and on the operation of
multinational companies in the region.
The event billed for
the conference centre of the Petroleum Training Institute, Effurun, between
September 5 and 7 is coming on the heels of passionate appeals by the out-going
Managing Director of Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), Mr. Chris
Finlayson, and his deputy, Mr.
Joshua Udofia, to the Niger Delta people to restore Warri’s past glory
and other parts of the region.
The workshop which is
being organised by the state Commissioner for Special Duties (Ethnic Relation
and Conflict Resolutions), Mr. Ovuozorie Macaulay, will be chaired by the Akwa
Ibom State Governor, Obong Victor Attah. The Delta Governor, Chief James
Ibori is the chief host, while the
Minister of Police Affairs, Alaowei Broderick Bozimo, will be the special guest
of honour as well as all the South South governors, who have been designated
guests of honour.
According to Macaulay,
the three-day workshop has three objectives: To sensitise the multinational
companies to jettison their plans to downsize their workforce or relocate from
Delta State; to elicit public opinion on the activities of the multinational
companies operating in the area; and to educate communities on the need to
adopt more appropriate strategies in demanding that opportunities be given to
them to participate in the development of their areas.
According to a
statement from the commissioner’s office, the workshop is another step
aimed at consolidating the gains of the present peace efforts of the state
government which have ushered in some measure of peace in the Warri areas.
Meanwhile, Shell
chiefs - Finlayson and Udofia - last week appraised their operations
vis-à-vis the crises that have plagued Warri areas where the oil firms
do a substantial part of their business.
Finlayson, who spoke
at a send-forth party organised for Udofia in Warri, said: “I think that
our safety record still does not lead where we aspire to be. We have continued
to have too many work-related fatalities, and despite the sterling efforts of
the security forces, we have suffered from a level of bunkering and the crime
that goes with that.”
He appealed for better
understanding from the communities to enable the company operate in a better
atmosphere.
Udofia, who was
honoured for his new appointment and posting to London, recalled the good old
days when Warri was crisis-free and harmony was the order of the day.
He explained that he
first came to Warri in 1972 “and I was surprised at one thing because
Warri was one town that didn’t
sleep. I have been to many places and by that time, Warri never slept.
As a bachelor, you could go on night outings even till 2 a.m and walk the
length and breadth of the Warri/Sapele Road and there will be people there.
“It is actually
unfortunate that we are losing that special glory of Warri. It is my prayer
that all of you will do whatever you can to restore peace that was actually
there in Warri in those days,” he stated.
