Youths vacate Shell, Chevron facilities
From Kelvin Ebiri (Port Harcourt
FOR proper negotiations to take place, the restive youths of Kula community in Akuku Toru Local Council of Rivers State have ended their siege to four flow- stations belonging to Shell and Chevron in the area.
The Guardian learnt that the youths vacated the oil facilities following a peace deal brokered by the Rivers State Government.
And because of a major problem experienced in one of its flow stations in the area, Shell has complained that it is now losing up to 100,000 barrels of oil per day. This loss according to sources in the company, is not directly connected to the Kula siege.
A government source told The Guardian yesterday that a delegation which the Deputy Governor, Gabriel Toby sent to Kula on Monday and led by House of Assembly member Tonye Harry, was said to have persuaded the people to abandon the their siege to the oil facilities so that proper dialogue could take place.
Based on this, a meeting was slated to hold in Port Harcourt. Assured that the government was determined to address their grievances, the people were said to have suspended their protest pending the resolution of the issues that caused the occupation of Shell and Chevron facilities.
A source in Shell who also confirmed this to The Guardian said about 20 youths who were left
behind by the protesters quit the flow stations yesterday afternoon.
He said that a meeting had been scheduled to take place among the Rivers State government, community representatives, Shell and Chevron with the sole objective of taking a realistic look at the issues and how to resolve them.
The source added that all the 75 workers held hostage during the siege were all hale and hearty. However, same was not applicable to the company, which was losing over 70,000 barrels of oil per day as a result of the crisis in Kula.
"It was gathered that a problem occurred in one of Shell's facilities at Santa Barbara. The facility there was said to have tripped off. As a result, we have decided not to go and work on it because of the problem we are facing in Kula. We are losing some 100.000 barrels per day now. This has nothing to do with the problem in the community," the Shell source said.
The decision of the indigenes of Kula to vacate the flow stations marked a shift in their earlier stance not to leave the occupied facilities until a memorandum of understanding was signed among them, government and the oil companies concerned.
The people's grievance stemmed from what they described as sheer neglect of the community which they claimed has four flow stations, three gas injection plants and four manifolds.
According to a spokesman of the community, Mr. Dan Opusinji, despite oil exploration activities taking place in Kula for the past 46 years, the natives have been living in abject poverty.
He had accused the Rivers and Federal governments of being insensitive to the plight of the people.
Opusinji had said: "We are suffering. We are in abject poverty. We cannot relent now on our demands. We are going to remain in the platforms until a memorandum of understating among the oil companies, federal government and the community is signed. So that at the end, we will be holding a document. It's been 46 years and the Kula man has decided to rise."
A source told The Guardian that one salient issue to be addressed during the negotiations would be that of a memorandum of understanding.
The deputy governor had on Monday called on oil companies operating in the state to take the issue of their corporate responsibility serious to avert crisis in their host communities.
|
