The Federal Government has been accused of “aiding and abetting the evil of International Oil Companies like Chevron and Shell,” against the Itsekiri People of Delta and Edo States.
This was the position of the National Association of Itsekiri Graduates, NAIG in a statement released Friday July 22 while reacting to alleged moves by Chevron Nigeria Limited, CNL to shortchange Itsekiri people in the recruitment of some personnel to “fix a part of the Escravos Gas To Liquid, EGTL plant that has technical issues”.
National President of NAIG, Comrade Edema Collins Oritsetimeyin who issued the statement on behalf of the association, berated the Federal Government, saying “the Federal Government has not shown any difference from previous governments which saw interventionist agencies like the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC being used as organs of appointments to reward loyalists”.
While wondering the reason behind Chevron’s apprehension “that the Niger Delta is unsafe for their corporate headquarters, whereas Chevron has been operating in Iraq, Syria and other places in the Middle East that are more volatile than the Niger Delta,” NAIG reiterated its earlier position that it “will resist any attempt to shortchange Itsekiri in EGTL” and enjoined the Oil and Gas Major to deal directly with the Olu of Warri Palace, pending when the Itsekiri Regional Development Committee, IRDC leadership crisis is resolved”.
The statement enjoined Chevron to “urgently call successful candidates who participated in the 2014 recruitment exercise in Protea Hotel, Warri as well as ensure the immediate conversion of all VIP5 trainees without further delay” and expressed sadness that the Delta State government has not deemed it fit to prevail on Chevron to relocate its corporate headquarters to Warri “despite the fact that local government workers in the State have not been paid for about seven months,” coupled with the fact that it would boost the state internally generated revenue.
According to the Itsekiri graduates’ body, “NNPC has not employed any Itsekiri person either directly or through her subsidiaries like the WRPC, NGC and NPDC for the past thirteen years, despite playing host to majority of their operations and Escravos hosting the NNPC Tank Farm,” adding that, “NNPC conducted employment in 2003, 2008 and 2013 without any Itsekiri employed”.
NAIG queried, “how can one explain a situation where Shell that is building a multi billion naira ‘Don Gas Plant’ in Otumara Warri South-West will remove all administrative office from Warri just to render our people unemployed”.
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