AKANIMO SAMPSON

ROW OVER $20M CLAIM BY BAYELSA COMMUNITY

COMMUNITY youths in Ekeremor Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, say they are yet to settle with the Anglo-Dutch oil and gas major, Shell, on their protracted agitation for the sum of $20 million as compensation for the ills of the company in their area.

They told our correspondent on Friday that they are still boiling over the alleged socio-economic and environmental sins of Shell, in their area.

But the subsidiary of the Anglo-Dutch oil corporation in Nigeria, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) says there is no need to split hairs in the Ijaw community. The Warri office of the company in Delta State is claiming that community development projects in the area has so far gulped over N800 million.

The company’s claim does not seem to be going down well with some of the aggrieved youths under the banner of Concerned Iduwini , a radical group in Ekeremor. The group which is galvanised by Johnson Biboye, has always been accusing the oil giant of not honouring agreements reached with oil-bearing communities in the area.

“The crude activities of Shell in Ekeremor in the past 39 years, have led to lost of lives, and loss of traditional occupations. As a result of oil spills, our people can no longer farm and fish”, Biboye said on phone.

According to him, a rig which the oil company allegedly abandoned in their river has so far claimed the lives of over 40 fisherfolks in the area. For the alleged industrial negligence, the Ekeremor youths are demanding the sum of $20 million as compensation for the families of the fisherfolks who lost their lives.

The youths who were first locked in confrontation with the company in the middle of 2006, are also pressing for the immediate reinstatement of all community persons who were dropped as Shell workers in 2001 as well as payment of their full entitlements.

They are also asking for speedy implementation of all agreements the company reached with communities within the Bonga oil field. To avoid some unpleasant consequences, they want the oil company to meet their demands within the shortest possible time.

In the mean time, the Ekeremor youths say they will likely be in support of any proposal by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) or any other insurgent group which is aimed at claiming what belongs to the “oppressed and impoverished” peoples of the Niger Delta.

They have also joined in calling on Abuja to begin a genuine programme of developing the riverine communities of the oil region.

Although there was no official confirmation from Shell in Port Harcourt , the Concerned Iduwini says they have made a formal presentation to Shell senior executives in Nigeria on their grievances with the oil company.

A company official in their Warri office which oversees affairs in Bayelsa state however, claimed that Shell will certainly look at their case, pointing out that the company is not opposed to frank dialogue with communities and civil society groups. ENDS.