Twelve oil-producing communities from the Ekeremor and Southern Ijaw Local Areas of Bayelsa State are angry with the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) over what they termed ill-treatment meted on them by the oil firm.
But, in response, a spokesperson for the SPDC, Michael Adande, said: “We are engaging the leadership of the communities for a peaceful resolution of the issues raised.”
The aggrieved communities, under the auspices of the Iduwini, Mein, Kou and Bassan Cluster Development Boards, are host to SPDC EA oilfield in Bayelsa.
Their lamentations cut across issues of employment, contacts, lack of basic social amenities, neglect and debt.
They have, therefore, issued a 21-day notice to Shell to pay them an outstanding $14 million, or they would disrupt oil production.
They also demanded that the SPDC should review upward annual development funding from $1million to $10 million to the cluster boards.
Protesting the unfair treatment at a press conference in Yenagoa, chairman of the EA Host Communities CDC Chairmen Forum, Biraladei Brisibe, claimed that the $14 million debt was for sea anchorage for vessels deployed by Shell. He said the outstanding money accumulated from 2006 till date.
Brisibe, chairman of Ekeni Community Development Committee (CDC), lamented that 80 members of the host communities, who were engaged by Shell in the ongoing oil drilling campaign to acquire experience, had been left redundant and paid “stay-at-home allowance for the past one year.”
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He also claimed that Shell was marginalising the communities despite their hospitable disposition, adding that development had eluded the coastline settlements because the oil firm was not implementing the Global Memorandum of Understanding (GMoU) it signed with them.
Flora Elliot, the women leader, called on the Federal Government and relevant stakeholders in the oil and gas industry to prevail on Shell to address the communities’ demands before the three-week notice elapsed.
She said: “SPDC should address our demands as agreed upon by our men, women and the youths. If we go to the ocean, they have polluted it. We cannot do fishing.
“As women, we don’t gain anything. Little contracts that we can do, they will not give us. They said 15 per cent is for women, but will not give us. They are also dictating to us on projects instead of us deciding what we want.”
Also, the youth leader, Ebiwaremi Daniel, warned that they would not back down on their threat to occupy the EA oilfield if Shell failed to meet their demands.
“SPDC should comply with our demands and failure to do so after the 21 days of ultimatum, we will shut down the EA oilfield, and there is no going back. This time around, we will shut down the system.
“Let SPDC leave the operation in the EA field and let us go back to our normal fishing activities. As host communities, we have been treated as slaves.”
