Mike Odiegwu, Port Harcourt
Aggrieved Ijaw youths have urged International Oil Companies (IOCs) in the Niger Delta region to fulfil their obligations to their host communities especially the ones contained in Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) they signed with such communities.
The youths under the auspices of the Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) accused the multinational oil companies of neglecting their pacts with many of their host communities in the region.
The Chairman, IYC, Eastern Zone, James Tobin, who spoke in Port Harcourt at the weekend, said the council was inundated with reports of oil companies abandoning promises contained in Global Memorandum of Understanding (GMoU) they signed with their host communities.
He said lack of commitments by the multinationals had caused joblessness among the youths insisting that if the companies had operated within their agreements, the youths would have been properly engaged in meaningful ventures.
Tobin particularly appealed to the Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited to invest in the security in their areas of operations especially offshore Bonny and Akwa Ibom State.
He said the council would mobilise Ijaw youths to occupy major oil installations in the region if companies continued their alleged non-challant attitude to their agreements.
He said the IOCs refused to renew expired GMoUs while communities that were supposed to be captured in such agreements had been neglected by the oil multinationals.
He said: “The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide is founded to seek equity, equality and justice for our people in order to improve their standard of living, development and environmental health.
“All companies operating within the Ijaw nation in particular and of course the Niger Delta at large must ensure that they do not in any way, violate our sacred values. Although, we look forward to having the best of cordial and mutual relationships with all IOCs and NOCs in our territory, our friendly disposition should not be taken for granted.
“We have however; discovered insincerity in the operational mechanism of these oil companies especially the Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited and this has led to increasing tension in oil-producing communities.
“The Council has refused to be passive while the Ijaws are being shortchanged on their land. We have been inundated with complaints of how these companies abandon their agreements with the host communities shortly after signing a memorandum of understanding with them.
“Henceforth, we have mapped an action plan to occupy all major installations and facilities belonging to these companies if they continued to treat their social responsibilities with kid gloves.
“We have received reports of companies failing to renew expired GMoUs with their host communities. We have also observed that these companies have refused to sign agreements with some host communities.”
Tobin added: “What we need is peace and security as such all actions by IOC’s that are capable of causing chaos in our region should be avoided. How can IOC use military excort there people to work onshore and offshore like in Bonny and Eket, while our people die and suffer in the hands of sea pirates because they can’t afford security operatives to guide them?”
