Hundreds of Itsekiri and Ijaw youths from the Nigerian coastal communities of Warri South and South-West Local Government areas of Delta State, yesterday, protested against oil giant, Pan Ocean Oil Company, operator of the NNPC Joint Venture over allegations of marginalisation and disregard for the Federal Government local content policy.
The protesters, who arrived the Ogunu, Warri operational base of the company as early as 6 am, barricaded the entrance of the company and shut out workers, who reported for duty for over five hours, with placards, some of which read: Give our local nominated contractors jobs, Youths of host community to project must be empowered, We are not fools, No agreement with us no job on our lands, We have competent local contractors also among others.
Speaking to newsmen on the protest, Johnbull Edema, Bawo Emami and Besidone Odonghanro expressed regret that Pan Ocean was not putting the host communities into consideration in the course of executing the multi-million naira pipeline laying job that cuts across Ugborodo, Deghele, Okogho Seikoru, Makaraba, Obontie, Omadino, Obaghoro, Bobi and many other riverine communities.
They maintained that the protest was a warning one, as they had many actions planned against Pan Ocean. The protest, coordinated under the aegis of Amalgamated Communities of Pan Ocean Amukpe-Escravos Pipeline project, AEPP, caused heavy vehicular traffic on the busy SPDC/Ogunu Road for several hours, as the youths insisted that not awarding the jobs to their nominated contractors would render youths of the area jobless while providing jobs for people from far away places.
They said they had qualified and competent nominees as contractors with the requisite expertise and financial muscles to execute the contract and charged Pan Ocean to abide by the local content policy and follow due process in contract award, instead of imposing contractors on them.