Iwevbo Community To Newcross Petroleum Limited: Call Your Community Relations Officer To Order

By Daniel Dafe

Former community representative to the Orogho Dukedom, Edevbie O. Emmanuel with the entire youths of Iwevbo Community, have called on Newcross Petroleum Limited, the oil company in their community (also known as Ovre-Eku), to call their Community Relations Officer, Williams Ugiabge to order.

Iwevbo community is a settlement of Eku indigenes of Delta State in Edo State.

According to him, Ugiabge has decided to connive with enemies of the community to rob them of their glory.

Edevbie who spoke to Oasis Magazine via a telephone conversation, said: “The last time I checked, Williams Ugiabge is a staff of Newcross Petroleum Limited and not expected to act as a community youth leader that he has turned himself to.

“The same William Ugiabge has abandoned his professional duties and so much prefers position of community agitator (AKA I go die) as he always shows in all meetings and recently displayed in a meeting held in Nigeria Content Development Monitory Board, Warri branch where he was promoting the interest of a particular community that is not among impacted communities to the Newcross operations as clearly stated in the environmental impact assessment.

“The existing laws of oil companies such as the Petroleum Industrial Act demands that every company should deal with their host community directly and as legal personality acting through its staff should represent the company in a good faith and to ensure that the company has a good relationship with the host community. But, I am shocked by the statement made by Williams Ugiabge who is supposed to be more civil in community matters and should be concerned on how his company can work and maintain a good relationship with the host community.

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“We frown at the statement he made to media as to who are original members of our community. He shouldn’t be the one to decide who the members of our community are. He is not in our community; we didn’t recommend him for employment and we do not know him from Adam and he doesn’t know the members of our community. So, I don’t know where he got the information that those who went on protest are not from our community.

“We are also aware that William is advising the suspended representatives to go on counter protest tomorrow, 22 February, 2022.

“The last time we had a meeting at the local content, Williams was there where  everybody who represented the community discuss with one voice and said to the local content board that we have settled all our grievances long ago and Williams himself acknowledged that and he was very happy.
I am very surprised that William could open his mouth to say such things about the host community where he is working and this shows that he is not working for the interest of the company, rather he is playing his own pay master’s script. Because his agitation for Dukedom to reflect in a document meant for host community (Iwevbo) shows and confirms his side.”

Furthermore, he said: “Williams who we expect to be educated and know more about the activities and responsibilities of oil companies is going contrary and making inciting statements that is not even expected from the company gate man.

“We are not surprised that he is having a different agenda in order to exploit our community for his pay master and from the telephone interview with NTA news where he said that if the community want to change a name of trust, he advised the community writes the Enogie of Orogho. The Trust he refers to, was done without involving the host community. We don’t know the members of the Trust and we have requested the Company to register the Trust with the name of the host community (Iwevbo) reflecting in OML 152 and all the members should come from Iwevbo because OML152 is not owned by two communities and information reaching us through the dissolved representative that 99.9% of members of the purported Trust are non-indigenes of the host community as confirmed by William, naming the trust with different name.

“The suspended representatives , Chief Ojo Adjene Okiemute, Mr Emonefe Eyeta, Jona Oghenekevwe and Tina Osodi also confirmed to the entire community that they knew nothing about the name of the Trust and the composition of members.

“So we are calling on the management of Newcross to be very mindful of the personnel working with them or representing them in a meeting most especially the likes of William Ugiabge who is rather defending a none impacted community because he is a native of Benin.

“We are also using this medium to call on the management of Newcross to reverse back to local content and ensure that that document is signed and that we the youths of the community are not naive nor illiterates like William has claimed. William Ugiabge of Newcross Petroleum is causing more harm in the community by supporting evil against the host community. Recently, a contract was awarded to a non-indigene of the host community while a true indigenous contractor also billed for same contract but contract notice was issued when the contract is already awarded to the non-indigene and from our findings it was same William that witch-hunt the community contractor to favor his allies.

“He prefers crisis among the members of the community to enable the policy of divide and rule. The persons feeding Williams with wrong information are not Iwevbo proper but are there for selfish reasons.
Mr William is also taking undue advantage of educational level of his allies to work against our community. The crisis has been resolved since 8th October. I want to let him know that there are people who have had the privilege he has now. The action of William Ugiabge Only shows that He is not capable for such a position because when Mr Anthony was there, he never acted in this unprofessional manner or makes an inciting utterances that Williams made. So, Newcross should change their staff and representative that handle the community affair since Williams seems not capable or grounded with community matters.”

Continuing, he wondered why the Community Relations Officer will say there is a crisis in the community and that he cannot undermine the Palace of the Enogie. The Enogie is not in question here and dragging him in is a clear cut of eye service when the law provides for all concerned stakes.

“William Ugiabge recent involvement and continuous interference in community issues and why he refused to gave peace chance is an indication that William is unprofessional and unfit to act in capacity of Community Relations Officer.

“It is obvious that Newcross Petroleum Limited registering our Trust as Orhiowon Trust is based on William Ugiabge’s arrangements with the enemies of the Iwevbo community hence his advice to the company to commit such blunder. As far as I am concerned, that is the name of a local government that has more than 50 communities. And for them to listen to some persons who are enemies of our community and name our Trust without visiting us to discuss the process is a calculated attempt to deny us of our heritage.

“As we speak, we have not had any meeting with Newcross to submit names of people that will be members of the Trust and the PIA requested that the Trust should be constituted with the members of the community and the name of the community, but we are so surprised that Mr. Williams told us in Local Content Warri office that the Trust has been registered and the name of the trust is Orhiowon community Trust 1.

“We are so surprised that at this modern age, company can still be mean to themselves and wicked to their host community. All we are saying is that the company should deal with us directly as the host community just as Seplat Oil Development is dealing with Orogho community directly. We have not gone contrary to what the PIA signed into law in the year 2021.

“We are calling on Newcross to emulate other companies and stop further crises in our community. The person of the Enogie is a worker in an oil producing company and a well educated person. Such a person that I well know, will not condescend to the level of cheating his subjects by denying them their ancestral heritage. So, I doubt if he actually suggested such name to the company because he works in an oil company and he knows the rules and regulations that guide the operations of oil companies. But If such name actually came from him as quoted by William Ugiabge, then, it must be the handwork of some unscrupulous elements in the system who probably push him to act under wise,” he averred.