Ugbokodo Community Calls On Tinubu, Oborevwori, Others To End Marginalisation By Oil Coys

By Ambrose Ologide

People of Ugbokodo Community in Okpe Local Government Area of Delta State have appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Governor Sheriff Francis Oborevwori over an alleged marginalisation and neglect over the years by Seplat Energy.

The people of the Okpe oil rich community staged a peaceful protest to the premises of Seplat energy plc, Heritage Oil Services and NPDC facilities in Ugbokodo community on Friday, 28th June, 2024.

Some of the placards of the protesters read thus: ‘Our children and husbands are jobless. We need employment ‘ . ‘ Our children and youths in Ugbokodo want employment.”

Some of the protesters stated that their cry was that they needed facilities and cluster trade development centers to eradicate the sufferings they and the communities around them experience.

They said that their agitation was also for the benefits of the communities around them such as Oteghele, Ughoton, Jeddo, Omadino, Iffie and Ajititon now Egbokodo Etsekiri.

They alleged that Seplat refused to honour National Assembly invitation and directives and that the said companies played on the intelligence of the people of Ugbokodo Community and have clandestinely went further to acquire lands in Ugbokodo Community deceiving the people.

The community also alleged that before now, several attempts were made to call Seplat, Heritage and NNPC and subsidiaries for a discussion over the years, but they never showed up hence the protest.

In a written address read by the chairman of Ugbokodo Community spokesman, Christopher O Ofoye , the community stated that the people need access control staff and general employment, installation of independent power plant, building of a civic centre and employment of a competent Community Liaison Officer (CLO), employment of youths and women.

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The youth leader, Mr Philip Ukeredi, the general secretary of the community, Gabriel Ejakpome, Mr Godspower Omenie, and a former financial secretary of the community, Coker Lucky who spoke to our correspondent, among other things alleged that Seplat Oil Company has never kept its promises to Ugbokodo Community as they threatened that the protest will continue if their requests were not granted.

One of the protesters, Elder Godwin Ikpikpini traced the alleged marginalisation to 1964 when he alleged that Seplat bought a plot of land from elders of the community for thirteen thousand naira and that the company did not state the purpose for which they bought the land then.

He further alleged that there was a foul play on the part of Seplat in the purchase of land as he pointed out that the elders who sold lands did not know how to read nor write and therefore cannot be said to have signed the documents on the sales of land to Seplat Oil Company.

Elder Ikpikpini further alleged that Seplat did not honour an invitation to a meeting at the National Assembly on their grievances as he stated that the communities lawyers and representatives of other multinational companies were at the said meeting.

He lamented that large quantity of crude oil was drilled from Ugbokodo to Amukpe and Forcados daily and that Ugbokodo Community was the second largest oil manifold in West Africa and yet there was nothing to show for the rich oil presence in Ugbokodo Community.

Elder Ikpikpini therefore appealed to Delta State Government and its agencies such as DESOPADEC and Federal Government agencies such as NDDC to come to the aid of the oil rich community.

He also indicted Heritage Oil Company as he asked to know who owns the moribund oil wells and telephate that vomited oil and polluted the community in the process.

Elder Ikpikpini also appealed to the Federal Government and Delta State Government to install an independent power plant that will supply other communities in the area.

Efforts to hear from a prominent indigene of the community, Bishop Dr Paulson Odu for his comments were not successful as he was said to be out of town.

Likewise, efforts to hear from the management of Seplat to react to allegations against them by the community did not yeild positive results at as the time of filing this report.