Communities in Mbo local government area of Akwa Ibom State have protested against an indigenous oil firm, Oriental Energy Resources Limited, decrying a breach of the community content guidelines of Nigeria Content Board Act.

Numbering over 500, the protesters carried placards with inscriptions such as;’ Oriental, stop flouting local content law’, ‘Relocate your operational bas| to Mbo’, Enough of this marginalization in employment and contract awards’, ‘Our people have the qualifications to work in Oriental’, Mbo has communities’ contractors,’ We demand fair play, equity and justice,’ ‘NCDMB save our souls’, among others.

Our correspondent reports that the protesters marched through the streets of Ibaka, a coastal town bordering the Atlantic Ocean, drumming and singing while the Police provided tight security to prevent the youth from taking the laws into their own hands.

Mbo Youth President, Comrade Edwards Moses, who led the protest expressed dismay that the company has sidelined the people of the area in employment and contract awards notwithstanding the provisions of the nation’s content law.

“Oriental Energy has breached the local content regulations on engagement. The community content guidelines stipulate that oil companies operating in a community should as a matter of policy give to the community 100 percent unskilled labour, 50 semi skilled and at least 20 percent of skilled labour, but Oriental has not deemed fit to do so as contained in Section 4 , sub section 1-4 of Nigeria Content A 2010.

“As a matter of policy, all the service companies working for Oriental are supposed to come from the community, but we have it on good authority that Oriental has advised them not to relate with the people in the community because Oriental has refused to insert community content in their award of contracts.

“Mbo is blessed with all categories of workers ranging from unskilled to skilled labour but the company has blatantly refused to give our people equal opportunity to excel.

“Of the 300 to 400 unskilled labour working offshore, only two are from Mbo. We appeal to the company to respect the local content law in its operations. If they think they have an office in Lagos, we own the platform in our water,” the youth leader maintained.

Moses however appealed to the Managing Director of the company, Mustafa Indimi, to look into the grievances of the communities even as he urged Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) to prevail on the oil firm to follow due process in her operations.

Also speaking, women leader, Mrs Rebecca Edet Bassey, said: “All that we are asking for is empowerment of youth and women. This is an area that produces the wealth which makes Akwa Ibom number one oil producer in the country, yet we are living in abject poverty.

“Our people have been marginalized by the oil companies operating in our area. We appeal to them to have a change of heart”. She called.

On his part, a student leader, Victor Okon Ukutuda, said the communities have over the years provided a peaceful and enabling environment for the firm to operate, advising that such friendly disposition should not be taken for granted.

Managing Director of the oil firm, Mustafa Indimi could not be reached as of the time of filing this report. However, the Chairman of Community Development Committee, Mfon Etim Henry, opined that the company has carried out its Corporate Social Responsibility in the area even as he agreed that the protesters were exercising their fundamental human rights to demand for a fair share in the scheme of things.

“Oriental Energy has been a very good company as evident in the litany of projects they have embarked on in the area. But the only problem is the non compliance with the local content law in terms of employment and engagement of community contractors in offshore operations. This attitude has incited the youths to go on a protest,” Henry praised.

The CDC therefore appeals to Oriental Energy Resources Limited, to address the grievances of the community youths, before it gets out of hand. (Nigerian Tribune: Text, Excluding Headline)

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