By CHARLES IWUOHA

Oil-producing communities of Assa North cluster, Ohaji-Egbema Local Government Area of Imo State, have called on the Anoh Gas Processing Company (AGPC) to expedite work on the Assa – Ohoba – Obosima rural road.

The call is contained in a statement signed by the spokesperson of the cluster, Mr Duke-Bright Enyia, and made available to journalists in Owerri on Monday.

They communities include Assa North cluster, Assa, Obile, Ochia, Awarra, Ohoba and Obosima communities.

Enyia said that despite entering a Memorandum of Understanding with the AGPC since its four years of existence in the area, the company has failed to complete the project it started in 2019.

He described the road as the communities’ lone access route to Owerri, the state capital, and advised AGPC to transfer the construction contract to another firm since the current handlers have failed to execute the project.

“The Assa-Ohoba-Obosima road that links our communities to neighboring communities and importantly, Owerri, has been destroyed by AGPC due to the impact of heavy trucks used for construction work on their site,” he said.

He added that the community has been denied benefits enshrined in the local content policies and the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), such as access to electricity, quality healthcare and adequate infrastructure.

He further lamented the indiscriminate pollution of the environment by AGPC which he said has negatively impacted farmlands, rendering them unsuitable for farming, thus compromising the farmers’ ability to provide for their families.

He decried the “selective employment practices where job opportunities meant for locals are given to fictitious individuals unknown to the community contrary to the MoU and the provisions of the PIA”.

Enyia urged AGPC to honour agreements with the host communities, return all local content jobs and contracts to the communities and empower the youths as part of their corporate social responsibility.

Reacting, AGPC’s Project Management Officer, Mr Obinna Madumere, initially declined comment but later said the communities’ demands would be addressed accordingly.

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