The leadership of the National Congress of Ohaji Youths (NACOY) in the oil-rich Ohaji/Egbema council area of Imo State has issued a 7-day ultimatum to the oil companies operating in the community to resume work on the abandoned Shell road that passes through the Umuapu/Ihie/Obittii/Asaa/Awara communities.

Conducting newsmen around the dilapidated sites across the communities in Ohaji on Monday, the President of NACOY, Comrade Tochukwu Nwosu, stated that if work on the collapsed road has not commenced by the 16th of this month, the youth would have no option but to mobilize and close down the access road.

Nwosu lamented the poor state of the roads and noted that the youth body had officially communicated their concerns to the oil companies through their board chairman and all the relevant security agencies.

“We are suffering in the midst of plenty, yet a large quantity of gas is being flared from our communities to the outside world, and there is nothing to show for it,” Nwosu said.

The Youth President regretted that the abandoned roads serve as the gateway to the locations and sites of the multinational companies operating in Ohaji land, adding that the companies have failed to address the communities’ plight.

He recalled that last year, the youth body confronted Shell Company PLC about the road situation, and they responded that the project had been awarded to Zee Rock Construction Company Ltd and that work would begin before February of that year. However, he regretted that the company has yet to start work.

“Ohaji communities are the largest reservoirs of oil and gas as recorded and documented by NNPC. They are the gateway to Walther Smith Company, which has a 500,000-capacity refinery, Seplat, Starling Global Oil Company Ltd, AGPC, and the host communities of oil and gas in Imo State,” he stated.

Nwosu called on President Bola Tinubu and Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State to prevail upon these oil companies to take their social responsibilities seriously by mobilizing the contractors to the site immediately for the interest of the communities and the companies.

In his speech, the President General of the Umuapu Development Town Union, Apostle Daniel Ogbuehi, lamented the deplorable condition of the roads in Umuapu, which serves as the entry point to the other host communities in the state.

“Ohaji communities host the multinational companies, yet we are not benefiting positively. There are no good employment opportunities, no electricity, no good roads, and nothing to celebrate,” he said.

Ogbuehi affirmed the community’s support for the planned blockage of the road should the companies fail to return to the roads. He noted that Ohaji people, who rely on farming, cannot access their farms and markets because of the bad roads.

Adding his voice, the President of the Access Roads Forum, Rev. Eluke Angus Uchenna, condemned the treatment of Ohaji communities by the oil companies.

“We are not happy with the situation because we cannot move freely on the road due to its deplorable state,” he said.

According to him, the worst oil company among those operating in Ohaji, which lacks a human face, is Starling Global Company.

The NACOY President, Comrade Tochukwu Nwosu, along with other executive members, conducted newsmen around the deplorable roads in the oil-bearing communities of Ohaji/Egbema LGA. (Nigerian Tribune)

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