The people of Akenfa Community in Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa on Sunday bemoaned the lack of social amenities expected in host communities to oil exploration firms.

They expressed concern that the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) has yet to embark on any community development project since it started its operation in the area.

The Paramount Ruler of Akenfa 1, 2 and 3 communities, Chief Obadiah Osomu, raised this concern when the Niger Delta Youth Coalition for Peace and Progress (NDYCPP) paid a fact finding visit to the monarch. NDYCPP visited the Akenfa community to have firsthand information of the plight of the people.

Osomu regretted the Concrete Bridge Project initiated by Shell to link Akenfa 2 and 3 to Akenfa 1 lamented that the project has been abandoned since 200.

He said that the community had endured the adverse effects of ongoing oil exploration activities by the oil firm.

He also decried that every move to discuss with SPDC proved abortive, following the refusal of the oil firm to dialogue with its host community.

He also drew the attention of the Bayelsa State Government to the matter, saying that they have given a three month ultimatum to Shell to fulfil its development obligations or face the wrath of the people.

Chief Henry Nabena Bayelsa chapter Chairman of the NDYCPP lauded the monarch for intimating them of the ugly development but urged him to exercise more patience, and not to result to violence in seeking redress.

Nabena noted that the coalition believed that dialogue remained the most effective tool of resolving conflicts and was preaching against violence and vandalism of oil infrastructure which scares away investors.

He pledged to mediate on the issue and facilitate discussions between the oil firm and its host community with a view to resolving the conflict.

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