Posted by By Samuel Oyadongha on
Fresh crisis looms in Bayelsa State as the Ezetu Pennington Youth Association has given the Anglo-Dutch oil giant, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SDPC) a 14-day ultimatum to recognize Ezetu in the Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of the state as one of the co-host communities to its multibillion naira EA Development Field, threatening to paralyze Shell's operation if it is not recognised.
Yenagoa - Fresh crisis looms in Bayelsa State as the Ezetu Pennington Youth Association has given the Anglo-Dutch oil giant, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SDPC) a 14-day ultimatum to recognize Ezetu in the Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of the state as one of the co-host communities to its multibillion naira EA Development Field, threatening to paralyze Shell's operation if it is not recognised.
The EA Development Field is one of the biggest offshore projects being undertaken by SPDC on behalf of its joint venture partners, NNPC, Elf Petroleum and Nigerian Agip Oil Company and is funded by "alternative funding arrangement for capex" with an implementation budget in order of $957m.
The Ezetu Pennington Youth Association in their protest letter to the management of the company made available to newsmen in Yenagoa stated that they have been pushed to the wall and might be forced to go on the offensive by paralyzing the company's operation in the area on the expiration of their ultimatum.
President of the youth body, Mr. Brown Kunakuna noted that they have made several entreaties to the company and to the state Ministry of Environment to have Ezetu community recognized as one of the co-hosts to the project, all to no avail.
They wondered how their community, which is nearest to the project and even mentioned as one of the impacted communities along the Pennington River, could be denied the benefit accruable to their neigbours by the SPDC, an anomaly the state government had directed the company to rectify but which is being ignored.
Citing the environmental impact assessment report of April 2001 on the EA project which stated that in order to improve the quality of life of the host communities, SPDC shall "establish a community development programme which applies world standards of practice to serve its host communities, work in partnership with host communities where appropriate with the government, donor, non-governmental organizations, community based groups and other stakeholders, maintain communication with all social segments of host communities in order to address their needs and pay special attention to most economically disadvantaged social groups", they accused the company of deliberately omitting their community and vowed to resist the action with their last drop of blood.
"If crude violence is what will wake SPDC from its pretended sleep, we shall no longer hesitate to do that by taking the laws into our hands to achieve what is best for our community.
"Social responsibility by companies is meant to foster a cordial and lasting relationship with host communities but it seems Shell is always bent on towing the opposition line. Our silence should not be taken for ignorance and weakness," they warned.
The youth body therefore gave SPDC fourteen days to recognize their community as one of the host to its EA development field in line with its final report of the EIA warning that they would not hesitate to respond with every means possible by force of arms to justify what belonged to them.