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A group, Obollo Liberation Mandates, in the oil-rich community of Eastern Obollo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, has petitioned the state government, traditional institutions, and all security agencies, including the Nigerian Navy Ship Jubilee, Ikot Abasi, for the proper constitution of an independent Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) Committee of Semudha Energy Limited, formerly known as Sterling Oil Exploration and Energy Production Company Limited.
The group noted that the committee, when constituted, would address some developmental and human rights infringement concerns in their area.
The petition was signed by Sylvanus Franks, Friday Peter George, Ezekiel Warribo, and Kpunuataene Robert, and made available to newsmen in Uyo on Wednesday.
The group stated that the committee should be constituted after due consultations with stakeholders, traditional rulers, and the youth of the community by the oil company.
They recalled that a general committee was previously constituted without proper consultations with the people of Eastern Obollo, particularly the traditional institution, thereby allowing members of the embattled committee to act in their selfish interests.
They further recalled, in dismay, how the mandate given to the former committee went down the drain, adding that the mandate, which was largely on a facilitation basis, included: “ensuring the immediate employment of Eastern Obollo people through the Human Resource team deployed to Akwa Ibom State; regularisation of those already employed without contract letters; upward review of salaries and other benefits to strike a balance with outside workers; and employment of Eastern Obollo people into the Human Resource Department.”
Others were: “the employment of locals as General Managers, Base Managers, Logistics Managers, among others, as well as the creation of a Community Affairs Department with one of them as manager.”
Lamenting that the mandate was truncated, the group accused some community leaders and members of the elite class of working against the community’s unified purpose, stressing: “They are working against the agitation to unstrap the people of Akwa Ibom State from the shackles of privation, slavery, and objectification.”
The statement read in part: “We therefore demand that the Sumedha Energy Limited PIA Committee be properly constituted after due consultation with stakeholders, traditional rulers, and the youth, and independently for Eastern Obollo, as against the forceful inclusion of Eastern Obollo in a general PIA Committee. Our rights must be given to us. Our land, forcefully taken, must be reclaimed. The Sumedha Energy Limited PIA Committee must be properly constituted for Eastern Obollo, for the development of the abandoned area.”
While noting that Eastern Obollo people have many professionals in Engineering, Law, Architecture, Surveying, Accounting, Geology, and Medicine qualified for employment by the company, they observed that under the Community Content Guideline of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), they are entitled to a specific minimum percentage of employment opportunities in the oil and gas industry, saying that this “should be respected immediately.”
“We have people who studied Engineering, Law, Architecture, Surveying, Accounting, Geology, Medicine, etc. They must be employed. Our quota must be filled based on the number on board,” the petition added.
They also declared their capacity to speak for themselves and demand their rights, stating that going through their leaders had not yielded any positive result.
Obollo group petitions Akwa Ibom Govt over PIA committee constitution
