Rivers youths protest alleged lack of employment by NAOC

Port Harcourt -- Youths of Nkpolu Oroworukwo community in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State have protested against the Nigerian Agip Oil Company, NAOC, demanding to be employed by the company.

The youths in their numbers barricaded the entrance and blocked the main gate of the company office in Port Harcourt, denying entry or exit of staff members and visitors to the company premises.

The protesters said they are angered that the oil exploration and production company has over the years denied them employment opportunities, among other privileges.

Leader of the protest, Livingstone Wechie, alleged that NAOC had consistently denied the community its due rights and privileges in the areas of employment, contracts, scholarships, skills acquisition, infrastructure and social amenities.

Wechie also demanded for a Global

Memorandum of Understanding, GMoU, between the community and the oil company.

He regretted that there was no identifiable project in their community that could be credited to NAOC such as roads, hospitals, scholarships, employment, schools and water, as obtainable in other oil host communities.

“NAOC has not captured Nkpolu Oroworukwo in any GMoU. This by itself is betrayal of global best practice and sabotage of the Rivers State

Government and Federal Government efforts towards peace and development in the Niger Delta, Nkpolu Oroworukwo in particular," he said.

He added: “Regrettably, there are no identifiable projects in Nkpolu

Oroworukwo credited to Agip, ENI or NAOC ranging from roads to hospitals, scholarships, employment, empowerment opportunities, contract opportunities, schools, or even boreholes or community town halls and civic centre to say the least. We challenge NAOC to contest these facts.

“It is also on record that NAOC appears to have as a rigid policy to deliberately shut Nkpolu Oroworukwo people out of their viable contract opportunities, empowerment and employment opportunities".