By Perez Brisibe

UGHELLI—HUNDREDS of protesting youths and women from Ughelli South and Udu Local Government Areas of Delta State, yesterday, stormed the Jeremi Flow Station of Nigerian Petroleum Development Company, NPDC, in Ughelli South council and forced workers at the facility to shut down production.

The protesters, mostly indigenes of Isoko Host Communities of Nigeria, HOSTCOM, said that they were pressing home their demands for pipeline surveillance contracts and unpaid N1.4 billion funds from the OML30.

Demanding separate pipeline surveillance contracts for Urhobo and Isoko ethnic nationalities, spokespersons for the protesters,  Efe Okovwurie,  Morrister Idibra and Pastor Rochard Erhurhore in their remarks, warned that all facilities in OML 26, 30, 34, and 65 would remain shut until NPDC and Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, grant them their requests.

The protesters who stormed the flow station at 9a.m., also demanded that NPDC should immediately create a Contract Department in its  Edjeba office to take care of contractors in Delta State.

“NPDC is heavily indebted to most indigenous contractors and must pay up the nine months outstanding monthly salaries of host communities workers in OML 26, 30, 34, and 65,” they said.