By Emma Amaize & Perez Brisibe,

WARRI—OMADINO, Ureju and other Itsekiri oil-producing communities in Warri, Delta State, yesterday, swore that they will have a complete showdown with Chevron Nigeria Limited.

Chairman of Omadino community, Mr. Emmanuel Aginejuone, who spoke for the cluster of Itsekiri host communities, stated this while reacting to the intervention of the state governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, in the  on-going face-off between the company and the communities.

The host communities expressed dissatisfaction with the governor’s alleged attempt “to reduce the agitation to the issue of internal wrangling between factions of the leadership of Ugborodo people.”

Meanwhile, the Egbema Gbaramatu Communities Development Foundation, EGCDF, has dismissed the seven day ultimatum given to Chevron by chairman of  Benikrukru community, Mr. Victor Eseimieghan, or they would shut down Abiteye field.

In a statement, yesterday, by Chief Micheal Johnny, Chairman, and Ambassador Jude Ukori, secretary general, they appealed to oil producing communities in Gbaramatu to desist from disruption of Chevron’s operations, noting that  Benikrukru community was a major beneficiary of the Global Memorandum of Understanding between Chevron and EGCDF.

“The foundation is about to award three more projects to be executed in Benikrukru community. The community should not disrupt Chevron’s operation but should channel whatever grievance and demands they have through the foundation to the appropriate authority for deliberation,” they said.

Meanwhile, Aginejuone, said: “We are dismayed that such magnitude of agitation could easily have been reduced to the leadership struggle in one community with the other communities that host over 70 percent of Chevron oil wells in Delta State are relegated to the background.

“We reject in its entirety the attempt by Governor Okowa to distort and misrepresent our genuine struggle against the continued marginalisation of our people by imagining that the purported resolution of Ugborodo leadership struggle will address the issues raised by our protest.”

They called on the governor and Chervon “to approach the resolution of the issue from the root causes of the problem, instead of reducing same to the Ugborodo leadership struggle.”