By Jimitota Onoyume &  Ochuko Akuopha

PORT HARCOURT— OPERATIONS of  West  Africa’s largest fertilizer plant, Ndorama Petrochemical Limited, in Eleme Local Government Area, Rivers State, were yesterday, disrupted for several hours after aggrieved host communities took over the main gate into the firm.

The protesters numbering over 1,000, mainly women and youths drawn from six  host communities of the firm, shunned all entreaties from management for a meeting, insisting that the Managing Director, Mr Manish Mundra, should resign before any meeting.

This came as leaders and youths of Okpai clan, Ndokwa East LGA, Delta State, protested against the alleged destruction of their roads and unwillingness of Sterling Oil and Energy Production Company, operating in the area, to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, with the community.

One of the Eleme youth leaders who addressed newsmen during the protest, Benjamin Igokena, accused the Managing Director of allegedly conniving with a firm (name withheld)  to shortchange the communities  of their share of dividends accruing to them since the petrochemical firm was privatized several years ago.

Igokena explained that the said firm was originally set up by the six communities to access dividends on the 7.5 shares conceded to the communities during privatization of the petrochemical company, claiming that the communities had not seen their share of the money.

He said their demands were that the petrochemical company should pay the dividends of the communities directly to the host communities, and that the communities’ employment quota should also be given directly to the communities.

He said: “Our fertilizer shares must be given to us now.”

Reacting, the Managing Director of Ndorama Eleme Petrochemicals, Mr. Mundra,  denied conniving with any firm or any person to defraud the communities of their share of the dividends accruing to them.

Mundra, who spoke through his Special Adviser, Dr. Jossy Nkwocha, said the firm was going to arrange  a tripartite meeting of Ndorama, communities and the firm’s representatives to resolve the issues.

Meanwhile, leaders and youths of  Ndokwa East LGA, Delta State, who barricaded the road at Okpai-Oluchi, preventing the company from going to Okpai-Umuagwulu and Okapi-Obeze where it intended to carry out drilling operations, vowed to resist alleged attempts by the company to use soldiers and police to bulldoze its way into the community.

In a protest letter written on their behalf to the management of the company by Chief Ike Nwabeze, Chief Vincent   Nwaikwu and other leaders of the community, the people said: “For over 10 years, you have destroyed our roads built through self help and later reconstructed by both Agip and Shell at various times.

You not only pour us dust, you have also laid hazardous oil and gas pipelines through our homes and paid no compensation or done any survey to evaluate its environmental implications and risks. For over 10 years now, we have no meaningful MoU with you. No Okpai person is in your head office neither is there any worthwhile project that affects us. Few Okpai people that did contract for you are now paying debts because you refused to pay them adequate compensation for jobs done for you.”