By Samuel Oyadongha

Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, worldwide, yesterday, threatened to occupy all Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC, facilities in Niger Delta to protest its alleged violation of Nigerian content laws and the deprivation of host communities and local contractors in Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers states of what should be theirs.

 IYC national spokesman, Ebilade Ekerefe, who addressed newsmen in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, said despite the intervention of senior officials of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd, officials of the SPDC have terminated jobs meant for indigenous contractors, describing the situation as unacceptable.

According to him, local contractors from Niger Delta have met all value procurement requirements by the certifying bodies in the country to qualify to be awarded such contracts and be gainfully employed in those fields, expressing regret at the actions of the SPDC and other oil multinationals operating in the region.

His words: “The Ijaw nation is troubled and angered by the ongoing deliberate deprivation and oppression against indigenes of host communities by SPDC. It is a fact that we are one of the major producers of crude oil in Nigeria and in view of our agitations for improved regulations of the oil and gas industry and the bloody sacrifices made for peace to prevail for  improved crude oil explorations and an end to militancy in the region.

“Despite the known sacrifices that had led to the existing Local Content Act and the Petroleum Industry Act, it is worthy to note that these companies that are supposed to abide by the laws are not obeying them.

“These laws are to regulate the involvement of indigenes of host communities in the businesses of crude oil exploration and the benefits to the people that kept the peace and assist in the security of the nation’s wealth.

“But it is a fact that these oil multinationals, including the SPDC, Nigerian Agip Oil Company, NAOC, and others, have shown high level of disdain to host community indigenes with little or no benefits. Even the few small jobs being handled by indigenous contractors are being taken away from them. 

“Just as they give contracts that ought to be done by local contractors to their relatives and subsidiary companies, they also give available employment opportunities that ought to be given to the indigenes of the host communities to their own relatives to the detriment of the people of the host communities.

“Let IYC worldwide put on record that the council is ready to shut down the exploration activities of the SPDC, even if it means to be killed by the trigger-happy and the Niger Delta military Joint Task Force in the region. 

“We are calling on SPDC to stop the deliberate deprivation and oppression against indigenes of host communities. We are not going to issue an ultimatum as expected but we are ready to occupy the platforms of the affected oil multinationals. We will make our position known by following the laid down rule of engagement with these errant oil multinationals.”

“We are also determined to join our Ijaw brothers to resist, by any means possible any further tendencies of oppression and deprivation in the form of NIPEX or otherwise against our indigenous contractors in the fold of the oil multinationals, particularly the SPDC.

“We also want to draw the attention of the Nigerian Content, Monitoring and Development Board, NCMDB, to the ongoing violation of the local content policy by the SPDC and declare that these oppressed indigenes of the region and contractors should be given “Right of First Refusal” based on their performance and their origin.”