By FESTUS AHON

UGHELLI—NO fewer than 18 oil producing communities under the Ughelli South Cluster 1 Development Board, Delta State, have vowed to shut down the operations of National Petroleum Development Company, NPDC, in the communities, should the company fail to address critical issues of the Global Memorandum of Understanding, GMoU,  it entered into with them within seven days.

The communities, Agbowhiame, Edjophe, Ekakpamre, Ekrejegbe, Egbo-Uhurie, Ekrokpe, Erhuwaren, Effurun-Otor, Eyara, Imode, Iwhrekan, Iwhrekreka, Obi-Ayagha, Otor-Edo, Otu-Jeremi, Owahwa, Ughevwughe and Usiefurun, said that NPDC was reneging on the GMoU.

The communities in a letter by its chairman and secretary, Olorogun Benson Kupa and Olorogun Alledey Nuwawan, said; “our decision to shut down the operations of NPDC in our area in the next seven days is as a result of NPDC’s refusal to pay the 2012 second tranche, first and second tranche 2013 PGMoU and steady state GMoU fund.”

Other grievances according to the communities, which was addressed to the state governor, Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan were the company’s refusal to “pay five percent of the GMoU peace award for 2012 and 2013; review of the GMoU steady state fund; employ indigenes of the cluster as promised by NPDC during the taking over of the operation from Shell Petroleum Development Company and payment of courtesy visit to communities and traditional rulers.

“We have held several meetings with the company to resolve the issues to no avail. All we got from them are failed promises. We want the governor to prevail on NPDC management to comply with the GMoU agreement on or before October 16, to avoid total shutdown of its operations.”