By Egufe Yafugborhi

WARRI—ACTIVITIES at the Petroleum Training Institute, PTI, Effurun, Delta State were, yesterday, grounded as angry indigenes of the community occupied the school over grievances sparked off by recent staff employment.

The  protesters, including men, women and youths bearing a casket, barricaded the gates of the petroleum institute from dawn, preventing movement in and out of the school in determination to halt all activities at the school.

Consequently, hundreds of locked out candidates billed to take the ongoing Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination at a centre in the school were on the verge of missing out till Mr. Henry Baro, of Uvwie council intervened to let them in, but not before several of them had gone home in fear that the protest could turn violent.

Chairman, Effurun Community Development  Committee, John Enakireru who led the protest said the development became imperative in absence of positive response from the school authority to several presentations made to address agitation for fair employment quota for the host community.