By Samuel Oyadongha

Yenagoa—Indigenes of Agge community on the Atlantic fringe of Ekeremor Local Government Area, Bayelsa State, yesterday, led by their 90-year-old paramount ruler, HRH David Isiayi, protested against alleged abandonment of a N4 billion shore protection contract awarded by Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, in the community.

The community located on the Atlantic shore is on the verge of being washed away by the surging ocean.

It was learned that the shore protection contract was awarded to an indigenous contractor, (name withheld), to sand fill and reclaim over 2. 9km of land washed away by erosion in the community.

The monarch and the aggrieved indigenes of the community led by the Chairman of the Community Development Committee, Steven Fiopare, accused the contractor of engaging in illegal sub-letting of the contract to another company, and abandoning the contract site over alleged non-mobilization by NDDC.

Indigenes of the community lamented that despite their peaceful disposition to the contractor to work and save their community from extinction by the surging ocean, the contractor attempted to move its equipment away from site but was stopped.

The aggrieved Agge natives, armed with placards, some of which read, “JTF should not be used, don’t intimidate Agge people,” “NDDC,  Beks, Kariala come and finish the job you were paid for,” and “Agge project money should not be used for politics,” said they will not release the heavy duty equipment belonging to the contractor unless an assurance for completion of the job was given by NDDC.

Lamenting the plight of his people, the royal father said: “The situation in Agge is threatening our existence as a people.  The ocean has claimed half of our homes and people. I have ruled the community for over 41 years and the deceit and failure of the company awarded the contract to do the job is a shameful act. We don’t want to die, we only want the  awarded contract completed.”

Also speaking, the Agge Community Development Committee, CDC, chairman, Steven Fiopare, said that the community had over the years, lost people and houses to the ocean surge noting that the initial dredging work by the company had added to the problem of the community with incessant erosion of homes.

He said: “We are in a big problem. Houses are being washed away daily by erosion. If the high tide comes, many indigenes will disappear and homes washed away.”