Following the aborted meeting between NPDC/Elcrest Joint Ventures Oil Company, Egbema youths under the auspices of EYC, Community Leaders, Warri North Local Government Council chairman and Security agencies last Friday, protesting youths in the area are remobilizing to shut down the oil company’s flow station at Apetuku.
On Wednesday, December 8, 2021, hundreds of aggrieved Egbema youths under the auspices of Egbema Youth Council, EYC, staged a peaceful protest at the company’s flow station over a range of issues, including non-signing of the General Memorandum of Understanding, GMoU, with the communities and the non-implementation of the obligations contained therein.
With the intervention of the council chairman, Smart Asekutu and security agencies, the protesting youths agreed to pull back following a proposed joint meeting brokered by representatives of the management of NPDC/Elcrest Joint Ventures Company Ltd to be held on Friday, December 10, 2021.
The proposed joint meeting, as reported by The New Diplomat, was scheduled to hold at the office of the council chairman in Koko, headquarters of Warri North Local Government Area on Friday, December 10 by 10am, with attendance drawn from representatives of the aggrieved protesting youths, community leaders in Egbema kingdom, security agencies including the Commanding Officer, CO, 90 Battalion of Nigerian Army and of course, the council chairman.
However, while waiting for the arrival of the Company’s representatives, a faction of the youths forced their way into the council attempting to attack the chairman for reason that they were not among those invited for the meeting. The arrival of men of the JTF quelled the situation.
Upon the arrival of the Company’s representatives, the leader of the delegation, one Mr. Ben Masade, insisted that the youths who almost attacked the Council chairman must be part of the meeting, a situation which the chairman and other invitees to the meeting resisted. Subsequently, the meeting was abruptly aborted.
Fielding questions from newsmen shortly after the meeting was aborted, the spokesman for the Egbema Youth Council, Gen. Silas Torunwei, said that the protesting youths had exhausted all avenues for the resolution of the impasse, through dialogue, saying that they have no other options than to fully mobilized and shut down the operation of the oil company.
Speaking with The New Diplomat earlier today on phone, Gen. Silas said they were already mobilizing for the occupation of the company’s platform, adding that a handful of youths who are alleged loyalists and beneficiary of a community leader who acts as a liaison officer to the company, were also mobilizing to counter the protest of the EYC coordinated peaceful protest.
He said: “There is tension in the kingdom now, serious tension. The other faction, the Alhaji faction are warming up and our faction of EYC are also warming up. For now, there is open battle through whatsapp, online, everywhere. It could result in factional fight but anyhow it goes, we are not going back.
“After the meeting (aborted on Friday) the Alhaji faction, according to information, went to Benin the next day to meet with NPDC/Elcrest. So, definitely we must get it right this time. There is no going back.
“It will not lead to loss of life or destruction of property; it is just agitation, a peaceful agitation.”
Efforts to get the reaction of the council chairman, Asekutu, have not been successful at the time of filing in this report.
