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HOMEF Pledges support to Eastern Obolo over years of Neglect, Environmental Degradation

HOMEF Pledges support to Eastern Obolo over years of Neglect, Environmental Degradation

 

By Ekemini Simon 

 

Despite playing host to three oil and gas companies, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) through its Upstream Subsidiary, National Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) and Natural Oilfield Services Limited (NOSL), Mobil Producing Nigeria and Amni International, Eastern Obolo has lamented over what it described as years of social and economic neglect coupled with environmental degradation.

 

The communities say the neglect has been experienced due to lack of resource beneficiation from government which gets 13 percent derivation revenue from the resources explored in the local government area and also the companies besides Mobil Producing Nigeria failing to establish Host Communities Development Trust coupled with other corporate social responsibilities.

 

 

The people made their plight known on Tuesday, during a Community Dialogue on “Wellness and resistance building” organized by an Ecological Think Tank, “Health of Mother Earth Foundation, HOMEF, at Okoroiti village hall, Eastern Obolo Local Government Area.

 

The community members lamented that despite their huge contributions to both state and national economy through their oil and gas resources they lack basic social amenities such as clean water, electricity, access road, hospital among others.

 

One of the participants, Bathelomew Araguja said that Okoroiti people do not have an amenity like a primary healthcare centre thus they are left with no choice but walk miles away to access a primary health centre in another community.

 

participants.

He said that the matter is worse any time people in the community have a health emergency as they are hampered by inaccessible roads.

 

Araguja said that economic activities in the area like barbing, hair dressing, Information among others have been negatively affected for over seven years due to lack of electricity.

 

He also said that youth unemployment was at its peak despite the presence of the International Oil Companies as the bulk of employees in these companies are not from the communities despite the fact that the youths are skilled and educated.

 

 

His words, “Our community has been neglected for a long time, we don’t have any access roads, what we have is only track roads, no clean water over seven years now or more we don’t even have light in our community. So many of us need light to do our work like salons, joints, photocopying etc. We want the government to look into this and help us.

 

 

“We have graduates in our community but no employment even though some of us have skills yet we won’t be employed in these companies because we don’t have anybody.”

 

Also speaking, Rose Ogwunte said the people over the years have suffered poor yield in their farms and fishing activities due to oil exploration and spills.

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She said that both the oil companies and government have failed to play their part in the clean up of the community irrespective of repeated calls from the people.

 

In response, the Program Manager of Fossil Politics, HOMEF, Stephen Oduware in an interview wondered how a community that hosts three oil companies and has abundant natural resources could be so economically backward without basic social amenities.

 

 

He pledged HOMEF’s readiness to partner with the community and other CSOs to amplify their voices in order to address some of the troubling issues.

 

 

The Coordinator of Peace Point Development Foundation (PPDF) Umo Isua-Ikoh, reacting, wondered if there are representatives in government from the area. He said that it was high time the government began to give human face to the plight of the people and address some of these challenges.

 

 

He added “It is high time the government begins to do its part so that we give the community a human face, it is even a pity that politicians coming out of this community once they win election, they turn their eyes the other way”.

 

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