By Joe Favour
INDIGENES of Owevwe and Opherin, Agbarha-Otor in Ughelli North local government area of Delta state have shut down the flow station in the Eriemu oil field over the continued abandonment of road projects by Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, for the past 10 years in a protest.
The protesters mainly women, and youths barricaded the communities’s axis of the entrance of the communities and roads leading to Eriemu Flow station stated that the contractor handling their road project has abandoned it for over a decade ago.
Displaying placard with inscriptions such as, ‘Good road is our right as host communities, ‘We have the biggest Manifold in Africa, Flow Station, NGC, 52 Oil Wellhead ,3 LACT Unit Campsite yet no road, ’11 kilometer road is not too small for Federal Government of Nigeria to complete they vowed to never give up on the protest until their agitations for good road is met.
Addressing newsmen, the CDC chairman of Eriemu field, Chief Moses Oruruore said, “The women are on peaceful demonstration because of the road that has been abandoned since 2010, we have written several letters to NDDC, and the contractor handling the project all to no avail, hence the peaceful protest toady.
He described the roads as the one running from Otokutu Community to Owevwe Street, Agbarha-Otor and the other from Suniko Community junction, through Opherin Community to Emever Agbarha road.
Also speaking, the president general of Saniko community, Engr Vote Iboyi said, “Since 1961, the first oil well head was discovered in Ovwevwe axis and since that time till now many oil well heads have been discovered, the biggest manifold in Africa is located in Eriemu field owned by Ovwevwe.
“We have 3 Lease Automatic Custody Transfer, LACT, unit, the Flow Station and voluminous pipeline but our road that was awarded by the Federal government through the NDDC have been abandoned for since 2010.
“We from the Ovwevwe axis are on this peaceful protest to notify the federal government about our plight that we are not happy.
“Some people are using N100, million to buy form to become president of the country while our road are abandoned, we are not happy, we are producing, we are the kuwait of Agbarha-Otor but we don’t have good roads.
“The roads we are calling the federal government to construct for us is from Saniko through Ovwevwe to Emevor in Isoko North, and Otokutu,Ovwevwe to Agbarha-Otor as we cannot be producing and at same time be suffering.”
Also speaking in the same vein, Mrs. Loveth Eguke disclosed that they have been suffering in their various communities due to lack of roads, portable drinking water and electricity. We cannot not go to the stream to get water because the oil has polluted it and the oil companies are not helping us.
“We will not leave the road until our voices are heard, just as we are pleading with the federal government to come to our aid.”
