Alleged neglect: Bayelsa community threatens Agip’s operations
Operations of the Agip Oil Company in the Ogboinbiri community in the Niger Delta region are being threatened as tension brews in the host community over alleged neglect by the multinational oil firm.
A popular Niger Delta freedom fighter and self-styled Genera Alamene Jackson from Ogboinbiri community, Southern Ijaw Local Government area of Bayelsa State, threatened to lead the community to shut down Agip’s operations if the alleged marginalisation persisted.
He noted with concern that since Agip started its operation in the area, “the people of Ogboinbiri have never benefited or received any meaningful community developmental project from the company despite the fact that the community has been law-abiding and providing a friendly environment to allow its operations.”
Jackson expressed dissatisfaction with the alleged marginalisation of the people of Ogboinbiri by Agip in a chat with journalists in Warri, Delta State, on Monday.
“Agip is taking the peaceful nature of the Ogboinbiri people for granted. And at the same time, it is denying the people of their benefits as a host community, which ought not to be so.
“A total shutdown of Agip’s operations in the community is imminent if the firm and the government refuse to accede to our demands,” he said. Punch
