Siege on Chevron: Tompolo’s kinsmen held

…as police, soldiers disperse protesters with gunshots

By Egufe Yafugborhi

WARRI—TWO Egbema, Gbaramatu youths, among teeming protesters, were held yesterday, by a joint military and police personnel at the Warri office of Chevron Nigeria Limited, during a protest called by the people, which was quelled by  gunshots from the security operatives.

The youths, under the Egbema Gbaramatu Graduates Association, across Warri North and Warri South West Local Government Areas, Delta State,  were at the company to picket CNL over failed promise by the company  to absorb their graduate indigenes trained for employment by the company years back.

The protesters, joined by their counterparts of the National Association of Ilaje Graduates, who converged as early as 6.30a.m., were advancing with placards towards the company’s gates when the joint military and police guards descended on them, leaving several injured in an ensuing stampede, while those held were beaten up and forced to frog jump as the protest was suppressed.

Addressing journalists after the protest, President of KOMBOT-Egbema/Gbaramatu Graduates Association, Yabrade Moses, said, “We cannot be intimidated. We are not deterred. They should be ready to kill us because we are going back to our communities now to come back even more determined.

“We give them one week to tender unreserved apology to our people that they manhandled today (yesterday) and for their management to call a high-profile meeting with our leaders. Failure to do these will be met with the takeover of their flow stations in our domains; Abiteye, Opuekeba, Makaraba and all other ones will be taken over by our people.”

Before suppressing the protest, CNL General Manager, Policy, Government and Public Affairs Mr. Esimaje Brikinn, had said: “Chevron is aware of threats by graduate representatives of Ijaw, Itsekiri and Ilaje ethnic groups from neighboring communities to Chevron to embark on coordinated industrial action against CNL.

“CNL has reported the threat to its operations to the appropriate authorities. The safety of our workforce and the communities where we have operations are our highest priority. We therefore, take every threat to our operations seriously.”

“We will continue to hold discussions with the Delta and Ondo State Governments, Itsekiri, Ijaw and Ilaje community leaders and the appropriate Regional Development Committees, RDC, under the Global Memorandum of Understanding, GMoU, to reiterate our constraints regarding employment due to the current state of the business.

“The company reiterates its commitment, within available resources and opportunities, to continue working with its community stakeholders and other partners to maintain peace and contribute to sustainable community and socio-economic development.”

“This time around,  they will know that we have parents and families because we shall take over all the facilities. They should be ready to kill a lot of people, not only the graduates. We will go down to  the platforms. That is the next line of action.”

Yobraide and his Ilaje counterpart, Ikuesan Ademola, who said they informed appropriate authorities before embarking on the protest, described the alleged injustice they were protesting against as “modern day slavery.”

He said, “The protest is all about our indigenes working in Chevron’s Ogere training; the VTP5, OPT2 and VTP6. For a training of 18 months with a promise to be converted to staff, they have been kept stagnant for about four years now, since March 2013. This is slavery.

“Trainees engaged from the national, at Agbami, have been converted to permanent staff, those taken from our communities continue to be used as cheap labour. Should anything happen to any of them, Chevron cannot be held liable and this trainee absorption is the major means through which our people can be taken into Chevron.

“If they had listened to us it would all have ended in dialogue; to see how the people would be converted and given time frame they would be converted and how those on the waiting list could be taken. Now it’s getting confrontational,” Ademola stated.

Sharing his experience, Jumbo Tortor, one of those held at the protest said, “It was really terrible. They beat many of us and pulled their guns on us, firing threat shots. The protest was supposed be peaceful. All security agencies were duly informed. I am shocked at the experience we just got from Chevron.”

Before suppression of the protest, CNL General Manager, Policy, Government & Public Affairs Mr. Esimaje Brikinn, had earlier said, “Chevron is aware of threats by graduate representatives of Ijaw, Itsekiri and Ilaje ethnic groups from neighboring communities to Chevron to embark on coordinated industrial action against CNL.

“CNL has reported the threat to its operations to the appropriate authorities. The safety of our workforce and the communities where we have operations are our highest priority. We therefore, take every threat to our operations seriously.

“We will continue to hold discussions with the Delta and Ondo State Governments, Itsekiri, Ijaw and Ilaje community leaders and the appropriate Regional Development Committees, RDC, under the Global Memorandum of Understanding, GMoU, to reiterate our constraints regarding employment due to the current state of the business.

“The company reiterates its commitment, within available resources and opportunities, to continue working with its community stakeholders and other partners to maintain peace and contribute to sustainable community and socio-economic development.”

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