People of the Mbo local government area in Akwa Ibom state have protested against an indigenous oil firm, Oriental Energy Resources Limited on their grievances over alleged breaching of the community content guidelines of the Nigeria Content Board Act.
The protesters who took to the streets Monday were seen with placards with various inscriptions such as:’ Oriental, stop flouting local content law’, ‘Relocate your operational base to Mbo’, Enough of this marginalisation in employment and contract awards.’
Others reads, ‘Our people have the qualifications to work in Oriental’, Mbo has communities contractors,’ We demand fair play, equity, and justice,’ and ‘NCDMB saves our souls’, among others.
Our correspondent observed that the protesters marched through the streets of Ibaka, a coastal town bordering the Atlantic Ocean, drumming and singing while the Police provided security to prevent the youth from taking the laws into their hands.
Mbo youth president, Comrade Edwards Moses, who led the protest expressed dismay that the company has sidelined the people of the area in employment and contract awards, notwithstanding the provisions of the nation’s content law.
“Oriental Energy has breached the local content board regulations on engagement. The community content guidelines stipulate that oil companies operating in a community should as a matter of policy give the community 100 percent unskilled labour, 50 semi skilled, and at least 20 percent of skilled labour. But Oriental has not deemed fit to do so as contained in Section 4, subsection 1-4 of Nigeria Content A t 2010.
“As a matter of policy, all the service companies working for Oriental are supposed to come from the community, but we have it on good authority that Oriental has advised them not to relate with the people in the community because it has refused to insert community content in their award of contracts.”
