By Musa Adamu
Abuja
A youth group, Niger Delta Youth Movement(NDYM) has threatened to shut down Total E&P Nigeria Limited in three days unless the management of the company recalls the sacked 46 indigenous workers sacked.
Speaking in Port Harcourt, the leader of the group, Major Ekene, said the group would close down the operations of the multinational oil company in Egi Kingdom, Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers state if the sacked workers were not recalled.
He expressedthe concern over the level of inhuman condition the families of the disengaged staff of the company were thrown into, describing the attitude of the company as disrespectful and demeaning to the host communities and the Niger delta youths.
He said they had followed the case of the sacked 46 workers closely, stressing that the strategy employed by the management of the company in handling the matter was “pretentious.”
He noted that rather than throw people out of jobs, what was required in Egiland was the employment of as many youths as possible to curb the rising tide of criminality and insecurity in the area.
He said: “The youths have exhausted all avenues known to us to call the oil company to order but Total E&P’s management has remained adamant.We demand the immediate recall of the 46 sacked workers, the full payment of their wages for the period in view, and the immediate conversion of all community contract staff to permanent staff or we are going to close down the company in three days’ time.”