Delta Youths Protest Alleged Planned Relocation Of NGC HQ From Warri

Amid denials by Nigerian Gas Company, youths from oil bearing communities in Delta State on Monday staged a peaceful protest to the company urging it to ‘rescind’ its alleged plan to relocate its headquarters from Warri to either Abuja or Lagos.

Hundreds of protesting youths told BigPen Online that the management of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, (NNPC) had planned to move the gas company to either Abuja or Lekki in Lagos.

The youths at the protest handed NGC a seven days warning action effect from today, 7th January 2019 in which they threatened to take major action capable of crippling NNPC operations in the state.

The youths drawn from Urhobo, Ijaw, Itsekiri, Isoko and Ndokwa ethnic nationalities of Delta state, who were carrying placards with various incriptions, marched to the company to register their displeasure over the ‘rumoured’ location of the company.

President of the various youth groups who spoke in turn, described the alleged relocation as demonic and totally unacceptable, vowing to resist it with any means necessary.

Addressing newsmen at the NGC gate which was barricaded by the protesters, the President of Ijaw Youth Council, (IYC), Eric Omare said that the decision to relocate the company to Lekki in Lagos state was anti-Niger Delta people.

He said, “We are here because of a very unfortunate and disappointing decision by a subsidiary of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) which is the Nigerian Gas Processing and Transportation Company and also the Nigeria Gas Marketing Company to the effect that they want to relocate from Warri which is the energy center of Nigeria to Lagos and of course you are aware that Niger Delta region is the economic and oil capital of Nigeria but all the companies have their headquarters either in Abuja or in Lagos with a resultant economic implications for Delta state and other states of the Niger Delta Region.

“And this is one of the few companies that is still remaining in Delta state, they say they want to also relocate their headquarters to Lagos because according to them, all their major industrial customers are in Lagos so we are saying that that decision is demonic and totally unacceptable to us if they want to relocate their head office from Warri to Lagos we are simply saying that they should also take their pipelines from all parts of Delta state.

“Delta state and other parts of the Niger Delta is safe for oil companies to operate. We also demanding that Chevron should relocate back to Warri because they have no business in Lekki, also Shell and Agip have no business in any parts of Lagos or Abuja because the Niger Delta region is safe. What you are seeing is a peaceful protest. What we are against is a situation where they will explore our oil and use it to develop other parts of Nigeria, we want fairness in the Niger Delta region”.

Also speaking, President of Itsekiri National Youth Council, Mr. Oritseweyinmi  Agbateyiniro, said “this protest is the commencement of a seven days warning action against the management of the Nigeria Gas Company in its desired attempt to relocate either the headquarters of the Nigeri Gas Company or any of its unit from Warri to Abuja because we have being reliably told that at the terminal part of 2018 a board meeting was held wherein it was resolved through a board resolution that Nigeria Gas Company or any of its subsidiary should be relocated to Abuja.

“The singular reason why we are here is that we are here to resist that in totality we are also here to warn so that others should not take advantage of the mismanagement of this peaceful protest to take actions that may not be favourable.

“Therefore, we have solidarity messages from Rivers state, Edo, Akwa ibom, Bayelsa, from all nooks and crannies of Niger Delta that produces Oil that never again should any company be moved from Niger Delta”.

All efforts to reach the NNPC spokesman, Ndu Ughamadu proved abortive as at the time of filing this story.