Delta: Ugborodo Protesters Occupy EGTL Facility, Vow to Remain Until NNPC GCEO, Chevron Top Magt Come to Address Their Grievances

Indigenes of the oil-rich Ugborodo community in Delta state, have declared that they will only vacate the Chevron EGTL facility after the NNPC GCEO and Chevron top management personally visit their community to address their grievances.

BIGPEN NIGERIA (https://bigpenngr.com) reports the community leaders and protesters insisted that their issues of neglect, marginalization, and lack of employment must be acknowledged face-to-face before they would consider leaving the occupied site.

Chairman of Ugborodo Community, Mr Emmanuel Onuwaje addressing newsmen during the protest in Ugborodo Community

For days, hundreds of indigenes of Ugborodo in Warri South-West Local Government Area of Delta State have occupied the Chevron Nigeria Limited facility, protesting alleged neglect and the failure to implement key provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act, especially concerning the Host Communities’ Development Trust (HCDT).

The protesters, who have vowed to remain until their demands are met, insisted that the presence of top management from Chevron and NNPC is crucial to resolving their long-standing issues.

The protesters, led by Chairman of Ugborodo Management Committee, Mr. Emmanuel Onuwaje, stated, “We will not leave until the GCEO of NNPC and the top management of Chevron come here to speak to us directly. They need to see our plight, hear our demands, and address us personally. We have been ignored for too long.”

Ugborodo hosts major Chevron and NNPC facilities, including the multimillion-dollar Escravos Gas to Liquid (EGTL) plant.

The indigenes carried placards with inscriptions such as “Ugborodo demands her 70% direct Chevron slots,” “Chevron JV and EGTL belong to Ugborodo community,” Chevron EGTL PITSTOP please employ our indigenes,” “The EGTL PITSTOP project must recognise Ugborodo as host; “Follow community local content law,” and “Federal and State Government come to our aid.”

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Addressing newsmen during the protest, Mr. Onuwaje lamented the community’s neglect, saying, “For over 60 years, Chevron has operated here, yet they have not carried out any significant projects to benefit Ugborodo.

“We are here demanding employment, contracts, and development. We want the top management to come here and see our challenges firsthand.”

The Secretary-General of the Itsekiri National Youth Council, Hon. Raymond Pira, added, “We are living in poverty despite the presence of these facilities.

He said that the community is highly neglected—no jobs, no contracts, and no development—demanding direct employment and proper implementation of the PIA for our people.

Continuing, he said, “In this yard, thousands are working, but there has been complete neglect of Ugborodo community. They pay us less than those brought from outside; they call them Lekki workers. They bring people from outside in droves to work here, and we are not employed.

“Chevron has to employ us; we need blue badges and direct employment. We are calling on the management of Chevron on the issue of PIA to implement that of Ikpere Host Communities’ Development Trust.

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“They are contravening the Local Content Law that provides some percentage for us. We are saying that until they attend to us, we are not going to leave here.

The National President of Ugborodo Youths, Wilson Ejeh, emphasized the community’s peaceful stance, stating, “We have been protesting for decades without response. We will remain here until our top leaders visit us to address our grievances directly.”

Laju Udonju, the National Vice Chairman, called for the presence of high-ranking officials, saying, “We want the NNPC GCEO and Chevron top management to come here in person. We will not leave our community to meet with them elsewhere. Our issues are urgent, and they need to see the reality here.”

“There’s a project, PITSTOP, that is going on here with at least 10,000 persons brought in, yet our people are not adequately engaged.

“We want top management personnel of Chevron and the NNPC GCEO to come here to address us. We won’t leave our community elsewhere to enter into any meeting. We need them to come here and see our plight. Because the people here don’t want their top management to know the politics they are playing here.

“We have made our demands known to them on pen and paper for over five months now, but they have kept a blind eye over them.

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“We don’t have light, we need portable water, we need empowerment, and we need employment for our people,” he stressed.

They insisted that their occupation of the facility will continue until they see concrete action from the top management, starting with a personal visit to Ugborodo to address their demands.