Bayelsa Communities Threat Showdown With SPDC Over GMoU

For allegedly reneging on the Global Memorandum of Understanding (GMoU) agreement with its host, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) has incurred the wrath of the people of Tarakiri clusters in Ekeremor and Sagbama local government areas of Bayelsa state.

Already, a group from the community known as Voice of the Youths of Egbemo-Angalabiri, are threatening show down with SPDC over the matter.

In a petition made available to newsmen in Yenagoa, and signed by its Chairman, Mark Pereotukefie, they said the company has renegaded on the agreements reached in principle on the GMoU signed in Feburary, 2016.

The communities which play host to three installations operated by the oil giant to include the Opukushi and Tuma flow stations and the Kambo oil field, stated that since 2016, when the GMoU was signed, none of the indigenes of the communities has been employed by Shell.

While warning of an imminent break down of law and order if Shell refuses to honor it obligations, the youth group said the Tarakiri cluster communities jointly and severally undertake to submit to a capacity building process but up till now, the company has failed to organize any workshop on that.

Others violations numerated by the youth group against the oil giant include non-complaint with the pre-project training, pollution, which include both aquatic and terrestrial, no employment, human capacity buildings among others.

Reacting to these allegation, SPDC spokesman, Bamidele Odugbesan, said SPDC does not implement GMoU but only made money available to the GMoU management board, made up of people from the community.

He said the youths or any other person who felt the GMoU was not well managed should direct their petition or anger to their management board.

He said, “I am explaining this to you so that you know that GMoU is not implemented by shell. The people determines their projects, their priorities. Shell does not execute GMoU, shell only make the money available after we have all agreed that this are your priorities and then we say ok; and made the money available over a period of five years.

“So if there is any way or the other that they mismanage their GMoU, they shouldn’t come to shell , they should go to their management board which is made of people from the community

“What shell also do in case you don’t have skills in the field you are engage, we will engage the monitoring NGO who will train you so that you can be able to manage your resources prudently and judiciously”.