By Our Correspondent
Rising from an enlarged meeting at the weekend, the people of Kokodiagbene community in Warri South West council of Delta State, have issued a two-week ultimatum to the American oil giants, Chevron Nigeria Limited, to implement the agreements entered into with the community to provide it with electricity supply otherwise the firm’s production activities will be disrupted.
The oil rich riverside community is host to Chevron’s Otunana Flow Station producing well over 10,000 barrels per day of crude oil.
The community stated that the pacts were signed in 1998 and that Chevron only gave them a generating plant 10 years after as a stop gap measure with a pledge to upgrade its gas facility at Otunana Flow Station to accommodate the community as it has done for communities hosting its Abiteye facility.
But as they explained Chevron was yet to implement the 1998 MoU, stressing that the community has been under total blackout as the generating plant has since packed up, while Chevron facility which is about 2kilometer from the community was well lit.
A source in the community told our Correspondent that the youths and women last week Thursday moved to shut down Chevron’s operations in the area if not for the swift intervention of the community leaders, who pleaded with them to exercise more patience, stating that the community does not want a temporal electricity arrangement.
The source maintained that other communities hosting Chevron facilities were enjoying uninterrupted power supply courtesy of Chevron’s magnanimity and expressed dismay why the American oil company was playing ‘’a hide and seek game’’ with Kokodiagbene community.
Another indigene of the community who gave his name simply as Donald implored the state government to direct the oil firm to honour the accord with its host community, slamming the company for not living up to its Corporate Social Responsibility.
The Community advised Chevron to deal with them directly without involving a mediator or the third party on the issue.
The meeting also agreed to hand a two- week ultimatum to the company to enable it implement the Memorandum of Understanding signed with the community, failure of which they will shut down Chevron’s activities pending the resolution of the matter.
Speaking with newsmen, Chairman of Kokodiagbene Community, Comrade Sheriff Mulade, said the leaders had to talk the Community’s youths and women out of closing down the firm’s operations, calling for restraint.
