Delta Community Threatens to Shut Down OANDO Operations Over Neglect, MarginalizationBy Francis Sadhere, AsabaThe people of Irri community in Isoko South Local Government Area of Delta State have staged a protest against OANDO, an oil company operating in the area, accusing it of neglect and marginalization spanning over eight years.Chanting solidarity songs and carrying placards with inscriptions such as “We Need Electricity,” “Irri Needs Gas Turbine,” “No Single Project Since 2017,” “We Are Being Marginalised,” etc the protesters stormed the company’s operational site and vowed to shut down all oil exploration activities if their demands are not met.Addressing journalists during the peaceful protest, Mr. John Ozaveva Eweh, President General of the Irri Development Union, expressed deep dissatisfaction with OANDO’s conduct, alleging the company has failed to positively impact the host community despite years of extracting resources.“NOAC, now OANDO, has been operating in our community for many years without any visible contribution to our development,” Eweh said. “We have written several letters and made many requests, but they have all been ignored. They are exploiting our God-given resources without any regard for our people.”He further criticized the company’s alleged misuse of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), stating, “The company is hiding under the PIA to deny us our rights. The PIA does not say they should disrespect our traditional institutions or ignore our correspondence.”Also lending his voice, Odio Silas Efajemue, representative of the Odiologbo of Irri, HRM Simon Wajutome Odhomo, Igbogidi I, lamented the absence of basic infrastructure, especially electricity. “We’ve been crying for electricity for years. OANDO has not even paid a courtesy visit to our king. We don’t even know who is in charge here – whether it’s AGIP or OANDO,” he said.Other community leaders, including Hon. Efewomazino Okiroro Otuaga and Prince Olomu Chris Ewomazino, accused the company of abandoning the terms of the Global Memorandum of Understanding (GMOU) signed in 2015. They revealed that the last known project carried out by the company in Irri was in 2017.“This protest is long overdue. We have been too patient,” said Prince Olomu. “If they fail to meet our demands, we will shut down their operations completely. As a host community, we deserve a better deal.”The community is demanding employment opportunities for their youth, resuscitation of dormant infrastructure such as the skills acquisition center and community hospital, and execution of new development projects under the PIA framework.As tensions continues to rise, Irri community leaders have issued a stern warning that any further delay in addressing their grievances will result in the total shutdown of oil operations in the area.End
