A coalition of ex-militants under the aegis of the Niger Delta Volunteers has raised concerns over alleged neglect and poor treatment of host communities by Sterling Oil Exploration and Energy Production Company Ltd, operating in Akwa Ibom State.
In a petition addressed to the company’s Managing Director and made available to journalists in Abuja, the group alleged that the firm’s operations in Akwa Ibom State have failed to meet local content obligations, community welfare expectations and provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.
The statement, signed by the leader of the Niger Delta Volunteers, Gen. Ekpo Ekpo, and the group’s Director of Information and Communication, Maj. Gen. Henry Okon Etete claimed that indigenes have been excluded from key employment and managerial roles, while large numbers of foreign workers have been brought in for positions ordinarily meant for locals.
But the company’s Media Liaison Officer, Uduak Ekpo, in her response, denied the allegations against the oil firm, saying that the claims by the coalition do not represent what the company stands for.
“The letter’s contents do not accurately reflect our company’s actions and stance,” she said. The petition was also sent to the National Security Adviser (NSA), Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State, the Minister of State Petroleum Resources, and his gas counterpart, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), and the High Commissioner of India in Abuja.
The volunteers further alleged that the company’s activities had affected waterways, fishing livelihoods and farmlands in some host communities without adequate compensation.
The group maintained that the firm had yet to establish the mandatory Host Community Development Trust (HCDT) as required by the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), and had sidelined local contractors in the award of service contracts.
The ex-militants declared that their people can no longer tolerate the undignified way and manner in which the firm is operating.
