Delta Communities Raises Alarm, Calls FG, State On Breach Of MoU By Tenoil Petroleum And Energy Services Ltd
By Our Reporter
The indigenes and families of land owner of Emoajovo-Ekakpamre and Akpamre-Ekakpamre communities in Ughelli South LGA of Delta State have raised alarm on the breach of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) by Tenoil Petroleum and Energy Services Ltd.
The oil bearing communities also called on the Federal Government, the Delta State Government, Attorney General of the Federation and the Attorney General of Delta State to intervene in the matter and save the situation.
The call was contained in a statement signed by Mr. Austin Ubido Executive Chairman of Emoajovo-Ekakpamre Community and Chief Michael Akponokan for Akpamre-Ekakpamre Community respectively and copies were made available to newsmen on the 16th of April, 2023.
According to them; “We the indigenes who are the land owning families of Emoajovo-Ekakpamre and Akpamre-Ekakpamre communities in Ughelli South LGA, Delta State, wish to draw the attention of the general public to the breach of the MoU we entered into with Tenoil to build a petrochemical plant on our land, approximately 150 Hectares of farmland at Emoajovo-Ekakpmre and Akpamre-Ekakpamre communities in Ughelli South LGA, Delta State by Tenoil Petroleum and Energy Services Ltd.
This action on their part is likely to cause breach of the peace.
“The Tenoil has violated terms of a Memorandum of Understanding dated 9th August, 2021 made between the company and Representatives of Emoajovo-Ekakpamre and Akpamre-Ekakpamre communities and others by wilfully refusing/failing to establish an agreed pretro-chemical plant on the said land.
“The land is the investment of the two communities because Tenoil did not pay any money for the 150 Hectares they want to use in building the petrochemical plant
“By the clear terms of the MoU Tenoil undertakes/agreed to set up a petrochemical plant in the 150 Hectares and in return give jobs and contracts to the people of the two communities.
“But when they came to erect a fence last year they neither gave us jobs nor contracts. Rather Tenoil brought a contractor from Agbor last year to do the fencing of the land. Now they have come to bulldoze even when the matter is in court.
“They have failed or refused to implement the terms of agreement contained in the MoU. We are using this medium to reach out to the public because all efforts to get them to come to terms with the terms of the MoU have proved abortive.
“The company did not set up the plant instead it merely graded the conners round and erected a fence round the land and did not also give any contracts, jobs etc to any member of the communities.
“As a result, we went to court at Otu-Jeremi (Suit No. HCG/36/2022), and we are urging the court to set aside the MoU and we filed motion on notice for injunction.
“Despite the fact that the matter is in court, the company proceeded to bulldoze the land in order to pre empt the court.
“The two communities cannot be blamed for any unfavourable outcome since their youths are running out of patience with the company.
“We call on the Federal Government, the Delta State government, the Attorney General of the federation and the Attorney General of Delta State to intervene in this matter and save the situation”, it added.