The NPDC/NECONDE OML 42 JV flow-station at Jones Creek, Delta State, was shut down by protesters on Monday, causing the employees to leave the property.
The protesters, who were from the Warri-West towns of Egwa, Odidi, Bayan, and Okerenkoko, complained about not having access to drinking water or electricity since December 2023.
The demonstrators, most of whom were female, held signs requesting that they be connected to the oil facility’s gas turbine so that they might receive energy. They declared they would stay at the location until their demands were fulfilled while chanting songs of solidarity.
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They carried placards with inscriptions such as,”NECONDE/NPDC No light, No Operation. Give us light”,” Okerenkoko Community is tired of darkness. Give us light. NECONDE/NPDC”,”Let there be light in Okerenkoko” and “Enough is enough of darkness”.
The community’s dissatisfaction with the protracted darkness was highlighted by protest leader Esther Ene, who also threatened additional demonstrations if their requests were not met in three months.
Ene stated, “It’s light issue that brought us here. As we are here, if darkness is sweet, they should shutdown the flow-station so that we will stay in darkness with them.”
Claiming that the community is the highest oil producer in the Niger Delta, Ene said, “We are not supposed to be in darkness.
“Anybody they will call from above, we are ready to stay with that person. If it’s Tinubu that comes here, we will stay with him here. They should find a way. The highest we are giving them is three months, we should have light day and night. They should fix the turbine for us so that we will have light,” she declared.
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Akpoaboere HelpMe, a different protestor, drew attention to the scarcity of drinking water and the negative impacts on Nigeria Maritime University (NMU), where students find it difficult to study and charge their phones because of the power outage.
HelpMe said, “The situation has affected the Nigeria Maritime University, NMU. Students now go about in search of where to charge their mobile phones. Students can no longer study as many are leaving the town already.
“We are suffering again because there’s no network from telecommunication providers. NPDC/NECONDE OML 42 JV have refused to give us light. Please, give us light within the next three days or we shut you down completely.”
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