Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — There is growing tension in Omoku, Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers State, as residents accuse oil firm Oando Plc of withdrawing from the long-standing tradition of maintaining electricity infrastructure in the community, a move they say could plunge the area into darkness.
The development, which community leaders described as “provocative” and “anti-community,” has sparked fears of an imminent face-off unless urgent intervention is made.
Chairman of the Omoku Development Council, ODC, Dr. Christian Ojobah, confirmed that Oando had written to the community, indicating that the responsibility for maintaining electrical facilities now rests with them, following the implementation of the Petroleum Industrial Act, PIA.
“This is unhealthy, unwarranted, and a ploy by the company to deprive the community of the only benefit which the people enjoy from them.
“This is something that Agip, the predecessor of Oando, maintained over the years. Why will Oando that just took over the assets and liabilities of Agip initiate this kind of anti-community posture?”’
Ojobah lamented that the community, already suffering environmental degradation from oil activities, would be left with nothing if Oando stops maintaining electricity.
“The oil companies have destroyed our mangroves, our farms, our rivers. Our people can’t get firewood anymore, gas is expensive for rural folks. So, the light which they give us is the only benefit the people derive to enable them power their gadgets.
“Now, if you leave maintenance of the electrical facilities to the community, it means you want to throw them into darkness,” he stated.
According to him, Omoku has not seen any improvement since Oando took over from Agip.
“We expected them to continue with what Agip did if they could not add or improve on them. Generate, transmit, and maintain, we are not asking for the entire world,” he quipped.
Under the PIA, host communities are entitled to 3% of oil companies’ operational expenditures of the preceding year, to be managed through Host Community Development Trusts. The provision is aimed at fostering sustainable prosperity, peace, and partnership between operators and host communities.
However, implementation has been contentious. Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, recently warned that the PIA risks inflaming tensions in the Niger Delta, describing it as “a time bomb.”
While the PIA was designed to modernize Nigeria’s oil and gas sector and ensure benefits for host communities, residents of Omoku argue that shifting the cost of electricity maintenance to them is unfair, considering the environmental impact of decades of oil exploration.
Dr. Ojobah urged Oando to reconsider its stance to avoid unrest.
“Oando should not unnecessarily cause a breach of the peace in the area. Their stance on this matter is provocative, especially when they are still flaring gas in our community,” he warned.
For Omoku residents, the looming darkness is more than a power supply issue, it symbolizes what they see as the erosion of their only tangible benefit from decades of oil exploration.
This article was originally posted at sweetcrudereports.com
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