Port Harcourt—A group known as the Swamp and Land Areas Landlords of Nigerian Agip Oil Company has threatened to stop the operations of the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) over what it termed “ethnic cleansing” allegedly ongoing in the company.
In a statement signed by Onisoya James Odum, Chairman, and Temple Sambo, Secretary, the group alleged that NAOC has been marginalizing indigenes of the swamp and land areas in its operations especially the managerial cadre.
The group accused NAOC’s management of removing indigenes from the Swamp and Land area (Niger Delta) working in the management cadre of the company and replacing them with workers from the south-eastern part of the country.
The group alleged that, “The best brains from the Niger Delta are being removed and replaced by staff from the Igbo-speaking areas of the country.
“Few days ago our claims were vindicated as the manager of the SMD stakeholders department and community development division who handles community relations affairs who hails from Omoku, in Rivers State was replaced by yet another Igbo man.
“The question therefore is, is there no other person from the swamp and land areas operation of NAOC who is qualified to fill that position? Is that position only suitable for Igbos and toxic to our people?”
They threatened to shut down all operations of the multinational oil company in their communities until all issues are resolved.
“We hereby put all landlords of both swamp and land areas operation to be at alert, as few hours from now there will be a directive to shut down all NAOC operations within our communities until all issues are resolved,” the group stated.
Mangrovepen.ng gathered that on the 19th of January 2021, the group staged a peaceful protest at the NAOC operations head office in Port Harcourt, accusing it of denying indigenes from the Swamps and land areas from assuming some managerial positions in the company.
Meanwhile, all efforts to reach NAOC divisional manager, Dennis Masi and Maquin Jitobo, deputy manager public affairs, proved abortive as they neither picked calls nor replied to messages sent to them by our reporter.
