Rivers plans to shut down shell

THE people of Kula
community in Rivers State, have
threatened to shut down Shell Petroleum
Development Company and Chevron Nigeria
Limited operations in the area over
alleged abandoned projects.
In a statement, Thursday, the
traditional ruler of the community, HRH
King Kroma Eleki, Sara XIV and his
chiefs, said Shell had not met its
financial obligation to the community
for sustainable development since 2007,
adding that the Group Memorandum of
Understanding, GMOU, they signed with
the oil company was aborted with the
death of some of its chiefs, who were
signatories to the account.
They said efforts to set up a new board
to run the GMOU had been frustrated by
some forces. The community said they
had, however, forwarded a list to the
Commissioner for Chieftaincy and
Community Affairs, noting that if the
renewed effort was frustrated, they
would have no option than to shut down
the operations of Shell in the area,
adding that the same thing applies to
Chevron.
Continuing, the community also
threatened to embark on a protest to
Niger Delta Development Commission,
NDDC, over a land reclamation shore
protection project awarded by the
interventionist agency since 2009 that
had been allegedly abandoned.
“In a unanimous decision, the community,
after considering what we contribute to
the national economy with four flow
stations, two gas injections and booster
plants, agreed that a peaceful protest
should be undertaken by the community to
NDDC and Rivers State Government and
letters of representations to be sent to
the Presidency and other government
agencies. If nothing positive comes out
of that protest the community will shut
down both Shell and Chevron operations
in our area,” the community said.