The threat of a major oil production disruption in Rivers State has intensified following a firm ultimatum issued by youth leaders of the Ogoni Oil Host Communities. They are threatening to shut down the crucial Trans Niger Pipeline (TNP), which runs through their territory, to protest the alleged failure of the Federal Government and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to award surveillance contracts to indigenous Ogoni contractors.
The ultimatum provides concrete context to the industrial strike threat issued by NUPENG, highlighting the core grievance as one of marginalization and exclusion of local people from lucrative surveillance jobs.
14-Day Ultimatum Issued
The President of the Youth Leaders of Ogoni Oil Host Communities, Teddy Green, issued the ultimatum during a news briefing in Port Harcourt.
The Demand: The groups are demanding that the Federal Government and NNPCL immediately reverse the decision to award the surveillance contract for the Ogoni axis of the TNP to a non-indigenous contractor.
The Threat: Green warned that if the demands are not met before the 14-day ultimatum expires, the shutdown of the Trans Niger Pipeline (operated primarily by the Shell Petroleum Development Company and conveying crude to the Bonny export terminal) will be "total." The planned action would also extend to shutting down the lines belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPC) and the Petroleum Product Marketing Company (PPMC).
Condemnation of Marginalization
Another leader of the body and Niger Delta activist, Dowell Badom, strongly criticized the government for ignoring the Ogoni people in the contract awards.
Badom emphasized that Ogoni has suffered significant environmental devastation due to decades of oil exploitation and houses the highest number of oil wells and flow stations in the Niger Delta. He stressed that competent Ogoni contractors exist, and the contracts would serve as empowerment, allowing them to engage local youths who are currently unemployed.
"We condemn the award of the TNP surveillance contract to a non-Ogoni indigenous contractor... It is, therefore, imperative that the National Security Adviser, NNPC, and Shell allocate a section of the national surveillance contract to Ogoni indigenous contractors or face the shutdown of the TNP." — Dowell Badom, Niger Delta Activist
This development signals a clear escalation in the tensions surrounding the NNPCL surveillance contracts, confirming the high risk of a widespread disruption to Nigeria's Eastern oil production corridor.
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