Bayelsa community demands access road to Agip’s oilfield

Residents of Ikarama, in Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State have requested for the construction of a two kilometre access road to an oilfield operated by Nigeria Agip Oil Company in the area. Hundreds of members of the community who sang solidarity songs and danced round the riverside settlement made the demand during an […]

Residents of Ikarama, in Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State have requested for the construction of a two kilometre access road to an oilfield operated by Nigeria Agip Oil Company in the area.

Hundreds of members of the community who sang solidarity songs and danced round the riverside settlement made the demand during an advocacy rally at Ikarama.

Speaking during the protest, Chief Herbertson Alfred bemoaned a scenario where officials of Agip pass through neighbouring communities in Rivers State to get access to Ikarama fields a distance of approximately 16 kilometers.

He said the people had tabled their request for construction of the two-kilometre access road in writing and was deploying peaceful and persuasive ways to get Agip to see the need for the road to both parties.

“Agip started operating in Ikarama forests in 1984, and when they started operations they said they did not have the resources to construct a bridge across the Ikarama River and opted to pass through Idagbare in Rivers State.

“That route is awkward and causes a lot of problems; it is like a visitor passing through the window or kitchen to enter his house. We want Agip to come into Ikarama through our entrance and not through the window,” he said.