Youths protest planned closure of Chevron logistics base at Onne

Youths under the aegis of the Onne Youth Council on Tuesday staged a peaceful protest at the Chevron shore/logistics base located in the Onne Oil and Gas Free Zone, Onne, Rivers State, over planned closure of the base.  The youths, in their large numbers, carried placards with various inscriptions appealing to Chevron to rescind its […]

Youths under the aegis of the Onne Youth Council on Tuesday staged a peaceful protest at the Chevron shore/logistics base located in the Onne Oil and Gas Free Zone, Onne, Rivers State, over planned closure of the base. 

The youths, in their large numbers, carried placards with various inscriptions appealing to Chevron to rescind its decision to relocate its logistics base from Onne, as the move could have dire economic consequences on the community. 

The President of Onne Youth Council, Tobiah Silas Tete, who led the protest, said their visit to the shore base was to submit a letter of appeal to the Chevron management to reconsider the decision to relocate its logistics support base from Onne in order not to throw the community and Rivers State into economic hardship. 

He said: “The company has enjoyed a very warm and cordial relationship with our peaceful and welcoming communities for more than thirty years. 

“Consequently, the host communities are jointly appealing to Chevron to stop the planned closure of its logistics/shore base at Onne. “This call became imperative considering the dire economic and security consequences of the planned relocation of the shore base out of Onne.” 

He argued that the logistics/shore base in question is a major employer of labour in the community, providing thousands of direct and indirect jobs to its men and women. 

He appealed to Governor Nyesom Wike, President Muhammadu Buhari and the Chairman of Eleme Local Government Area, to intervene in the matter by prevailing on Chevron to suspend the planned closure of its logistics/shore base in Onne in order not to disrupt the peace in the Niger Delta region.

When contacted, the Manager of Communications with Chevron Nigeria Limited, Mr Victor Anyaegbudike, said the company would issue an official statement on the matter.

But a source said Chevron has been operating in Onne providing logistics for Intel, adding, “The company thinks it is time to move to Escravos, our operational area. That is it. Onne is just like a branch in our hub where we have logistics.”

 

From Victor Edozie (Port Harcourt) & Abdullateef Aliyu (Lagos)