The Concerned Itsekiri Coastal Dwellers (CICD) have given Chevron Nigeria Limited seven days within which to immediately withdraw a letter of May 5, 2023 it addressed to the ‘Warri Kingdom Coastal Community Development Trust’ and direct redirect it accordingly to the CICD, or face legal actions.
The CICD which is an umbrella body under the leadership of Mr. David Mode Akoma, Mr. Joseph Uwawah, Mr. Rexlly Ede, Mr. Austin Ekpotor and Mr. Daniel Ometie among others, made this demand recently in a letter it sent through her lawyer, Mr. G.O.K. Ebowe, to the General Manager, Policy, Government and Public Affairs of Chevron Nigeria Limited, Mr. Esimaje Brikinn, adding that “otherwise, we will have no other choice but to approach the relevant court of law for the succinct and clear interpretation of your powers in the PIA viz a viz the Local Content Act as it relates to your allocation of employment/job slots to the Warri Kingdom Coastal Community Development Trusts.”
The letter reads: “We have been briefed and our professional services retained by DAVID MODE AKOMA (Chairman of Iye bloc), REXLLY EDE (treasurer of Coastal bloc “A”), AUSTIN EKPOTOR (home base bloc), TUNDE MIKIE (bloc B), JOSEPH UWAWAH (Ugborodo bloc), and DANIEL OMETIE (Ejubelebe bloc), representing the Concerned Itsekiri Coastal Dwellers (CICD) hereinafter referred to as “our clients) and it is based on their clear and unequivocal instructions that our firm cause this letter to be written to you.
“By a letter dated the 5th day of May, 2023, you caused a notification to be sent to our clients of joint venture operation with the above stated captioned, wherein the joint venture will be engaging two (2) rigs for the upcoming offshore drilling campaign in your offshore operational field. Your aforementioned letter stated that a total of twenty four (24) job opportunities are being offered.
“We (are) at this stage advocating that under the PIA your company cannot delve into the modalities of unemployment/job slots so indicated in your letter in issue by addressing the letter to the Warri Kingdom Coastal Host Community Development Trust to present people for the mentioned jobs for employment, thereby sidelining the CICD.
“Our briefing reveals that as at today, the Board of Trustees have not registered any Host Communities Development Trust as prescribed by section 235(4) & (5) of the PIA. Save for the constitution of the Board of Trustees, the Board has not constituted the Management Committee which in turn constitutes the Advisory Committee. The aforementioned committees are still in limbo, contrary to Section 236(a) & (b) of the extant law.
“We state categorically that your company have no right to dictate to the communities on how to manage their empowerment as it relates to the issue of employment/jobs slots, because this Act gives the communities the prerogative to enjoy their rights as enshrined in the local content law and nothing in this law shall preclude them from their entitlements as clearly spelt out in section 239(4) of this act.
“We state that the PIA only donate to your company the right to manage the funding of three percent (3%) and not to delve into how the communities as represented by CICD should go about the allocation of jobs/employment.
“It is our humble view that reading through Section 239(1) (2) and (3) (a) – (i) of the PIA, it clearly spells out the objectives of Host Communities Development trust, which by no guise donates any power to your company to invite the Warri Kingdom Coastal Host Community Development Trust, let alone project people for employment.
“It is our briefing that this act of you company is a clear and present danger and if not nipped in the bud it will snowball into knocking the heads of the CICD and the Warri Kingdom Coastal Host Community Development Trust. We believe the PIA and the Local Content Law are clear and distinct.
“Consequently, we state as follows:-
1. That the name, Warri Kingdom Coastal Host Community Development Trust is not known to our clients and same has not been registered with the C.A.C.
2. The Board of Trustees have not set up the Management Committee, who in turn will set up the Advisory Committee.
3. That the letter of the 5th of May, 2023 should be addressed to the CICD, because it relates to employment/job.
4. That assuming that the Warri Kingdom Coastal Host Community Development Trust has been registered or is in the process of registration, your company does not have the right to cloth “it” with the powers to employ and/or project/distribute the job slots, because “it” has no power under the PIA to delve into employment/job slots meant for the oil producing communities.
“We therefore state that you withdraw the letter of 5/5/2023 addressed to the Warri Kingdom Coastal Community Development Trust and direct it to the CICD, otherwise we will have no other choice but to approach the relevant court of law for the succinct and clear interpretation of your powers in the PIA viz a viz the Local Content Act as it relates to your allocation of employment/job slots to the Warri Kingdom Coastal Community Development Trusts.
“We hope that you reconsider your position and skew it in favour of the demands of the members of the Oil Producing Communities as represented by the CICD.
“We crave your indulgence to accede to our clients request within seven (7) days of the receipt of this letter to avoid unnecessary litigation,” the letter which was copied the Executive Commissioner for Community Affairs of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), further reads.
