•Nude women protest
Women from the Alesa community in Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State today embarked on a nude protest over the controversial Memorandum of Understanding recently signed between the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited and two Chinese firms for the rehabilitation and operation of the Port Harcourt Refining Company.
The protest, which entered the second week of agitation by the host community against the refinery deal, saw elderly women and youths barricading the refinery gate, accusing the federal government and NNPCL of excluding host communities from negotiations surrounding the agreement.
This came on the heels of last week’s blockade of the refinery by youths from the host communities of Alesa and Okrika communities demanding the reconstitution of the Joint Community Relations Committee, JCRC, and greater inclusion in discussions concerning the future of the refinery.
Although details of the MoU signed between NNPCL and the Chinese firms for the revamping of the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries have not been publicly disclosed, the agreement has continued to trigger anxiety among host communities, who insist they deserve representation and benefits in any arrangement involving facilities located on their ancestral lands.
One of the protesting women, Chief Mrs. Catherine Abbey-Wai, while speaking to newsmen, said the community had sacrificed far too much for the refinery without corresponding benefits.
She stated, “The refinery is on our land. There is no more land left for us. We have been farming, but there is no place left to farm. Fulani herdsmen invade our land with cows, and we are supposed to stay in the house with no financial help from anywhere.”
Abbey-Wai flayed the unemployment and economic hardship in the community despite decades of oil and gas operations in the area. She said, “We are not working; our children who are graduates are not working. The government wants to sell the refinery to China, but it’s ours, so we need to be involved. That is why you are seeing us here, old and young women.”
She insisted that all segments of the host communities should have been consulted before any agreement was signed.
“The government is supposed to reach out to all of us, both young and old, men and women, chiefs and youths, so we can benefit from whatever they are doing,” she added.
Also speaking, one of the leaders, Elizabeth Bouro, said the women would sustain the protest until the government addressed their concerns.
She stated, “We’re supposed to benefit from this refinery, but we did not benefit from anything. If the government truly wants to sell the refinery to China, we’re supposed to have a meeting to discuss it so everybody benefits. But nothing like that happened.”
She said the protest will continue if their demands are not met. According to her, “If they don’t answer us, we can stay here for more than one month. We’ll still stay here until the government answers us. Look at our old mothers. That is why we are here.”
Our correspondent reports that the Port Harcourt Refining Company has remained non-functional for decades, despite several rehabilitation efforts that have consumed billions of dollars.
Recall that during the second tenure of former President Muhammadu Buhari, the administration approved the sum of 1.5 billion dollars for the repairs of the Port Harcourt Refining Company, but nothing tangible was done.
