Protesters vow not to leave Chevron facilities until their demands are met

Residents of Benikruku communities in Warri southwest Local Government Area of Delta State are protesting in the facilities of Chevron Nigeria Ltd for four days running, Nigerian Tribune reports.

The residents who began the protests since Friday have vowed not to leave the premises until their demands were met.

The protesters accused Chevron of being responsible for an oil spill that has endangered their source of livelihood.

Chairman of the aggrieved Benikrukru communities, Solomon Eris while speaking on behalf of his people on Monday at the occupied platforms, warned that there would be no end in sight to the continued occupation of the Chevron facilities until the management of the company addresses and meets their demands.

Addressing the concerns of the protesters in Saturday, Chevron in a statement by its General Manager, Policy, Governmènt and Public Affairs (PGPA), Esimaje Brikinn, said they have conducted a surveillance on the company’s assets in the Abiteye and Utonana Fields including the 16″ Makaraba-Utonana-Abiteye Right of Way (ROW) with no confirmation that the oil sheen on the water is from its Assets in Abiteye, Makaraba and Utonana fields or from any other CNL facilities as alleged.

But the community’s chairman, Eris on Monday insisted that they would continue to occupy the building because “this time around, it is not going to be business as usual for Chevron Nigeria Limited.

“We are going to remain here until the Group’s Managing Director leaves his cosy office and comes down here and addresses us.

“We have made our point clear and simple. The MD and his management team must come here and address us. Until that is done, we are going nowhere. We are going to remain here. This is the first stage.

“No matter how long Chevron Nigeria Limited lives in denial, the situation is not going to change.

“They recently in a statement denied oil spill from their 16? Abiteye, Makaraba and Utonana fields in CNL’s Western area of operations in Warri South-West Local Government Area of Delta State.”

Speaking further on the subject, Brikinn, said “We take incidents of oil spill seriously. Our surveillance programme is an ongoing exercise ingrained in our processes; and we respond to every report of a spill by following established industry regulatory processes, including engagements with communities and regulators, and Joint Investigation Visits (JIV), to determine the source, cause and impact of such spills. These are ongoing in the current case”.