Kolo Creek Youths’ Protest Threatens Critical Facilities

Hundreds of youths from four communities in Kolo Creek in Bayelsa State, last Thursday, embarked on a coordinated protest over lack of electricity supply to their communities despite being hosts to Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Joint Venture’s Kolo Creek field logistics base.

The protesting youths from Imiringi, Elebele, Otuasega and Oruma, who took the company by storm, The Tide gathered, sang war songs, marched through Shell’s Kolo Creek flow station, during which a number of the youths had tampered with sensitive installations, and threatened critical national assets.

In a statement, Shell’s Corporate Media Relations Manager, Tony Okonedo, restated the fact that Kolo Creek field logistics base has been supplying electricity to Elebele, Imiringi and Otuasega communities in line with an agreement reached in 1999.

The statement indicated, however, that these communities have since expanded and the demand for power has exceeded the installed capacity.

As an alternative, Okonedo said, SPDC facilitated the hook-up of the communities to the Bayelsa Electricity Supply Board (BESB) grid, while also supplying feedstock to the BESB gas turbine at Imiringi.

He noted that as a result, the communities have been enjoying stable power from the facility, but attributed the current power supply situation to an on-going major refurbishment of the plant.

The media manager regretted the resort to protest to press home their demand, but stated that SPDC will continue to engage Kolo Creek communities in meaningful dialogue as a means of resolving the current impasse, and furthering the desire of the company to sustain the implementation of development projects in the area.

As a means of achieving this, the statement stressed that the company has already informed the Bayelsa State Government of the situation, and hoped that the misunderstanding will be resolved peacefully.

Okonedo assured that Shell will continue to implement development projects in the area, and charged the protesting youths to be patient and allow the BESB complete rehabilitation and refurbishment of the facility so as to improve power supply to the communities.

The Tide recalls that the Kolo Creek Cluster Development Board was inaugurated in 2007 to drive development of the area as part of the Global Memorandum of Understanding (GMoU) agreed for execution of the Gbaran-Ubie Integrated Oil and Gas Project.

A total of N535million was disbursed to the board between 2006 – 2010 for the implementation of projects, including civic centres, accommodation quarters for teachers and youth corps members, drainage systems, internal roads, electricity hook-up and guest houses.

Recently, scoping of three interconnecting roads has been completed for remedial actions to cope with the prevailing rainy season.

Nelson Chukwudi