Hundreds of youth, women, and elders of Koroama community in Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State have blocked all access roads to the facilities Of the multi-million Naira Shell’s Gbarain-Ubie Integrated Oil and  Gas Plant, thereby stopping operations at the gas field.
The community, among other things is protesting to demand power supply from the power plant component of the facility.
Paramount Ruler of the community, Chief Sabu Martins  who addressed the aggrieved members of his community, urged them to remain resolute until their aims were achieved.
He said that the oil and gas endowed community suffered the adverse impact of gas flare and deserved  supply of electricity generated with gas from the area to ameloriate their sufferings.
He noted that  the protest had been ongoing for the past three weeks and resulted in forcing contractors to vacate the community until the oil firm gives a commitment to provide electricity to the people.
“Today, I and my people, we are protesting to SPDC and to the Federal Government as well. Koroama is a host community and has the largest proven gas and oil reserve in the entire Shell operations in this area.
“We have agreed that we could die here if light, the only demand we have, is not given to us. Shell will never operate on our land, we have given them time to remove their things, we want government to intervene,” the monarch said.
Also addressing the protesting members of Koroama community, a Community Rights Activist,  Miss Ankio Briggs noted that the demands of the people who host the gas plant was modest.
“What I have  heard them say today is not different from what has been said for a very long time.  What they are demanding is  in line with what Adaka Boro demanded.
“This is story about host communities, who I call, the owners of the resources, , it is about self determination, it is about corporate social responsibility, the demand is just and right.
“I call on the Government of Bayelsa, Federal Government and Shell to look at the demand, although it is not the duty of Shell to provide electricity to Nigerians but it is a social and moral obligation to their hosts,” Briggs said.
Spokesman for Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC)Mr. Joseph Obari,  in a reaction said that the oil firm had difficulties meeting the demands of electricity to its gas plant host communities due to limited capacity.
“The Bayelsa State Government is leading discussions with Koroama community to end the blockade of SPDC project sites in the area.
“The community commenced the blockade about three weeks ago to press their demand for free and uninterrupted power supply to the community from SPDC’s gas plant in the area.
“The Gbaran-Ubie Integrated Oil and Gas Plant supplies back-up power to two neighbouring communities under an agreement entered into with host communities in 2006, during the project conception stage.
“Due to limitation imposed by the power capacity of the plant, it has been unable to accommodate other communities’ requests to tie into the power system,” Obari said.
“SPDC has progressively fulfilled agreed sustainable community development projects in the community under the Global Memorandum of Understanding (GMoU). For example, in 2014 alone, projects worth over N100 Million were completed in the Gbarain/Ekpetiama Cluster which covers Koroama.” Obari said.