Clark Seeks Relocation Of Firms’ Head Offices

Prominent Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark, has called for immediate relocation of the headquarters of the International Oil Companies (IOCs) from Lagos to their various states of operation.
Clark, who made the call in an interview with newsmen recently said a situation where the multinationals had their head offices outside the Niger Delta which is their operational base is denying the Niger Delta states their economic gains.
“We oppose the international oil companies’ refusal to have their headquarters where the oil is produced. They stay in Lagos and operate in helicopters or boats to where the oil is”, he said.
The Ijaw leader insisted that Shell should move to Port Harcourt in Rivers State, Chevron should more down to Warri in Delta State, Agip to Bayelsa State while ExxonMobil should move to Akwa Ibom State.
According to him, “once we have that, there will be peace in the area and there will be places for people to work. They will be happy that oil is being produced in their domain.
He stressed that a situation whereby Chevron had everything in Lagos is bad, noting that there would be no Lekki today without Chevron.
“Many people have built estates in Lekki because of the presence of Chevron. Chevron built estates for its workers in Gbagada and has hundreds of buses they used to carry them.
We are going to find out why Chevron workers do not pay taxes in their area of operation”, said Clark.
He said, in the negotiation for peace in the region, it was imperative that certain basic things as siting of headquarters in the operational bases of the multinationals be done for the sake of equity and fairness.