RVHA Urges Employment Law Compliance

The Rivers State House of Assembly RVHA has called on companies operating in the state to comply with the state employment law to reduce their crisis with communities in the state.
The chairman, House Committee on Public Complaints and Petitions, Hon. Evans Bipi made the call while presenting a report of the Joint Committee on the protest against Niger Delta Petroleum Resources (NDPR) over its alleged insensitivity to community development and employment at the hallowed chamber of the House in Port Harcourt.
Bipi blamed communal crisis on the negligence of some companies operating in Rivers State on the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with their host communities in the state.
According to him, some companies including NDPR neglected the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) they are using as their basis for community development and employments, which he said had led to serious protests and crisis by some youths in the state.
Bipi blamed NDPR for intentionally neglecting the MoU it entered with the communities  on employment and community development.
He recommended that the company should within 60 days commence the process of a new GMoU with the host communities to avoid more reactions from the communities.
Bipi said the GMoU should, among other things, define the character and type of community development projects and employment conditions for the communities and the state in general. It would be recalled that five communities including Ogbele, Obumeze, Oghiugbokor in Ahoada East Local Government Area of Rivers State staged a protest to the state House of Assembly against NDPR over insensitivity and negligence of agreement by the company.

 Enoch Epelle