By Oluwayemi Davidson
Operations at the Oil Mining Lease (OML) 30 operated by Heritage Energy Oil Services Limited (HEOSL) have been shut down by protesting indigenes of Olomoro host community in Isoko South Local Government Area of Delta State.
The aggrieved indigenes who carried placards converged at the entrance of the oil firm as they affected the shutdown on Sunday morning during a peaceful protest over the alleged disengagement of eight of their kinsmen working with the oil company.
While accusing the oil firm of unduly marginalising the host community, the protesters specifically accused the company of sacking their affected kinsmen without any reason.
Speaking with newsmen during the peaceful protest, the Patron of Olomoro Indigenes Heritage Staff, Mr Okpogbo Peter, declared that the company would not be reopened until the affected staff were reabsorbed.
According to him, the protest would also be sustained until the workers reabsorption.
He explained that the disengaged workers were employees of the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) before it was bought over by the Nigerian Petroleum and Development Company (NPDC) in 2012. He further hinted that HEOSL had not employed any Olomoro indigene since it inherited the assets from NPDC in 2017.
Mr Okpogbo Peter spoke further, “Shell requested the workers from the Olomoro Community and transferred their assets and workers to NPDC in 2012 while HEOSL bought the facilities in 2017.
“Since 2017, HEOSL has never employed anybody from Olomoro Community but would rather sack our people employed by Shell. We disagree with that. Heritage has no right to sack any of our community workers that were employed by Shell.
“They are owing Olomoro Community slots. So we are saying the sacked community workers be called back immediately”.
One of the retrenched staff of the company, Mr Steve Okaro, who also spoke with journalists, alleged that HEOSL had made series of illegal employment over the years which had over-bloated the staff strength, just as he further alleged that another company was attempting to buy HEOSL but, however, complained of the over-bloated staff strength.
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Okaro said, “We learnt that a new company is coming to take over from Heritage but it’s like that company is complaining of the staff strength. Now, they want to let some workers go and it is the community workers. Those workers they employed through the back doors, they did not touch them.
“They are owning Olomoro Community more slots and they are dropping our people. We are saying, no way, we cannot take it from them. All the eight sacked workers should be reinstated. Our President-General said we should take it diplomatically with them but they are not shifting ground, hence the protest”.
The HEOSL Community Relations Officer who is simply identified as Mr Williams would not want to speak with journalists on the issue saying he was not authorised to speak with the press.
