Ubeta Community in Ahoada West Local Government Area, Rivers State, a Landlord Community of oil major, Total E&P Ltd says there is nothing to show from the Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, the firm entered with the entire Ekpeye Kingdom as presently constituted and therefore has called it quits because of what it called” no impact from the MoU.
In a letter to the President Total E&P International in France copied Mr Mike Sangster, MD, Total E&P in Nigeria and signed by the Paramount Ruler of Ubeta, Chief Chimeze Nathaniel, the Chairman Community Development Committee, Sir Julius Ojeme and youth leader, Comrade Inncent Abali, alleged the MoU is soaked in fraudulent practices and want the oil giant to have a separate MoU with Ubeta if it wants to continue to operate there as done with other Communities such as Elele, Rundele, Rumuji, Mgbesilaru, Amah, among several others in Rivers State.
It further disclosed that other multinationals as NLNG, Agip, NDPR and Shell enter into MoUs directly with their host communities, pointing out that the involvement of non-oil producing communities on the MoU is designed to short change the landlords.
The people revealed that foreign & Local Scholarship opportunities, festival gifts and skills acquisition training are hijacked by some persons, allegedly in collusion with some staff, stressing that the few who get the Skills Acquisition opportunity are either denied the starter packs or denied the monetary value due to all participants.
“The MoU as is presently constituted is fraught with corruption and difficulties, put there by middlemen who collude with some persons, hence the inability of the MoU managers to deliver,” the community declared.
The people lamented that the N40 million allocated to the community for the building of a Town Hall, and in spite of the Community’s recommendation of an indigenous contractor who can deliver has been deliberately set aside and ignored by Total E&P, and rather going for persons with questionable characters.
We were further told that all efforts and letters by the leaders of Ubeta including the Paramount Ruler to hold meetings with Total E&P and with managers of the MoU to discuss issues affecting the Ubeta has been rebuffed and the people denied access. Ubeta has therefore henceforth withdrawn from the MoU with Total E&P, they concluded.
