The people of Erhoike within Kokori Community in Ethiope-East Local Government Area of Delta State have shut down the oil facilities belonging to Heritage Energy Operational Service Limited in the Kokori/Orogun Oil field, alleging non-payment of agreed land lease owed them by the oil firm.
Our correspondent gathered that the shutdown was effected during a peaceful protest on Tuesday while the protesting indigenes of the community insisted that the oil facilities would remain shut until their entitlements were paid.
Sources said that the indigenes staged the protest under the auspices of the Cluster Four Oil-bearing Communities in OML 30 led by the executive and members of Community Management Committee including chairmen and other members of CDC in each of the Oil Producing Communities.
The Chairman of OML 30 Cluster Four, Mr. Okpako Onome, told journalists that the peaceful protest which led to the shutdown of the oil facility was ‘to notify HEOSL of the need to pay the community its entitlements with regards to the agreed land lease owed them for several years’.
“We cannot fold our hands watching the company to be drilling our oil without paying us our entitlements,” he said.
He added that the community had written series of letters to notify the company and security operatives over the alleged non-payment of their entitlements without any response.