Godwin Udoh
Hosts communities to the Warri Refinery and Petrochemical Company (WRPC), Nigeria Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) and other subsidiaries of the Nigeria National Petroleum Cooperation (NNPC) has accused the Federal Government of Nigeria for neglecting them over cash transfer to cushion the hardship from the lockdown to contain the spread Coronvirus pandemic ravaging the world.
The five districts that make up the hosts communities express their anger over inadequate attention to the communities that have biggest petroleum refining plant in Nigeria.
The communities are, Ubeji, Ifie-Kporo, Aja-Etan, Ijalla-Ikeren and Ekpan.
They claim they were not happy with WRPC, NNPC for the neglect of their communities.
Speaking to The Nigeria Xpress, chairman of Aja-Etan, one of the WRPC host communities, Mr. Billy Ekele, said it was a shame that the communities where our oil are refined, were neglected on the lists of cash transfer of the Federal Government.
They urged the NNPC , WRPC and their subsidiaries to do something urgent to alleviate suffering of the indigent people in their hosts communities.
Ekele berated the Federal Government of for what he called “I-don’t-care attitude towards the people of oil refining communities as the Federal Government rolled out conditional cash transfer to people in the other parts of the country without considering oil and gas hosts communities in the Niger Delta that produce the natural golden resources that sustains the economy of the country”.
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Mr. Ekele maintained that the host communities would be hard against NNPC, saying that if the NNPC and WRPC are not ready to assist their host communities, they should give way for others to come in to manage it and do the needful as quickly as possible.
However, some private depots operating in the area were commended for their show of love and care to their host communities through palliative provisions.
The host communities Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of commended Delta State for providing palliatives for vulnerable people in the state as well as the member Representing Warri Federal Constituency in the National Assembly, Hon. Chief Thomas Ereyitomi, Chairman of Warri South Local Government Area, Dr. Michael Tidi, Hon. Commissioner for Technical Education, Mrs. Gbubemi Ikolo, member representing Warri South 1 constituency in the state’s House of Assembly, Hon. Austin Uroye, and others, for their support towards assisting the indigent people in their communities.
