The lawmaker representing Degema/Bonny federal constituency in the House of Representatives, Farah Dagogo has warned Total Nigeria Plc not to aggravate the unemployment situation in Rivers State and the Niger Delta at large.
He issued this warning when he alerted that the multinational oil firm was already relocating its servicing companies working in the Egina Offshore Field, Onne to Ladol Yard in Lagos State.
The Egina Offshore Field, which is reputed to have the capacity to add 200,000 barrels of oil per day to Nigeria’s crude oil production at its peak is situated in Rivers State.
In a statement by his Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Ibrahim Lawal, the federal lawmaker cautioned Total against the planned relocation, pointing out that the move has the propensity “to flame the already worsening unemployment situation in Rivers State, in particular, and the Niger Delta region, at large”.
He called on the relevant agencies, particularly, federal and state governments, to intervene and nip the “unwarranted relocation in the bud”.
“In the interim, however, there is a need for the Federal Government and the Rivers State Government to step in now because I have credible information that the relocation of the servicing companies working on Egina Offshore Field, Onne, Rivers State by Total Group to Ladol Yard in Lagos State is at an advanced stage.”
He disclosed that he was poised to present a motion on the issue on the floor of the House of Representatives with a view to compel International oil companies (IOCs), as well as the relevant regulatory agencies, the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), and the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), to relocate their head offices to the states where they explore and exploit crude.
Acting Director of Petroleum Resources, Ahmad Rufai Shakur 
Group Managing Director, NAPIMS, Musa Lawan
“I foresaw this scenario that was why I had a motion to that effect. Unfortunately, it couldn’t be presented on the floor of the House of Representatives before we went on recess. It will definitely be presented after our recess.”
The former Chairman of Education Committee in the Rivers State House of Assembly equally frowned at the laxity of government over what he referred to as “unbridled attitude of being reactive instead of proactive to issues of this magnitude”.
“We all know what this relocation portends to the volatile Niger Delta region. We need to do away with this our unbridled attitude of being reactive instead of proactive to issues of this magnitude. We should not wait for the problem to come before we start investing avoidable logistics to resolve it. We should prevent it and this is one of those”.
“How could these IOCs and the sectors regulatory and investment vehicle, DPR and NAPIMS respectively abandon the areas and states they explore and exploit crude for a supposedly safe haven? I surmise they could not stand the deprivation and bastardization of the environments they get their huge revenue from”.
“For me, this relocation is one too many and this current one being pushed by Total Group will be swiftly resisted,” a part of the statement reads.
Meanwhile, one of Farah Dagogo’s constituents, George Banigo has applauded his move to stop the move by Total Nigeria Plc to relocate to Lagos State, urging him to investigate the rumours of the company allegedly sponsoring Eco Hotel and Suites to build an annex in Lagos to house its staff that it intends to relocate from Rivers State.
According to Banigo, the five year project was reportedly in its concluding stages and involved billions of Naira, warning that should this move by the multinational oil giant succeed, it will deepen the unemployment and insecurity crisis in the region.
He also appealed to the federal lawmaker to investigate the reported employment of over 81 graduate trainees by the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) without adherence to community stakeholdership as, according to him, only five of the 81 graduate trainees were indigenes of Bonny Local Government Area.
George Banigo, who is the Assistant Secretary of the Bonny Kingdom Security Committee (BKSC), called on the House of Representatives member to wade into the matter, regretting that several graduate and competent youths of the area were unemployed while the NLNG and her subcontractors were allegedly importing people from other parts of the country to fill up vacant positions in the company.
Banigo also drew the attention of the Degema/Bonny representative to the appalling discriminatory policy in Mobil Producing Nigeria Limited in its Bonny River Terminal (BRT) where, he alleged that non-indigenes were being flown into the island to do jobs, indigenes of the area should be doing.
“Our Rep should look into these things. How can Mobil be flying in people from Eket to come handle driving jobs, and other roles when our people are at home and can do these job? It is a matter of urgent attention”.
“As we speak, the fuel attendant at Mobil BRT in Bonny was flown in from Eket. Are we saying that none of our people here can take up the role of fuel attendant? So, you see what I am talking about. He should help us look into these things”.
He also raised alarm over the abandoned Bonny Ring Road by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), stressing that it was unacceptable that such a critical and strategic road could be abandoned by NDDC, which derives a huge of its revenue from Bonny LGA.
According to him, the Ring Road was conceptualized to connect the various communities in Bonny LGA, thus making them accessible and also help disperse development to the rural areas, noting that Bonny Town was already congested and would soon experience population explosion when the Bonny/Bodo Road project is completed.
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