Orupiri Community in Bonny Local Government Area of Rivers State has raised alarm over what it calls the level of marginalization it was being subjected to.

Stakeholders in the community told Kristina Reports on Wednesday, June 7, 2023 in Bonny, Rivers State that the community was being denied employment opportunities including surveillance jobs in the community.

One of them, Sinyeofori James-Jumbo lamented that it was saddening that a community that hosted the ancestors of what is now known as Bonny Kingdom can be so relegated to the background of things.

“Please, my brother, how will Orupiri Community people get jobs that is the order of the day?

My dear brother, please, kindly ask this question to BIRC; are the Orupiri people not Bonny people?”

“So, why no job or work for them? Please, help me ask this question because we need an answer from the BIRC.”

Employment opportunities in Bonny LGA is managed by the Bonny Integrated Recruitment Centre (BIRC) in concert with companies, the local government, traditional institution, and other stakeholders. The incumbent Chairman of the BIRC is Louis Banigo assisted by other members of his management team.  

He asserted that the community has not being getting job chances in about 16 years running, pointing out that aside other inconveniences, Orupiri Community is host to oil wells belonging to Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), pipelines belonging to Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited, Mobil Producing Nigeria Limited, and several other multinationals, yet has nothing to show for it.

“I ask this question because Orupiri people have not received any employment from the BIRC; that’s why my question, are we not Bonny people?

“We play Ward 10 in Bonny LGA, yet nothing. Shell has oil wells here; NLNG, Mobil and others have their pipelines passing here and destroying our land and yet we have nothing to show for it.”   

“Our people need work because there is wahala. We are Bonny people, Orupiri people are Bonny people, so, they need to work as other community people in Bonny work.”

“For more than 16 years today, I have not seen any employment opportunity come to Orupiri Community people. Please, help us tell the BIRC Chairman to do something for the Orupiri Community people, they need jobs.”

On his part, the Youth Leader of Orupiri Community, Nengi Jumbo said the community was being denied opportunities in the surveillance jobs going on in the community, regretting that all attempts to get the Freedom to Operate Committee to engage members of the community, it has refused to oblige the community.

“We are suffering and our people need jobs. We are ready to work but they don’t want to give us the jobs, even the surveillance jobs in our own community.”

“I have tried severally to reach Richard (Abbey) to give our people chances at least in the section passing through our community but he has not answering my calls.”

In a swift reaction, Team Lead for the Bonny Kingdom Freedom to Operate Committee (BKFTOC), Richard Abbey stated that his committee was not involved in the surveillance contract in the area.

He said that particular pipeline belongs to the Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC) and the contract is divided into two with two individuals, one from Andoni LGA and the other from Bonny LGA handling them, stressing that “Bonny Kingdom was not consulted and as such the FTOC is not involved”.  

However, a reliable source hinted Kristina Reports that a former Chairman of the Bonny Integrated Recruitment Centre (BIRC), Aladiokuma Hart was handling the PPMC pipeline surveillance contract from the Okolo Launch sector into Bonny Town.

Efforts by Kristina Reports to get responses from Hart, as well as the BIRC on the issue was yet unsuccessful as at the time of this report as they were yet to respond to the enquiries sent to them.