Oil communities in the Assa North cluster, located in the Ohaji-Egbema council area of Imo State, are urging the Anoh Gas Processing Company (AGPC) to hasten the progress on the Assa – Ohoba – Obosima rural road.
The plea is articulated in a statement released by the spokesperson of the cluster, Mr. Duke-Bright Enyia, and shared with the media in Owerri on Monday.
The Assa North cluster includes the Assa, Obile, Ochia, Awarra, Ohoba, and Obosima communities.
Enyia expressed dissatisfaction with AGPC, highlighting that despite entering a Memorandum of Understanding with the company during its four years of presence in the area, they have yet to complete the project initiated in 2019. He emphasized the vital importance of the road as the sole connection for these communities to Owerri, the state capital.
In light of AGPC’s failure to fulfill the project, Enyia recommended that the company transfer the construction contract to another firm capable of executing the project effectively.
“ The Assa-Ohoba-Obosima road that links our communities to neighboring communities and importantly, Owerri, has been destroyed by AGPC due to the impact of heavy trucks used for construction work on their site,” he said.
He added that the community has been denied benefits enshrined in the local content policies and the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), such as access to electricity, quality healthcare, and adequate infrastructure.
He further lamented indiscriminate pollution of the environment by AGPC which he said has negatively impacted farmlands, rendering them unsuitable for farming, thus compromising the farmers’ ability to provide for their families.
He decried the “selective employment practices where job opportunities meant for locals are given to fictitious individuals unknown to the community contrary to the MoU and the provisions of the PIA”.
Enyia urged the AGPC to honor agreements with the host communities, return all local content jobs and contracts to the communities, and empower the youths as part of their corporate social responsibility.
Reacting, AGPC’s Project Management Officer, Mr Obinna Madumere, initially declined comment but later said the allegations would be addressed accordingly.
