By Shina Badmus
On Monday members of host communities to the Nigeria Gas Company (NGC) in Warri, Delta State carried out a peaceful protest against the alleged planned move of the company’s headquarter from Delta State to Lagos.
The speculation had various tribes from the region comprising of Ijaws, Itsekiris, Urobos amongst others converging around the company’s premises to say no to the alleged intention.
The Delta State Commissioner for Oil and Gas, who came to attend to the matter after a brief meeting with the representatives of the company, assured stakeholders that there would be no relocation of the Nigeria Gas Company (NGC) outside Delta State.
While addressing pressmen, he said that the speculation that the company wanted to take its headquarter from Delta State to Lagos was a mere rumour and had no truth to it.
According to him, “the meeting with the NGC representatives reach a conclusion that there was no plan to leave the state.
“We want to take them by their words and we have said a communique will be issued to that effect and all parties agree to endorse the communique and that is the position of the state.
“We have been trying to see that everything must be put in place for peace and to enable the companies to operate so that the federal and state government can have their revenue for developmental care of the state and other important things.
“So we have met and we are convinced because a communique will be issued to that effect that there is nothing to the relocation of the NGC aside Delta state.”
According to Eng. Emmanuel Akinsanya, who was representing the Managing Director of NGC, Mr. Babatunde Bakare: “We are a national oil company. We are Nigerians. We cannot do anything to damage the economy of this state.
“Almost thirty years we didn’t go anywhere. We never left this place for one day. So, please all those stories you have been hearing, they are not true.”
He further appreciated the group for the way they conducted themselves to carry out their protest in a non-violent manner assuring them of a continues peaceful relationship.
The President of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Eric Omare, also speaking to the press said, ” we can not one hundred percent rely on what they have said but we have to be vigilant in the days ahead. For now we will tell our people to return back home and inform our people back home of what the management of NGC has said.”
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