12 October 2011, Sweetcrude, Warri – The Ndokwa ethnic group in Delta State has accused multinational oil company, Agip, of fuelling communal unease in the area.
Delegates at a regional conference on the extractive industry with focus on Agip, organised by the Environmental Rights Action (ERA), said the Italian firm was grooming anger in Ndokwaland.
Spokesman for the Ndokwa delegates and Co-ordinator of Organised Ndokwa Effort (ONE), Rodney Odili-Obi, told the conference that their area which has three local government councils – Ndokwa-West, Ndokwa-East and Ukwuani – is a major oil and gas producing belt.
He said the activitions of Agip in the area were such that could create crisis, stressing that ’it is needless for Agip to push Ndokwa people too hard thereby enhancing violent relations”.
“If their action is not checked now, sooner or later the boomerang may result in avoidable infrastructural damages of its facilities and expensive reconstruction of the plant as debris of bitter lessons,” he added.
