30 August 2011, Sweetcrude, Port Harcourt – Niger Delta Indigenous Movement for Radical Change, NDIMRC, has accused Mr. Mutiu Sunmonu, the Managing Director, Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC, of failing to make use of local contractors against the Nigerian Local Content law, and are threatening a showdown with him.
In a statement by NDIMRC President, Nelly Emma (Cross River); Secretary, John Sailor (Bayelsa) and Public Relations Officer, Mukoro Stanley (Delta), the group said: “President Goodluck Jonathan must intervene to save the Local Content policy.
The group claims that Shell has awarded all its major projects from 2011-2020 to the oil majors, such as O.P.I., Sapem and Daewoo, to the detriment of the local investors.
“Outsiders are not considered for tender and even if the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, orders them to invite any of our local contractors, Shell managers and engineers will disqualify them.”
It called on the Petroleum Minister and Shell International, Netherlands, to investigate the claims, adding: “we want to warn that if this unfriendly attitude by Shell MD to our local investors continues, we will stage a massive protest against him to leave Nigeria and we will take our protest to Shell offices in Port-Harcourt and Lagos.”
