The Anoh Gas Processing Company (AGPC) has received an appeal from the oil communities in the Assa North cluster in Imo State, namely the Assa North, Obile, Ochia, Awarra, Ohoba, and Obosima communities, requesting that the Assa – Ohoba – Obosima rural road construction be expedited.
The communities voiced their displeasure with the road construction project's progress in a statement released by the cluster's spokesperson, Mr Duke-Bright Enyia, and shared with journalists in Owerri on Monday. The road construction project began in 2019 as a result of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with AGPC.
Enyia claimed that even though AGPC and the community had worked together for the previous four years, the company had not succeeded in finishing the road project.
He emphasized the road's importance as the only route to Owerri, the state capital, and asked AGPC to think about awarding the construction contract to another company because the existing managers are unable to carry out the project efficiently.
“The Assa-Ohoba-Obosima road that links our communities to neighbouring communities and importantly, Owerri, has been destroyed by AGPC due to the impact of heavy trucks used for construction work on their site,” Enyia stated.
Enyia also complained about the absence of benefits specified in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and local content laws, like access to energy, good healthcare, and necessary infrastructure.
The spokesman went on to voice worries over AGPC's negative environmental effects and how these render the lands unfit for cultivation. He emphasized the detrimental effects on nearby farmers, jeopardizing their capacity to provide for their families.
Enyia also denounced the purported bias in hiring processes, noting examples in which jobs intended for locals were awarded to non-community members, in violation of the MoU and PIA rules.
Mr Obinna Madumere, the Project Management Officer at AGPC, responded to these claims by promising that the business would take appropriate action.
