JANUARY 4, 2018 – Some youths of Itsekiri under the aegis of National Association of Itsekiri Graduates (NAIG) has threatened the management of Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL) with dire consequences if it does not halt the alleged “employment of plant operators” without informing the company’s host communities.
The apex Itsekiri graduates’ body, in a statement made available to our reporter, claimed that, “over 50 would-be operators were interviewed by Chevron Nigeria Limited during the week of November 6, 2017 to November 10, 2017 at Oakwood Hotel, Lekki, and successful applicants have already done their medical with Chevron awaiting their resumption.”
The statement signed by Collins Edema, the NAIG president, averred that the recruitment process is “contrary to the GMoU and the local community content guideline of Chevron”, stressing that Itsekiri is host to about 70 percent of CHEVRON operation in Nigeria and “as such deserve employment based on production quantum”.
While noting also that most recently over 24 persons were recruited for Structural Engineering/Vessel Stencilin positions in Mechanical and Integrity Department in June 2017 “with nobody from the host communities employed”, NAIG added, “Chevron has conducted OPITO training programme for over 10 years for our graduates without an OPITO certificate given.”
The association claimed that the last set of the trainees, who are Itsekiris “have been under slave labour since March 2013 without their employment being regularized.”
NAIG vowed not to accept “any training contract renewal or casual labour contract for our VTP5/OTP2 and VTP6 Trainees”, warning, “Our planned action of shutting down Chevron operation in Itsekiri land is still alive and will be activated once deem necessary.”
