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• Community leaders, youths shut down oil wells over alleged neglect, denial, environmental degradation
• We are addressing grievances, oil firm assures
From Aloysius Attah, Onitsha
Many communities in Ogbaru Local Government area of Anambra State, have been synonymous with poverty, underdevelopment and environmental challenges.
Located on the fringes of the River Niger, and blessed with abundant natural resources and fertile farmlands, communities in the area have been challenged often by flooding, lack of good road infrastructure and other basic amenities.
They have been crying out for government intervention but successive administrations give them hope without making development in the area a reality.
In 2015, when an oil exploration company, Sterling Petroleum Energy Exploration Company (SPEECO) birthed in the area having discovered large deposits of oil in their land, the people saw a flicker of hope that their savior, who was to liberate them from the shackles of underdevelopment and poverty, had come.
The host communities of Ogwuikpele and Ogwuaniocha were upbeat and in ecstasy that the time has come for the manifestation of their most sought after dreams.
Unfortunately, ten years after, their dreams are turning into nightmare, while their expectations are becoming dashed hopes. People of the communities say they have become the goose that lays the golden eggs but are repatriated to foreign lands to be enjoyed while they continue to suffer and rot in penury.
There are lamentations and rising agitation in the communities presently. They claim that government has continued to abandon them while the oil drilling company they thought would change their story has failed them, exploiting them for their own selfish gains.
Unable to take it any longer, people of Ogwuikpele community last week mobilised in large numbers for what they described as the mother of all protests against the oil company so as to press home their demands for a better deal and fair share from the company.
The protest which lasted from Friday 16th till Saturday 17th January, 2026, had hundreds of youths, women, children, the elderly protesting what they described as 10 years of agony, denial, rejection and degradation.
With barricades put in places, the drills and electricity shut down, the company analysts observed, lost several millions of naira from the protest.
Speaking on the matter, the Traditional Prime Minister of Ogwuikpele Kindgom, Chief Akaka Damian Anigboso, Odua Ukwu of Ogwuikpele lamented bitterly over the sufferings of his people which he said were too numerous to mention. Yet, he said bitterly, the community is blessed with oil in abundance, and which has been drilled for ten years without having anything to show for it.
“Our oil is being explored and transferred to the Niger Delta. This is ten good years that SPEECO has been operating in our land, all the agreement of understanding we signed with them, none has been implemented.”
Odua alleged that despite a fully loaded four tanker ship of oil being transferred from their community each day to neighbouring states by the drilling company, their children are left uneducated, not empowered and unemployed.
“They promised to give us scholarships from elementary, secondary, university, and up to Master’s Degree. No hospital, no pipe-borne water, no electricity, we have made frantic efforts but they neglected us. We are being seen as an oil community with natural wealth but no basic amenities. Our women are rejected, no town hall, the ship that explores the oil has caused erosion near the river banks, leaving no fewer than over thirty houses submerged and sunk in the River Nigeria.
“We have instructed our youths to block them from further operations until they start doing what is right, or they kill us all before they continue to mine the oil,” he fumed.
Also speaking, former House of Rep member, Hon Chuchu Onyema said the blockade by his people against the company was their own way of celebrating regret, degradation, and all kinds of negative attitude coming from the company.
“I believe in conflict resolution, not violence. There is social corporate responsibility. We are supposed to be receiving three per cent of what is produced but nothing to show for it. The only street light you see in Ogwu Ikpele is the one I attracted when I was in the House of Reps. We are not begging for anything, but those things which are due to us should be given to us.
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“They are flaring gas which you can convert to electricity, the telecommunications mast there is only for their use, their electricity is also 24 hours but if we want to make phone calls, we go to the river banks to use services from Delta State. That is why we are here to discuss the way forward. No member of this community or Anambra citizen is employed in their services. Let them prove me wrong.”
Hon Onyema, however, disclosed that the deplorable road network in the area will soon be fixed because according to him, Governor Soludo has assured of fixing it from Uga junction to Ossamala-Ogwuikpele which connects to Rivers State.
President General, Ogwuikpele community, Mr Esimai Patrick Chukwudi said the reason for the blockade and protest was to celebrate ten years of rejection, humiliation and insult from SPEECO Exploration Company.
“No employment, no road, no water, no hospital, nothing is coming from them and we have been begging them since they started operations. There is no metering that will ensure the quantity of oil being transferred. Anambra State government cannot determine the amount of oil going out from the community because they placed pipes beneath the River Niger where they move these oils across to Delta State. We have gas, we have crude but the government of Anambra State cannot give account of it because they don’t know the quantity and cannot agitate that the money received from federal government is commensurate with the oil being taken out.
“The company has refused to show up with their social responsibilities, and the gas flare has affected our agricultural produce, especially palm trees. There is a pollution that we cannot even fish in this community and the spillage has been affecting the farm produce for the past ten years and these are what prompted the blockade. We want the world to hear us and come to our help,” he noted.
“We have a consensus 60/40 agreement on employment for our youths but still noting to show up. We beg the state government to intervene so that the people can have a breath of fresh air.
“We shut down all the wells. We have about 12 wells in Umuokike, seven in Umuayas, seven in umumgbeleke, Umuogbulishi and Umuogbu, 12 wells. Even the pipes they put across to Delta State, we shut them down and that is why they came today for us to dialogue and we have told them our grievances. They said they are going to fix another meeting,” he said.
The PG maintained that the Anambra State government is aware of the suffering of their people while Governor Soludo has promised to provide road infrastructure for them.
Youth President of Ogwuikpele, Aghauli Chimuanya made some demands.
“We demand that the company build roads for us, pipe borne water, electricity, solar powered lights, and employment. As the youth leader, I do not even have access to go in there, not to talk about work,” he lamented.
Another community leader and teacher, Mr Aghauli Dominic Chukwudi, while noting that the government abandoned them for years, urged Governor Soludo to intervene so that before SEEPCO leaves Ogwuikpele, there should be significant development projects in the community.
The woman President General, Mrs Victoria Onwuaghamadu Victoria, said all they ask for is to make life liveable for the people with the basic amenities in place.
“Our pregnant women have to travel to town to give birth, nothing is moving here and we are not happy,” she said.
When contacted, the Community Liaison Officer, Hyginus Okwudili, who spoke on behalf of the company said the issues being raised were being addressed while there is hope of amicable settlement of all grievances.
Okwudili said the company is aware of all the issues but noted that the community members also breached part of the agreement reached by both parties.
“They took us unawares, Part of our agreement with the host communities is that in case of any issue that may warrant protest or agitation, they must give us at least two weeks’ notice but they didn’t do it this time. They suddenly came up with blockade causing the company serious damages. They also said we must pay N3.5 million first before they can call off the blockade which we have complied with.
“They are also demanding N6 million cash and another N22 million which is being sorted out. Their demands may be genuine but they are doing it in the wrong way. They have to unite first and present a common demand not this situation where this group will be talking about money, another will talk about employment while another talks about roads.
“The state government should also look into the development challenges in the community. The company can only do a bit in the area of corporate social responsibility but the government is the chief driver of development,” he said.
