If nothing is changed at the last minute, a gang of former agitators of Ogoni descent has pledged to shut down the Port Harcourt Refining Company and other international companies in Eleme, Rivers State due to the poor condition of the East-West Road.
The Indorama Eleme Petro-Chemical Company, the Notorea Fertiliser Company, among other businesses, were identified by the former agitators operating under the banner of Ogoni Living Martyrs as more businesses in the area that they planned to liquidate.
They said that the move will compel the Federal Government to start work on the road, which had been abandoned for years despite leading to important national landmarks like the Nigeria Ports Authority and the Oil and Gas Free Zone.
The former agitators said that frequent accidents had resulted in the deaths of Ogoni people and other Nigerians who had been utilising the roads.
Recall how numerous youth organisations in the past organised demonstrations to alert the federal government to the need for road rehabilitation.
In a Sunday interview with newsmen in Port Harcourt, the coordinator of the Ogoni Living Martyrs, Kpuebari Marcus, also stated that the group planned to harm the economy of the country and compel the government to repair the road.
He said, “Many Nigerians and Ogoni people have died while utilising that road. The loss of our brothers and sisters is the driving force behind our desire to close the businesses.With regard to the Ogoni people, the administration has no respect. Since these businesses won’t be generating any cash for the government, we are aware that their closure will have an impact.
The president of the National Youth Council of the Ogoni People, Barinuazor Emmanuel, stated that the Eleme stretch of the East-West Road’s appalling condition was now intolerable.
“Shutting down all economic activity is the only course available for us, and we have no intention of waiting for anyone’s mission.
“Any minute now, we will shut down Indorama, Notorea, NNPC, and all 200 other businesses in Eleme because we issued a 14-day ultimatum that has since expired.
The National Assembly Committee on NDDC was invited, and that was it. Before the month of August came to a close, they assured the public that they would be arriving to repair the road and that the NNPC had prepared the necessary funding. No action has been taken as of September.
Elder Uncle Mukan, spokesman for the Ogoni Living Martyrs, added that trucks were colliding with the Eleme part of the East-West route every day, resulting in traffic jams and fatalities, despite the government’s ongoing lip service to the issue.
We will stop blocking the road, he declared, because doing so will also put our people in harm’s way.
