The people of Emeroke Community in Eastern Obolo Local Government Area have demanded $130m compensation from Sterling Petrochemical Fertilizer Ltd (SPFL) for alleged encroachment on their ancestral land and for the damage done to their environment.
They stated that the oil company should vacate the over 1,200 hectares of land occupied by them in excess of the acquired 1,736 hectares adding that it should restrict operations to the area it had acquired.
Addressing a press conference in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State, Chief Joshua Matthew Ayagwung, Village Head of Emereoke, expressed deep concerns over SPFL’s operations, which commenced in 2021 which he alleged resulted in a humanitarian crisis.
Chief Ayagwung also alleged that SPFL has blocked crucial waterways, such as Okolo Obianga/Ikonta and Okolo Otuita, along with other creeks, which are federally navigable waterways vital for the island communities’ access to markets, schools, and hospitals.
Chief Ayagwung described the company’s actions as a “calculated act of oppression.”
He highlighted that SPFL’s alleged plans to displace Ikonta and Obianga villages violate a previous accord brokered by former Governor Udom Emmanuel.
“SPFL must immediately reopen all blocked waterways and creeks and restore them to their original state to allow the people of Obianga and Ikonta unhindered access in and out of their ancestral communities, maintaining their traditional occupation of fishing.
An island community at the edge of the Atlantic Ocean, Emeroke recently recorded a Cholera outbreak which has been blamed on lack of clean water, a development they accused the oil company of blocking their creeks and rivers .
Efforts to get a response from the oil company which began operations in 2021 were not successful as officials of the oil firm did not respond to phone calls
