Rivers Refinery protest intensifies as women in Eleme oppose the Port Harcourt refinery agreement involving Chinese firms

Women from the Alesa community in Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State on Monday staged a dramatic nude protest against the controversial agreement signed between the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and two Chinese firms for the rehabilitation and operation of the Port Harcourt Refining Company.

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The protest, which entered its second week, saw elderly women and youths barricading the refinery gate while accusing the Federal Government and the NNPCL of excluding host communities from negotiations surrounding the refinery arrangement.

The latest demonstration followed an earlier blockade by youths from Alesa and Okrika communities, who demanded the reconstitution of the Joint Community Relations Committee and greater involvement in discussions concerning the future of the refinery.

Although the details of the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the NNPCL and the Chinese firms have not been publicly disclosed, the agreement has continued to generate tension among host communities.

Residents insist they deserve representation, consultation and economic benefits in any arrangement involving facilities situated on their ancestral lands.

One of the protesters, Catherine Abbey-Wai, said the host communities had sacrificed enormously for decades without receiving meaningful benefits from refinery operations.

“The refinery is on our land. There is no more land left for us. We have been farming, but there is no place left to farm,” she said.

Catherine Abbey-Wai also lamented rising hardship and unemployment in the community despite years of oil and gas activities in the area.

“We are not working; our children who are graduates are not working. The government wants to sell the refinery to China, but it’s ours, so we need to be involved,” she added.

The community leader stressed that all groups within the host communities, including women, youths and traditional leaders, should have been consulted before the agreement was signed.

Another protest leader, Elizabeth Bouro, warned that the women would continue the protest until authorities addressed their grievances.

“We’re supposed to benefit from this refinery, but we did not benefit from anything,” Elizabeth Bouro said.

According to her, the communities were excluded from discussions despite the direct impact the refinery operations have had on their livelihoods and environment.

“If they don’t answer us, we can stay here for more than one month. We’ll still stay here until the government answers us,” she stated.

The protest has intensified concerns over community relations surrounding the long-troubled refinery, which has remained largely non-functional for decades despite repeated rehabilitation efforts costing billions of dollars.

During the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, the Federal Government approved $1.5bn for the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt refinery, but critics argue that little visible progress was achieved.

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The latest unrest underscores growing frustration among oil-producing communities over exclusion from major decisions affecting critical national assets located within their territories.