A simmering communal crisis over non release of funds by an oil firm in Ughelli South Community of Delta State might boil over if urgent steps were not taken to bring it under control.
Reports said that the operating oil firm,Pro-Natural International (PNI) has been having problems with the host Umolo Community in Ughelli South upon its failure to release funds to the people.
LEADERSHIP, however, gathered that residents of the community had besieged the SPDC’s office on Wednesday in protest armed with dangerous weapons but for the intervention of the security agents who were on hand to save what would have been a blood bath.
The protesters, mainly youths, had accused the SPDC and the Oil firm of unwarranted seizure of the community’s funds running into N2billion under the ongoing SPDC – Global Memorandum of Understanding (GMOU) and have given the oil company 14 days to pay up.
Expectedly, their ultimatum came on the heels of the oil company’s failure to give concrete evidence to substantiate its decision that denied Umolo community access to the funds after the State Ministry of Justice and SPDC confirmed the oil community’s qualification to access the fund.