๐๐๐ช๐ ๐๐๐ข๐ ๐๐๐๐ข๐จ๐ฅ & ๐๐ก๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ง๐ฅ๐๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ ๐ ๐๐ง๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ก๐๐๐๐๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐ง๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ก๐ ๐ฃ๐๐ง๐ฅ๐ข๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฉ๐๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฃ๐๐ฅ๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ก๐ฆ ๐๐ก ๐๐๐ฆ๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ก ๐ข๐๐ข๐๐ข ๐๐ข๐ ๐ ๐จ๐ก๐๐ง๐๐๐ฆ
…๐ช๐ฏ๐ด๐ช๐ด๐ต๐ด ๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ญ๐บ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ข๐จ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ด & ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ท๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ข๐ด๐ช๐ค ๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ช๐ต๐ช๐ฆ๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ ๐๐ข๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฏ ๐๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฐ ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ
The Akwa Ibom State Labour and Industrial Committee has conducted an on-the-spot assessment of Eastern Obolo communities to address concerns regarding the operations of a multinational firm, Sterling Global Company. The committee reiterated that the company must strictly adhere to the terms of reference established between the state government and the firm.
This statement was made during a visit by the Akwa Ibom State Labour and Industrial Committee to the communities of Otu Ita, Obianga and Iko Nta, as well as the premises of Sterling Company. The delegation, led by the committee chairman, Rt. Hon. Nse Essien, PhD, expressed disappointment over certain actions by the company, particularly the obstruction of the creek which is critical to the survival of the people of Iko Nta and Obianga communities.
๐๐ญ ๐๐ญ๐ฎ ๐๐ญ๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ค:
Rt. Hon. Essien condemned the companyโs decision to block the creek, despite prior directives from the state Governor. “During his last visit, Governor Umo Eno had explicitly instructed that the creek should not be blocked in order to allow access to the communities and also sustain their livelihood. Regrettably, you have disregarded that directive. I urge you to immediately restore access to these waterways and also provide drinkable water for the benefit of these communities,” Rt. Hon. Essien stated.
The Committee also raised concerns over the companyโs encroachment into areas of the lands not designated for its use, calling for strict compliance with the agreed terms with the State government. At the palace of the village head of Iko/Nta, Chief Emmanuel Okoro, Prof. Gamaliel Harry, a respected academic speaking on behalf of the community, highlighted local grievances following a guided tour. “We welcomed Sterling Company with open arms when they arrived to invest in our communities. We have lived here for generations and willingly provided land for their operations. However, they have encroached on areas beyond what was allocated and blocked our only access to the headquarters of Eastern Obolo Local Government and other regions, today, if you want to visit Okorete, you will have to spend as much as eleven thousand naira as against five hundred naira before Sterling blocked access to the sea. Our ability to fish has been severely hampered by these unlawful actions too,” Prof. Harry explained.
๐๐ง ๐๐๐ข๐๐ง๐ ๐ ๐ฏ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐: The committee inspected an abandoned jetty, which, according to the village head, Chief Humphrey Oyet, has become unusable due to the companyโs blockage of multiple waterways. Chief Oyet accused Sterling Company of disregarding the rules of engagement, noting that the Governor had previously instructed the firm to keep access routes open during his visit. “The companyโs closure of these waterways violates the agreement between our communities and Sterling Company,” the traditional ruler added.
In his response, Rt. Hon. Essien assured the community that the Governor remains committed to the welfare of Eastern Obolo people, which is evidenced by his two visits to the local government area to mediate the dispute. Supporting this stance, the State Commissioner for Labour and Manpower, Elder Ikoedem Ekong, reassured the village head and residents that the administration of Governor Umo Eno would not tolerate exploitation by multinational companies. “The government will resist any attempts to undermine the rights of Eastern Obolo people and the broader Akwa Ibom population,” he affirmed.
The delegation subsequently visited Sterling Companyโs office to meet with its management, where a committee member Hon. Udo Keiran Akpan delivered a stern rebuke over the firmโs encroachment onto unallocated lands. He described their actions as insulting to the Governor of the State. “You have exceeded the boundaries of the land assigned to you. We urge you to fully respect and comply with the terms of reference. Our discussions with community members indicate their dissatisfaction with your conduct. As part of your corporate social responsibility, we have agreed that you must provide essential amenities such as water, access roads, and other necessities. It is vital that these communities feel content with your presence, and you must align with their conditions,” Hon. Akpan asserted.
The State Committee delegation included the ๐๐ถ๐ณ๐ท๐ฆ๐บ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ข๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ต๐ข๐ต๐ฆ, ๐๐ถ๐ณ๐ท. ๐๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฎ ๐๐ด๐ข๐ฏ๐จ; ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ช๐ณ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ข๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฏ ๐๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฐ ๐๐ฐ๐ค๐ข๐ญ ๐๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข, ๐๐ต. ๐๐ฐ๐ฏ. ๐๐ข๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฆ๐ญ ๐๐ข๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฆ๐ญ ๐๐ต๐ฆ๐ฐ๐จ๐ธ๐ถ๐ช๐ซ๐ข๐ฉ; ๐ข ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ช๐ณ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ข๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฏ ๐๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฐ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ช๐ต๐ต๐ฆ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ณ, ๐๐ฐ๐ฏ. ๐๐ฃ๐ณ๐ข๐ฉ๐ข๐ฎ ๐๐ฅ๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ; ๐ข ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ช๐ต๐ต๐ฆ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ณ, ๐๐ณ. ๐๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ ๐๐ฒ๐ถ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ; ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ต๐ข๐ต๐ฆ ๐๐ฆ๐ณ๐ท๐ช๐ค๐ฆ๐ด (๐๐๐); ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ช๐ณ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ช๐จ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ข ๐๐ฏ๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ฏ๐ข๐ญ๐ช๐ด๐ต๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ต๐ข๐ต๐ฆ, ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ณ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ด ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ฌ. ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฃ๐ข๐ญ ๐ต๐ฆ๐ข๐ฎ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐บ ๐๐ข๐ซ. ๐๐ฌ๐ข๐ด๐ฉ ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ณ๐ฎ๐ข.
