BEVERLY HILLS, CA, October 31, (THEWILL) – An oil monitoring group in the Niger Delta, the Niger Delta Indigenous Movement for Radical Change (NDIMRC), has sent a warning to Italian oil giant, Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC), over alleged anti-labour practices bordering on alleged short-changing of Nigerians working in the company.
Condemning what it described as the situation where major positions in the company are in the hands of foreigners to the detriment of Nigerians, the group threatened to carry out protest in all the installations/offices of the company, including Abuja and Port-Harcourt.
Also threatening to expose the alleged dirty oil deal of the Vice Chairman/Managing Director of the Company, Mr. Ciro Pagano, the group said it has several documents that would indict the Agip boss.
A statement jointly signed by the President of the group , Nelly Emma; Secretary, John Sailor and Public Relations Officer, Mukoro Stanley, alleged that Nigerians working in Agip were being treated like slaves and denied choice managerial positions in their land as the group threatened to disrupt the activities of the company unless something urgent was done.
“Our investigations have shown that Nigerians are not well treated in Agip; they are being denied of occupying key positions in the company.
”For instance; the General Manager (Finance) is an Italian; the General Manager (Upstream Business) Italian; the General Manager (Gas Business) Italian; the General Manager (Commercial) Italian; the General Manager (District) Italian and General Manager (Projects) Italian.
“Our findings revealed that only the positions of General Manager (Legal), General Manager (Public Affairs), General Manager Nigerian Content Development (NCD) and General Manager (Human Resources) are being held by Nigerians and we think this is not good enough for the Nigerian Local Content and people of the oil-rich Niger Delta region.
“We are of the strong view that Nigerians ought to be given the positions of the General Manager (Projects); General Manager (Gas Business); General Manager (Finance) and General Manager (Upstream Business), the maltreatment and short-changing of Nigerians by management of the company is a great concern to us and it must stop.
“It is clear that the Vice Chairman/Managing Director of the company, Mr. C. Pagano who we will not hesitate to expose his dirty deal to the pubic do not want our people to hold key positions in the company; but we are not going to accept this broad day robbery of our people .
“It is not the same story at the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) and Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL) and so why must the case of Agip be a different one?
We are blaming the Vice Chairman/Managing Director of the company and the General Manager, Projects (Mr. Nicolo) for this pathetic development in the company that has reduced our people to ‘mere messengers .
“We want Nigerians to hold key positions in Agip and if this is not done, we will be left with no other option but to protest to all the locations of the company, including its offices across the country. We are aware of the dirty deal the Vice Chairman/Managing Director of the company and the General Manager, Projects have been doing since they came to Nigeria and we will be tempted to expose all their files to the whole world .
“Our checks have revealed that the General Manager, Projects is rounding up his stay in the country, but he cannot escape being exposed by our group for all the pains he has caused our people in their fatherland. And any attempt to replace him with an Italian, rather than a Nigeria will be resisted.
“We want the Vice Chairman/Managing Director of Agip, Mr. Ciro Pagano who is also on his way out of Nigeria to know that we have documented facts over his problem with the Italian Government as a result of his dirty deal in Nigeria.
“We know all those who saved him from going to jail and if we are pushed too far, we will publish these documents for the whole world to see and we dare say that the Vice Chairman/Managing Director cannot escape going to jail by the time our group is through with him .
“Now that the Vice Chairman/Managing Director of the company (Pagano) and General Manager, Projects (Nicolo) are leaving Nigeria, they must be replaced with Nigerians and not foreigners, anything short of this, will only lead to serious crisis for Agip in Nigeria,” the group said in the statement .
It therefore called on President Goodluck Jonathan to prevail on the management of the company to give Nigerians a better deal and change its attitude towards Nigerians or “risk a very tough time in the days ahead. “
“President Jonathan must call Agip to order now; otherwise we will cripple the activities of the company across the country with well planned protests,” it added.
Efforts to reach Agip for comment on the development however proved abortive, though an unofficial source dismissed the allegations against the Managing Director, describing them as baseless.
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