The National Association of Itsekiri Graduates Worldwide has threatened to shut down all operations of Chevron Nigeria Limited in Itsekiri land within the next 28 days if the oil firm failed to reclassify the casualisation status of their members who had been engaged by the company for the past six years.
Giving the ultimatum at a press conference held at its National Secretariat in Ugbori, Warri on Monday, the President of the Association, Ben Eburajolo, said that the demanded reclassification ‘should be backdated to January 2016 and January 2017 for Vocational Training Programme /Operational Training Programme 2 and VTP6 respectively’.
The association bemoaned the ‘gross marginalisation of our brothers and sisters far too long and we definitely cannot keep silent anymore’.
It tasked Chevron to further resume its Operation and Maintenance Training with employment in view immediately as enshrined in the subsisting Memorandum of Understanding.
“We are therefore giving Chevron Nigeria Limited 28 days to commence or put to action the reclassification of our Itsekiri graduates of VTP5/OTP2 and VTP6, else we will have no choice than to shut down all CNL operations in our land,” the group said.
They also canvassed for the immediate resumption of Community Development in Oil Producing Areas as well as lighting up and provision of potable drinking water to all Itsekiri host communities by Chevron.
