Bonny LGA, NLNG meet over seizure of vehicles

The Executives of Bonny Local Government Area and Nigeria Liquified Natural Gas, NLNG have met to resolve the lingering issue over the seizure of NLNG buses by the local council team.

This is as the council accused the gas company of shortchanging indigenes of the area in employment.

The NLNg said the seizure of the company’s buses and that of their contractors was hurting business, adding that they called the meeting to hear from the local government council and to find a middle ground in resolving whatever difference that might have lead to the actions.

The BIRC Chairman Mayor Ala Hart in his response outlined actions by the parent company NLNG and their contractors that have prompted the seizure of Vehicles.

He gave instances where companies turn around to undermine the laid down understanding with the employment body.

He further revealed that companies operating in NLNG regularly shortchanged Bonny quota in employment by bringing in non-indigenes to take the slot of the indigenes, adding that NLNG contract holders (Staff) are always coercing contractors to employ their own people at the expense of the indigenes.

Comrade Ibifuro Longjohn, the Employment Monitoring Committee Chairman added that some officers in NLNG are collaborating with companies to short change Bonny people. He said the indiscriminate inductions done by the ERC department is all geared to make sure that the monitoring committee loses track of the numbers of non-indigenes the companies recruit. He stated that from all indication and reliable information, NLNG had over the week preceding the ongoing shutdown recruited workers from outside the kingdom in thousands without informing BIRC or BEMT.

The Chairman, David Rogers Irimagha in his closing remark frowned at the attitude of NLNG and their subsidiaries. He stated that Bonny LGA has been shortchanged, not only in employment but also on revenue. He said that all the companies coming to do business in Bonny without the knowledge of the traditional institution and government are depriving the kingdom and council revenues, adding that federal allocation cannot be able to cater for the LGA.