SPEECO Anniversary: Ogwu Ikpele Protest Over Denial, Neglect, Degradation

….as indigenes protest lack of basic amenities, Seek Urgent Intervention

From Uchenna Ezeadigwe, Awka

Ogwu Ikpele is a riverine community located in Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State, Nigeria, known for its close relationship with the River Niger and the rich wetlands that surround it.

Despite facing seasonal flooding challenges common to riverine areas, the existence of an oil company called Sterling Petroleum Energy Exploration Company (SPEECO) remains a more promising challenge for the people of Ogwu Ikpele

This reporter who monitored the the community’s protest as the company celebrated its ten years of existence reports that there were no visible basic amenities like tiled roads, hospital, electricty, pipe borne waters except few bore holes done recently by the state government and the APC led party in the state.

The protest which lasted for from friday 16th and saturday 17th Jan, 2026, had over hundreds of youths, women, children, the elderly protest ten years of Agony, denial, rejection and degradations. With barricades put in places, the drills and electricity shut down, News Echo gathered that over 200million naira have been lost by the company.

Addressing this reporter, the Traditional Prime Minister of Ogwu Ikpele Kindgom, Chief Akaka Damian Anigboso, Odua Ukwu of Ogwu Ikpele lamented bitterly over the sufferings of his people which are too numerous to mention yet the community is blessed with oil in abundance, drilled for ten years without having anything to show for it. “Our oil is being explored and transferred to Niger Delta. This is ten good years SPEECO have been operating in our land, all the agreement of understanding we signed with them non have been done or reached”

Odua explained that despite fully loaded four tanker ship of oil being transferred each day to neighbouring states, their children are left uneducated, unempowered, unemployed. “They promised to give us scholarships from elementary, secondary, university, and up to Master’s Degree. No hospital, no pipe borne water, no electricity, we have made frantic efforts to Enugu government and Anambra Government but they has neglected us. We are being seen as an oil community with natural wealth but no basic amenities. Our women are rejected, no town hall, the ship that explores the oil have caused erosion near the river banks leaving no fewer than over thirty houses submerged and fallen into the River Nigeria”.

“We have instructed our youths to block them from further mining until they start doing what is right, or they kill us all before they continue to mine the oils, he fumed.

Also speaking, former House of Rep member Hon Chuchu Onyema said SPEECO has been in Ogwu Ikpele for over ten years. “What the people are doing today is celebrating regret, degradation, and all kinds of bad attitudes coming from the company. We have tried to negotiate with them, but for some reasons best known to them, but this blockade today was for us to stop them from work and reach a round table talk for the final time. I believe in conflict resolution, not violent. There is social corporate responsibility. We are supposed to be receiving 3 per cent of what is metred but nothing to show of it. The only street light you see in Ogwu Ikpele is the one I attracted when I was in the House of Reps. Other development projects are from the state government when you have an oil company. We are not begging for anything, but those things which are due to us should be given to us”.

“They are flaring gas which you can convert it to electricity, the telecommunications mass there is only for their use, electricity is 24 hours. If we want to make a call, we go to the river banks to use services from Delta State. That is why we are here to discuss the way forward. Their ships erodes the soils near the river bank, this is twenty four hours we shut them rigs down, they are losing millions. No member of this community or Anambra is employed. Let them prove me wrong. We dont even know what is metred. The state government is losing, he lamented.

Hon Onyema, however, disclosed that the deplorable road netwok will soon be fixed because Governor Soludo has assured to fix it from Uga-Ossamala-Ogwu Ikpele road, which connects to river state.

Speaking at the health facility in Ogwu Ikpele, Hon Onyema said that plans are underway to build a hospital in the community as the primary health care centre is not enough foe the community. He commended the state government for erecting public pipe borne water a few months ago, though according to Hon Onyema, it’s not enough for the community. “We hope that the better living conditions of the people will be experienced in Ogwu Ikpele in no distant time”.

Earlier in his remark, the President General Ogwu Ikpele community, Mr Esumai Patrick Chukwudi said the reason for the gathering and protest was to celebrate ten years of rejection, humiliation and insult from SPEECO exploration company who have been mining oil in the last ten years with nothing to show up. “No employment, no road, no water, no hospital, nothing that is coming from them and we have been begging them since they started operations. The PIA is nothing to talk about. There is no metering that will ensure the quantity of oil being transferred, which affects the PIA. Anambra state government cannot determine the amount of oil going out from the community because they played pipes beneath the river niger where they move these oils across Delta State. We have gas, we have crude but the government of Anambra state cannot give account of it because they don’t know the quantity and cannot agitate that the money recieved from federal government is commensurate with the oil being taken out”.

“The company have refused to show up with their social responsibilities, and the gas flare has affected our agricultural produce, especially palm trees, there is a pollution that we cannot even fish in this community and the spillage have been affecting the farm produce for the past ten years and these are what prompted the blockade. We want the world to hear us and come to our help”, he noted.

Addressing the issues on ground Hon Peter said “No single person from Anambra is employed. We have a consensus sixty/forty agreement on employment for our youths and are still noting to show up. We beg the state government to intervene so that the people can have a fresh of breath air. Yesterday we shut down all the Wells, we have about twelve wells in Umuokike, seven in Umuayas, seven in umumgbeleke, Umuogbulishi and Umuogbu twelve wells, even the pipes they played across Delta State, we shut it down and that is why they came today for us to dialogue and we have told them our grievances, they said they are going to fix another meeting. Thats what they have been telling us in the past ten years. All the jobs here are given out to people outside Anambra state. We are virtually empty in this community, and they are drilling oil day to day. They are doing bunkering, oil will flow under the ground through the sea across and along the patch, let them tell us what the patches are all about, we have pictorial evidences and video clips that they have pstches yet oil is moving to other states. They want to lay another pipeline that will cross from Akwa ibom to Anambra, called Kwale pipeline. They came and we saw them”.

Hon PG maintained that the Anambra state government is aware of the suffering and Governor Soludo has promised to rehabilitate the road from Uga to Ogwu Ikpele Ndoni road would be fixed. “Since Oil in Ogwu Ikpele is running, they will fix it, and we believe that he will fix it, including other social responsibilities”.

Youth President Ogwu Ikpele, His Youthfulness Aghauli Chimuanya Peter, noted that SPEECO existence in the community over the years has nothing to show about because of no basic amenities in place. “We demand that the company build roads for us, pipe borne water, electricity, solar powered lights, and employment. As the youth leader, I do not even have access to go in there, not to talk about work.

Another community leader and teacher, Mr Aghauli Dominic Chukwudi, while noting that the government abandoned them for years, urged Governor Soludo to intervene so that before SEEPCO leaves Ogwu Ikpele let there be a significant thing done, especially good roads, market, hospital among other social amenities.

In her contribution, the woman President General, Mrs Onwuaghamadu Victoria, said this year marks it ten years SEEPCO came into this community, yet we lack good water, no electricity, no good roads, no hospital and other things. I would say that their stay is useless to us because nothing to gain, our children are not working not to talk of the women folks, all we ask is to make life liveable for us with these basic amenities in place. Our pregnant women have to travel to town to give birth, nothing is moving and we are not happy.

Another speaker, Dominic Anumale from Umungashi Ogwu Ikpele stated that SEEPC has been using tricks in the community. We have been suffering, and commodities that are cheap outside have costly here because their are no good roads to convey them here. The cost of living is high.and we have oil, so today we decided to say no to them until the right thing is done.

Meanwhile, efforts to speak with the any of the representatives of the company proved abortive as they declined to speak to this reporter pending when the company’s public relations officer will address the media.