Protesting Itsekiri youths on Monday seized the Warri offices and clinic of an American oil firm, Chevron Nigeria Limited, in Delta State.
The youths, led by some prominent Itsekiri, including two local government chairmen in the state, were said to be protesting against the CNL�s alleged failure to implement an agreement it had reached with them.
The incident, which occurred on a day President Olusegun Obasanjo called for peace in the Niger Delta, grounded the company�s operations.
Two of the prominent Itsekiri leaders are the Chairman of the Warri South West Local Government Area, Mr. David Tonwe, and his Warri North counterpart, Mr. Michael Diden.
The others are a newly elected member of the House of Representatives for Warri Federal Constituency, Mr. Daniel Reneju; a former Chairman of Ugborodo Community Trust, Mr. Thomas Ereyitomi; Mr. Ayiri Emami; and Mr. Moses Fregene.
Our correspondent learnt that the protesting youths, on arriving at the offices along the NPA Expressway at about 6.30am, barricaded all entries with cars and buses.
They thereafter asked the members of staff, who resumed work early on Monday, to return home.
While those on routine medical checks were barred from accessing the hospital, the workers on night duty were prevented from leaving .
Findings by our correspondent revealed that the youths were also irked by the alleged failure by the CNL management to employ them in the execution of the multi-billion dollar gas gathering projects � EGTL and EGPIII.
The protesters alleged that about 150 of them nominated for employment in August 2006 on the request of the CNL were not engaged after they had undergone many pre-qualification tests.
They claimed that the 150 youths were denied employment by the company on the grounds that it had no accommodation for them.
The youths added that less-qualified non-indigenes were secretly employed by the CNL and its service companies for the execution of the gas projects.
Diden, Ereyitomi and Fregene told one of our correspondents that they decided to take the action because their peace efforts did not achieve positive results.
The three men accused the management of the oil giant of insincerity in its dealing with its host communities.
They said it was unfair for the company to allow their kinsmen to remain without jobs for almost a year while non-indigenes were being employed on a daily basis.
Diden, Ereyitomi and Fregene warned that their action might assume a worrisome dimension if the management of the oil firm failed to speedily employ their kinsmen as contained in an agreement it reached with them in August 2006.
The protesters vowed not to vacate the areas until the company began to implement the agreement.
CNL�s General Manager, Government and Public Affairs, Mr. Femi Odumabo, confirmed the incident.
Odumabo said the Delta State Government had intervened with a view to ensuring early resolution of the dispute.
The government�s intervention, however, did not yield any positive result.
The leader of the state delegation, Mr. Bolatsi Dudu, told our correspondent that it was regrettable that the CNL reneged on its agreement with the people.
Dudu, who is also the state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, said that the officials of CNL were not ready to accede to the demand of the protesters.
As at 6pm on Monday, the youths were yet to vacate the areas.
The Commander of the Joint Task Force in the Niger Delta, Brig.-Gen. Lawrence Ngubane, deployed troops in the area, to ensure that the protesters remained orderly and peaceful.
The JTF team was led by an Army Major.
Meanwhile,Obasanjo has said that sustained growth and development of the Niger Delta could only be achieved if the people embraced peace.
The President, who admitted that there were major challenges in the region, said that dialogue and collaboration were imperative in overcoming them.
He spoke at the inauguration of the Brass Liquefied Natural Gas project in Twon-Brass, Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
Obasanjo stated that the project was an indication of the government�s seriousness to develop the Niger Delta.
He said, �The Brass LNG project, an investment that runs into hundreds of billions of naira, clearly has the capacity to bring improvement to the lives of the people of the Niger Delta in many ways.
�It will provide employment for a large number of people in the region, directly or indirectly, through the multiplier effect it will create.
�It will naturally lead to the development of the infrastructure of the area, as well as generally improve the economy of individuals in the communities.
�Even before the commencement of construction, the very robust sustainable community development plan of the project had started building technical capacity among youths in the Brass area, through training in various fields at the Petroleum Training Institute, Warri.�
Obasanjo also disclosed that the Federal Government had conferred a Free Trade Zone status on the LNG project.
He said the status would not only provide the LNG project the impetus for major investment, but would also encourage local and national industry players to benefit from a favourable investment climate.
The President noted that the project would impact massively on the economic regeneration of Nigeria.
The Governor of Bayelsa State and Vice-President-elect, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan; the state�s governor-elect, Chief Timipre Sylva; and the deputy governor, Mr. Peremobowei Ebebi, were at the ceremony.
Also in attendance were the Minister of Energy, Dr. Edmund Daukoru; the Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Mr. Funsho Kupolokun; and the Chairman, Board of Directors of Brass LNG Limited, Dr. Jackson Gaius-Obaseki.