Summary of Activities Carried Out By AA PeaceWorks (July 2013 – June 2014)

AA PeaceWorks community engagement activities for the months spanning July 2013 through June 2014 are summarized here below:

• Engaged community leaders in Uzere as ground breaking to open discussion geared towards reopening of the flow station. (Identified key issues, facilitated the burial of 4 diseased from the crisis, which led to the closure of the field in 2011).
• Facilitated the reopening of Uzere Flow station
• Participated in the IMoU discussion, negotiation, and signing.
• Engaged community leaders of the core communities in OML 30.
• Conducted Needs Assessment in all 12 clusters in OML 30 involving traditional council, youth, women and men.
• Identified and implemented 4 development projects in line with community felt needs in Kokori, Afiesere, Evwreni and Uzere with funding support from SNR.
• Organized 12 town hall meetings, one in each cluster of OML 30.
• Organized training of President Generals and Secretaries of core communities.
• Identified and engaged vulnerable youth, especially those involved in pipeline vandalization and the 3rd Phase Amnesty group.
• Inaugurated the Community Peace Committee (CPC) comprising of vulnerable youth and trained them on conflict management and Peace building.
• Identified opinion leaders among women, youth, Religious group and the security agents as members of the Community Stakeholder’s Network in each cluster charged with the responsibilities of picking up and reporting early warning, and dealing with community issues with potentials of disrupting Oil operations in the cluster.
• Conducted community studies in Oleh and Olomoro to provide insight into the structure and dynamics of each community.
• Intervened in the UPS workers ‘Work to Rule’ protest. Strike was called off while NPDC facilitated release of the worker’s salaries.
• Intervened in the Oleh women protest, which lasted for 5 days.
• Planned activities:  14 courtesy visits, 13 Town Hall Meetings, visits to 37 TFP

Communities

• Prevented OML 30 wide protest on NPDC one-year anniversary planned by the communities in February 2014. PeaceWorks team engaged the community leaders, youth and oil families brought PGs together in Edjeba for further sensitization.
• Undertook routine visits to facilities, thus able to identify and report leakages in Kokori Well 5, Uzere Well 11 etc.
• Mediated between Afiesere/Kokori Compressor workers and IGPES to resolve identified issues.
• Facilitated successful FTO meetings with difficult communities like Eriemu, Olomoro, Oroni, and Uzere.
• Prevented UPS workers (Terminal Operators, housekeeping, Access Control) from embarking on Work to Rule protest and managed to calm them while NPDC is acting on their demands.
• Facilitated free entry of contractors to site
• Responded to early warning of attacks by Isoko youth on Olomoro facilities. PeaceWorks alerted the DM Ops CRD, DSS, CO 222, and got the surveillance and vigilante in Olomoro and environs to be at alert. Attack was successfully prevented.
• Engaged Afiesere community, which stopped IGPES workers from entering the flow station in protest of armoured cable (omitted from the BoQ) needed to complete the installation of the transformer given to the community as Quick Win project. They agreed to stop protest and to meet with NPDC on Tuesday 8th April 2014.
• Engaged Eriemu, Olomoro, Uzere, Igbide and Afiesere communities who stopped IGPES workers from entering the flow station – alleged employment of 40 workers by IGPES.
• Engaged Olomoro community to resolve issues surrounding NPDC publication that excluded Olomoro in the naming of the Olomoro Oleh FS and the need to retract the publication; Also FTOs with the community; employment issues; quick win project; NPDC financial support for the Staff of office ceremony of the Odiologbo
• Resolved the conflict between Yeye I and Yeye II communities in early February 2014.
• Engaged Igbide community EXCO to douse rising tension over the uncleaned spill and employment issues with IGPES. Threatened shutdown was averted.
• Spill intervention in Emede and Igbide. CRBC engaged the Emede community to enable NPDC effect clamping of the spill point and doused tension over uncleaned spill.
• Sensitized and enlightened the communities in OML 30 on the Community Facility Protection System