Operations at a 28,000-barrels-per-day oil refinery located in Ogidigben, Warri, Delta State, have reportedly come to a standstill as members of the Itsekiri community staged a protest and shut down the facility on Wednesday.
A video released by TVC today showed a large crowd of Ogidigben residents demonstrating at the entrance of the refinery, signaling rising tension in the area.
According to Naija News, the facility, once operated by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), recently came under the management of Renaissance Africa Energy Holdings.
The protest drew participation from across the local population, including women, men, and youth, all voicing their dissatisfaction with recent actions taken by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) concerning electoral boundary changes in the Warri Federal Constituency.
The protesters criticized INEC’s recommendations on constituency delineation and warned that if urgent steps are not taken, their agitation could spread to other critical national installations located within Itsekiri territory.
This incident follows closely behind INEC’s proposal for a new delineation of wards and polling units in the Warri Federal Constituency, which came in the wake of a recent Supreme Court judgment.
