By John Dugbe / Special Correspondent, Ughelli
The leadership of the Urhobo Progress Union, youth wing, also known as the Ighele, has issued a one-week ultimatum to the Federal government and authorities of the Petroleum Training Institute (PTI) to act on the alleged marginalisation of Urhobo nation in the ongoing recruitment exercise.
President of the body, Ovie Anthony Igho, while addressing pressmen on the premises of the Delta Broadcasting Service, Warri, alleged that the manner in which the exercise was conducted was meant to deliberately marginalise the Urhobo.
“It is clear that the management of the Petroleum Training Institute has declared war against the Urhobo nation by its utter disregard for the Urhobo Progress Union (UPU), which is the umbrella body of Urhobo nation world-wide in its ongoing recruitment exercise.
“The few slots given to Uvwie Development Union, King of Uvwie and Orodje of Okpe did not and cannot represent the collective interest of Urhobo in the institute. No doubt, there is a conspiracy and gang up against the collective good of our people, which has become a threat to the very existence and survival of the Urhobo nation.
“We cannot fold our hands and watch as the future of our youth is at stake,’’ the president lamented.
According to Ovie Igho, Urhobo working at PTI are mainly casual staff, contracted to non-Urhobo labour suppliers, adding that they have been working for over 10 years at the institute. He said that Urhobo interest was not represented in the Governing Council of the institute.
He added that the manner of recruitment in the institute overtime has favoured the Yoruba, Hausas and others “in line with the master plan of the cabal arrangement of principal offices which is unfavourable to the Urhobo.”
Igho alleged that in 2013, the management of the institute conducted “a back door recruitment that brought in a lot of Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo without any Urhobo being recruited, saying such an action was tantamount to an open invitation to anarchy, breakdown of law and order.
“We are calling for outright cancellation of the ongoing recruitment as it is against the collective good of the Urhobo people. We also call for a review of the staff structure of the institute in line with the Local Content Act and catchment area policy to ascertain the position of Urhobo.
“The law that established the Petroleum Training Institute forbids its recruitment exercise outside its catchment area. That the recruitment was taken to Abuja, even in festive period depicts noting but fraud. The actual number of slots is 380, yet the cabal is making the public believe it is 140. We have on record that slots were being sold for N2 million by some members of the management cabal.
“Urhobo is demanding its fare share of the 380 slots in interest of peace and the consequences of taking our plight for granted may be too costly as we are prepared to go any length and to do anything in this struggle‘’, Igho warned.
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