Some contract workers from Egi communities in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers State, including widows, have threatened to shut down operations of TotalEnergies in Oil Mining Lease (OML-58) over the alleged dismissal of 47 indigenous staff since 2014.
The affected workers, operating under the umbrella of the Egi Indigenous Contract Staff/Service Workers in collaboration with the Niger Delta Widows Prayer Forum, made the threat in a petition addressed to the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of TotalEnergies in Paris, France.
In the petition, the workers accused the company of unfair treatment, alleging that they were disengaged in 2014 after demanding conversion from contract status to permanent employment and improved welfare conditions.
They described the action as unjust and discriminatory, claiming it has left several affected families in severe hardship over the years.
According to them, many of those disengaged were breadwinners who have since been forced into menial jobs such as commercial motorcycle riding, while others struggle to survive without stable income.
“We write with great disappointment and aches in our hearts over the high level of neglect and disregard for the people of Egi Clan over the manner our humble, hardworking and respected sons and daughters were inconsiderately dismissed from your company in 2014 without any steps to reinstate them,” the petition read.
The group also alleged that while similar industrial actions by other categories of workers within the company were reportedly handled differently, their own case had been ignored for years.
They questioned what they described as inconsistency in disciplinary actions, insisting that their demand for better conditions should not have resulted in dismissal.
According to them, “Some months ago, some staff members did the same thing and are still at work. Why is our own different?”
The widows among the group said the situation has worsened their living conditions, adding that many now depend on their children or relatives for survival.
They warned that if the matter is not resolved within seven working days, they may mobilise women groups across the Niger Delta and beyond for a mass protest that could disrupt TotalEnergies operations in the area.
“If this matter is not resolved, we the widows of Egi land will mobilise women across the Niger Delta and beyond to shut down your operations until justice is done,” the petition added.
Efforts to reach the company’s Stakeholder Engagement Manager, Henry Ehuike, were unsuccessful as calls and messages sent to him were not responded to as of the time of filing this report.
