IVF TO CHEVRON: STAFF VTP5&6 OR FACE DISASTROUS CONSEQUENCES

The Itsekiri Volunteer Force (IVF), under the leadership of General Martins Akpamaku, through her Facebook page “Itsekiri Volunteer Force” has called on the management of Chevron Nigeria Limited to ensure the immediate staffing of VTP5 and VTP6 at the Ogere facility with previously trained personnel who have remained under contract for over 12 years or face disastrous consequences.

In a press release dated February 12, 2026, and made available to journalists via email, the group emphasized that the trained Ogere personnel should be fully engaged before the resumption of operations of the Autothermal Reformer Plant at the Escravos Gas-to-Liquids (EGTL) facility following the recent PITSTOP maintenance exercise.

The IVF stated that the inclusion of these long-standing contract staff is necessary to promote fairness, operational efficiency, and sustained community relations. The group urged Chevron’s management to act promptly in the interest of stability and industrial harmony within the operational environment.

See complete press release below as released on 12th of February 2026 on Facebook;

PRESS RELEASE

VTP 5 & 6 STAFFING: FINAL WARNING TO CHEVRON NIGERIA LIMITED

February 12th, 2026.

The Itsekiri Volunteer Force, IVF, under the command of General Martins Akpamaku hereby issues this final warning and unequivocal demand to Chevron Nigeria Limited over its persistent and unjust refusal to convert qualified Itsekiri indigenes engaged under the VTP 5 and VTP 6 schemes to direct staff status at the Escravos Gas-to-Liquids (EGTL) facility.

For over twelve to thirteen years, these workers whom are sons and daughters of Chevron’s host communities have sustained EGTL operations after undergoing certified oil and gas training in Ogere, Ogun State. During this period, they have worked continuously in critical operational roles, contributing directly to production that has generated billions of dollars for Chevron Nigeria Limited, yet they remain deliberately trapped in a cycle of casualization and staffs stagnation.

This treatment is unprecedented and discriminatory within Chevron’s own employment history. No previous VTP cohort (VTP 1, 2, 3, and 4) was subjected to endless aptitude tests, repeated interviews, or prolonged delays after training before being converted to staff. The singular targeting of VTP 5 and 6 exposes a clear deviation from established practice and raises serious questions about intent.

Chevron’s actions throughout 2025 further deepen these concerns. Multiple testing exercises were conducted despite the fact that these workers had already been certified, deployed, and proven competent on the plant. An interview conducted in mid August 2025 has, to date, produced no official feedback, no transparency, and no outcome, more than six months later. This silence is unacceptable.

Equally disturbing is the systematic exclusion of Itsekiri professionals from advancement within EGTL including South Africa trainees. Recent staffs promotions across Chevron Nigeria Limited did not produce a single Itsekiri promotion within EGTL, reinforcing the perception that the facility has become a dead end for host-community professionals, regardless of qualification, experience, or performance.

The Itsekiri Volunteer Force also observes the growing marginalization of trained VTP personnel through parallel recruitment schemes that bypass qualified host-community workers, while attempts are made to fast-track newer entrants into roles traditionally reserved for staff, particularly control room operations, thereby creating artificial narratives to justify the continued exclusion of VTP 5 and 6. Unfortunately, the PENGASSON which supposed to be the chevron workers union that should check mate such excesses had become weakened and allowed the EGTL location gradually become a testing ground for Biafra Republican as the Ibo ethnic management staffs manipulates FIELD OPERATION TRAINEES PROGRAMME (FOTP) to the favor of their kinsmen to become direct staffs.

Let it be stated clearly: EGTL is not a modern slave labour testing location, nor is it exempt from Nigeria’s local content principles or host community obligations. Chevron’s continued refusal to regularize the status of these workers represents a breach of trust, a violation of equity, and a direct provocation to host communities that have borne the environmental and social burden of EGTL operations for decades.

At this end, the Itsekiri Volunteer Force, IVF, formally states that:
The conversion of all qualified VTP 5 & 6 Itsekiri indigenes to direct staff status is non-negotiable;

1. The staffing process as it was during the FTP 1, 2, 3, and 4 staffing, must be concluded transparently and immediately, with written outcomes communicated to affected workers;

2. Equitable access to promotions, leadership, and control-room roles in line with staff experience must be restored for host-community professionals; and

3. Any resumption of the full Autothermal Reformer (ATR) Plant operations in EGTL after PITSTOP maintenance without resolving this issue will be viewed as a deliberate act of bad faith from Chevron Nigeria Limited. Therefore, it will become disastrous to her operations as we remind CNL of what happened in the Olero/Dibi trunking manifolds in November 2024, and also, the Autothermal Reformer (ATR) Unit which is the nucleus of the Gas to liquids process of the compressed natural gas explosion that led to the forced shutdown in December 2025 leading to the current PITSTOP maintenance. All the above will be a tip of the iceberg from the Itsekiri Volunteer Force, IVF.

Chevron Nigeria Limited is fully aware that unresolved labour injustice and sustained exclusion of host communities have historically led to severe operational disruptions across the Niger Delta. IVF strongly advises Chevron’s management to avoid repeating avoidable mistakes.

This is no longer a request.
It is a final demand for justice, equity, and compliance.

Staff VTP 5 & 6 or accept full responsibility for the consequences of continued injustice.

Enough is Enough.

Signed,
General Martins Akpamaku,
Itsekiri Volunteer Force, IVF