See how Frustration Made This Cross River Graduates Storm Lafarge Cement And Demand Employment

About 500 youths from Cross River State has
stormed the Lafarge Holcim, protesting
against alleged marginalization by the cement
company.
The youths decried the company’s inability to
implement the 80 per cent local content
agreement it entered with the host
communities.
NAN reports that Lafarge Holcim is hosted by
six communities under Akamkpa and
Akpabuyo LGAs of Cross Rivers state.
They were armed with placards of various
inscriptions which read: “Give us employment
and contracts; “We want the position of
Human Resource Manager to come from the
host communities’’.
Speaking on behalf of the aggrieved youths,
Mr Bassey Effiong, Youth Leader from
Akansoko Community, said that the
company’s marginalisation had rendered many
youths in the area jobless.
Effiong said that they had written many letters
to the company to consider them for
employment and award of contracts, which he
said, yielded no result.
“We have graduates and technicians who are
willing to do this job, but Lafarge prefers to
bring people from outside to work in the
company.
“We want the office to be brought back to
Calabar from Lagos, and they should stop
giving us excuses that we don’t have the
technical know-how to work with them.
“All we are saying is that we need employment
and contracts for our youths.
“The company should implement the 80 per
cent local content agreement we entered with
it,’’ the youths spokesperson said.
Also, Mr Ojong Etta, Youth Leader from
Mbobui Community in Akamkpa LGA, said that
youths were only employed to do `labour
jobs’, while the executive positions were
allotted to non-indigenes.
“We want the Human Resource Manager of
Lafarge Cement Company to be an indigene of
the host communities.
“We have been over marginalized in terms of
employment and award of contracts. We need
a change of things in the management of
Lafarge Company,’’ he said.