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18 August 2006
ABUJA – Construction giant Julius Berger Nigeria PLC has started withdrawing from Nigeria’s Bayelsa state after an employee was abducted, a top government official said Friday.
Guido Schiffart, a German employed by Bilfinger & Berger, the parent of the construction firm, was abducted in Port Harcourt on August 10 and was still being held Friday.
Julius Berger has stopped work at all locations in Bayelsa, the government official stressed and condemned the current spate of kidnappings in Bayelsa and Rivers states.
It was the handiwork of “desperate politicians using all kinds of antics to discredit government, just because they want to get into office at all costs,” he said.
The government’s determination to open up areas neglected in the past was being frustrated by the activities of militants and their sponsors, he added.
The construction firm is the first to pull out of any Niger Delta state because of hostage taking.
A spokesman in Abuja, Clement Ilo, told Deutsche Press-Agentur dpa that he had only just heard of the withdrawal and promised to get clarification from senior company officials.
Last Friday, the US oil service company, Wilbros International, closed its operations in Nigeria.
The company engages in the fabrication of platform modules and sub-sea facilities for deepwater oil activities in Nigeria.
Nine of its employees were kidnapped for some days, but released unharmed earlier this year.
DPA
Subject: German news