A coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) has called on the federal government to disapprove the planned divestment of Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) and sale of its onshore facility until the concerns of environmental challenges and livelihood loss it created in the Niger Delta are tackled.
This call was made Tuesday, by the Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ) and 46 other CSOs at a meeting, held in Port Harcourt.
The ANEEJ had organised the meeting with the CSOs, to reflect on Ken Saro-Wiwa’s struggles for environmental justice in the Niger Delta and to discuss emerging issues that have implication for the environment in the region.
In a communique raised at the end of the meeting and signed by Innocent Edemhanria, Programme Manager for ANEEJ and the representatives of the various CSOs at the meeting, the coalition urged the National Assembly to hold a public hearing to discuss the planned divestment by Shell and other International Oil Companies from onshore operations in the region.
Earlier, during the meeting, the coalition observed that Niger Delta region remains extensively polluted and the people’s livelihoods badly devastated.
They expressed that despite stakeholders’ outcry and calls by communities and other stakeholders for urgent action by oil companies to address the problem, very little was being done to address the problem.
The coalition decried the alleged lack of recognition of Shell’s operational failures by Norges Bank Investment Management despite the evidence presented in reports and witness statements that shows that Shell could have done more to prevent and remediate oil spills in the region.
They further observed that “the 2023 responsible investment report released by Norges Bank Investment Management blamed oil spills in the Niger Delta largely on theft and sabotage and this does not reflect the true situation on ground”.
Noted with concern “the plan by Shell to divest from onshore operations in the Niger Delta and sell off its on-shore facilities to Renaissance Africa Energy without first addressing the environmental damages and livelihood crisis created in the region through its operations.
“The weak regulatory framework in the oil and gas sector in Nigeria where regulators depend on the oil and gas company’s facilities and data to do their job”.
In their resolution, the CSOs enjoined the federal government and the regulators to adopt a national framework on responsible divestment that will guide oil companies’ divestment to align it with environmental restoration and l climate mitigation.
They resolved to launch campaign for the Nigerian government and oil companies to commence environmental audit and cleanup of all polluted sites in the Niger Delta.
The also, called on the government to adequately fund the regulatory agencies in the oil and gas sector to increase the effectiveness and independence of such agencies and urged political actors in the region to play a key role in the global climate change discourse such as the COP processes.
Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt
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