The conference Hall of Legacy Centre, 6 Abuja Lane, D/Line, Port Harcourt, played host to media personnel, Tuesday, April 23, 2024, to parley on Shell’s “Divestment and Environmental Accountability,” courtesy of the Centre for Environment Human Rights and Development (CEHRD).
In his presentation on the Theme: “Shell Divestment and Environmental Accountability: the Role of the Media”, Dr. G.W. Komi, an environmental analyst, noted that divestment can occur in different ways, adding that Shell’s divestments in Nigeria involves selling-off its shares on onshore to offshore right in the deep sea to evade some problems and responsibilities emanating from its activities in the over six decades of operation in the Niger Delta.
Dr. Komi, explained that accountability involves accepting responsibility, exhibiting transparency and responsiveness, which he said Shell lacked in its Nigerian operation. He said, as an institution, Shell must communicate accurately its actions and plans, and give good and right information on its activities, stressing that responsiveness has to do with the way they respond to the people (host communities).
Dr. Komi further noted that the media holds the key to making Shell accountable both to host communities and in its activities as a corporate body.
He said Shell failed to meet the minimum requirements in the Petroleum Industry Act, PIA, recalling that Oloibiri in Bayelsa State, where oil was first discovered and drilled, has remained the poorest till date.
“In Umuechem and Ogoniland, Shell has killed a lot of people, raped, maimed and destroyed their homes; Shell believes in divide and rule, paying some persons to provoke violence”, he said, pointing out Nembe, Rumuekpe, Bille etc., as other areas where Shell’s legacies of violence and killing of local people took place.
“Shell just wants to take their hands off from the cleanup process. Our laws are also weak in oil exploration activities,” he said adding, it’s obvious that Shell decades of legacies have continued to linger.
To make amend, he recommended that Shell should set aside some percentage of its revenue to take care of the Niger Delta.
He urged the Federal Government to strengthen its law on oil exploration in Niger Delta, and called on the media not to be silent on the issue of divestment by Shell.
In his opening address, coordinator of CEHRD, Dr Francis Nabie described as a criminal flight, the attempt by Shell to pack up business onshore to move offshore and avoid responsibility for the atrocities it has caused in the environment and lives of the people.
He queried the state of accountability and transparency in the divestment process which has not engaged affected communities while turning their fate over to a consortium of new companies belonging to former top Shell officials.
Dr Nabie urged the media to highlight the issue and interrogate the integrity of the divestment process, pointing out that the communities whose livelihood, health and social lives would be impacted by the change, have been left out of the dialogue.
In her contribution, the managing editor of National Point Newspaper and human rights activist, Chief Constance Meju, pointed out that the issue of divestment is not being properly addressed.
“This arrangement is going on without proper criteria,” she observed, adding that according to a recent information from the corporate affairs unit of the Nigeria Upstream Commission, NUPRE six criteria must be met before divestment can take place and that includes remediation of polluted sites and audit of the operational sites being considered for divestment.
Chief Meju said the criteria are yet to be met and the onus is on the media to follow up on these to ensure that whatever that is wrong is taken care of before any nod to divestment by the oil major.
The board chairman of CEHRD expressed worry that the government is putting the Niger Delta in a difficult situation, making it look like the people are against engagement of local operators in the upstream business when they question the capacity of those lining up to take over. She insisted that there are no clear guidelines for the divestment process nor clarity on the faith of the communities in the divestment.
“Government cannot approve the divestment without guidelines. “When you are buying assets, you also buy liabilities. There is need for communities to know what is happening and how it will affect them,” Chief Meju said.
In his own comment, journalist and right activist, Steve Obodoekwe noted that Shell is being blamed every time while people forgot that government has major interest in all Shell is doing.
Obodoekwe lamented the despoliation of Niger Delta as a result of Shell’s activities, adding that nobody is against their divestment or attempt to leave Nigeria, but added, “Before doing that, they should carry out massive repair of all the damages they did to the Niger Delta region”.
“They are leaving here to go and cause another damage in other places,” he said.
Responding to calls by CEHRD for journalists to amplify the calls for proper management of the divestment process and environmental justice for the region, journalists pledged to be more active on the monitoring of the divestment matter.
Acting Bureau Chief of the Guardian Newspaper, Mrs. Ann Godwin said the Media has been part of the project, following up with Shell activities.
“We will continue to bring in the relevant angles to the process, the communities are suffering”, she said.
Journalists Kelechi Nwaocha of the Independent Monitor, Pius Dukor of Business Day, Blessing Ibugunle of This Day Newspapers and others, affirmed that the oil host communities are feeling the harsh impact of years of pollution from fossil fuel extraction and pledged to continue to report on the issue, to bring it to the front burner for duty bearers to do the needful.
Highlights of the event were Documentary on Shell Divestment by Dr. Tammy Cookey, head, Environment Desk of CEHRD and an overview of the CEHRD-SOMO project presented by Dr. Victor Zabbey, a research in some oil host communities which revealed legacy spill sites yet to be cleaned up and the fact that many host communities are still ignorant of what is going on with regards to divestment and the PIA in general.
