House Probes Shell’s Alleged Injustice against Indigenous Company

Udora Orizu

The House of Representatives yesterday mandated its Committee on Public Petition to investigate allegation of corporate injustice and economic under-development against Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria by an indigenous company.

The company, Compact Manifold & Energy Services Limited had through a petition, presented to the House by Hon. Doctor Farah Dagogo, Member representing Degema/Bonny Constituency, accused Shell of attempting to use a third party to defraud it for payment of services rendered.

The Petition, signed by the Company’s project director, Tony Jibunoh, had lamented that the conduct of Shell was allegedly injurious to the spirit of Section 2 of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act, 2010, which seeks to protect the interest of Nigerian companies in award of contract, execution and payments.

The petition read in part, “Shell is insisting to make payment through a third party company, Michharry & Company Nigeria Limited, which is neither a party nor a witness to the contract directly entered into between our company and Shell as a clear manifestation of vested interest to defraud our company by sharing with Shell whatever percentage is given to the third party serving as its front. Compact Manifold & Energy Services Limited was engaged in laying pipeline offshore 6″x6KM Forcados Yakiri Non-Associated Gas Pipeline Project and 2 nos 6” x500m bulkline de-commissioning and installation project (Forc 37) in August 2019 at $15million.

“Compact Manifold & Energy Services Limited executed the project and applied for payment since August, 2020 without any favourable response from Shell Petroleum Development Company despite a deceitful approval granted and countless assurances that turned out to be a calculated plan to under-develop our company whose personnel are Nigerians that will be thrown out of job for no justifiable cause.

“The deliberate refusal to discharge this liability and the corresponding anticipated danger of retrenching Nigerian employees who must be told the circumstances leading to their disengagement is grievous to disrupt the sustainable peace within the oil and gas communities where Shell and several other companies operate.”

The petitioner therefore, urged the Speaker and the House to bring the alleged corporate injustice perpetrated by Shell against the company to an end.