Pollution: Halt Divestment Process by Shell, TotalEnergies, Coalition Urges Tinubu
Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt
A coalition of civil society organisation led by Social Action Nigeria has called on President Bola Tinubu to halt the divestment process by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) and TotalEnergies E&P Limited over degradation of Niger Delta environment. The group made the demand yesterday during a peaceful protest against the divestment moves in Port Harcourt.
Civil society groups at the protest include; Social Action, Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HEDA) Resource Centre, Kebetkache Women Development and Resource Centre, We The People and leaders form oil spill affected communities in Rivers State.
Speaking on behalf of the coalition during the protest at the front of Government House, Port Harcourt, Dr. Prince Edegbuo, demanded that the federal government should halt all divestment processes until a transparent, comprehensive, and inclusive review is undertaken that addresses Shell’s and TotalEnergies’ environmental and social liabilities.
The coalition also urged President Tinubu to maintain the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission(NUPRC)’s rejection of Shell’s request to sell its remaining shares in the SPDC to the Renaissance Consortium.
They said: “Other international oil corporations, such as TotalEnergies, are also attempting to sell their stakes in SPDC and other Nigerian onshore oil assets. We state categorically that any approval of Shell’s and Total’s requests would weaken regulatory independence, ignore the interests of the Niger Delta communities, jeopardise the environmental and social well-being of the region for generations to come, and undermine Nigeria’s sovereignty.
“Communities in sites of extraction want to categorically make it clear that approving Shell’s or TotalEnergies’ divestment in its current form without addressing the profound environmental and social costs would be a grave injustice to the people of the Niger Delta and could lead to significant unrest in the region. It would be an affront to the generations of Niger Deltans who have fought and died for environmental justice, their homes, and their livelihoods.”
They argued that federal government approving Shell’s SPDC share sale would send a dangerous message to all multinational corporations operating in the country that they can extract the resources, leave devastation behind, and walk away without consequence.
Other demands of the coalition are that before divestment, there should be an “Inclusiveand transparent consultation with state governments and the people of the sites of oil and gas extraction in the Niger Delta before any further divestment of IOC assets.
“Hold Shell, TotalEnergies, and all other IOCs accountable for their past and ongoing environmental damage, and ensure they fund a full cleanup and remediation program across the Niger Delta.
“Respect the resolution of the National Assembly, which has called for a halt to all divestments by international oil companies in Nigeria. Ensure that new operators are properly vetted and committed to responsible environmental management and community welfare.
“Create an Environmental Restoration Fund that is sufficiently funded to meet the full and complete costs of environmental cleanup and reparations based on credible estimates of independent international experts and contributed to by Shell, TotalEnergies, and other international oil companies and future operators to address the long-term damage caused by their operations”, others.
