The House of Representatives has urged the Federal Government to immediately halt all divestment processes by Shell, TotalEnergies and other International Oil Companies (IOCs) in the Niger Delta, until they have addressed their environmental and social liabilities.
The House, which also called for the establishment of an Environmental Restoration Fund, financed by IOCs, to comprehensively address the estimated $100 billion in damages across the Niger Delta, called for “community profit-sharing mechanisms to ensure that host communities benefit directly from oil and gas revenues.”
Similarly, it implored the government to ensure that the IOcs do not divest until there are transparent consultations with Niger Delta communities, as well as state governments in the area.
This followed the adoption of a motion by the minority leader, Kingsley Chinda, at Thursday’s plenary – yesterday, February 6 – seeking for a halt to the divestment of the IOCs.
Chinda, in his motion, argued that the government has a duty to protect the rights and welfare of its citizens, especially those in the Niger Delta, who have been on the receiving end of environmental degradation arising from oil exploration.
He said: “Independent assessments, including those by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Bayelsa State Oil and Environment Commission (BSOEC), have documented the catastrophic environmental and health impacts of oil exploration in the Niger Delta, including contaminated water sources, soil infertility, loss of biodiversity, and public health emergencies;
“Recently, the NUPRC has rejected Shell’s divestment application, citing failure to address environmental liabilities and concerns about the Capacity of the Renaissance Consortium to manage the assets effectively;
“Past divestments by IOCs, such as Shell’s sale of assets in Nembe to Aiteo, ExxonMobil’s transfers, and ENI/AGIP’s sales to Oando, have left communities with unresolved pollution, worsened environmental degradation and increased social unrest.”
The lawmaker added that “approving Shell’s or TotalEnergies’ divestment requests without addressing these historical and ongoing liabilities risks undermining Nigeria’s regulatory independence, transferring corporate responsibilities to the Nigerian state, and signaling impunity for environmental crimes.”
“Allowing [OCs to divest without accountability would jeopardize the future of the Niger Delta, undermine Nigeria’s sovereignty, and burden the Nigerian people with the economic and environmental costs of cleanup,” he further argued, stressing that “a comprehensive and transparent review process, including full disclosure of environmental liabilities and enforceable commitments for cleanup and reparations, must precede any approval of IOC divestments.”
Chinda noted that “if regulatory independence is not safeguarded to uphold the rule of law and protect national interests against undue corporate and political interference, the sovereignty of the country will be threatened and citizens’ trust in the government would further diminish. “
