Victor EzejaGROUP of environmental civil society organizations have kicked against the move by Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for resumption of oil extraction in Ogoni land, citing instances of neglect of environmental and social concerns of the oil host community which has been left unattended for years.
This is contained in a joint statement signed by Nnimmo Bassey, Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF); Ken Henshaw of We the People; Celestine AkpoBari of Peoples’ Advancement Centre, Chima Williams of Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN), made available to Prime Business Africa.
They stated that it amounts to insensitivity for the government to move towards resuming oil extraction without addressing the lingering issues of environmental degradation, pollution and other social concerns raised by the people over three decades ago.
There has been a long tussle for resumption oil exploration in Ogoni land, on one side between NNPC and Shell Petroleum Development Company and on the other side, the host community.
An Appeal Court ruling in August had denied Shell ownership and access to OML 11 mostly located around the Ogoni area, handing it over to NNPC.
The group pointed out that a statement from the NNPC has instructed its subsidiary, the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), to immediately take over the assets and operations in the area and commence full extraction of oil, and that according to the Corporation, Federal Government had endorsed the plan, while Shell has also gone back to court to revalidate its mandate to operate in the oil field.
The civil society groups noted with dissatisfaction the on going contestation between the government and Shell over resumption of oil exploration in Ogoni land without without consultation with the people.
The said, “We are deeply concerned about the neglect of key issues around ecological and social justice in Ogoniland. The world recognizes that the people of Ogoni have suffered unprecedented pains and loses on account of oil extraction.
“No apology has been rendered for the destruction of their environment, the killing of their people, the loss of their livelihoods, the destruction of their villages, the forced exile of their people and the murder of their leaders.”
One of the raging issues in the area for years is environmental pollution caused by years of oil operations, leading to a recommnedation for clean up exercise in the area after the United Nations Evironment Programme (UNEP) environmental assessment. The cleanup exercise is meant for environmental restoration.
The group pointed out that the failure of the government to carry out the Ogoni cleanup exercise while moving to resume oil operations in the area amounts to unfairness to the people.
“It is also pertinent to observe that the move to resume the extraction of oil in Ogoniland, happening against the backdrop of the contentious clean-up of polluted sites in Ogoni, raises fears and fuels cynicism.
“It is worrying that the government would think of resuming oil extraction in Ogoniland when the pollution of the last decades is yet to be cleaned, decrepit installations are yet to be decommissioned and the many recommendations of UNEP are yet to be fully complied with.
“How can it be explained that a site supposedly being cleaned up will resume oil extraction activities with all the pollution that comes with it?
“Before any conversation on resuming the extraction of crude oil in the area, it is the demand of the Ogoni people and other stakeholders that the clean-up process be fully and urgently completed in compliance with the recommendations of UNEP.
“It is our recommendation that the government puts a stop to any planned attempt to resume oil activities in Ogoniland. It should rather concentrate on redeeming the ecological disaster in the area, decommissioning aged oil infrastructure, replacing the lost livelihood of the people and securing justice for the countless Ogonis waiting for closure.”
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
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