By Tordue Salem
ABUJA—The House of Representatives yesterday passed a resolution urging the Shell Petroleum Development Company(SPDC) to pay the sum of N1 billion to Joinkrama 1 Community of Rivers State.
The community is a victim of an oil spill by SPDC that caused “damages to waterways, farmland, and economic trees.”
The resolution was part of a report by the Rep. CID Maduabum-led Committee on Public Petitions.
The report “urged Shell to negotiate with the Joinkrama Community with a view to determining compensation for damages to waterways, farmland, economic trees; since the spill in question did not originate from Joinkrama Community.”
Amendment to its first recommendation by Rep. Betty Apiaffi (PDP Rivers State), also advised the government to engage independent experts to carry out an independent “impact assessment” of the damages caused by the SPDC to the environment.
A similar report on a petition by one Chief Suobo against the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) also scaled.
The report sought, among other things, to have Agip “restore the agreement the company reached with its landlord communities”, and “take steps to initiate the award of bursary to deserving wards of its landlord communities”.
First, i commend d efforts of house of Reps 4 this current development on oil spillage compensation to affected community(s), another is a vivid scrutiny 2 those comments fm a beloved comrade, OYE BUSUYI a.k.a.”Officer O”. In those comments i see a true Nigerian in u but you must understand some point, oil industries are die-hard exploiters of our beloved resources because of bilateral benefits 4 both them & us(NIGERIA). U mentioned regulators like: NAIPIMS & DPR, i see them as toothless bulldog that just come to d office & take coffee daily, if not; they ougth 2 hv done d aspect of fining d oil companies, d N’Deltans deserves it !. Govt can not shoulder all responsibilities as it has immense numbers of problems, big enough in the area of finances; despite low income presently, due to destructive activities of MILITANTS on their own POT OF SOUP, the oil pipes.
The representatives who impose fine on Shell didn’t explain why they did this. It is not enough to state that Shell should pay the fine because the spill did not originate from Joinkrama 1 Community of Rivers State but should state what led to the spill so as not to make the public believe that all Shell does is to contaminate the environment of the host communities. Shell will not on its own allow a barrel of her crude to spill into the environment but when she has been under environment constantly polluted by the actvities of the bunkers and militant; it becomes difficult for Shell to avert spillage
The House of Representatives to the best of my knowledge has no powers to impose fines or levies on private comoanies and organisations operating in Nigeria. Every company cum indutstry is supposed to have a regulator just like CBN, SEC, NERC and the like. In the case of the Oil and Gas industry, that regulator is NAIPIMS or DPR. If at all a fine is to be levied on any oil and gas operator, I would expect it to come from any of these two bodies. We must learn to speak fand argue from the point of knowledge and not on assuption or wishful thinking.
There is no such thing as “adopting a bill”. A bill is either passed into law or it isn’t . It only becomes law when it is assented to by the President of the country and gazetted.
As far as gas flaring goes, there are many reasons why this has not been effected after so much talk, but the bulk of the blame lies with the federal government and not the oil companies. If the government can get its own priorities right and plan towards it, the targets will be met. First of all reducing or eliminating flaring requires lots of money to build gas gathering plants and facilities and over the year the governement has not made its share of the money available. The other alternative is to shut down the wells where flaring is taking place and that ultimately means no oil and no money, which the government cannot afford. Oil companies are not charitable organisations. If the joint venture agreement makes the govt a 55% shareholder, then that means 55% of investment should come from the government. If eliminating gas flaring costs $4bln, then the government should contribute $2.2bln. If it doesnt, then how can the flaring ever stop? Should the oil companies take the risk of footing all the bill in the midst of a government that wil not pay back!? Go and ask how much Lagos State has recovered for all the federal roads it has rehabilitated?
Oil companies are not the government, yet we Nigerians blame the for everything that goes wrong from no light ,to no roads, no water, ASUU strike and what not. Nigeria is not the only country where there is oil. Why do things work in UAE, Saudi Arabia, Norway,Kuwait and so on. It is because they have responsible and competent governments. On the other hand a country like Veneuela, with an equally useless government is at the same level as Nigeria. With about 40 years of oil, if we had good governance, should we be where we are today. Yet rather than focus the fight on the government, we lazily blame the oild companies for all our woes.
If we say oil companies kil people with impunity, you should be able to say who they have killed? Millitants have killed more people over the last 2-3 years than any other, yet you fail to mention this. I am not aware that any report has indicted any oil company for killing anyone. The Ogoni 9 were killed by Sani Abacha not by Shell. Assuming Shell wanted them dead, was Sani Abacha forced to comply? After all the Pope came to Nigeria just before then and pleaded for their lives and yet Sani Ababcha ordered their execution a few days later. Whose fault is that?
Like I said earlier, let us all argue and comment with a bit more objectivity, clarity and knowledge. Blame your government and not any oil company for the woes of the Niger Delta. Odili was a governor for 8years, did nothing for River State, yet we Nigerians will not take action against him, but we shout Shell, Total, Agip have not developed the area.
Rubbish!!
This report is one of the few that citizens will see and beat their chest saying, “We’ve people who represent us in the House of Reps.”
My fear though is, this isn’t the first time members of this house are deliberating and holding $hell Oil accountable, yet the company will not take them seriously because of its quasi status in Nigeria.
The first time I know of in recent time a group of government officials cum representatives of the people held $hell accountable was in 1993-the Rivers State House of Assembly. Honorable Emmanuel Deeyaa had sponsored a motion on behalf of the Ogoni people, his constituency. The sum of $1.5 million was ordered as reparation aimed at settling environmental damages in the area.
To this day, unfortunately, $hell hasn’t paid this money. The second experience was 2006 or 2007, when the National House of Reps investigated and deliberated on a petition or motion filed on behalf of the Ijaw ethnic group about the degradation of the environment. The House passed the motion and adopted a bill that asked $hell to pay $1.5 billion to the the Ijaws for damaging their environment.
The issue became hot that Senate members became involved. $hell’s representatives were invited, an arrest threat was declared, but to date there is no indication that the company has paid the money. These houses aren’t talking anymore. I’ve they been settled for them to keep quiet while the people suffer and these damages continue or what? In short the company argued that most of these spills were caused by sabotage. And also said it wouldn’t pay the money alone if at all because the federal government holds a joint venture with her and should pay part of said damage.
There may be several others I don’t know about. It’s sad $hell is made to have so much power-only in Nigeria and other African or so-called developing nations-that the Houses of Rep and Senate made laws and the company ignores them. What of the gas flaring issue? A terminal date, 2008 that the company was ordered to stop the flaring of noxious and other greenhouse gases I called the mother of climate change or global warming couldn’t be implemented. The company talked government officials into a deal and something else, therefore saying stopping flaring isn’t feasible in 2008.
The simple reason all these happen is because the government is in collaboration with $hell as partners in bad business-as joint venture holders. The Nigeria government is so irresponsible, unaccountable and incompetent, etc. that it allows both local and foreign companies especial to disrespect and kill its people; a people it swore to protect. These companies also use government forces to intimidate and kill the people with impunity.
My suggestion is, while I applaud the House of Reps for the bold steps taken to reach this decision, I conclude that if it wouldn’t follow up and implement bills or laws passed on companies such as $hell it should stop sponsoring such bills as they are irritating and embarrassing when the company look them in the face and say “we will not pay, and you will do nothing,” and nothing really happens.
We are watching
Good job