…As communities lament refusal  to comply with Senate resolutions

By Henry Umoru

OIL Producing communities in the Niger Delta region yesterday cried out for the refusal of the Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC  to comply with the resolutions of the Senate, following a petition received on the non-payment of accumulated rentals and expired leases. 

Senate

The Senate had mandated the Shell Petroleum Development Company,  SPDC to as a matter of urgency, pay N6,936,899,900 which is the total outstanding amount for all unpaid rentals, expires leases and re-acquisition fees stated.

The upper chamber had  also directed the multinational company to “cancel all long term leases of 99 years already imposed on landowners and comply with the provisions of the Oil Pipeline Act which stipulate a term of 20 years only.”

The Senate had also resolved that SPDC should respect powers of attorney donated by landowners to their agents/consultants to negotiate for them and receive their rentals from the multinational company

Shell’s conduct in Ogoni shameful, crime against humanity — MOSOP

A petition from Bekele Jones and Associates to the upper chamber lamented the non-payment of outstanding rentals for the Port Harcourt Oloibiri pipeline, the Oloibiri field, and the entire Utapate/Akwa Ibom fields.

Accordingly, in a letter dated 4th March, 2019, the National Assembly in separate letters written by the Clerk, Alhaji Mohammed Sani-Omolori, and addressed separately to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mustapha Boss, and Managing Director, Shell Petroleum Development Company, the Senate resolved that, SPDC pay a uniform rate of N600,000 per hectare of land as rent per annum for all loss of use of surface rights from 2014.

The Senate had adopted the resolutions of the Senator Samuel Anyanwu led Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions on the 24th of January, 2019.