By Agbonkhese Oboh

A panel discussion by Dr. David Ugolor, Camilla Houeland, Julie Rødje and Lars Haltbrekken in Oslo, Norway, has set the tone for a meeting with Oil Fund (NBIM) over devastation occasioned by oil and gas exploration in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria.

Ugolor is Executive Director, Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice, ANEEJ; Houeland, researcher at Fafo and associate professor at the Department of Sociology and Human Geography at UiO; Rødje, director at SLUG – Debt Justice Network Norway, and Lars Haltbrekken, Member of Parliament for The Socialist Left Party (The Standing Committee on Energy and the Environment).

The panel discussion was part of a breakfast meeting between rights activists, NGOs, journalists and other stakeholders.

Also, the Executive Director, Ideal Women Advancement Initiative, Affiah Foh Bridget, and Celestine Akpobari of the Ogoni Solidarity Forum were also part of the team.

Vanguard reported that a delegation of rights groups, led by the ANEEJ, was in Norway to raise awareness among citizens’ groups, community leaders and decision-makers about oil companies’ roles in human rights violations in Nigeria.

Among the key stakeholders the activists will be engaging is the Norwegian Oil Fund (Norges Bank Investment Management – NBIM).

Why we’re here – Ugolor

Responding to a question on payment of compensation during the panel discussion, Ugolor said it must be continous and combined with responsible withdrawal.

His words: “Compensation cannot be a one-time thing. One of the major contributors to climate crisis is exploration of oil and gas, and Nigeria is one of the leading countries in this respect.

“Countries like Norway that value their image have to be held responsible. So we are not stopping at asking the Oil Fund to visit the Niger Delta. In our next AGM, we’ll be holding the people’s tribunal and the Fund is one of the institutions we’ll be looking into.

“They will have to contribute to solving the problem. The oil firms have to pull out, but pull out with responsibility by taking care of the liabilities they created.

“There’s also the International dimension. The Nigerian government, because of debt, is hardly able to implement economic policies that will give sovereignty.

“And when you lose that sovereignty, you are hardly able to hold Oil firms accountable.

“However, we cannot fold our arms and keep quiet. That’s why actions, such as this meeting, are taking place,” the ANEEJ noted.

Organised in conjunction with laActionAid and Forum for utvikling og miljø, ForUM, the meeting was “part of our work with the Oil Fund, the Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ), a Nigerian NGO working for climate justice, coming to Oslo to raise awareness about environmental damage in the Niger Delta.

“Together with ActionAid and Forum for utvikling og miljø (ForUM), we will meet with politicians and the Oil Fund (NBIM) to highlight Norway’s responsibility for climate and environmental impact abroad.”