By Emem Idio, Yenagoa

YENAGOA – Non-governmental and civil society organizations under the umbrella of Bayelsa Non-Governmental Forum,BANGOF, and leaders of host communities have protested against the proposed divestment by multinationals oil companies, calling on President Bola Tinubu to halt all divestment process until the multinationals addressed all pending issues in the Niger Delta.

The groups which staged a protest rally to the office of the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC, yesterday in Yenagoa, the state capital to register opposition to the planned divestment by Shell Petroleum Development Company,SPDC, and other multinationals also demanded, “an inclusive and transparent consultation with the state government and host communities before any further divestment.”

The protesters displayed placards with variou yous inscriptions, such as: “Clean, remediate and pay up,President Tinubu stop the divestment process,’ ‘There is oil in our blood. Who will wash it off, Tinubu or Shell?,’ ‘We demand for full health, environmental livelihoods and water audit of the Niger Delta,’ ‘We demand for full health, environmental livelihoods and water audit of the Niger Delta,’ ‘Niger Delta life matters, halt the divestment process and clean up now!’ ‘Over 200,000 acres of land polluted by oil spills,”among others.

Speaking at the rally, the Chairman of BANKOF, Taritien Boco, said the federal government should hold multinationals accountable to all their past and ongoing environmental damage and ensure that they fund a full cleanup and remediation programme across the Niger Delta.

He said :”We come out and pass a message to the President, NURPC, National assembly, we are that saying that all divestment should stop. After this moment we sit down and evaluate what we have done come out with the next line of action.

“We are not bothered about any specific oil spills sites, basically all the Niger Delta region not just Bayelsa State because the issues around oil spills is around the Niger Delta , every community in the Niger Delta ,the same thing (cleanup) that is happening in Ogoniland should be extended to the entire Niger Delta.

“We are all suffering, people are dying. Look at Oloibiri , how many years that oil activities has stopped there, just last year, a there was a survey and assessment of the health condition of the people of Oloibiri shows a very sorry state.”

Also speaking, Deputy Executive Director, Environmental Defence Network, EDEN, Comrade Alagoa Morris, said: “We are recommended that same cleanup in Ogoniland should be replicated in the entire Niger Niger particular Bayelsa State NOSDRA itself in 2014 publicly declared that Bayelsa State is most polluted.

“It is an insult for Shell and other multinationals to run away from their responsibility and to go to the offshore to continue the pollution. We are demanding that before the go to offshore they should first deal with the mess they have created onshore-clean up all polluted sites, involved oil communities in the divestment process because you are not the owner of the land. Agip has escaped and we are seeing the negative continuation from Oando, not cleaning up spill sites, setting up spill sites ablaze instead of cleanup.

“Before Shell should be allowed to escaped,the people of the Niger Delta are demanding environmental justice, in the area of proper cleanup, remediation and compensation. To the consortium and buyers they should be aware that that are buying the assets and liabilities.

“But the main demand today is that the federal government and president Tinubu should not allow SPDC to divest until these pending issues are addressed.”

Speaking on behalf of the host communities, Chief Zion Kientel, said: ” We are not against divestment but all that needs to be done before divestment should be done , clean up, remediation, compensation. Not just the environment, even the people too should be clean , if they are leaving our environment that should restore it to the way they met them when they first came.”

Responding to the demands of the group, the Manager Corporate Services and Administration, NUPRC, Bayelsa State Office, Dr Prince Oshodin, who described the commission as an Ombudsman, said all grievances and complaints will be channel to the headquarters of the commission for necessary action.