Elf Petroleum Nigeria Limited on Thursday berated oil companies in the country, saying they spend huge sums on supporting �masquerades, festivals and coronations � in the Niger Delta instead of developmental projects.
The company, at the ongoing Offshore West Africa conference in Abuja, also queried how �the $4bn (about N500bn)� which accrued to the states in the region in the past eight years was utilised.
Mr. Anthony Abolarin, who spoke for the company, expressed concern over the high level of underdevelopment in the Niger Delta in spite of the huge amount accruing to the region.
Abolarin is the company�s Manager of Sustainable Development, and head of Niger Delta Development Commission in Elf.
Delivering a paper titled �Emergence of Community Development Foundations: Depth of Foundations and Degree of susceptibility,� he argued that the oil companies had not done much in the past to alleviate the sufferings of the people.
He said that oil companies �contributed less than three per cent of the $4bn,�� because they could not operate beyond their budgets.
He added that the Global Memorandum of Understanding between the oil companies and their host communities had failed to address the developmental challenges facing the region.
This, he said, happened because the oil companies dictated the projects to be executed, as against allowing the villages to choose their priority projects.
Abolarin, however, stated that the emergence of community development foundations would address underdevelopment in the Niger Delta.