CONTRARY to claims that oil firms are mainly responsible for the plight of the Niger Delta people, some stakeholders in the oil and gas industry have blamed the leadership at the three tiers of government for neglecting the people of the region.
A number of the industry people, who spoke at the symposium organised by the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) in Lagos last week, blamed the federal, states and local governments across the nation for being irresponsible in the management of oil proceeds.
In his keynote address at the event titled: Niger Delta: Oil production and the environment challenge, Prof. A.M.A. Imevbore pointed out that it is a misconception to say that oil companies are not responsible, especially when one is aware of different developmental programmes that oil firms are sponsoring to better the lots of the people in the Niger Delta region. He said that the representatives of the Niger Delta people are the ones depriving their people the right to good living.
Said he: “The 13 per cent derivation fund assigned to the Niger Delta states is quite small to speed up development in the area, but then the 13 per cent is never accounted for properly by the leadership of the region. But do you go ahead and blame oil firms for the irresponsibility of the peoples’ leaders. Of course no.”
Though he expressed hope that the Seven Point Agenda of President Umaru Yar’Adua might go a long way in solving part of the problem, he cautioned that it was not yet celebration time until dividends of the agenda begin to impact on the people of the region.
“Above every other thing, government needs to guarantee the security of lives and property in the Niger Delta so that we will be able to attract more business to the area like before,” he concluded.
On the same issue, Government and Ventures’ Relations Manager, Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCO) Larry Osai, said there was need to begin a massive developmental project in the Niger Delta, noting that the development programmes should be stretched for a number of years because too much damage had been done to the people and their environment. He quickly added that the Nigerian government that has been taking 95 per cent of earnings on the Joint Venture (JV) operation with oil companies was achieving little with such massive revenue from oil. He pointed out that most oil-rich nations use the proceeds from oil business to kick-start their economy. “The money from oil and gas is meant to be used to develop other sectors of the economy like agriculture, education, technology and so on. But that is not the case in Nigeria.”
Osai asserted that poverty was the root of the Niger Delta problem, and that until government started to give greater attention to the alleviation of poverty and hunger in the land, the restiveness in the Niger Delta might remain with us. He however lamented that oil companies are the ones bearing the most brunt.
“We are the ones who get our expensive installations vandalised at any point in time. We are the ones who lose our investment through the activity of the oil thieves. Shell alone experienced not fewer than 150 incidents of sabotage and oil theft in 2006 alone. In December 2004 our Trunk line at Egbeda suffered 34 cuts within two weeks. And all these acts of sabotage have negative impacts on environment,” he said.
While commending all the regulatory agencies in the oil and gas sector, Osai however stated that those regulations might not bring permanent solution to the problem of environmental pollution until illegal activities of militants in the region are brought under control. “How do you check the activities of people who deliberately and consistently vandalise pipelines for pecuniary gains, except government wakes up to its constitutional duty of providing good living for people and guarantees security of lives and property.”
Chevron representative at the event, Ahmed Adekunle, an engineer, called for the upward review of the 13 per cent derivation as stated in the 1999 Constitution. He also charged the leaders of the people from the Niger Delta to be more committed in alleviating their people’s problem rather than spending their allocation on white elephant projects that do not in any way bring succour to the people. “Thirteen per cent derivation allocated to the Niger Delta should be increased and the government also should spend the money more judiciously so that there can be less hunger and suffering in the Niger Delta. There is a need for us to improve the environment in the Niger Delta region, and there is a need to sustain the environment also, so that peace can begin to reign in the region. And government has a greater role to play in this programme of action, he said.
Meanwhile, Minister of Environment, Housing and Urban Development, Mrs. Halima Tayo-Alao, has assured the people of the Niger Delta that government is committed to avoiding the mistakes of the past, and ensuring effective environmental protection of the area now and in the future.
Represented by the Director-General, National Oil Spills Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), Dr. Bamidele Ajakaiye, the minister said that her ministry and its parastatals were totally committed to effective environmental protection and to supporting President Yar’Adua’s determination to achieve sustainable development in the Niger Delta.