A coalition of civil society organisations, community leaders and concerned citizens has urged President Bola Tinubu to halt the ongoing divestment process by some international oil companies in the Niger Delta region.

The coalition stated this while addressing journalists after submitting a petition to the National Assembly on Thursday in Abuja.

The Executive Director of Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), Nnimmo Bassey, described the divestment by IOCs, especially Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), as “potentially catastrophic” to the renaissance consortium.

According to him, the proposed sale and similar divestment efforts by companies such as TotalEnergies will undermine national interests.

He alleged that, under pressure from Shell and its home government, the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) secured approval to allow the firm to sell off its remaining shares in SPDC in spite of its initial rejection.

“That is why we are calling on the National Assembly to prevail on President Tinubu to halt all further IOCs divestment requests until significant matters of national concern are addressed,” he said.

Mr Bassey said that there were environmental liabilities such as water contamination, solid degradation, and loss of biodiversity resulting from the activities of the IOCs as well as their impacts on community health.

He said that the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) report on the Ogoni land estimated $1 billion as remediation cost during the initial five years for a clean-up that should take decades.

According to him, the Bayelsa State Oil and Environment Commission’s (BSOEC) report estimates that it will cost a minimum of $12 billion in 12 years to address the cost of remediation in the state alone.

Mr Bassey said that for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the United States, the company responsible paid over $60 billion to address the impacts of one oil spill incident alone.

He said, “The environmental damage of the Niger Delta is much worse and has spanned decades. Based on the UNEP and BSOEC reports, it will take about $100 billion to address the environmental damage in the entire Niger Delta comprehensively.

“We ask Mr President to ensure that the immediate financial interests of a few multinational corporations and local profiteers do not outweigh the health, future and survival of millions of Nigerians who have suffered for decades.

“President Tinubu must safeguard the future of Nigeria, ensuring that all its people, especially those in the Niger Delta, are not sacrificed for the benefit of global capital and a few local profiteers.

“Approving Shell or TotalEnergies’ divestment in its current form without addressing the profound environmental and social costs will be a grave injustice to the people of the Niger Delta and can lead to significant unrest in the region. It will be an affront to the generations of ‘Niger Deltans’ who had fought and died for environmental justice, their homes and their livelihoods.”

Mr Bassey listed their demands to include: halting of the divestments, ensuring inclusive and transparent consultations, regulatory independence, provision of community profit-sharing opportunities, inclusion of gas flaring cessation and decommissioning plans, among others.

The coalition called on the national assembly to continue its advocacy for the people of Niger Delta to ensure that the country’s national interest was not undermined by the financial interests of the multinational corporations.

It reiterated its commitment to continuing the advocacy with a view to ensuring a just, sustainable and prosperous future for all Nigerians. 

(NAN)