By Tobias Lengnan Dapam
Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN), has asked oil companies to fix what they have destroyed in various communities in Nigeria before leaving.
Executive Director of ERA/FoEN, Barr Chima Williams, stated this during a webinar on Thursday.
“If you are leaving put us back to the way you met us. If you cannot make us better, then take us to where we were and restitute the years of deprivation.”
He added that the divestment moves some oil companies such as Eni/NAOC and Mobil were yet to scale through because of the campaign by ERA/FoEN.
He called on the National Assembly to come up with a legislation to regulate the divestment moves in the country.
Williams said they are leading the campaign against the divestment of oil assets by multinationals because the companies want to shy away from their liabilities.
He said the IOCs started divesting their assets after realising that communities in the Niger Delta have become aware of their environmental rights and are now seeking justice.
“We know that they are running away because they don’t want to fix what they have destroyed. Also, they don’t want to face the various legal battles against their activities.”
He said ERA/FoEN is concerned on the negative impact of the divestment as some of the indigenous companies are not aware of the state of the assets they are acquiring.
“If the oil companies with all their technological gadgets cannot address these challenges, is it our local companies that will address the challenges of the people?
“We know that the oil multinationals have the right to sell off their assets, such rights no longer exist in absolute because of the devastation of the communities”.
Also speaking, Tijani Abdulkareem – Executive Director, Socio-Economic Research and Development Centre (SERDC), said the discovery of oil in the northern part of the country is already creating tension between Bauchi and Gombe states.
He said while some people see it as a blessing, the border communities are already having issues over land ownership.
He added that the oil exploration staff are promoting immorality in those communities.
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