A Yenagoa based non-governmental organisation, Stakeholders Alliance for Corporate Accountability (SACA), has tasked multinational oil companies operating in the Niger Delta region to adopt international best practice in their operations.
A representative of the organization and a Missionary attaché to the Irish Embassy in Nigeria, Kevin O’Hara, made the call during a courtesy call on the Bayelsa State Deputy Governor, Gboribiogha John Jonah in Government House, Yenagoa.
O’Hara who was in the company of the Irish Ambassador, Sean Hoy disclosed that SACA was established in 2006 to monitor the compliance of oil companies particularly, Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) with international standards.
He said it was imperative that Bayelsans benefited maximally from their God-given resources, especially as the state plays host to the Gbarain/Ubie Gas Gathering Plant, which is Shell’s biggest multi-billion dollar investment in Africa.
O’Hara said SPDC would soon sign a Global Memorandum of Understanding (GMoU) with Gbarain/Ekpetiama cluster communities and expressed the hope that the people would not be shortchanged.
He revealed that a United Kingdom based coalition known as Economic Council For Corporate Accountability (ECCA) has been prevailing on oil companies to improve on their relations with host communities in the Niger Delta.
According to him, efforts by the council since 1996 to get the SPDC board of directors to adopt the same international standards in Nigeria as in the United Kingdom have proved abortive.
In his response, Gboribiogha John Jonah, deputy governor identified failure of oil companies to honour memoranda of understanding, cases of oil spillage and compensation as major sources of conflicts between host communities and oil firms.
Jonah also decried the non-participation of the Niger Delta people in the oil and gas industry and lauded SACA for its efforts towards giving the people a sense of belonging.
He described environmental devastation due to the activities of oil companies as unquantifiable and that a study was being undertaken by experts to determine the extent of damage to the environment and the people.
He solicited the collaboration of the international community in the areas of education, power generation, agriculture, development of the Agge Deep Seaport and other infrastructure to build a sustainable economy beyond oil.
