Group Canvasses Adequate Funding For Oil and Gas Regulatory Agencies

Some Civil Society Organisations, CSOs, have called on the federal government of Nigeria to adequately fund the regulatory agencies in the oil and gas sector.

The CSOs made the call on Tuesday at a meeting organised by the Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice, ANEEJ, in Port Harcourt.

They opined that adequate funding would help to increase the effectiveness and independence of the agencies.

The meeting had in attendance 47 participants drawn from civil society organisations, representatives of the media, and some communities in the Niger Delta region.

The Acting Executive Director of ANEEJ, Mr Leo Atakpu, said that the meeting was to enable them to reflect on the state of the Niger Delta region and the quest for late Ken Saro Wiwa’s struggle for environmental justice.

Atakpu, represented by ANEEJ Board member, Mr Nowinta Igbotako, also said that the meeting was to discuss emerging issues that had implications on the Niger Delta environment.

According to him, the meeting was part of the implementation of the advocacy for fossils fuel phase out in Nigeria, supported by the African Climate Foundation.

He said that the group was particularly interested in advancing the implementation of the Paris Climate Agreement by encouraging oil companies and their investors to adopt the call for carbon emission reduction targeting 1.50C and bellow.

Fossil Fuel Phase-out

He said that the group’s interest was also about the fossil fuel phase-out with a just energy transition projection to protect the natural environment from pollution and over-exploitation.

Atakpu said that despite the urgent need for the world to quickly move away from fossil fuel or drastically reduce carbon emission to meet the 1.50C target set in Paris, oil and gas companies had yet to provide realistic plans that would save the planet from destruction and ensure global comfort.

“Major oil companies have abandoned initial climate commitments for short-term profit because of increased global demand for crude oil.

“In 2023, the Church of England Pensions Board, a major investor in Shell and other oil companies, announced that it is withdrawing its fund from Shell and other companies because such companies had abandoned their climate commitments for short term profit.

“Nigeria’s oil wells are constantly being developed. The environment, including land, air, and water, is polluted.

“The people’s livelihood has been badly affected.

“These are some of the reasons ANEEJ produced a documentary to show evidence and reflect on Saro Wiwa’s struggle for environmental justice in the Niger Delta region,” Atakpu said.

The meeting also discussed the outcome of COP28, which took place in Dubai in December 2023.

It also discussed  the recent spate of divestments by International Oil Companies from on-shore operations in the Niger Delta, particularly the announcement by Shell of the planned sale of its Nigerian on-shore subsidiary, Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria.

The meeting also discussed the recently released responsible investment report by the Norges Bank Investment Management, a major investor in Shell, Eni, and other oil companies.

In a communique, the meeting decried the lack of recognition of Shell’s operational failures by Norges, in spite of the evidence presented in the reports and witness statements, which showed that Shell could have done more to prevent and remediate oil spills in the region.

The meeting also decried the weak regulatory framework in the oil and gas sector in the country, where regulators depend on the oil and gas companies’ facilities and data to do their job.

The CSOs, therefore, urged the federal government and the regulators to adopt a national framework on responsible divestment that would guide oil companies’ divestment to align it with environmental restoration and climate mitigation.

They also decried the poor participation of political actors from the region in the global climate change discourse, including the COP processes.

They further urged the National Assembly to hold public hearing to discuss the planned divestment by Shell and other oil companies from on-shore operations in the Niger Delta region.

“They resolved to launch a campaign for the federal government and oil companies to commence environmental audit and clean-up of all polluted sites in the region.”

The group strongly advocated the review or expuntion of Section 257 of the Petroleum Industry Act that places the responsibility to protect oil facilities on host communities instead of the operators and the oil companies.

 

 

 

NAN/Shakirat Sadiq