By Pius Dukor, Port Harcourt
Some women organisations have called on the Governor of Rivers State, Siminailaye Fubara to do everything within his power to halt the on-going process of divestment by multinational oil companies who want to leave the State without restoring the ecosystem.
The groups, comprised Kebetkache Women Development and Resource Centre, Alauchi Women Development Initiative, Ibeno Mba Okase Women, Eleme, Abua Women Association, Coalition of Ogoni Women Development Initiative, Otagbagi Women, Pius Dukor Foundation for Community Development and Advancement, Kallop Environment Center, Relief International and OLEGH, made the call on Friday during a press conference in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.
In their paper titled, “Niger Delta Women say no to divestment without ecosystem restoration”, presented on their behalf, a Board Member of Kebtkache Women Development Constance and Resource Centre, Constance Meju, expressed their disappointment over the plan by big multinational companies operating in the State to surreptitiously sell off their on-shore assets without holding necessary consultations with their host communities that have suffered years of neglect and pollution from environmental pollution and degradation arising from the activities of the oil companies without fashioning out concrete arrangements to rehabilitate their environment.
Meju maintained that in an ideal society, no multinational company could plan to sell off their assets to a consortium of investors without due processes and proper guidelines.
Explaining further, Meju who is a journalist and publisher, stated that Shell Petroleum Development Company, Nigerian Agip Oil Company, Exxon Mobil Nigeria Limited, and Total Energy Nigeria Ltd, were poised to divest all their onshore assets without engaging host communities and correcting their mistakes by way of cleaning up all the damages done to the communities.
“We the affected women in the region are deeply concerned about this sudden divestment plans as both government and the oil firms have not provided any guidelines, there is no women development funds to support our long time suffering from oil pollution”, she stated.
They also stressed the need for a total clean up of the ecosystem destroyed by the oil companies over the years, adding that women play a critical role in providing income through agriculture, farm produce and trading but the ecological degradation caused by oil exploration and exploitation have, over the years, forced women to lose their livelihood thereby leading to increased poverty.
Speaking further, she lamented that the new companies that will take over are strange to them.
She said, “Rivers State Governor should stop the divestment plans especially those in the State, as gas flares still exist in communities in the State”.
In an interview shortly after the event, Efrebo Henry told journalists that the purpose of the event was to sensitize the general public and register their protest against the inhumane plan against the communities as both farm lands, swamps, rivers and creeks are badly affected while the health of those living in the Niger Delta has been devastated.
“This divestment is not in the interest of the community people, and we condemned it in totality” Henry said. “We call on the President of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu to ensure No divestment without ecosystem restoration, while urging both Federal and State governments to mandate oil companies divesting to clean up polluted sites to restore their livelihood” he said.
It could be recalled that it only in Ogoni land that a pilot clean up program have commence with slow space of work due due process and undue interference by the Minister of Environment which they have changed many times. However, the pollution in other Niger Delta communities is still left untouched.
