The House of Representatives has called on the Federal Government to halt applications for divestment by International Oil Companies including Shell and Total Energies until they meet their environmental and social obligations to the Niger Delta region.
The decision of the House was a sequel to the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance moved by the House Minority Leader, Mr Kingsley Chinda during Thursday’s plenary.
In moving the motion, the Peoples Democratic Party lawmaker noted that independent assessments, including those by the United Nations Environment Programme and the Bayelsa State Oil and Environment Commission, have documented the catastrophic environmental and health impacts of oil exploration in the Niger Delta, including contaminated water sources, soil infertility, loss of biodiversity, and public health emergencies.
Chinda recalled that only recently, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission “Rejected Shell’s divestment application, citing failure to address environmental liabilities and concerns about the Capacity of the Renaissance Consortium to manage the assets effectively.”
