Fresh facts emerged yesterday as to why youths of Bonny, in Bonny Local Government Area of Rivers State, home to the nation’s biggest crude oil terminal and the multi-billion dollar Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) facility, are poised for a conflict with multinational oil giant, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC).
LEADERSHIP learnt that the oil major was reluctant to take full responsibility for oil spills caused by the failure of its facilities, as well as the exploitation of lax environmental regulations to violate the rights of communities and individuals in and around Bonny Island.
LEADERSHIP findings also revealed that the major reason behind the Bonny youths continuous clash with Shell was not unconnected with alleged faking of certificate of occupancy fraudulently issued by the oil giant at the expiration of the 40 years land lease agreement with its host community as well as the massive spillage caused by facility failures.
It was revealed that although the Appeal Court had also ruled in the community’s favour, the multinational oil giant Shell was still adamant on not adopting international standard cleaning, and paying an acceptable compensation to calm fraying nerves, a situation which LEADERSHIP gathered was responsible for the recent threat to blow off Shell’s facilities by the Bonny Youth Federation (BYF), the central executive council of the BYF, the apex and central governing council of all the youths in Bonny Kingdom.
The youths attributed the environmental hazards caused them by SPDC to deliberate neglect of old and dilapidated pipelines and well heads which the management of Shell had refused to take responsibility for, and had proposed to issue an ultimatum to the oil company to either pay them compensation or cease to operate in their domain
It was further gathered that Shell has been operating in Bonny for more than 40 years and had her biggest export terminal in Bonny for the exporting of the world-acclaimed Bonny Light crude, amassing huge profits in billions of dollars but had never thought it necessary to do anything concrete to save or protect the Bonny environment.
This is even as statistics further shows that Bonny currently experiences the most frequent crude oil spill in the Niger Delta with no effort by the federal government and other stakeholders to reduce the devastation.
LEADERSHIP reports those youths in the area are bent on holding Shell accountable for the damage caused to their environment and has consequently threatened to mobilise for serious protest against Shell and seek redress both in Nigerian courts and abroad.
The BYF’s warning, interestingly, is coming barely days after the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) submitted an in-depth report of widespread and severe oil contamination in Ogoniland in Delta State caused by the same Shell.
It would, however, be recalled that SPDC on its part has allegedly been hardly hit by dwindling financial fortunes attributed to unfriendly business environment, particularly in the oil-rich Niger Delta region, the highpoint of which is the astronomical cost of repairing vandalised pipelines and other oil and gas installations.