Shell moves against illegal oil refining in Ogoni land
THE Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd (SPDC) has kicked off the second phase of its grassroots campaign against crude oil theft and illegal oil refining activities in Ogoni land.
The first phase of the campaign in 2014 reached over 7,000 community people from Eleme, Gokana, Khana, and Tai local government areas.
Managing Director of SPDC and Country Chair, Shell Companies in Nigeria, Osagie Okunbor, stated that the 2015 campaign is targeted at Ogoni youths “for whom we have designed some alternative empowerment programmes such as the Ogoni livewire, which in January, trained 105 Ogoni youths in different skills and offered them start-up funds and support”.
He said that the company is focusing on raising awareness among the youths on the environmental, socio-economic and health risks associated with crude oil theft and sabotage of pipelines, adding that the initiative was in collaboration with the Rivers State Government and the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA).
Speaking at the launch in Biara community, the Director, Inspectorate and Enforcement in the Rivers State Ministry of Environment, Charles George commended the people for their efforts towards reducing pipeline vandalism. He reiterated that meaningful development can only take place in Ogoni land if crude oil theft activities end, and assured that government is working with relevant stakeholders to implement the recommendations of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report.
“Crude oil theft and artisanal refining are criminal acts that are not only against the law but capable of mortgaging the future of the community,” said Melvin Ododo, a Principal Environmental Scientist who represented the Zonal Director of NOSDRA, Rivers State at the event.
An Ogoni monarch, King Barnabas B.Paago Bagia, said that the campaign had the blessings of the council of elders in the area. King Paago Bagia, who was by Chief Pegior Raphael, added that the elders were doing all they could to educate the youths against crude theft activities that were causing the communities untold hardship.
SPDC’s Ogoni Restoration Project Manager, Augustine Igbuku, said the campaign is a key pillar of the implementation of the UNEP report which recommended, among others, that Ogoni communities take actions that will stop further environmental pollution resulting from crude oil theft and illegal oil refining.
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