Shell Petroleum Development Company says
it has released over N7bn to its host communities between January and
August, 2017 for the general development of the oil-bearing Niger Delta
region...
This was revealed on Friday during an
SPDC Joint Venture Integrated Stakeholders Engagement meeting held in
Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital.
The General Manager, External Relations,
SPDC, Mr. Igo Weli, said the funds were lodged into various accounts in
the SPDC cluster communities in line with their Global Memorandum of
Understanding.Weli said the money was meant for
meaningful development projects ranging from health, education,
entrepreneurship, infrastructure, among others.
The General Manager, who was represented
by the Stakeholder Relations Manager, Dr. Alice Ajeh, said the meeting
was convened to create an avenue for stakeholders to cross-fertilise
ideas for a more cordial working relationship.
He stressed that the engagement meeting
was not designed for both parties to trade blames but to chart the way
forward for the oil-producing communities.
Weli said, “It’s about a mindset change.
It’s about what we can do differently. It’s not about Shell perse,
it’s about the Niger Delta. We want everybody to see the issues the way
we are seeing them. It is not a finger pointing exercise.”
The SPDC boss called on the people of
the Niger Delta to take advantage of the global trend which indicated
that oil and gas activities might come to an end someday.
He noted that Norway had given a
timeline of 2025 when they would no longer need oil to power their
machines while the United Kingdom gave till 2040 for the same thing.
The State Commissioner of Police, Mr.
Amba Asuquo, called on Shell to prioritize preventive measures rather
than solving the Niger Delta problems.
He urged the stakeholders to collaborate
with the Police and other security agencies to solve the problems of
the oil-rich region.
The Director General, Bayelsa State
Partnership Agency, Mr. Stanley Enabaigha, said there was need for Shell
to review the GMoUs to address some grey areas that did not favor the
communities.
He, however, called on aggrieved
communities to channel their grievances to government through the agency
for peaceful resolution rather than taking laws into their hands.
During a syndicate session,
representatives of the cluster communities identified non-fulfillment of
GMoUs, non-engagement of youths and divide-and-rule system by Shell as
well as governments’ insincerity as causes of insecurity in the Niger
Delta.
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