Simon Utebor, Yenagoa
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 per se, 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 prioritise 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 favour 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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