Sale of the Belema oil field, OML 25 may force back militant to the creeks—PANDEF
The leadership of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) headed by former Federal Minister of Information and Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark, has kicked against the planned sale of the Belema oil field, OML 25, by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) to Chrester Nigeria Limited.
The group further accused SPDC of failing to honour its agreement with the host communities of OML 25, noting that it instead sold some of the flow stations in 2014 and was presently planning to sell the Belema Gas Station to Chrester Nigeria Limited.
Before now, Shell has been on gradual offloading of strategic investments in Nigeria’s onshore operations and it is becoming clear that OML 25 may soon become of the victims after all.
But PANDEF is insisting that if ever Shell should sale, the right of first refusal must be given to an indigenous firm and not a foreign group like Chrester Group.
Chief argued that what obtains in other climes which is right of first refusal must be given to Niger Delta industry operators before looking elsewhere in the sale of the field.
This, he added, would positively and rapidly impact on the social and economic prosperity of the region and the country as a whole, and hugely contribute to the peace and security in the Niger Delta.
In his lead argument, Elder Clerk made it clear that “PANDEF would no longer allow oil companies to treat the Niger Delta people like their slaves and the region like a toxic dumping ground without taking responsibility”.
While accusing Shell of instigating attack by soldiers on Kula kingdom, Akuku Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State on September 15, 2018, he called on President Muhammadu Buhari to direct the Chief of Defence Staff and the National Security Adviser to set up a high-powered investigative panel to uncover those behind the deployment of naval gunboats to the OML 25 host communities in Kula Kingdom.
According to him, “SPDC must therefore put on hold any planned sale of OML 25 in the overall interest of peace and stability of the Niger Delta region.
“SPDC must produce the report of the pre-environmental impact assessment carried out before their operations and post-impact assessment to determine the state of the environment.
“This will be done in partnership with the UN Environmental Protection Agency, the communities, the state and the Federal Government environmental agencies, PANDEF and SPDC.”
