Do not sell your Assets until you Restore our Environment, Livelihood, Health – Ibeno Communities Warn ExxonMobil
By Ekemini Simon
The people of the oil-rich communities of Ibeno in Nigeria’s Niger Delta have issued a warning to ExxonMobil not to sell their assets until they restore their environment, livelihood and health.
The demand is contained in a communique signed and issued by the leaders, youths and women of the area at the end of a Community Divestment Dialogue held in Ibeno on Monday, August 15, 2022.
Recently, there have been controversies surrounding ExxonMobil sales of assets worth $1.3billion to Seplat Energy.
While the federal government recently announced approval of the sales, the Nigerian oil sector regulator countered the claim and the authority of the office of the President to sanction such sale, especially in the context of the Petroleum Industry Act. Seplat on the other end threatened to drag Nigerian authorities to court for stalling their acquisition of the said assets even as the government of Akwa Ibom state where Exxon Mobil is located has decried exclusion from conversations relating to the sale of the assets.
The people of Ibeno noted that while the controversy continues, there has been no reference to them as the host community of ExxonMobil.
They decried the fact that there has been no time their opinion has been sought, or their community consulted.
They noted that it is surprising that the company and the government have not deemed it appropriate to ask; what the communities think about the planned departure of ExxonMobil after being what they described as their forced guest for 60- years.
The people of Ibeno insisted that since their environment, livelihoods and health have been lost on account of oil and gas pollution by ExxonMobil, they demand the company restore what they have lost before leaving.
They noted ” We demand an immediate and comprehensive audit of the Ibeno community. This audit should cover environmental, livelihood, health, social and economic impacts of crude oil and gas extraction, and should be immediately followed by the remediation of impacted places, restoration of the human and ecological damages caused by extraction activities, and reparations for the irreversible damages caused by oil extraction.
” We demand that the federal government immediately produces a framework and guide for how oil companies disengage from areas where they have operated. This should be done in collaboration with the Ibeno people and all other oil producing communities of the Niger Delta.
“Adequate and due consultation must be initiated with the Ibeno people as critical stakeholders in decisions related to the hydrocarbon deposits located in their community.”
The communities demanded that before ExxonMobil divest, they must implement all outstanding memorandum of understanding with host communities, undertake post-operation environmental and health assessment and restoration, settle outstanding judgement claims and compensation obligations to host communities.
Other demands are that ExxonMobil should implement a detailed decommissioning and abandonment plan, or show evidence of savings in dedicated accounts for the decommissioning fund, before the conclusion of any sales.
Part of the communique reads ” It is ironic that divestment of ExxonMobil is happening at a time that global concern is focused on the devastating climate impacts created by the fossil fuel industry, and the need to hold fossil companies accountable for their negative footprints on the planet and communities where they operate.
“The Ibeno community is highly exposed to the negative impacts of climate change. The coastline of the community is experiencing rapid sea level rise which is already destroying homes and businesses; and threatening the entire community. Settlements located along the Ibeno coast have experienced rapid sea level rise causing many persons to abandon their homes. The sea has encroached inland about 40 metres in the last 2 years, displacing several businesses lying along the coast.
“It is disturbing that while the community people have hardly benefited from the proceeds of oil extraction, they suffer the negative impacts tremendously.
“We are particularly disappointed that Nigerian authorities have not deemed it appropriate to establish frameworks for a just divestment which protects communities by restoring their environment, livelihoods and dignity.
“The unfortunate reality is that as companies divest and run-off, oil producing communities will be left with the mess created, with almost no chance of restoring their environment, their health and their livelihoods; or reversing the already obvious impacts of climate change on them.
“If there was ever any doubt about the devastation impact of oil extraction, it was put to rest in 2011 when the United Nations Environment Programme, UNEP concluded an assessment of some oil impacted areas in Ogoniland. The report which followed showed irrefutable evidence of the devastating impact of oil pollution on lives, livelihood, health and the ecosystem.
“The scientific assessment showed that pollution had contaminated drinking water sources, and exposed communities to severe health risks. We are certain that similar impacts will be noted if the Ibeno community is assessed after 61 years of extraction.”
The people of Ibeno pointed out that they are not bothered if ExxonMobil decides to leave, but they are concerned about their legacy of sicknesses, lost livelihoods and pollution.
They insisted that no divestment should be discussed without restoration; and no divestment should happen without the due consultation of the people.
They added “After 61 years of reckless oil extraction, it is criminal for the company to just walk away. Men cannot perform any long, and women cannot bear any longer.
We cannot drink water from rain, streams or boreholes”.
Earlier, In his statement, Nnimmo Bassey, Director of the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) stated that from the start, the business of oil extraction operated as a mix of corporate greed and state backed repression.
He noted that while it is important that people living in locations where investors, governments or institutions carry out projects are consulted, in the Niger Delta, it has never been the case.
Bassey said the free, prior and informed consent of the people have never been sought or received.
The Director of HOMEF explained that the relations of production have remained largely the same from pre-colonial to colonial and present neo-colonial times.
He insisted that companies must clean up the pollution its extractive activities have created in the Niger Delta, warning that the plans to move offshore was to evade the scrutiny its onshore activities have attracted.
Bassey said the irregularities in the proposed Seplat take over of ExxonMobil “is an environmental irresponsibility and a total disrespect to the ibeno communities who have hosted them for over 60 years. If the companies are leaving they must restore the environment before divesting”.
Meanwhile, the Community Divestment Dialogue was supported by Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), We The People, Policy Alert, Environmental Rights Action, Peace Point Development Foundation, Kebetkache Women Development and Resource Centre.