Oil sector divestments: Host communities must get equity share to guarantee stability

The Nigerian government has been advised to ensure that divestment in the oil sector does not create future crisis and ensure that host communities get equity shares in the new companies. Communities could even be given the chance to either buy or seek buyers in the divestment.

This was the major fallout of a roundtable in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, involving host communities, civil society organisations (CSOs), media professionals and environment rights groups in the Niger Delta.

Experts identify gaps in the divestments so far executed in the oil sector and said host communities were usually the last to know about change of ownership. The communiqué from the roundtable advised that communities should instead be involved from the onset, urging that participatory democracy should be the order so all parties – government, oil companies, host communities must be involved from the start.

The roundtable, which was coordinated by Lawrence Dube, the head of governance, Centre for Environment and Human Rights and Development (CEHRD), also demanded that “all divestments should include documented commitment from outgoing companies to address all liabilities and contractual agreements between the two companies and this should be made available to host communities.”

It was also suggested that in the event of divestment, oil-impacted communities should begin to look beyond the usual corporate social responsibility projects of roads, schools, and scholarships to demanding equity shares in incoming companies. To achieve this, civil society organisations were told to sensitise communities for awareness on the divestments springing up in the region.

The roundtable with the theme: “Feeling the Pulse of Communities: Oil Corporations and Human Rights Violations in the Niger Delta,” was said to be a follow-up to an earlier programme at the beginning of the year on the impact of oil exploration in the Niger Delta environment.

The discussions examined human rights violations and environmental problems occasioned by oil prospecting by multinational oil companies in the Niger Delta. The forum examined the roles and gaps of regulatory agencies on environmental clean-up and remediation, divestment of onshore assets by oil companies and gender gaps in community leadership and representations on environment and human rights in oil-impacted communities.

It was observed that oil companies have continued to abuse the environment and people with oil spills for a long time now. It was noted that pressures from communities and civic awareness have forced the oil companies to move offshore to avoid responsibilities to communities.

It was discovered that the pact between government and host communities was not working and that the regulatory agencies have not been effective. “Women are clearly missing in the oil community agenda. The mass media, civil society organisations and communities must work together for a better Niger Delta.”

The media was urged to inform the public on divestment, protect public interest and work with civil society to enthrone respect for human rights and environment in the Niger Delta.

It added: “Bureaucracy should be unbundled in oil regulatory institutions. Women are integral parts of society whose interests must be protected, especially as they are the most impacted by oil activities.”

It was discovered that the pact between government and host communities was not working and that the regulatory agencies had not been effective. “Women are clearly missing in the oil community agenda. The mass media, civil society organisations and communities must work together for a better Niger Delta,” it noted.

The media was urged to inform the public on divestment, protect public interest and work with civil society to enthrone respect for human rights and environment in the Niger Delta.

It added: “Bureaucracy should be unbundled in oil regulatory institutions. Women are integral parts of society whose interests must be protected especially as they are the most impacted by oil activities.”