The umbrella body of Ijaw youths worldwide, the Ijaw Youths Council (IYC), has warned of renewed hostilities in Niger Delta if the purported sales of Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) onshore assets fails to follow requisite laws in line with the Local Content Act.
The youth group warned that the consortiums, which planned to buy the assets, should steer clear from the erroneous process modified by Shell to further embolden the mystery of respective host communities, which Shell is famous for in its 70 years operation.
In a statement by its spokesman, Binebai Princewill, they noted that Shell cannot go free after the destruction of their environment and abuse of stakeholders for over 70 years of Shell’s oil and gas exploration in the region.
They warned Renaissance Africa Energy and other consortiums that have perfected plans to buy Shell onshore assets in the Niger Delta without recourse to stakeholders from the region to steer clear.
IYC said: “We strongly advise the consortium and any other business entities not to waste their resources in procuring the Shell Onshore Assets in the Niger Delta, particularly in Ijaw areas without proper participation and inclusion of Ijaw indigenous companies and critical stakeholders in the region.
“Without mincing words, the IYC is daring Shell and its collaborators to go on with this process without involving the local people whose areas these onshore assets are located and watch the grave negative impact these will cost the oil and gas industry.
“The Ijaw people cannot continue to be treated as slaves by eating crumbs. Any attempt to continue to treat our people as second-class citizens in this process will meet stiff resistance by any means necessary,” the statement warned.
Meanwhile, Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has faulted the planned sale of SPDC Onshore Assets to the Renaissance Group, alleging that the group is an assemblage of unknown entities with no proven track record in managing such diverse assets.
General Secretary, PENGASSAN, Lumumba Okugbawa, in a statement, yesterday, threatened that any attempt to transfer the assets without resolving issues affecting its members would be met with the stiffest resistance the oil and gas industry had ever witnessed.
Stating that the industry regulator, JV Asset Partners (NNPCL, Non-Operated Asset Partners) and other stakeholders have been put on notice, he said that Renaissance is a group of consortiums consisting of ND Western Limited, Aradel Holdings, The Petrolin Group, FIRST Exploration and Petroleum Development Company Limited, as well as the Waltersmith Group.
He said after reviewing the union’s Shell/SNBO Branch presentation, which had already communicated all subsequent information presented to its members by Shell management on the planned sale, the union rejected, without equivocation, all the terms affecting employees that were communicated in the presentation to its members.
