A coalition of Civil Society Organisation, under the aegis of Peoples Annual General Meeting (PAGM), have told the Pensions Board of the Church of England to pay Niger Delta indigenes before divesting from Shell Petroleum and other oil and gas companies that are showing insufficient interest to de-carbonise in line with the Paris Agreement.

Board of Trustees and Management of Community Development Committees (CDCs) of Niger Delta Oil and Gas Producing Areas have commended President Bola Tinubu for retaining Dr. Samuel Ogbuku as the Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), passing a vote of confidence on him for his leadership at the Commission.

A new oil spill at a Shell facility has contaminated farmland and a river, upending livelihoods in fishing and farming communities in parts of the Niger Delta, which has long endured environmental pollution caused by oil industry players.

Chairman, Bayelsa State Traditional Rulers Council, King Bubaraye Dakolo (Agada IV), has absolved Niger Delta indigenes of involvement in crude oil theft.

Former Niger militant leader Asari Dokubo has promised to work with the Nigerian government to stop oil theft in the Niger Delta.

Junior Chambers International (JCI), at the weekend, hosted prominent Niger Deltans and scholars to find sustainable solution to perennial flooding in Bayelsa State, the Niger Delta and the entire country.

The Federal Government has been urged to ensure that Shell’s planned sale of its operations in the Niger Delta does not lead to a further deterioration in human rights in a region blighted by decades of oil pollution.

Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark, yesterday, took on outgoing President Muhammadu Buhari over alleged nepotism and neglect of the Niger Delta region.In what he tagged ‘a farewell address to President Buhari’, the elder statesman accused him of leaving the nation, especially the Niger Delta region, worse than he met it.

Amnesty International (AI) has called on the incoming government of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, which will be sworn in on May 29, to ensure that Shell’s planned divestment of its operations in the Niger Delta, does not worsen human rights violation in the region.

As with running the lives of individuals, there is always a difference between motive and method in conducting the affairs of public and private organisations. The facilitating factors that come into play; to oil the engine of growth and drive such dreams to the light of day are predicated on vision, character, commitment and of course, accountability.