Oil firms selling assets to avert Justice – Niger Delta group

Oil firms selling assets to avert Justice – Niger Delta group: We the People, a non-governmental organization, has criticized oil companies’ rush to divest their

onshore oil and gas assets, calling it a “criminal flight” to evade responsibility for the pollution of the

environment and the people. The executive director of the group, Ken Henshaw, presented a report titled

“Dirty Exit” during a press conference in Uyo on Thursday, in which he claimed that the oil companies were

selling their assets due to growing anxiety over demands for justice and accountability.

Henshaw urged the federal government to impose an embargo on divestment and establish a framework

and guide for how oil companies can disengage from areas where they have operated. The framework

should be developed in collaboration with civil societies and host communities and should include a

scientifically developed post-hydrocarbon impact assessment report on the ecological and livelihood

impacts of oil extraction. It should also capture the health audit of people located in close proximity to

extraction sites, as well as others exposed to oil contamination and gas flaring.

Oil firms selling assets to avert Justice – Niger Delta group: the destructions

Henshaw stated that for communities in the Niger Delta, there is an opportunity to hold oil

companies accountable for decades of destruction. He added that what oil companies are doing

is not divestment, but criminal flight, attempting to abdicate responsibility for several years of

poisoning the environment and people of the Niger Delta. Henshaw disclosed that his organization

is ready to institute legal action against the oil companies and the federal government if the issues

are not addressed.

In response to the criticism, the manager of public affairs at ExxonMobil, Lagos, Ugochukwu Udeagha,

clarified that the sale of the assets was not an “asset sale” but a “share sale.” He explained that

shareholders of MPN are selling their shares, and thus, it is not divestment. This was stated clearly in the press release that was issued during the signing of the share purchase agreement.

the oil pollution

It is important to note that the issue of oil pollution and its impact on the environment and the

people of the Niger Delta has been a long-standing problem. The demand for justice and accountability

from the oil companies has been growing, and the rush to divest their onshore oil and gas assets could

be seen as an attempt to avoid responsibility. The call by We the People for the federal government to

impose an embargo on divestment and establish a framework and guide for how oil companies can

disengage from areas where they have operated is a step towards ensuring that the oil companies are held accountable for their actions.