By Tobias Lengnan Dapam
The Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ) delegation during a panel discussion in Norway, discussed the various challenges faced by people of the Niger -Delta region.
Dr. David Ugolor, the Executive Director of ANEEJ led the delegation of rights groups to Norway to raise awareness and inform the Norwegian Trust Fund (NBIM) about the human rights violations by Shell in Nigeria.
Also, the Executive Director, Ideal Women Advancement Initiative, Affiah Foh Bridget, and Celestine Akpobari of the Ogoni Solidarity Forum were part of the team.
The panel discussion was a meeting between rights activists, NGOs, journalists and other stakeholders.
While speaking on issues of compensation during the panel discussion, Ugolor said “Compensation cannot be a one-time thing. One of the major contributors to climate crisis is exploration of oil and gas, and Nigeria is one of the leading countries in this respect.
“Countries like Norway that value their image have to be held responsible. So we are not stopping at asking the Oil Fund to visit the Niger Delta. In our next AGM, we’ll be holding the people’s tribunal and the Fund is one of the institutions we’ll be looking into.
“They will have to contribute to solving the problem. The oil firms have to pull out, but pull out with responsibility by taking care of the liabilities they created.
“There’s also the International dimension. The Nigerian government, because of debt, is hardly able to implement economic policies that will give sovereignty.
“And when you lose that sovereignty, you are hardly able to hold Oil firms accountable.
“However, we cannot fold our arms and keep quiet. That’s why actions, such as this meeting, are taking place”.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian delegation will also meet key stakeholders like the Norwegian Oil Fund (Norges Bank Investment Management – NBIM).