By Dr Inenyo Esinte
Over the years, the extractive operations of oil and gas producing companies in the Niger Delta have resulted in the destruction of the environmental assets of host communities, with little or no regard for their rights and privileges.
The unconcerned disposition of these oil and gas corporations is iced and fueled on one hand by poor government implementation of environmental laws in the petroleum industry. But the other enabker of the oil companies reckless attitude to host communities is the betrayal tendencies of some cabals of prominent persons in our host communities and states.
These persons who are mostly political leaders, favourite local contractors to oil companies and community chieftains have formed a network of strongmen and saboteurs to jeopardize the collective interests of host communities with regard to the commensurate compensations and benefits accruing to the communities from the oil and gas companies operating in the Niger Delta, to offset the operational environmental damage and other age-long socioeconomic liabilities to host communities.
With the passage of the PIA 2021, crude oil and gas extractive companies are now using the prescribed host communities statutory oil and gas benefits as a smoke screen to dodge compensating host communities with the compensation payable to host communities for the accumulated environmental carnage and liabilities of oil and gas operators.
This trend also raises concerns about who will shoulder the environmental crimes meted out to host communities by multinational oil and gas giants, especially with the current gale of divestments or selling off of oil and gas assets by multinationals to domestic companies. Are the domestic companies acquiring these divested oil and gas assets willing to acquire, and shoulder the environmental liabilities and accrued compensation to host communities? These are questions that require thoughtful answers and responses.
The crude oil and gas companies are also taking undue advantage of the lack of adequate information and deficiency in proper enlightenment of some host communities on the PIA 2021, which creates a critical knowledge vacuum on the prescribed rights and privileges of host communities as duly enshrined in the PIA 2021.
Thus, the responsibility is on host communities to hire and secure the services of relevant professionals with the technical know-how to thoroughly guide them through the PIA operational technicalities accordingly to avoid being short-changed.
The enactment of the PIA 2021 and the prescribed statutory benefits therein to host communities are not substitutes for compensation and other debts to communities.
Host communities and relevant government petroleum industry regulatory agencies must be vigilant and hold petroleum extractive companies that disregard the environmental assets, rights and privileges of host communities to account, in tune with extant petroleum environmental laws.
Community leaders and state government authorities must uphold our communities’ collective and environmental interest timely and without compromise, in order to entrench international best practices in the petroleum industry.
Dr. Inenyo Esinte is an environmental and developmental Activist.
He can be reached on: dr-inenyo@hotmail.com
