The Niger Delta Congress (NDC) has condemned the planned divestment off the shallow waters and onshore assets by Shell Petroleum Development Company.
A statement on Monday by its spokesman, Ovunda Eni reminded Shell of the many spillages that have plagued the Niger Delta.
Eni regretted that the region has suffered six decades of degradation over Shell’s alleged failure to carry out a proper environmental impact assessment, a holistic clean up exercise, and compensation of affected communities and individuals.
“We believe at the core of this divestment is the plan by Shell to avoid taking responsibility for the environmental carnage it has supervised in the Niger Delta since Nigeria’s independence”, he noted.
The people demanded that a comprehensive audit of areas Shell has operated be carried out with the government, followed by a corresponding clean up of all affected environment.
NDC said there must be adequate recompense “for the negative externalities our people have borne and will bear in the future, before any further divestment by the SPDC”.
The body issued a 7-day ultimatum to the oil giant to “retrace its steps and do the right thing for the Niger Delta region”.
NDC warned that failure to comply will cause them to take legal steps against Shell.
