Amber Kumo
Following the recent signing of FID for the US$5 billion (Five billion dollars) Bonga North Deep Offshore Oil Deal, the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) has commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the management of SHELL Petroleum Company for bringing this landmark deal to final conclusion after many years of reversals.
Speaking to newsmen at the PANDEF Liaison Office in Maitama, Abuja, Ambassador Godknows Igali, the National Chairman of the umbrella socio-cultural body of the people of the Niger Delta, specially saluted the diligence of the technical teams on both sides led by the Honourable Minister of Petroleum, Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri for bringing this ground-breaking project to reality noting, that it will fundamentally increase Nigeria’s energy security. He further used the opportunity to state that the people of the Niger Delta will continue to support all the initiatives of the government towards ramping up the volume of oil production in Nigeria at the shortest time possible as this will be an overall enabler for the country’s economic development and create jobs for the teeming youths of Nigeria, especially those of the Niger Delta.
The PANDEF leader however expressed serious concern that the new oil field must be operated with the highest level of environmental integrity and sustainability. He cautioned that SHELL must take all measures to ensure that the kind of environmental disaster which occurred in Bonga South in December 2011 and polluted several coastal Niger Delta communities will not repeat itself. He also used the opportunity to re-emphasize the demand that both the operating oil company SHELL and the Federal Government should pay more attention to ensuring that the people and coastal communities of the Niger Delta which have suffered neglect in sixty-eight years of unending oil productions and mammoth contribution to the national economy this time benefit optimally from this new investment. This he insisted is only a fair and just demand and could include the setting up of new logistics bases in the area.
He restated that PANDEF will continue to work with the Federal Government, the political leaders of the area and the community leads to ensure that the right environment exists for the future growth of the oil and gas industry in order to deliver robustly to the national economy and the South-South.
