People's AGM Condemn Norwegian Oil Fund Report on Ogoni Clean Up, Others

By Lucky Isibor

The People's Annual General Meeting  (AGM) Platform, a coalition of civil society group in Nigeria's oil producing areas has condemned the Norwegian Oil Fund's Responsible Investment report on its ten years dialogue with Shell Petroleum Development Company in Nigeria which was described as a sham, noting that they're being misled by Shell. 

In an open letter to the Norwegian Oil Fund by the Nigeria People's AGM Platform and signed by the Executive Director of African Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ), Rev. David Ugolor, on behalf of Rev. Nnimmo Bassey, Executive Director, Health of Mother Earth Foundation, Joel Bisina, Leadership Initiative for Transformation and Empowerment (LITE-AFRICA) and representatives of twenty eight other civil society groups in the People's AGM Platform, noted that the report is in conflict with the reality on ground in the Niger Delta as contained in various independent reports about the Ogoni clean up.

The Norwegian Oil Fund's Responsible Investments report released in February has stated among others that, "Shell PLC and its partners in Nigeria have implemented various measures, including maintenance, better protection of wellheads and closer collaboration with local communities. The clean-up of affected areas is progressing, and the backlog has been significantly reduced. The company is working with the Nigerian authorities to clean up legacy pollution in Ogoniland and is continuing to pay its share of the clean-up costs."

While stating that oil spills continue to impoverish the people of the Niger Delta, the letter which was also directed to the attention of Nicolai Tangen, the 

CEO, Norges Bank Investment Management Bankplassen 2, noted that the spirit and letters of the latest report is not the way to make Norway's Fund into the leading fund in responsible investments.

"This is absolutely not the reality observed by people living in the Niger Delta, or by reports such as the Independent Monitoring of the Ogoniland Cleanup, released by Stakeholder Democracy Network, as well as the observations made during the people’s AGM. The fact is that not much has been achieved with the Ogoni clean-up and it seems that you and your staff are at risk of being misled by Shell and its representatives, and that you do not have the full picture of people’s 

reality on the ground here in Nigeria. 

"A recent investigation by the Nigerian Tribune exposed how in the Niger Delta communities, oil spill is impoverishing residents, devastating the environment, 

and dislocating cultures.

This is absolutely not the way to make Norway’s Fund into “the leading fund in responsible investments and in managing climate risk”, in line with the vision your prime minister Jonas Gahr Støre set out 18 months ago at the Glasgow climate summit.

"In May 2022, just ahead of Shell’s own AGM, the People’s AGM Platform was initiated at a meeting in Lagos, Nigeria. It brought together 30 organisations from the Niger Delta and from other regions of Nigeria to discuss Shell’s role in Nigeria and on climate change. It concluded that the operations of Shell and other multinational oil companies, rather than enrich the people of Niger Delta, has become a nightmare for the people as pollution from spills and gas flaring has led to the complete degradation of the environment, destroyed the source of livelihood, and inflicted untold pain and hardship on the people.

While calling on the Norwegian Pension Fund to follow the example of the Church of England who made a commitment to vote out the Chair of Shell and other Directors during the 2023 Annual General Meeting (AGM), as a way to ensure that the company toy the line of global best practices in handling environmental issues in the Niger Delta, the letter added that: "We therefore call on you to respond urgently to undertake a fact-finding mission to the Niger Delta in collaboration with civil society organisations, to ascertain the true state of affairs.

"We encourage the Council on Ethics to recommend full divestment and exclusion of all holdings of the Norway Government Pension Fund in Royal Dutch Shell, Plc. and its subsidiaries.

"We equally call on you to redirect significant investment to support the development of new technology that will advance a just transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources.

"We want the Norwegian Pension Fund to follow the example of the Church of England who has made a commitment to vote against Shell’s Chair and Directors and the transition plan update 

during the company’s 2023 annual general meeting.

"As a top 3 investor in Shell, the Norwegian Fund bears a weighty responsibility for what Shell has done in the Niger Delta, and for its broader role in accelerating climate change. And you have continued profiting handsomely from Shell -we estimate that the Norwegian Oil Fund has made around US$400 million in dividends from Shell over just the last 12 months.

"While claiming to engage to change Shell, Norway’s Oil Fund has in fact long provided powerful financial and moral support for the company. By issuing a one-sided account of Shell’s actions in your Responsible Investment Report and also by voting for all their directors to be reappointed last year, and against an independent resolution calling for Shell to set greenhouse gas emission targets in line with the Paris Agreement.

"We hope and trust that you will now be prepared to acknowledge that your engagement has failed to change Shell’s approach to the Niger Delta. And that you will take real responsibility to 

use your power on behalf of the communities in the Niger Delta who have long suffered at the hands of Shell, Eni, Chevron and other companies, and also on behalf of the billions of people 

across the world who are suffering the impacts of climate change, such as those in Nigeria and in Pakistan who suffered from unprecedented floods last year.

"It is especially urgent to learn the right lessons from the past, and to ensure that losses and damages are adequately dealt with now that oil companies are eyeing up investment opportunities in the north of Nigeria, as well as similar projects across Africa and around the world.

"Communities in the Niger Delta and other parts of Nigeria do not have 10 more years to wait. It is long past time for the world to compensate communities affected by oil and gas extraction, and to embark on a rapid and just transition to a world powered by more sustainable and equitable technologies."