Iloma Community in Bonny Local Government Area of Rivers State has called out the shareholders of the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NLNG) over its alleged refusal to go with a team from the House of Representatives to ascertain the community’s claims that its activities were destroying the environment there.  

A former Chairman of Bonny LGA, Abinye Alex-Hart made this call on Saturday, September 28, 2024 in an interview with Kristina Reports in Bonny, Rivers State.

“We want the world to see, especially, Eni, Shell, Total and NNPC Limited, who are equity owners of NLNG, to see how a company they jointly own is chasing a people out of their homeland due to non-compliance with environmental protocols. Will Eni do this in Italy? Will Shell do this in Switzerland or Great Britain? Will Total do this in France?”

The Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NLNG) is jointly owned by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, 49%, Shell Gas B.V., 25.6%, TotalEnegies Gaz & Electricité​ Holdings, 15%, and Eni International N.A. N.V. S. àr. L, 10.4%.

Alex-Hart charged the company’s shareholders to ask questions about its activities, especially, with regards to compliance with environmental management protocols in the country and global best practices, as well as provisions of international instruments on environmental management to which Nigeria is a signatory to.

He equally called on the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and President Bola Tinubu to wade into the matter, expressing concern that the NLNG maybe clandestinely be transforming itself into ‘a law unto itself’.

“A company cannot come and destroy the environment of a community and be acting like it is above the law. Iloma Community may begin to see the Nigerian government as culpable in the circumstance if a company in which it has the largest equity sustains its obduracy against environmental accountability.”  

The visit, which was scuttled a second time on Saturday, September 28, 2024, is part of efforts by the House of Representatives to verify the claims by Iloma Community that the activities of the NLNG were allegedly destroying its environment.

Trouble started when the leader of the House of Representatives team that came for an on-the-spot inspection of Park Akatikpo Community, Enobong Amos, declined going to Iloma Community after the visit to Park Akatikpo Community.

He predicated his reason on information from the NLNG team that they do not have their company’s security clearance to proceed to Iloma Community after the Park Akatikpo Community visit.

Park Akatikpo Community in Bonny LGA of Rivers State is also accusing the NLNG and one of its shareholders, Shell, of destroying its environment, which prompted the House of Representativess Committee on Environment to send a team to the community to verify the claims.

Alex-Hart told Kristina Reports that the House of Representatives team had informed the community representatives that it was coming for the inspection only for them to go to Park Akatikpo Community and refuse going to Iloma Community thereafter.

He stated that the NLNG’s refusal to go for the on-site inspection of its facilities in Iloma Community was an indication of guilt on its part, stressing that there was enough evidence to show that NLNG had activities in the community but was evading submitting itself to environmental accountability.

He lamented that his kinsmen at Iloma Community have deserted the area due to the alleged degradation of the environment by NLNG, noting that no matter how long it takes, the company will eventually pay for its alleged actions.   

Recall that the same team from the House of Representatives had on Saturday, July 27, 2024 attempted to visit Iloma Community but the visit was shelved when the NLNG staff present insisted that they do not have security clearance from their company to go on the visit.

The NLNG team declined speaking to the Press as they were not authorized to speak on the Iloma Community visit. Leader of the House of Representatives team, Enobong Amos also declined comments on the issue.

Concerned watchers of the development are worried that the NLNG maybe positioning itself as a juggernaut that cannot be compelled to submit itself to scrutiny by state institutions such as the National Assembly.

A former lawmaker, who pleaded anonymity, told Kristina Reports that the development portends a bad omen for the society, asserting that “where the parliament which represents the people of Nigeria cannot ask a company like NLNG questions or compel it to go show that it is not culpable in an accusation is a bad and dangerous precedent”.

“Take note that circumventing state institutions from carrying out reviews of private sector actions is a very loud call for anarchy. Any company, even if it’s partly owned by the Nigerian State like the NLNG, as long as it is doing business in Nigeria, it is subject to public sector review.”

He appealed to his colleagues in the National Assembly to ensure that a precedent is not set where multinationals or any private firm becomes impervious to state control, especially, where infractions are alleged against such a firm.     

A security consultant, who also preferred anonymity, described the development as a threat to peace and security in the area, advising the company to submit itself to scrutiny and thus absolve itself of any culpability in the said allegation.

“I want to assume that the company is claiming it didn’t do anything wrong. Okay, so, why not go with the team and show that you didn’t do anything wrong? Why posting obstacles here and there? What does the company even mean by security clearance?”

“Security clearance can only come from the government through the security agencies. Did the Nigeria Police or any other security agency in Rivers State or Bonny LGA say Iloma Community is not safe to visit? Or is the company constituting itself into a security agency now?”

It remains to be seen what the House of Representatives Committee on Environment will do in the circumstance in view of this development.