- House Committee Visits Bonny Island, Engages Stakeholders, Says Community Critical to Economy
Nigeria’s House of Representatives has been asked to impress on the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited to recognize Finima Community in Bonny Local Government Area of Rivers State as host community of its gas liquefaction plant.
The Finima Community referenced the status conferred on co-hosts of Nigeria LNG’s Corporate Head Office (CHO) in Port Harcourt, namely, Ogbum-nu-Abali and Amadi-Ama, insisting that same status should be conferred on her.
Chairman of the Council of Wari-Alapu of the Buoye Omuso Brown House of Bonny Kingdom, Wari-Alabo Inima Brown stated that this was in line with Nigeria’s extant legislations such as the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act 2010 and the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) Community Content Guidelines (CCG).
He stated this when the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Host Communities, Dumnamene Deekor, and members of his committee visited Finima Community on Friday, September 24, 2021, in the course of its investigation into the recent agitation by Finima Community for recognition as the host of West Africa’s gas giant, the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited.
“For instance, the NOGICD Act and the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board’s Community Content Guidelines (CCG) that the Nigeria LNG Ltd to recognize the following communities: Ogbum-nu-Abali in Rebisi Kingdom as host community and NOT Rebisi Kingdom; and Amadi-Ama as host community and NOT Okrika Kingdom.”
“Mr. Chairman and Honourable members, Nigeria LNG Ltd should also apply the same principle and recognize Finima Community as its HOST COMMUNITY. We are relying on your good sense of justice to look at the facts available and grant the petition of Finima Community.”
In his response, Chairman of the Committee, Dum Deekor acknowledged receipt of the Community’s petition, assuring that having concluded its engagements with concerned stakeholders, his committee would address issues contained in the petition.
“We have come to Finima in Bonny Kingdom and we have come here based on the fact that we are doing an investigation and we have interacted with the council of chiefs, we have interacted with all the parties and we believe that we will be better informed and get back to them as soon as possible.”
“Let me assure you that this committee will always work in accordance with our mandate, we couldn’t have taken the risk of flying down here if it was a joke.”
“We remember that your petition came in on the 4th of July, it was dated on 31st of May, we received it on the 4th of July; on Monday, 5th of July, we received that petition, part of what we have to do to address this petition permanently and finally is why we are here.”
“We want to leave here with the understanding that you must work together and live together as one people, in less than no time we will take a final look at your request as contained in your petition and do justice to make sure that everyone is happy.”
“By the special grace of God, the purpose of our visit today, is to see things for ourselves and meet with the petitioners and also the cross section of the people of Bonny. Before we got here we have gone to the palace, now we are here to also interact with you.”
Speaking during the visit, a former member of the House of Representatives, Randolph Brown urged his colleagues to give attention to the issues being advanced in the petition from the community and accord equity, fairness and justice its rightful place in the course of the Committee’s investigation.
On his part, spokesman of the Finima Capacity Development Committee (FCDC), Dr Bara Kabaka-Brown clarified that all the Finima Community is asking for is recognition of Finima as host community of the Nigeria LNG, stressing that having given up their ancestral homeland for the siting of the NLNG plant and other facilities, justice demands they are accorded their rightful status and attendant benefits.
“We do not have any other place to go to. This is our land, this is our home, all we are requesting for is recognition that we are your host community and recognition comes with attendant benefits to us in terms of education, infrastructural development, social services, health and accumulated benefits.”
Also speaking, Chairman of the Finima Youth Congress (FYC), Charles Brown expressed delight over the visit, noting that “today is a reality of that day and it marks one giant step in our demand to have justice as a people of Finima community,” pointing out that the visit was a follow up of the efforts of the House of Representatives to address the perceived marginalization of the community as contained in its petition to the National Assembly.
“Today is a very remarkable day in the lives of our people because few months ago we wrote a petition to the National Assembly because of the high level of marginalization that we have been receiving from NLNG and the House did promise us that they are going to look diligently into our petition and also pay us a visit to practically see things for themselves.”
The Nigeria LNG through its General Manager, External Affairs and Sustainable Development, Eyono Fatayi-Williams, had at a public hearing on the issue held by the House of Representatives in Abuja on Tuesday, July 6, 2021 said its community-based engagements were predicated on an agreement reached with Bonny Kingdom, as a whole, Finima inclusive,.
It further clarified that the said agreement, which spelt out a framework for integration of various families in the kingdom, has engendered the interventions it has made over the years such as electricity, water, healthcare, infrastructure, human capital development, and much more.
“That framework is an agreement between Nigeria LNG and Bonny Kingdom, it’s not an agreement with a section of the Kingdom. We can submit that agreement, it’s an agreement with the Kingdom and sets out a framework on how you should integrate with the Kingdom.”
With a leadership transition at the company, which has seen Philip Mshelbila succeed Tony Attah as Managing Director of the Nigeria LNG, pundits speculate a shift in the company’s position on the host community issue, especially, given the status conferred on Ogbum-nu-Abali and Amadi-Ama Communities by the same company without recourse to the traditional enclaves they belong to.
Good one,God will perfect all that concerns us in Jesus name Amen