Nigeria: Oil farms urged to cooperate with locals

08 February 2014, Abuja – DELTA State Governor, Emmanuel Uduaghan, has called on the International Oil Companies (IOCs) operating in Nigeria to adopt the Global Memorandum of Understanding (GMoU) as part of measures to ensure peace in the oil bearing communities. Delivering a keynote address at the GMoU Fair and Best Practices Exhibition holding in Abuja, the governor said that the initiative helped ensure accountability and transparency in the administration of community resources. According to him, it had eliminated the allegations that some community leaders embezzled funds which were supposed to be used for community development, thereby ensuring sustained development of oil bearing communities. “The GMoU has helped to reduce disharmony and disunity among communities, which would have arisen due to alleged embezzlement of community funds since the communities are engaged in the day to day running of the programme,” said Uduaghan. Chevron, one of the international firms, has adopted the GMoU. Uduaghan said that the Chevron model had contributed to the success of Government’s peace and security agenda as conflict in the region, which hitherto led to needless destruction of some communities, was now a thing of the past. The governor observed that being a product of the Niger Delta crisis, the GMoU had achieved more than the expectations of the people as it has made its Regional Development Committees breeding grounds for capacity building to the benefit of the people. The Chairman and Managing director of Chevron Nigeria, Andrew Fawthrop, said apart from the progress made in the development of the communities, the GMoU had entrenched a culture of sustainable development.   – CajnewsAfrica