Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — The Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice, ANEEJ has called on the World Council of Churches to prevail on Shell’s investors, particularly the Norwegian Oil Fund, to witness firsthand the environmental degradation’s impact on the local communities in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region.
ANEEJ Executive Director, Rev. David Ugolor, said this during his meeting with Bishop Ingeborg Midttømme of the Church of Norway, during her visit to Nigeria at the ongoing World Council of Churches’ Executive Committee meeting in Abuja.
The Norwegian Oil Fund also known as Government Pension Fund Global is one of the Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s largest shareholders. Shell is an important part of the Norwegian Oil Fund’s portfolio and is considered a stable, long-term investment.
Ugolor highlighted ANEEJ’s efforts against environmental injustice including the recent visit to Norway, where they rallied support against environmental injustice caused by Shell in the Niger Delta.
According to him, ANEEJ hitherto has engaged with Norges Bank Investment Management, NBIM, Stonebrand Asset Management, civil society groups in Norway, and other stakeholders on ecological genocide in Niger Delta caused by oil exploration activities by Shell.
“We are calling on the World Council of Churches to leverage its influence, and compelled Shell investors (Norwegian Oil Fund) to witness firsthand the environmental degradation’s impact on the local communities.”
Responding, Bishop Ingeborg Midttømme of the Church of Norway, expressed readiness to collaborate with ANEEJ, the Peoples AGM platform, and the Niger Delta Working Group in Oslo to hold investors accountable.
Midttømme also expressed commitment to follow up with the Norges Bank Investment Management and urged ANEEJ and other bodies to engage Nigerian churches for advocacy training in the area of justice.