Posted by By Kingsley Nwezeh on
Foreign Affairs Minister, Ambassador Olu Adeniji, yesterday told visiting British Foreign Minister, Mr. Jack Straw, that the failure of oil companies operating in the Niger Delta to address the socio-economic problems in the region contributed significantly to the upsurge of violence in the oil-rich area of the country.
Foreign Affairs Minister, Ambassador Olu Adeniji, yesterday told visiting British Foreign Minister, Mr. Jack Straw, that the failure of oil companies operating in the Niger Delta to address the socio-economic problems in the region contributed significantly to the upsurge of violence in the oil-rich area of the country.
The minister, who also sought the assistance of the British Government on the repatriation of looted funds stashed away in British banks, said much of the bloodshed in the volatile region would have been avoided if the companies had taken more seriously their corporate social responsibility to the communities in which they operate.
Receiving Straw in his office in Abuja, Adeniji made reference to a document raised some months back in London by "All Party Parliamentarian Group (APPG)" which exposed foreign companies that neglected their area of operation, stating that "foreign companies operating in the Niger Delta did not pay attention to the environment in which they operate and the issue of environmental degradation."
He stated further, "Everybody is aware of the problems, so people should not be surprised if they take up arms. The state governments in the Niger Delta are also culpable if they do not expend properly the money they receive from the Federal Government."
He added, "We have conflicts in the Niger Delta Area where you have a lot of interests. It is the proverbial goose that lays the golden egg. We have to nurture it to ensure that the area is protected".
Adeniji recalled that the case of kidnapping of expatriate workers was resolved amicably with the intervention of President Olusegun Obasanjo with the active collaboration of the South-south governors.
On corruption, he called for the assistance of the British Government in repatriating the billions of pounds stashed in British banks by corrupt Nigeria leaders.
The said funds, he noted, were needed for the development of Nigeria and Nigerians who are the intended beneficiaries.
"We need some assistance in the area of the identification and bringing to book as it were, those who transferred the proceeds of their corrupt practices and this runs into millions and millions if not billions of pounds", he said.
Continuing, he said government was desirous of "how we can come jointly and quickly come to a situation where these people are dealt with promptly and the proceeds are confiscated promptly and repatriated so that it can be used for the benefit of the people who should have been the beneficiaries in the first instance."