Mohammed Shosanya
The Executive Secretary of the Human and Environmental Development Agenda, HEDA Resource Centre, Sulaimon Arigbabu, has implored the Attorney General of Nigeria to
act on the order of the Supreme Court, that the IOC should pay Nigeria the amount of over $50 billion between 2004 and 2019, when they ought to have revoked the profit-sharing formula on oil revenues.
Besides,human rights activist and lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN has said that illegal mining activities are also fuelling terrorism, because the terrorists also make a lot of money from mining to buy weapons.
The duo spoke on Wednesday during the First International Anti-corruption and Climate Change Conference with the theme; “National Stakeholders’ Engagement for Transparency and Accountability in Addressing Climate Change, Energy Transition, and Oil Licensing for Sustainable Development.” organized by HEDA Resource Centre in collaboration with Hawkmoth and supported by the MacArthur Foundation in Abuja.
The HEDA chief,who said he will write formally to the current Attorney General, lamented that Africa continues to suffer illicit financial flow.
He added:”We talked about monies that have been owed to Nigeria, over $50 billion by international oil companies, that the Supreme Court of Nigeria have actually ordered that the former Attorney General should retrieve, but nothing was done. So from this, our organization will be writing to the current Attorney General to act on that order of the Supreme Court, that the IOC should pay Nigeria the amount of over $50 billion between 2004 and 2019, when they ought to have revoked the profit-sharing formula on oil revenues.
“Corruption is a big issue. Monies are looted, recovered, and relooted.
I think also a major takeaway from today’s conversation is that the biggest argument by African governments, which is practical, is that there’s going to be a transition.
” We need a huge investment, we need a whole lot of money. And the response by most African countries, of course we’re in Nigeria, is that we have done more investments in oil extraction, in hydrocarbon extraction.
And it’s not good for the planet, we know that, but these are existential issues for us. So the counter-argument we are putting on the table is that resources actually exist outside of the hydrocarbon investment to help bring development fast, to help Africa transit in terms of our energy requirement for now and the future”.
He noted that contracted procurement in Nigeria and most Africa countries is about the most expensive in the world.
“So we are saying the African leaders need to look into what we can mobilize finances without necessarily investing, because the reality is that whether we like it or not, the world is going to eventually have to transit away from fossil fuel.”
According to Falana,; “Gold is taken out of the country. It is estimated that about $9 billion worth of gold is smuggled out of Nigeria yearly. Not by ordinary people, but by highly placed criminal elements, who even sometimes use private jets and helicopters.
“The government doesn’t listen to advice. My suggestion is that organizations like HEDA and other progressive civil society organizations, including the labor unions, will have to mobilize Nigerians to challenge those who are destroying the environment, including the government. We must now be able to challenge those who are felling trees and taking them to Europe and America.
“We must be able to challenge some traditional rulers who support illegal mining activities. We must now mobilize Nigerians to reject the companies, including oil companies, that are polluting the environment. That’s the way to go.”
