Oil & Energy
Bodo Community And Shell Compensation
Even as most Nigeri
ans currently struggle with the effects of the austerity measures declared by the Federal Government in response to the present economic reality in the country, the people of Bodo community in Gokana local government area of Rivers State are celebrating their economic fortune.
From the right, left and centre of this Ogoni community, many new buildings are being erected, old ones undergoing massive renovations; new fishing gears, canoes, vehicles and wholesome household items are being acquired.
This socio-economic boom in Bodo is as result of the N25 billion compensation paid to the natives by the Anglo-Dutch oil giant, Shell Production Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) for a massive oil spill in the area in 2008.
Reliving the situation in an interview with The Tide in his house on Thursday, the Chairman, Bodo Council of Chiefs, Chief Livinus Kiebel, said “Bodo is agog. People who have not seen N10,000 before in their life are receiving at least N600,000.00 individual claims, as compensation, so you can see the joy in our faces, people dancing and women celebrating. It has never happened before in the community.
It is a long battle that started since 2008 when the community suffered a major oil spill from SPDC’s 28-inch pipeline from Bodo to Bonny Trans Atlantic, laid as far back as 1958,” he said.
He said due to the effect of salt water and corrosion on the pipes, there was rapture eruption and spill which gushed out uncontrollably for over one month polluting the water, killing seafoods, mangrove and in face all the acquatic life in the area.
Kiebel stated that when the community drew the attention of the oil company to the serious situation, “as usual, SPDC denied responsibility and started giving one excuse or the other. It said the spill was caused by a third party and illegal bunkering activities. And for over one month, the crude kept gushing.
“But we stood our ground, insisting that Shell must pay compensation. When we realised the company would not budge, we took our matter to the government through the Ministry of Environment at the state and federal levels and also drew the attention of some relevant NGOs and civil society organisaitons”, he said.
The Bodo Chiefs councils chairman remarked that when SPDC discovered that Bodo community meant business, they brought their experts and because of the influence of the joint negotiation between SPDC, Government, NGOs and civil society groups, the company accepted the spill was as a result of equipment failure and there fore accepted responsibility.
He disclosed that at first, the company applied its divide-and-rule system by covnering the youths and promising to pay them N10 million and that this angered the youths who reported the ploy to the entire community.
Kiebel, who is a former local government chairman said the community hired the services of a legal luminary and son of Ogoni, B.M Wifa (SAN) who then sued SPDC before a Federal High Court in Port Harcourt.
When that was moving at a slow speed because of the oil politics in Nigeria and the unwillingness of Federal Government to show interest, the community decided to drag Shell to The Heague.
“One of our sons, a lecturer at the University of Port Harcourt, suggested a legal firm, Leighday and Company – a legal firm which he uncovered through research had successfully handled similar matters in Africa insisting we could get justice through the law firm,” he continued, saying Leighday effectively handled the matter.
According to him, representatives of the firm were in Bodo Creek to Bonny and all over the community boarders to see the extent of the spill and damages and at last sued for both individual and communal claims.
Form more than six months, he said Leighday law firm interviewed our people, filmed and captured in many forms, cases of those whose livelihood depend on the sea and after the legal battle, Shell settled for a compensation of N25 billion, which was below but we decided to accept the offer.
Commending the Leiyhday law firm, Kiebel said they were professional and straight forward in their approach and the ability of the firm to secure justice for Bodo community has brought transformation to the area as the people happily invest their money into many economic activities.
One of the women told The Tide that, the name Leighday is a source of big joy to her and her family.
“I have five children. I received a huge sum and my children also got theirs individually and when we pooled the money together, it was like a big dream.
I thank Leighday, I thankGod for the turn around the development has brought to my family.
The respondent who identified herself as Mama Lebari noted that even women and youths who do not know how to speak English Language all know and sing with the name Leighday.
Another respondent, Mercy Job said, “I now own my own beauty Salon. I leant Salon business for past 5 years but could not open my own shop.
But today this big shop is mine and the next store with provisions and foodstuff is also mine. I thank Jehovah for his blessings.
“If I marry and born any child whether male or female, I don’t care, I will name that child “Leighday” to mark the time I met this turn around in my life,”she said.
Job said her family was living in a very small family house of three rooms but today, they have almost completed a five-bedroom flat with a three-room boys quarter.
A Bodo-based businessman who hails from Abia State, Charles Amobi, said he deals on building materials and that the economic transformation has reflected well in his business.
“The sale I normally make for one week before, I atimes make that in one day and my customers pay instead of buying on credit. I hope that this situation will remain,” he remarked.
The Tide gathered that churches in the community are also richer because of the economic boom in the community. Chief Kiebel who confirmed this said, “my church, St Patrick Catholic Church, has gotten N20 million through tithe and appreciations for members who received the compensation.
As a mark of appreciation, the traditional ruler also said the community was arranging a special package to Leighday legal firm which he could not disclose to me as a way of appreciating the firms support to his people.
However, the good fortune is not going without adverse effects on the community.
According to kiebel, two cases have been brought before his palace. “Some husbands have fallen apart from their wives. They asked their wives to bring their share so that they could combine it as part of joint account but the women refused and are asking for divorce instead,” said Kiebel.
He also said, that more young men are acquiring wives now that the money is available.
Chris Oluoh &
Illegal Refineries being destroyed by Naval Officers in Warri recently
Lydia William
Researchers in Hong Kong and China have developed a new form of battery that is more eco-friendly and longer lasting than lithium ion batteries – and it runs on tofu brine. The new water battery is still in research phases, but if the technology proves to be scalable enough to hit commercial markets, it could be a game-changer for the energy and tech sectors.
“Compared with current aqueous battery systems … our system delivers exceptional long-term cycling stability and environmental friendliness under neutral conditions,” the research team, composed of scientists from the City University of Hong Kong and Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen, Guangdong, said in a paper published this month in Nature Communications.
The researchers found that their battery model can be recharged over 120,000 times. “At over a hundred thousand cycles, this could mean a single water-based battery could last at least a decade or so,” states a recent report on the breakthrough from Interesting Engineering. “For applications like grid storage (solar farms, wind balancing), that’s extremely valuable,” the article went on to say.
This kind of lifespan would represent a drastic improvement over the battery technologies that dominate today’s market. Lithium-ion batteries degrade after between 1,000 and 3,000 charge cycles. This could prove revolutionary, as finding an alternative to lithium-ion batteries to power rechargeable devices is a major priority for Big Tech and the global energy sector.
Moreover, these tofu-brine batteries could prove safer and more environmentally friendly than lithium-ion batteries. According to the study authors, the full cells are environmentally benign and nontoxic and can be directly discarded to environments according to various standards.” Water based (also called aqueous) batteries can also potentially be cheap to produce as they rely on ingredients that are less rare in addition to being less hazardous.
Lithium is environmentally harmful to extract, prone to fires, and its supply chains are geopolitically fraught. Currently, China alone controls half of the global lithium market, and is rapidly increasing its stake. In 2024, more than eight in ten battery cells on the planet were made in China. This means that finding a battery model that can compete with lithium-ion batteries in applications like grid-scale energy storage and electric vehicles would have revolutionary implications for global markets.
Researchers around the world have been racing to develop battery models that could diversify the market and make it more competitive and resilient. These models range widely in size, components, and application, with models currently under development for next-gen sodium-ion batteries, quantum batteries, nuclear batteries, and even sand and dirt batteries.
Of course, the irony is that the leading alternatives to lithium-ion batteries are also being developed in Chinese labs. If this new tofu-brine battery proves scalable and applicable outside of a laboratory environment, it could just be another step toward Beijing’s goal of near-total domination of clean energy technology value chains and status as the world’s first and premiere ‘electro-state.’
China’s extreme advantage in global battery making gives it a major point of leverage in global economies as the world continues to electrify at a rapid pace. It is estimated that European demand for lithium in batteries will reach kilo tonnes (thousands of tonnes) of Lithium Carbonate Equivalent by next year, and North American demand will reach 250 kit LCE. it’s all but certain that the vast majority of that demand will be supplied by China.
Other nations are aware of the risk of this dependency, and are taking pains to protect and promote domestic battery manufacturing, but these efforts may be too little, too late. “For globally competitive battery manufacturing industries to emerge outside of Asia over the next ten years, companies will need to do far more than ensure regulatory compliance,” summarizes a McKinsey & Company report released in January. “Challenges will need to be overcome on multiple fronts spanning supply chains, talent management, operations and technology.”
By: Haley Zaremba
The Rural Electrification Agency (REA) says it will spend N100 billion in 2026 to deploy hybrid mini-grids for government agencies within and outside Abuja.
The Managing Directors, REA, Abba Aliyu, disclosed this while addressing newsmen on the sidelines of the 2026 budget defence session
The approved funds form part of the National Public Sector Solarisation programme, a component of the agency’s broader N170 billion budget proposal for 2026.
The initiative is designed to improve electricity reliability for public institutions while reducing operational costs and easing pressure on the national grid.
Aliyu explained that the agency’s total proposed budget for 2026 stands at N170 billion, with N100 billion of the amount dedicated specifically to the solarisation initiative targeting government agencies.
He said the hybrid mini-grid systems combine solar power with complementary energy sources to ensure an uninterrupted electricity supply.
“The total budget size for 2026 operations is N170 billion, out of which N100 billion had been approved for National Public Sector Solarisation.
Aliyu cited the National Hospital in Abuja as an example where similar infrastructure had been deployed to ensure stable power and cut operational expenses.He added that beyond the Solarisation
Recall that earlier in February 2026, REA signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to deploy solar power systems to 15 public institutions across Nigeria.
The project will be implemented under the Regional Off-Grid Electricity Access Project (ROGEAP), a World Bank-supported initiative aimed at expanding off-grid electricity access across West Africa and the Sahel.
ECOWAS will provide a $700,000 grant to fund the installation of solar photovoltaic systems in selected rural health centres and schools in the Federal Capital Territory, Niger, and Nasarawa States.
Oil & Energy
PIA: TotalEnergies Transfers OLO Oilfield HCDT Obligation To Aradel ……Says HCDT Enabled Completion of 100 Projects In 2 years
In his remarks, the Community Affairs Manager, Aradel Holdings Plc, Blessyn Okpowo, affirmed the company’s commitment to honouring all PIA obligations and continuing Total Energies’ community engagement approach.“We want to say that in line with the PIA, we will honour commitments and duties required of the settlor and we want to work very smoothly with the way TotalEnergies has worked with them,” he stated.
He recognised the Commission’s role in approving the Community Development Plan (CDP) before project start, underscoring regulatory excellence.The parties noted that between 2023 and 2025, the trust has enabled the completion of more than 100 community projects, spanning water supply, electricity, road infrastructure, education, and healthcare with a further 40 projects currently ongoing.
