Oil giant, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) says it has so far contributed about $2billion as counterpart funding by oil multinationals to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in the past 17 years.
The General Manager, External Relations of SPDC, Igo Weli, made the figures public at a one-day seminar tagged, “The Public Complaints Commission Mechanism for Addressing Citizens’ Grievances in a Democratic Dispensation”, organised by the Public Complaints Commission (PCC), last Wednesday in Port Harcourt.
Weli also said about N44billion has been spent by the oil multinational to drive its Global Memorandum of Understanding (GMoU) with various hosts oil communities over the years.
The Shell spokesman wondered that despite huge sums sunk in the NDDC over the years, there was nothing much to show in the region as he called for a more proactive measures to tackle rising hostility in oil communities.
He claimed that most of the attacks and criticisms Shell was facing was a result of poor public understanding of what has been done and how the oil firm operates.
“There is no perfect company”, Weli remarked, “what happens go wrong because of the processes that are followed.”
He believed that alternative conflict resolution remains key in tackling restiveness and hostility in its operations as he added that, “the future of this country is in private sector investment.”
Weli noted that the biggest challenge oil multinationals face was communal conflict, but opined that there were a lot of opportunities to resolve such matters such as the PCC provides.
Speaking on the theme of the seminar,”Mechanism for Addressing Citizens Grievances in a Democratic Dispensation “, Secretary to the PCC, Bala Mohammed stated that the commission was an administrative mechanism set up by the Federal Government to address complaints of the citizenry without politicization.
Mohammed revealed that the body has unique powers to investigate complaints independently, discipline offenders and recommend further action on matters before it.
The PCC secretary, however, noted that addressing complaints promptly was key in ensuring justice and fairness in all matters before it.
Earlier, the Rivers State Commissioner of PCC, Marshall Israel, stated that the commission has over the years been active in addressing matters lodged before it.
He stressed the need for more enlightenment and cooperation with organisations and members of the public to ensure the commission fulfills its mandate.
