The House of Representatives on Thursday called on the federal government to halt the divestment of oil assets by Shell and TotalEnergies in Nigeria until their outstanding environmental and social liabilities in the Niger Delta are addressed.
The resolution followed the adoption of an urgent public importance, who highlighted concerns over the environmental devastation caused by oil exploration in the region.
Chinda in his motion noted that independent assessments, including reports from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Bayelsa State Oil and Environment Commission, had documented severe consequences, including contaminated water, infertile soil, biodiversity loss, and public health crises.
He informed the House that the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) recently rejected Shell’s divestment application due to the company’s failure to address environmental liabilities and concerns over the capacity of the Renaissance Consortium to manage the assets effectively.
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He also pointed to past international divestments by oil majors, such as Shell’s asset sale in Namibia and similar divestments in Zimbabwe and Uganda, which left communities grappling with unresolved pollution, increased environmental degradation, and heightened social unrest.
“The Nigerian government has a duty to protect the rights and welfare of its citizens, particularly those in the Niger Delta who have borne the brunt of oil exploration’s negative impacts,” Chinda stated.
The lawmaker warned that allowing International Oil Companies (IOCs) to divest without full accountability could undermine Nigeria’s regulatory independence and national sovereignty and shift corporate responsibilities to the Nigerian state.
He said doing so would set a precedent for impunity in environmental violations and expose communities to long-term economic and environmental costs.
The House while adopting the motion called on the federal government to immediately halt all IOC divestment processes until environmental and social liabilities are addressed and ensure transparent consultations with Niger Delta communities and state governments before any approvals.
The House mandated NUPRC to enforce compliance with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and reject divestment applications that fail corporate accountability standards and to conduct a comprehensive assessment of new operators’ financial, technical, and environmental capabilities before asset transfers.
The House called for the establishment of an environmental restoration fund financed by IOCs to address damages, estimated at $100 billion.
The House also called for introduction of a community profit-sharing mechanism to ensure affected communities benefit from environmental services.
The House directed House committees on Host Communities, Environment and Petroleum Upstream to oversee compliance and report back within four weeks.
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