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By Amos Okioma, Yenagoa
Stakeholders in the Niger Delta have advocated sustainable and alternative livelihoods as panacea to the increasing problem of oil theft and artisanal refining activities in the region.
They made their position known in a communique issued after a one-day roundtable dialogue jointly organised in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, by the Institute for Niger Delta Studies (INDS) and the National Coalition on Gas Flaring and Oil Spill in the Niger Delta (NACGOND).
Over 50 stakeholders drawn from Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta and Rivers states participated in the dialogue with the theme, ‘Workable Long Term Sustainable Alternatives to Oil Theft and Artisanal Refining in the Niger Delta.’
They were made up of representatives of civil society organisations (CSOs), the academia, state and federal governments, legislature, security agencies, traditional institutions, oil-producing communities and the media.
In the communique signed by Professor Ambily Etekpe, director, INDS, and Rev. Fr. Edward Obi, national coordinator, NACGOND, the participants stated that oil theft and artisanal refining was a socio-political and economic issue rooted in the Niger Delta conflict and development crisis.
According to the stakeholders, the menace of oil theft and its subsequent use for illegal refining activities was hurting the region’s environment, national economy and health of the operators and communities.
They said that the negative impacts of oil bunkering were mostly pronounced in rural communities, stressing that this had disarticulated the local economy.
“The non-inclusive nature of the multinational oil companies’ operational system in the Niger Delta is a propelling reason for (operators) venturing into artisanal refining in the region.
“Oil theft and artisanal refining has continued to grow in the region due to factors such as the provision of employment and wealth creation by the sector, improving quality of products, rising demand and subsequent supply, and the state’s inability to provide the product,” the stakeholders said.
They, therefore, called on the federal and state governments as well as the multinational oil firms to “support the development of alternative sources of livelihood within the context of the local economy that are affordable.”
They also recommended that state and local governments should embark on pro-poor budgeting to address pro-poor concerns such as rural infrastructure and basic amenities, education and communication.
The stakeholders while highlighting 46 agricultural resources and potential areas of alternative livelihoods added: “The federal government should revise legislations on the oil industry and oil wealth distributive mechanisms in order to make the locale have a stake/interest in protecting oil infrastructure in the communities.
“Federal and state governments should direct appropriate agencies to provide micro-credit and credit schemes to communities to assist in establishing the entrepreneurial ventures.
“The Federal Government should identify artisanal oil refining camps, locate the owners, engage them in constructive dialogue, encourage them to form cooperatives and register them with Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) and grant them operational artisanal refining license (as the present modular refinery is too expensive for them).”
