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A town hall meeting with stakeholders on the impact of operations of the multinational companies operating in Akwa Ibom State, has been rounded off in Uyo, as impacted communities demand environmental justice.
According to a report by The Pioneer’s Emmanuel Atteh, the stakeholders’ demands were contained in a communique issued at the end of the one-day meeting which took place Monday, at Luton Park Hotel, Uyo.
The stakeholders, made up of royal fathers, women and youth leaders, the media and civil society groups from host communities in Akwa Ibom State, met at the instance of Kebetkache Women Development and Resource Centre, a leading women’s right group in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria.
The event which was attended by over 50 participants, discussed exhaustively the existing socio ecological issues in the oil impacted communities in the state, mostly as they affect the women folk.
Participants at the meeting took a critical examination and interrogation of the over six decades of oil extraction and its attendant impact on the people of Niger Delta region and women in particular.
They also narrated their ordeals and lamented how their lives have been adversely impacted by oil extraction activities and how they have observed over time, the steady decline and deterioration of their lives and environment.
Earlier, executive director of Kebetkache Women Development and Resource Centre, Obonganwan Emem Okon, welcomed all attendees of the event and said the essence of having the meeting was actually to take a look at the impact of oil extractions from oil producing and impacted communities in Akwa Ibom State.
According to Okon, the meeting was also to be used to create awareness on the PIA as well as other issues like divestment and selling of assets by some oil companies.
“We are also using the meeting to create awareness on Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and issues of divestment because some key corporations were selling off their assets and moving offshore.
“We are also looking at climate change crises, which sound like a big concept to be discussed in few hours. The aim of the meeting is to strengthen communities and civil society organizations, so that they can improve on their advocacy campaigns and also become encouraged to continue with the campaign.
“A lot of community members are having issues of health challenges, we have heard of health complications from women, issues of fertility, miscarriages, the tendency to have deformed babies and all of that impact negatively on the Niger Delta communities. These are actually against the expectations of those in the region,” she noted.
She however, maintained that available land for agriculture was the problem, as they continue to witness environmental degradation caused by laying of different oil pipes all over the region, oil facilities, flow stations, oil spillage, gas flaring etc and said everyone, including the community women and even the legislators were suffering from air pollution, water pollution, lack of access to clean water among other challenges.
The Frontline women activist, posited that with the PIA in place, it should be able to change the narratives for good, for the people of Niger Delta and made a case for amendment of some clauses in the PIA, like section 257, which seeks to give more powers to the people (oil companies), who have created the problems, instead of the people from the affected communities.
Highpoint of the meeting was a power point presentation on Petroleum Industry Act, Oil Company Divestment, Climate and Oil Producing Communities Challenges, by Mr Ken Henshaw, an environmental activist based in Cross River State.
Some of the affected oil producing companies included Exxon Mobil, Shell, AGIP, Total E & P, Moni Pulo etc.
Among community leaders who attended the town hall meeting were, the village head of Anakpa community in Uruan Local Government Area, Chief Okokon Udo-ukpong and his spokesperson, Reverend Hilkiah Eliathah, PhD, the president, Upenekang Clan Council, Chief Effanga Utukubok, the spokesperson for Unyenge community in Mbo Local Government Area, Apostle Jesus Abasi Inwang, Bishop Joshua Okoroudo, from Ikot Ekpene, the secretary of Ikot Abasi Local Government Council of Chiefs, Comrade Mbat King among others.
