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Subscription Form Click here    Independent Mails Check Mail   Archives Select Date >>> March 04, 2003 March 05, 2003 March 06, 2003 March 07, 2003     NewsRoom Hotlines 234-1-4962136 234-1-4962139 234-803-3074261 Advert Hotlines 234-1-4719288 234-803-7011218 234-802-3125563 $1.45b compensation: Shell denies plan to sue Senate By Charles Okonji, Senior Correspondent, Lagos Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) has denied any plan to institute a legal action against the Senate over the apex legislative house�s recent resolution that the company should pay $1.5 billion compensation to the Ijaw of Bayelsa State for alleged environmental degradation. The Corporate External Relations Manager of the company, Mr. Don Boham, who reacted to recent reports in some media (not Daily Independent ), said the company�s position was that due process was not followed and that the alleged order for SPDC to pay $1.5 billion compensation had no legal basis because such disputes could only be decided by a court of law. Boham said: �The story alleged that SPDC may take the National Assembly to court if the Senate forced it to pay $1.5 billion compensation to Ijaw communities for alleged environmental degradation. We wish to state for the record that the allegation is both misleading and false.� He maintained that SPDC had been a responsible corporate citizen, stressing that the company had, over the years, sought to carry out its operations in Nigeria in a responsible manner in compliance with the regulations issued by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and other regulatory agencies and in accordance with the best international standard available. However, the Environmental Rights Action (ERA) has decried SPDC�s stance on the directive, stating that the company was liable to gross environmental and social abuses committed since 1956 when the company began operation in the area. ERA, in a statement issued on Tuesday, described SPDC�s position that the directive from the Senate did not follow due process and was illegal, as yet another proof of the disrespect, which the oil corporation holds Nigeria�s institutions of democracy, governance and the people. ERA Executive Director, Mr. Nnimmo Bassey, said: �This stance of Shell is not surprising. They never accept liability until they are truly boxed into a corner. As long as there is room for argument, they will kick, scream and resist any form of settlement.�   Copyright� 2004. All Rights Reserved. Independent Newspapers Limited Block5, Plot 7D, Wempco Road, Ogba, P.M.B. 21777, Ikeja, Lagos State, Nigeria. www.independentng.com e-mail: [email protected] Designed By Powered By NigeriaNet.

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