Oil Assets Divestment: Shell’s illegal move will not stand – Agbomhere

Legal Practitioner, Mr. Blessing Agbomhere Esq. has filed a law suit challenging the divestment of the assets of Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria to Renaissance Group, comprising five companies namely; Consolidated Petroline Group Limited, MidWestern Oil and Gas Company Limited, Aradel Holdings PLC, First Exploration and Petroleum Development Company Limited and WalterSmith Petroleum Oil Limited.

In the suit, Agbomhere is seeking the nullification of the divestment which was approved by the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), insisting that it falls short of the combined provisions of sections 1, 2, 3, 12, 14, 15 and 16 of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act 2010 and Section 42 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).

Recall that in 2021, Shell announced its intention to divest its Nigerian onshore assets due to the incompatibility of its long-term energy transition strategy with the challenges of operations in Nigeria, marked by theft and oil spills.

This move has expectedly sparked wide reactions and cast serious doubts in the minds of Niger Deltans on the propriety of the intentions of the IOC given the age long mutual suspicion between the company and the long neglected people of the region.

The claimants in the suit represented by their counsel, Mr Agbomhere are praying the court to amongst other things declare that Shell’s assets should be divested to capable companies with head office in the Niger Delta region whose majority shareholders are indigenous to the Niger Delta region where the 1st Defendant’s oil assets are located. He insisted that the people of the region cannot be surrounded by water yet have no water to drink.

In the originating summons, Agbomhere averred that Shell did not divest its oil assets to capable companies with head office in the Niger Delta region where the facilities are located as required by law, adding that majority of the shareholders in the companies that the assets were divested to are not indigenes of the Niger Delta region.

Agbomhere is representing nine claimants namely; Odiandeye Akonfa, James Okeati, Victor Okiri, Fortune Nakoro, Kenneth Anyanwo, Okwara Idika, Akpan Edem, Otetubi Tolulope and Olali Solomon who are praying the Court to nullify the divestment and carry out a fresh process which would take into cognizance the aspirations of the Niger Delta people.

Finally he appealed to the President and commander in chief who he said knows how to create opportunities to see this as another opportunity to empower the people of the region according to his RENEWED HOPE AGENDA.