Environmental degradation: ANEEJ push for Norwegian Oil Fund to divest Shell, other oil companie

Environmental degradation: ANEEJ push for Norwegian Oil Fund to divest Shell, other oil companies

By: Femi Mustapha

After a successful campaign to get the Church of England to divest from Shell and other oil and gas companies who jettisoned climate commitments for short-term profit, the Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ), is leading a delegation to Norway to engage the Norwegian Oil Fund (Norges Bank Investment Management – NBIM) and other key stakeholders. Part of the mission of the Nigerian Speakers Tour to Norway is to raise awareness among citizens’ groups, community leaders and decision-makers about Shell’s destruction in Nigeria as well as oil companies’ role in human rights violation and climate change.

This was contained in a statement by the Executive Director, Rev. David Ugolor, and made available to the media in Kaduna yesterday.

Rev Ugolor is the leader of the delegation made of four members which includes Celestine AkpoBari Nkabari, leader of Ogoni Solidarity Forum and the Peoples Advancement Centre, Affiah Foh Bridget, Executive Director, Ideal Women Advancement Initiative, and Goodluck Odua Macaulay, Campaign Officer for the Niger Delta Youth Alliance (NIDYA).

”The visit to Norway will provide an opportunity to get a clear response from NBIM about their investment in Shell and our earlier invitation to investors to visit Niger Delta to assess the environmental impact of oil and gas exploration in the region. ”, Ugolor stated.

“We are confident that we will be able to bring together civil society organizations in Norway and make way for further work on NBIM around climate change and fossil fuels.”, AkpoBare added.

“We hope that our visit to Norway’s capital will be an opportunity for the Oil Fund to provide answers to the current injustices and live up to its ambitions of becoming the “world-leading responsible investor”, Affiah Foh Bridget stated.

Recall that ANEEJ led  30 Nigerian NGOs – representing women, youth, indigenous people, and others, in May 2023 to write a letter to NBIM’s CEO, Nicolai Tangen, to say that “While claiming to engage to change Shell, Norway’s Oil Fund has long provided powerful financial and moral support for the company. Not much has been achieved with the Ogoni cleanup and it seems that you and your staff are at risk of being misled by Shell and its representatives. The Nigerian groups invited NBIM staff to go to the Niger Delta to undertake a fact-finding mission to see the true state of affairs.”