Dutch Cabinet: Nigeria Should Clean Up Oil Spills

Cleaning up extensive oil pollution in the Niger Delta is the primary responsibility of the Nigerian government, Dutch Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal told a parliamentary commission on Thursday.

He was supported by the Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs, Henk Bleker, who pointed out that the Nigerian government, like all governments, is responsible for the well-being of its population. On top of that the Nigerian state is the majority shareholder in the SPDC joint venture of oil companies that includes Royal Dutch Shell, Bleker added.

High on the agenda of the commission’s debate on the Netherlands’ corporate responsibility programme was how Shell’s home country should respond to the United Nations Environmental Programme’s (UNEP) report on the massive soil and water contamination caused by oil spills in the Delta’s Ogoni region. The report recommends that oil giant Shell and the Nigerian government take urgent measures to clean up the environment.

Corporate responsibility police
Last week, human rights organisation Amnesty International accused Shell of delaying the cleanup operations in the Ogoni region. Opposition parties called on the Dutch government to “put pressure on Shell” to take action. The ministers responded that the Netherlands would not play the role of “corporate responsibly police” abroad.

Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal said that the Netherlands is seen as a trendsetter in terms of corporate social responsibility in the world. Socialist MP Ewout Irrgang said he was “shocked” by this assertion and asked the minister whether he didn’t feel ashamed given the suffering in the Niger Delta.

Merchant
Green Party MP Liesbeth van Tongeren referred to the old saying that the Dutch behave both as merchants and moralistic preachers in their contacts with the rest of the world. In the case of Nigeria the Netherlands clearly preferred the role of the merchant, she argued.

Rosenthal said that environmental issues and the situation in the Delta were often raised “diplomatically” in bilateral talks with the Nigerian authorities and during regular meetings between the Dutch government and Shell. He said that the situation in the Niger Delta was too complex, with too many actors involved, to expect Shell to act alone.

Funds
In general, the Dutch MPs, many of whom had attended a recent briefing offered by UNEP, gave the impression of being well informed about the situation in the Niger Delta.Christian Democrat MP Ad Koppejan suggested that Shell start putting aside funds for the one billion dollar special fund the UNEP said should initially be created to finance the cleanup operation in Ogoniland.

In a reaction to Radio Netherlands Worldwide, Shell said that “delicate talks” were going on between the Nigerian government, SPDC and other oil industry representatives on how this fund should be set up.

http://www.rnw.nl/africa/article/dutch-cabinet-nigeria-should-clean-oil-spills

Well, If Nigeria government are smart enough this is enough reason to start some diplomatic tussle with the dutch government by forcing shell clean up the mess they created, if they refuse the government can systematically edge them out of the country for violations of the law, then the so call dutch paliament will come to their senses.

Now that some EU countries are broke, they are all looking for new investment and other means of revenue, so I don't think Nigeria would lack candidate to replace shell.

We too dey speak english, our leaders na dondi united players. Bribe no fit allow them see goal post!
Ogoni leaders shine your eyes and pray also.

SHELL should be forced out of the country if the arrogant minister couldn't see the company responsibility in the environmental disaster from oil spillages caused by its poor practices in Niger delta. The company has never been on fair ground and I heard that has not been their usual operation outside of Nigeria. The insolent Dutch minister statement is to oppress people order than help curb the situation at hand. And, not the type of statement one would expect from a reasonable and civilized leader. It  would have been the opposite if it were to be developed countries are the ones at disadvantage. This brought to limelight the BP Gulf of Mexico oil spillage, how it cost the company tens of billion dollars for compensation, cleanup ,etc and which the Niger delta spillage is far worse in comparison only to be demanding for one billion dollars for cleanup.

However, I am glad wikileaks have given us idea of their shameless operations in the country.I am advocating for Shell to be forced out of the country for bad practices!

All you guys are right. But remember this same shell controls your government. Refer to wikileaks and how shell have spies in every department of Nigeria Government.

In summary the people that rule us are puppets of Western governments and their multinational companies. Unless we have a people oriented leadership, the oyibos will always get away with every mess they create in our land.

That's why they imposed GEJ on me and you in the first place; to always have their will on top of the graves of the Nigerian people.

Who will save us?

all4naija:

SHELL should be forced out of the country if the arrogant minister couldn't see the company responsibility in the environmental disaster from oil spillages caused by its poor practices in Niger delta. The company has never been on fair ground and I heard that has not been their usual operation outside of Nigeria. [/b]The insolent Dutch minister statement is to oppress people order than help curb the situation at hand. And, not the type of statement one would expect from a reasonable and civilized leader. It  would have been the opposite if it were to be developed countries are the ones at disadvantage. This brought to limelight the BP Gulf of Mexico oil spillage, how it cost the company tens of billion dollars for compensation, cleanup ,etc and which the Niger delta spillage is far worse in comparison only to be demanding for one billion dollars for cleanup.

However, I am glad wikileaks have given us idea of their shameless operations in the country.[b]I am advocating for Shell to be forced out of the country for bad practices!

I dont blame shell cos nobody can love you more than yourself.
Shell is a business whose aim is to make profit.
The Nigerian Goverment responsibility is to protect the right of her citizens and if someone in abuja/nnpc/petroleum ministry has done his/her job, we would not be in this mess.
The dutch minister is protecting his own, Deziani should protect hers!!

A-ZeD:

I dont blame shell cos nobody can love you more than yourself.
Shell is a business whose aim is to make profit.
The Nigerian Goverment responsibility is to protect the right of her citizens and if someone in abuja/nnpc/petroleum ministry has done his/her job, we would not be in this mess.
The dutch minister is protecting his own, Deziani should protect hers!!

I know our leaders are not to be spared of the rod in this case that doesn't give the rude Dutch minister the right to start making statement that will infuriate others. I for one is personally annoyed over that statement. Bad leaders or not, these Western oil companies are fond of bad practices when it comes to Nigeria and they think they can always go away with them. Even, we know our leaders are the most corrupt yet these companies corrupt further.

The youths need to take the future seriously and take control of it or else things would remain in the same old bad ways.

This is another case of outright arrogance on the part of the Dutch goverment.

Nigeria need to reply by forcing Shell to clean up their mess or get the hell out of our shores.

The only language the whiteman understands is that of "you hit me I hit you harder".

all4naija:

I know our leaders are not to be spared of the rod in this case that doesn't give the rude Dutch minister the right to start making statement that will infuriate others. I for one is personally annoyed over that statement. Bad leaders or not, these Western oil companies are fond of bad practices when it comes to Nigeria and they think they can always go away with them. Even, we know our leaders are the most corrupt yet these companies corrupt further.

The youths need to take the future seriously and take control of it or else things would remain in the same old bad ways.

My point is this thing only happen because our leaders allow them to happen!!

A-ZeD:

My point is this thing only happen because our leaders allow them to happen!!

What we are saying now is that they should be forced out, if their position is on the Dutch minister statement.

For advanced students,

History of the owners of Royal Dutch Shell




A Study in the Hegemony of Parasitism

by

Eustace Mullins

http://www.real-debt-elimination.com/real_freedom/The_World_Order/the_rothschilds.htm




Empire of the City - Ring of Power 19/34


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QBFUEJHd0c

Rubbish !!!

Imagine the British Government telling the US to clean up the BP deep-water horizon oil spill.

The Nigerian government put itself in this position in the first place by not ensuring strict compliance to exploration regulations and in some cases, the same old, same old - bribery.    Sometimes, the village chiefs even collect compensation (into personal pockets) for oil spills to the detriment of the environment. Everything in naija is just complicated and dysfunctional. 

All in the name of GDP

Gunmen attack ship off Nigeria coast; 3 kidnapped

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Gunmen stormed a ship supplying a Chevron Corp. offshore oil field, kidnapping three workers in an attack raising concerns over a possible unraveling amnesty deal in the crude-rich nation, authorities said Friday.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hzHC38DwCNUx2oUt26U_mj4mAHQA?docId=a399dc7754bf4b30a20ab4a132968ea3

If these leaders want to doo there job stop getting paid off by these oil companies and tell them to clean their own mess. I'm studying Civil/ Environmental Engineering here in the US I told the professor my families from nigeria. First thing he said was a lot of oil there shame how they're unable to control it. He also mentioned how the Pollution in the Delta dwarfs the BP spill smh

The guy made good sense. Nigeria is a major shareholder in Shell's joint venture operations in Nigeria represented by NNPC and so cannot wash off her hands off the oil spill. Although, I do not agree that only Nigeria should take care of the mess, I do not also think that only Shell should. Each member of the joint venture should contribute a stake proportional to their share in the joint venture. So, since Nigeria holds majority stake, they should contribute more for the cleanup. That is what joint venture is all about, you share cost and profits.

As for those comparing with BP in America it is different. The American government has no joint venture with BP. BP operates as a listed company in the stock exchange. All the government does is to regulate the industry and collect taxes.

ekt_bear:

Dutch Cabinet: Nigeria Should Clean Up Oil Spills

He was supported by the Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs, Henk Bleker, who pointed out that[b] the Nigerian government, like all governments, is responsible for the well-being of its population.

The US government is responsible for the well-being of its population. How did it go about this? It FORCED BP to take responsibility for its oil spill.

If a company damages NEPA pole or cuts water pipe, who repairs it? The government or the offender?
I think the slots of KLM to Nigeria should be reduced to 3 per week!

Kay-Dee:

Rubbish !!!

Imagine the British Government telling the US to clean up the BP deep-water horizon oil spill.

ekt_bear:

Dutch Cabinet: Nigeria Should Clean Up Oil Spills

On top of that the Nigerian state is the majority shareholder in the SPDC joint venture of oil companies that includes Royal Dutch Shell, Bleker added.[/b]

Does the federal government take 100% of Shell's dividend? Or appoint 100% of the staff
No sir, Shell is a private company and should answer for its deed
Were it not so, why would the Dutch government be concerned with the fate of SPDC

passyjango:

The guy made good sense. Nigeria is a major shareholder in Shell's joint venture operations in Nigeria represented by NNPC and so cannot wash off her hands off the oil spill. Although, I do not agree that only Nigeria should take care of the mess, I do not also think that only Shell should. Each member of the joint venture should contribute a stake proportional to their share in the joint venture. So, since Nigeria holds majority stake, they should contribute more for the cleanup. That is what joint venture is all about, you share cost and profits.

+1

I don't see a way to get around his logic.

passyjango:

The guy made good sense. Nigeria is a major shareholder in Shell's joint venture operations in Nigeria represented by NNPC and so cannot wash off her hands off the oil spill. Although, I do not agree that only Nigeria should take care of the mess, I do not also think that only Shell should. Each member of the joint venture should contribute a stake proportional to their share in the joint venture. So, since Nigeria holds majority stake, they should contribute more for the cleanup. That is what joint venture is all about, you share cost and profits.

As for those comparing with BP in America it is different. The American government has no joint venture with BP. BP operates as a listed company in the stock exchange. All the government does is to regulate the industry and collect taxes.

Firstly, the Dutch minister said Nigeria should clean up oil spills in Niger Delta. Then, went on to explain the venture thing playing around who own the largest share of the SPDC should be (pointing fingers now - forgetting their insiders- meddling in our govt). Yet Shell delays the clean up when we know their practices how they have taken over the govt affair of the country to enforce their bad practices - which Wikileaks is a good testament to that - is like telling a child not to cry when he is beaten.

Secondly, the death of Ken Saro Wiwa is another failure of the Shell to know that we are aware of their corrupt practices which they can not escape from, though, later compensate the family.

Finally, this Dutch minister is being aberrant and the UNEP and amnesty quite know Shell is supposed to bear part of the consequences which the man is trying to run away from.

There is no need to argue over this matter the country belong to us and if they are not willing to take part in the cleanup money they should leave the country and let the Chinese come in. After-all, we should be fighting for our own interest now that we know they are fighting for their own to protect their national oil company. If they are conniving with our leaders to mess up this region(which we know they are) they should be forced out. How are we not sure the problems of our country are not being aggravated by this Shell insiders in our govt? It is time to get back and have a thorough cross examination of the Wikileaks releases on the Nigerian oil and Shell.

Kay-Dee:

Rubbish !!!

Imagine the British Government telling the US to clean up the BP deep-water horizon oil spill.

Wrong analogy - the US government is not a joint venture partner with BP in the US - the operations are 100% privately owned in the US. With Nigeria owning over 50% of the SPDC Joint Venture, then there is every reason to ask the government to clean up the spill - even if it backcharges Shell for the costs.

Even in the US, the US coast guard responded to the spill immediately.

The fact is, the Nigerian government is the custodian of the environment on behalf of the Nigerian people - it is the government's duty to protect the environment on behalf of its citizens.

Shell is not blame-free, but then again - their actions/inaction when it comes to cleaning up the spills are being endorsed by the FG - if they were compelled to clean up the spills we wouldn't be where we are right now.

^^^
We are seeing the tip of the iceberg. Shell is a corrupt oil company. Why would they have to plant insiders in our govt in the first case? So that they can do whatever they like and now they have messed up the Niger Delta and the minister is bent on defending their interest. The venture, SPDC, is a corrupt business entity that doesn't bode well for the development of this nation. Meanwhile, many of these oil spillages happened during drilling and exploration - follow by the contribution of bunkering large blamed by UNEP(sponsored by Shell) for 90% contributor to the problem,which tarnished their credibility to carry out proper investigation in this regard.Until recently the 90% contributing factors were discarded initially from this link http://www.shell.com.ng/home/content/nga/environment_society/respecting_the_environment/oil_spills/?gclid=CNLDtbe5wawCFQcm3godAUKtrg

NB: Before the merge about 16 years ago when Shell stop exploration and drilling that is when good numbers of these spillages took place in Ogoniland. This Dutch minister is being biased.

Shell pays of Nigeria leaders. Let them clean up Naija Delta

Reading thru the posts, everyone is right at one point or the other. The Minister himself mentioned Nigeria situation is complex.
What makes it complex?, CORRUPTION!!!
Our Leader can not see well after collecting money from Shell. Even as some are saying Shell must be forced out today, some of our Politician will prefer Shell to come beg them with their own share of the wealth.
As long as we have Puppets, Dummies, imbeciles and handicaps as leaders (Community Chiefs, Governors, Senators, Commissioners, Ministers and Presidents), this Shell practices will continue.
I always thank God that BP Oil spill did not happen in Nigeria, cos the whole world would have been polluted by oil-spill by now!

some times we should take setiments out of what we say or do at least, thats how we got to where we are now, talking bout Oil spills, do we naturaly have them? most are caused by sabotage so should teh govt not be looking at ways to tackle this? they sabotage these pipelines with the aim of getting the clean up contract, well the multinationals are getting their acts right are we?

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FG is just so corrupt; they take all this money from Shell and don't invest it in clean-up or to improve situation of the people in the Niger-delta. They use the money to improve their own situation and don't care about the Nigerian people. Its a shame and Nigerians should not blame other countries for this corruption.

More reason we need a Gadaffi in Nigeria

Haven't these foreign oil companies been carrying out the functions of govt like provision of roads, schools, water, and the likes which the govt has refused to do? Haven't the South-Sough state governments been chopping the funds meant for developing their states?