Economy
Fishermen Beg Buhari Over Unpaid $3.6bn Oil Spill Fines
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Artisan Fishermen Association of Nigeria (ARFAN) has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to intervene in compensation owed its members for the 2011 Bonga oil spill incident.
The association wants the President to compel Shell Nigeria Exploration and Exploration Company (SNEPCo) to pay the compensation fine imposed on it by the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) for the spill which occurred more than 10 years ago.
The group recalled that the Bonga offshore oil field, operated by SNEPCo, discharged 40,000 barrels of crude oil into the Niger Delta coastline of the Atlantic Ocean in 2011, forcing fishermen in the region to abandon the area.
At its 2022 Review and Agenda Setting meeting in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, ARFAN decried the delay in getting justice on the impact of the 2011 Bonga spill from SNEPCo facility, lamenting that the incident had crippled the business of thousands of fishermen in the region.
The coordinator of the group, Mr Samuel Ayadi, who read the communique of the meeting urged President Buhari to prevail on SNEPCo to comply with the verdict of the regulators and courts to rekindle the hope of the fishermen and the society.
The communique signed by representatives of the group from the impacted states of Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, Ondo and Rivers, urged the Federal Government to give a listening ear to the plight of the impacted people.
Mr Ayadi noted that following the order by the National Oil Spills Detection and Response Agency to fishermen to pull out of fishing to avoid catching contaminated fish, the oil firm refused to show empathy or indemnify their loss.
“This hardship which has led to the untimely death of many of the members of the Association is as a result of the attitude of Shell towards the victims.
“That Shell never empathised with the victims even during the height of the spill impacts.
“Even when it had been determined through a Post Impact Assessment that the spill was as a result of operational failures and an estimated 40,000 barrels of crude oil had been pumped into the waters, operational fields of the fishermen/women.
“That the present Federal Government led by President Muhammadu Buhari has given the Artisan Fishermen Association of Nigeria victims of the Shell Bonga Oil Spill the most listening ears.
“That the struggles for justice and faith in a peaceful and lawful resolution of the issues of the spill coupled with the fatherly disposition of Mr President provided the opportunity for NOSDRA to pronounce fines and awards against Shell to the tune of $3.6 billion.
“That the Parliamentary approval of the fines/awards and the litigations and their outcomes are considered SNEPCO for the benefit of the victims of the spill and all other impacted stakeholders.
“ARFAN is still hopeful that Mr President in his reputed commitment to justice, sympathy for the downtrodden, voiceless and needy, shall disentangle all impediments and cause the implementation of our plea for immediate restitution/compensation,”.
For context, NOSDRA had imposed a fine on SNEPCO for discharging 40,000 barrels of crude into the Atlantic Ocean on December 20, 2011.
The fine comprised $1.8billion as compensation for the damages done to natural resources and consequential loss of income by the affected shoreline communities as well as punitive damage of $1.8billion totalling $3.6 billion.
However, SNEPCo instituted a legal action against NOSDRA challenging the imposition of the $3.6 billion fine on them at the Federal High Court in Lagos, of which the judge, Justice Mojisola Olatoregun on June 20, 2018, dismissed the suit against Shell.
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited reversed the loss recorded on Thursday, closing higher by 0.14 per cent at the close of business on Friday.
The bourse finished in green territory as a result of renewed bargain-hunting by investors, who showed appetite for energy and commodity stocks, leaving their respective sector up by 1.74 per cent and 0.52 per cent.
However, the others experienced profit-taking, with the consumer goods space losing 0.41 per cent, the banking index shedding 0.16 per cent, and the insurance counter declining by 0.13 per cent. When the market closed for the day, the industrial goods sector remained unchanged.
Business Post reports that the All-Share Index (ASI) appreciated by 145.93 points to 107,821.39 points from 107,675.46 points and the market capitalisation gained N91 billion to settle at N67.193 trillion versus Thursday’s value of N67.102 trillion.
Despite the growth recorded by Customs Street yesterday, investor sentiment was weak, as there were 26 price gainers and 34 price losers, indicating a negative market breadth index.
Austin Laz gained 10.00 per cent to close at N2.09, Oando grew by 9.94 per cent to N58.05, Caverton improved by 9.67 per cent to N2.95, John Holt expanded by 9.09 per cent to N7.98, and PZ Cussons appreciated by 9.09 per cent to N35.40.
On the flip side, Red Star Express shed 9.96 per cent to finish at N6.60, Learn Africa dropped 9.84 per cent to close at N3.30, Multiverse crashed by 9.72 per cent to N9.75, Cadbury Nigeria declined by 9.62 per cent to N26.30, and Linkage Assurance slumped by 5.80 per cent to N1.30.
It was quite a busy day on Friday at the bourse as Zenith Bank ended with a turnover of 122.2 million shares sold for N5.9 billion, FCMB transacted 50.2 million stocks worth N525.9 million, Access Holding exchanged 28.6 million equities for N734.8 million, Fidelity Bank traded 19.9 million stocks valued at N353.1 million, and Jaiz Bank transacted 17.6 million shares worth N59.8 million.
At the close of trading activities, investors bought and sold 458.3 million equities for N14.1 billion in 12,213 deals versus the 423.4 million equities worth N9.6 billion traded in 11,112 deals a day earlier, implying a spike in the trading volume, value and number of deals by 8.24 per cent, 46.88 per cent, and 9.91 per cent, respectively.
By Adedapo Adesanya
For another trading day, the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange ended on a positive note with a 0.31 per cent growth on Friday, February 28.
This raised the market capitalisation of the bourse by N25.85 billion to close the session at N1.866 trillion compared with the preceding day’s N1.861 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) increased by 10.33 points to close at 3,295.32 points, in contrast to the previous trading day’s 3,284.99 points.
The volume of securities traded yesterday slumped by 50.2 per cent to 1.03 million units from the 2.07 million units posted a day earlier and the value of securities traded went south by 14.7 per cent to N39.9 million from the N46.8 million quoted at the preceding session, while the number number of deals increased by 166.7 per cent to 40 deals from 15 deals.
During the session, Okitipupa Plc continued its bullish run by adding N14.52 to its value to settle at N229.52 per share compared with Thursday’s value of N215.00 per share, NASD Plc rose by N1.70 to N18.76 per unit from N17.06 per unit, Afriland Properties Plc gained N1.09 to finish at N22.59 per share versus the previous price of N21.50 per share, and Golden Capital Plc increased by 50 Kobo to trade at N10.50 per unit compared with the N10.00 per unit it was sold a day earlier.
On the flip side, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc depreciated by N1.84 to settle at N38.86 per share compared with the preceding session’s N39.86 per share, and Geo-Fluids Plc lost 4 Kobo to end at N3.20 per unit, in contrast to Thursday’s value of N3.24 per unit.
Impresit Bakolori Plc ended the day as the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 533.8 million units worth N520.9 million, followed by Afriland Properties Plc with 16.4 million units valued at 335.2 million, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 8.3 million units valued at N329.2 million.
Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc remained the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 69.7 million units worth N23.6 million, trailed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 10.9 million units sold for N51.9 million, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 8.3 million units valued at N329.2 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
A loss of 0.12 per cent or N1.73 was recorded by the Nigerian Naira against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Friday, February 28.
In the official forex market, the domestic currency was exchanged with the greenback at N1,500.73/$1 during the session compared with the previous day’s rate of N1,499.00/$1.
However, the local currency appreciated against the British Pound Sterling yesterday by N17.78 to settle at N1,880.69/£1 versus Thursday’s closing value of N1,898.47/£1 and it gained N19.93 on the Euro to sell for N1,552.94/€1, in contrast to the preceding session’s N1,572.87/€1.
A look at the parallel market showed that the Nigerian Naira weakened against the Dollar yesterday by N5 to trade at N1,505/$1 compared with the N1,500/$1 it was transacted a day earlier.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was up on Friday, with analysts pointing out that historical data highlights the recent drawdown as a prime purchasing opportunity for many to stack up while others pointed out that the drawdown may not be over as developments in the political environment may impact sentiments.
During the trading day, Solana (SOL) chalked up 11.0 per cent to trade at $142.99, Dogecoin (DOGE) appreciated by 10.2 per cent to sell at $0.2044, and Litecoin (LTC) recorded an 8.9 per cent rise to trade at $126.43.
In addition, Ripple (XRP) gained 8.6 per cent to quote at $2.17, Cardano (ADA) added 7.9 per cent to finish at $0.6407, Bitcoin (BTC) improved its value by 7.3 per cent to $84,973.70, Ethereum (ETH) grew by 5.8 per cent to $2,234.20, and Binance Coin (BNB) went up by 4.8 per cent to settle at $595.50, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
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