Following its recent visit to communities in Ibeju Lekki Area of Lagos State, Centre for Dignity has reported concerns of the residents of communities on the impact of Dangote refinery on their means of livelihood and environment.
The Centre of Dignity team which was in the area following a save our soul received from the communities on emerging impacts from construction and other activities linked with the refinery, asked for the stoppage of the construction and other environmentally unsound activities by the Dangote refinery that violate the right of the locals to safe and conducive environment.
The Dangote refinery is adjudged the biggest in Africa and is expected to produce 650, 000 barrels of crude oil per day on completion. The refinery sits on 6, 180 acres of land and has 4.74 billion litres storage capacity.
Financial analysts say the construction has overshot the initial projection of $12 billion and will instead cost about $19 billion at completion. It is expected to begin production by the fourth quarter of 2022, with 75% of refined products to be moved by sea within Nigeria.
According to one of the leaders in the communities who does not want his name in print said the Memorandum of Understanding signed with Dangote Refinery management is inaccessible.
For the community, the issue is not about how much Nigeria will benefit from the refinery but the fact that when completed, the project will likely displace over 500, 000 of them and force them to leave their livelihoods which is mainly fishing. They also believe the project will pollute their environment just like fossil fuels projects in Nigeriaâs Niger Delta pollute the region, citing increasing cases of dead fish and dwindling catch.
During the visit to the community the Centre of Dignigty team met with residents and traditional rulers in five adjoining communities, most of whom were not willing to have their names of print and believe their relationship with the refinery is a David and Goliath arrangement since the company has the backing of the state and federal government.
According to the leader of the team, Lanre Medayudupin, said it was gathered from the locals that in the conduct of the statutory Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) on the project they were largely novices, and the details were not clear to them. For the locals the issue is not how much Nigeria will benefit from the refinery but the fact that when completed, the project will likely displace over 500, 000 residents and force them to leave their livelihoods which is mainly fishing. They also believe the project will pollute their environment just like fossil fuels projects in Nigeriaâs Niger Delta pollute the region, citing increasing cases of dead fish and dwindling catch.
During the visit to the community the team met with residents and traditional rulers in five adjoining communities, most of whom were not willing to have their names in print and believe their relationship with the refinery is a David and Goliath arrangement since the company has the backing of the state and federal government.
It was gathered from locals that in the conduct of the statutory Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) on the project they were largely novices, and the details were not clear to them. They claimed that influential members of the community who live in Europe and US stood in for them and ensured the details of the agreements are not available for everyone to see.
Most of the community leaders who confided in the team said they would only do so in anonymity for fear of sanctioning by the state government which is only interested in profits over untoward impacts.
According to one of the traditional rulers, ârepresentatives of the state were there when the signing of those agreements took place. So also, were the lawyers and managers of the refinery but the lawyer we had brought from Abuja to represent us was told to leave the roomâ
He explained that he and several traditional rulers were invited and made to sign documents they did not understand and then they were paid only N1 million for hundreds of acres of land taken away from them.
Another traditional ruler who also did not want his name mentioned, revealed that the overbearing posture of the state government hampered their ability to negotiate with the refinery management since top government officials were interested in personal benefits from the project.
Most of the community leaders who confided in the team said they would only do so in anonymity for fear of sanction by the state government which is only interested in profits over untoward impacts.
According to one of the traditional rulers, ârepresentatives of the state were there when the signing of those agreements took place. So also, were the lawyers and managers of the refinery but the lawyer the communities brought from Abuja to represent them was told to leave the roomâ
He explained that he and several traditional rulers were invited and made to sign documents they did not understand and then they were paid only N1 million for hundreds of acres of land taken away from them.
Another traditional ruler who also did not want his name mentioned, revealed that the overbearing posture of the state government hampered their ability to negotiate with the refinery management since top government officials were interested in personal benefits from the project.
The Centre for Dignity team gathered from the locals that fishing activities are now hampered due to the construction works on the shoreline of the Atlantic where they fish. Added to that, they said they have started observing dead fish on the shorelines, an indication that the refinery operations were already affecting marine life.
The group makes the following demands:
⢠A halt to ongoing construction and other environmentally unsound activities by the Dangote Refinery that violate the rights of the locals to safe and conducive environment to thrive
⢠The Lagos and Federal government should review the existing MOU between the Dangote Refinery management and the Ibeju-Lekki community to ensure it addresses the genuine concerns of the community
⢠The Lagos government should ensure the Ibeju-Lekki community is provided basic amenities including electricity, water, and good roads to make life meaningful and enjoyable by the locals. The youths should also be provided meaningful employment
⢠The Dangote Refinery should be compelled to make public the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) conducted before construction began on the refinery project.
⢠The Ibeju-Lekki community should by right be allowed to engage the services of human right lawyers in all their dealings with the Dangote refinery
