A heavy protest took place in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, on Thursday, as more than 100 oil-producing communities and families staged a demonstration. The communities, spanning six states in the Niger Delta, including Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta, Imo, Akwa Ibom, and Abia, demanded payment of about 87 billion naira in alleged outstanding ground rent. The protesters gathered at the Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited gate in Port Harcourt.
The protesters claim the money covers ground rent allegedly owed by the former Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria, SPDC, now Renaissance Africa Energy, for the period between 2014 and 2023. They are also demanding harmonization of the payments and uniform rates of 600,000 naira per hectare. The communities argue that different rates paid to some oil-bearing communities amount to unfair treatment.
Chief Ayiba Job of Azagbene Community in Bayelsa State, a representative of the oil-bearing communities, accused SPDC, now Renaissance Africa Energy, of ignoring the demands of the affected communities. Job said the communities had petitioned the Senate over the matter, leading to a Senate resolution on the payment of the ground rent. He stated that the affected communities are entitled to ground rent payments every five years.
According to Job, payments made between 2009 and 2014 were followed by disagreements over different rates paid to various communities. He claimed that SPDC paid 40,000 naira per hectare in 2009, before the rate was reviewed in 2014, with some communities receiving 200,000 naira per hectare while others received 600,000 naira. Job alleged that the company later approached the Federal High Court in Abuja to challenge the Senate resolution, but the case was struck out.
The ground rent does not apply to every oil-bearing community, but to communities whose lands were acquired between 1970 and 1978. Job explained that the Senate resolution, reached in March 2019, called for a uniform payment of 600,000 naira per hectare, but alleged that SPDC, now Renaissance Africa Energy, had not implemented the resolution. The protesters carried placards with inscriptions demanding that Shell/Renaissance comply with the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources and Senate resolutions.
Renaissance Africa Energy’s Vice President, Relations and Sustainable Development, Mr Igo Weli, spoke on behalf of the company at the protest. He said relevant government agencies were already handling the matter and urged the protesters to allow the authorities to resolve it in line with the Constitution and existing joint venture agreements. Weli added that the company recognises the communities and individuals from whom it acquired land and has documentation showing that it fulfilled its agreed obligations to them.
The protesters are calling on President Bola Tinubu to intervene by directing Renaissance Africa Energy to comply with the Senate resolution and pay what they describe as outstanding ground rent arrears owed to the oil-bearing communities. The company renegotiates leases with landlords whenever existing agreements expire, in line with its standard procedures. The protesters seek a resolution to the dispute, which has been ongoing for several years.
Key points
- The protesting communities demand a uniform rate of 600,000 naira per hectare for ground rent payments.
- The communities claim 87 billion naira in outstanding ground rent entitlements from Renaissance Africa Energy.
- The dispute involves communities from six Niger Delta states, including Rivers, Bayelsa, and Delta.
