By Cletus Ukpong
The American oil giant, ExxonMobil, has explained why it cannot move
its head office in Nigeria, from Lagos to Akwa Ibom State where the
company produces oil.
The demands for International Oil
Companies, IOCs, in Nigeria to relocate their head offices from Lagos to
the Niger Delta region resurfaced recently during the acting President
Yemi Osinbajo’s tour of the troubled region.
During his visit to
Akwa Ibom, Mr. Osinbajo directed the Minister of State for Petroleum
Resources, Ibe Kachikwu, “to engage” with the IOCs “on the way forward”
over the calls for their relocation.
The acting president’s
directive was seen as a major boost to campaigns by Niger Delta States
to have oil companies relocate to their states of operation.
But
ExxonMobil, in a response to a similar demand on it some 12 years ago,
had said that the relocation of its head office to Akwa Ibom wouldn’t
have “a significant impact” on the state, and also that such movement
“was not practical for a number of reasons”.
In a 2005 letter
addressed to a U.S-based Nigerian environment activist, Tom-Mbeke
Ekanem, the oil company said, “Mobil has three businesses in Nigeria
which are managed by one Lead Country Manager. It is essential that the
headquarters of each of those businesses be consolidated in one office
where support services can be shared.
“Lagos offers each of those
businesses a convenient and well-suited hub from which all three
businesses can be efficiently conducted and coordinated by that
manager.”
The letter was written from the ExxonMobil’s
international headquarters, Texas, in the U.S, and signed by the then
Public Affairs Manager, Fred Marshall.
Mr. Ekanem published the letter on Friday on an Internet discussion group, Ibom Forum.
The company said another reason why they wouldn’t relocate their head office was that their “primary federal government contacts in Nigeria” were based in Lagos.
The company said another reason why they wouldn’t relocate their head office was that their “primary federal government contacts in Nigeria” were based in Lagos.
It said that Akwa Ibom was still getting huge benefits from its operation, despite the company’s head office being in Lagos.
“The majority of MPN’s business activity is centered in Akwa Ibom.
MPN’s operational headquarters are in QIT, Ibeno, where about 80 percent
of MPN employees are based,” Mr. Marshall said in the letter.
“MPN also has a liaison office in Uyo, the capital of Akwa Ibom, to facilitate interactions with the state government.
“Additionally, the majority of our community assistance is focused on Akwa Ibom.
“Another consideration is that MPN participates in a joint venture in
which the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) has a 60 percent
interest. Hence, the majority of any relocation cost would be primarily
borne by NNPC.”
PREMIUM TIMES contacted Ogechukwu Udeagha, the
Manager, Media and Communications, in Mobil, to find out what is the
company’s position on the current agitation, but he declined comment.
During Mr. Osinbajo’s visit to Akwa Ibom, one of the speakers who made a
case against the federal government, Mobil and other IOCs operating in
the state was Nduese Essien, a former minister of Lands, Housing and
Urban Development.
Mr. Essien told the acting president, “Apart
from the 13 per cent oil derivation money paid to the state government,
the oil producing communities in Akwa Ibom have nothing to show for
several years of oil exploration in the state.
“The federal
government has shown no interest in meaningful development and presence
in the areas, other than providing policemen and other security
personnel in the area.
“They only provide policemen and other security to ensure that oil flows uninterrupted in the area.
“The oil services companies come from outside Akwa Ibom with their
workers whose taxis are paid to their places of residence. The auxiliary
benefits and the multiplier effects of operating in the oil producing
area are therefore lost.”
Mr. Essien said the story of oil
exploration in the state was “the story of woes”, and added that the
state was exceptionally peaceful in the Niger Delta region because the
elders prevailed upon the youth not to bomb oil pipelines.
“We can
no longer guarantee that the youth will continue to listen to us if the
federal government continues to ignore us,” Mr. Essien said, pleading
with the federal government to reward the state with needed projects and
human development.
He reiterated the demand of the people that oil companies operating in the state should move their headquarters to the state.
“Today, all those impediments ranging from lack of airport, road
network, housing, and accommodation have been conquered. They don’t have
any excuse not to move their headquarters to Akwa Ibom.”
The
agitation for the relocation of Mobil’s headquarters was initiated about
15 years ago by the then Akwa Ibom governor, Victor Attah, who is known
for his call for resource control and fiscal federalism.
During
his administration, in 2001, Mr. Attah brought the World Conference of
Mayors to the state to use it to further the agitation against Mobil.
After their conference in Eket, the mayors who came all the way from
the U.S and Europe added their voices to the call for Mobil to relocate
its head office to the state.
Mr. Ekanem, the environment
activist that ExxonMobil wrote to, believed that a lot of changes have
taken place in the last 12 years that should compel Mobil to change its
stand on the issue.
“If nothing else, now that Nigerian Vice
President has thrown his weight behind this thorny issue, our state
government and the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly should be
emboldened to take on this issue with renewed vigor and optimism,” Mr.
Ekanem wrote on Ibom Forum.
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