Tension is mounting in the Niger Delta after members of more than 100 oil-bearing communities staged a peaceful protest in Port Harcourt, demanding the payment of an alleged ₦87 billion in outstanding ground-rent arrears from Renaissance Africa Energy Company Ltd (RAEC).
The demonstrators, drawn from communities in Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, Imo and Rivers states, marched from Stadium Road through Rumuomasi to the company’s headquarters on Thursday.
They carried placards with messages including “President Bola Tinubu, intervene and direct RAEC to comply with Senate Resolution,” “Asiwaju, save our soul,” “RAEC must obey the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources,” and “Shell divestment will not stop our demand for 10 years land use.”
Chief Ayiba Job, who spoke on behalf of the communities, told the News Agency of Nigeria that RAEC (the successor to Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria’s divested assets) had refused to settle the claimed outstanding payments.
He said the company had ignored both a Senate resolution and a Federal High Court directive on the matter.
“We are protesting today about the refusal of Renaissance to pay ₦87 billion owed over 100 oil-bearing communities and families in six states of the Niger Delta,” Job stated.
He explained that the sum represented accumulated shortfalls from what the communities described as discriminatory ground-rent payments.
According to him, Shell previously paid ground rent every five years with uniform rates between 2009 and 2014. The rate later rose from ₦200,000 to ₦300,000 per hectare, yet some communities allegedly received ₦600,000 per hectare while others, including his own, continued to receive the lower amount.
Job argued that payments should be uniform across oil-producing communities and described the disparity as unfair. He said the communities had earlier taken the issue to the National Assembly, which passed a resolution directing the company to pay.
A subsequent Federal High Court case filed by the firm in Abuja was struck out, with the court ordering compliance with the Senate resolution.
“Ten years after, Renaissance has not done anything in the matter,” he added.He urged the company to honour the institutional directives, settle the arrears and resolve the dispute, warning that continued inaction could heighten tensions.
He also called on the Federal Government to intervene to protect community welfare and safeguard oil infrastructure and national security.
In response, Mr Igo Weli, Vice President for Relations and Sustainable Development at Renaissance, said relevant government agencies were already handling the matter.
He urged the protesters to allow the authorities to resolve it in line with the constitution and existing joint-venture agreements.
Weli stated that the company recognised the communities and individuals from whom it acquired land, maintained documentation of the agreements, and had fulfilled its agreed obligations, with signed confirmation from the landlords.
“We know our landlords, the people who we took land from. We have documents from those who we got land from. We have paid them what we agreed, and they signed off our documents. So, we are not losing sleep over this because we are on good terms with our landlords,” he said.
He added that the company renegotiates leases with landlords whenever existing ones expire, following its standard procedures.
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