By Lucky Isibor
A coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) led by African Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ), has called on the Nigerian Government to utilise the 50 million dollars settlement with Glencore International A.G. in communities affected by Glencore’s corrupt practices.
In a statement signed by the Executive Director of ANEEJ, Rev. David Ugolor and representatives of thirteen other organisations in the coalition and made available to newsmen in Benin City, noted that Glencore’s agreement to pay $50 million as penalty and compensation is an acknowledgement of the company’s obligation to remediate the harms caused by its corruption related activities in the oil bearing communities.
“As a broad coalition of civil society organisations, we call on the Federal Government of Nigeria to publish its $50 million settlement with Glencore International A.G. and ensure these funds are used transparently to benefit communities harmed by corruption.
“Glencore’s agreement to pay $50 million as penalty and compensation is a welcome recognition of the company’s obligation to repair the harms caused by its corruption of public officials in Nigeria”.
This Glencore’s $50m corruption fine comes two years after a globally coordinated resolution with US, UK and Brazilian authorities for its vast bribery scheme which spanned more than a decade and affected more than seven countries on two continents. In Nigeria alone, Glencore and its subsidiaries paid more than $52 million to intermediaries for the purpose of bribing officials to secure special oil deals.
While urging the Federal Government to engage communities affected by Glencore’s corrupt practices and civil society groups on ways to ensure accountability in the utilisation of the fund, the statement called on the UK, U. S. and Brazil that have issued fines against Glencore to set machineries in motion to equally pay compensation to Nigeria as it’s the primary recipient of the effects of the corrupt practices.
“Justice is not complete without reparations for the corrosive harms of corruption. While Glencore has paid over $1.1 billion in financial penalties globally, to date, none of the authorities in the UK, US or Brazil who have issued major fines against Glencore have offered compensation to affected countries like Nigeria, and should urgently take steps to do so.
“To ensure the credibility of Nigeria’s $50 million compensation deal with Glencore, there must be full transparency about the terms of the agreement announced by the Attorney General, Prince Lateef Fagbemi SAN. It is also essential that robust safeguards are put in place to ensure these funds are used to benefit communities affected by corruption.
“We therefore urge the Federal Government to engage with a wide range of stakeholders, including civil society and affected communities, to develop mechanisms for the transparent and accountable disbursement of funds to redress the harms of Glencore’s corruption”.
Representatives of other CSOs that signed the statement are, Yinka Razzak
Acting Executive Director, Grassroots Development Monitoring and Advocacy Centre (GDMAC); Bridget Emem Okon
Executive Director, Kebetkache Women Development and Resource Centre; Dr Susan Hawley, Executive Director, Spotlight on Corruption, UK, Monday Osasah, Executive Director, African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development (CENTRE LSD); Tijani Abdulkareem, Executive Director, Socio Economic Research and Development Centre (SERDEC); Tijah Bolton Akpan,
Executive Director, Policy Alert; Edem Edem, National Coordinator, Green Concern for Development (GREENCODE) and Lukman Adekunle, Executive Director, 21st Century Community Empowerment for Youth and Women Initiative, Martha Onose Community Empowerment and Development Initiative, CEDI; Inyingi Irimagha
Senior Programmes Officer, Gender and Development Action (GADA) Port-Harcourt among others.