Amnesty International has criticised the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), for hiring Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and S&P Global to review the sale of Shell’s onshore assets in the country.
The international human rights group said the move poses a conflict of interest as the consultants also work for Shell.
This was disclosed in a statement on Thursday by AI’s Nigeria Director, Isa Sanusi, expressing concerns that the involvement of BCG and S&P Global could compromise the independence of the review process.
“Given the enormous human rights risks at stake, it is essential that reviews of the sale are not just independent but seen to be independent,” Sanusi said.
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According to Sanusi, Shell’s sale of its onshore assets has been controversial due to the company’s history of oil spills and environmental damage in the region.
“The government regulator must avoid any perceived conflict of interests and ensure the full independence of any consultants used to review Shell’s proposed sale.
“Shell must be held fully to account for the oil spills related to the business it is selling, which have polluted the environment, contaminated drinking water, and poisoned agricultural land, fisheries, and people,” he added.
This comes six months after Shell announced the sale of its Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria to the Renaissance consortium worth up to $2.4bn.
