Coconut Oil Refinery’s And Plantation: Fed, State Govts Calm Host Communities … As Expatriate Warns Against Delay

By UbongAbasi Ise

Communities hosting the coconut oil factory and coconut plantation projects have been assured by the governments at federal and state levels that the final report of the Environment Impact Assessment, EIA, would address all the environmental concerns, and would accommodate basic socio-economic needs of the people living in the affected local government areas.

The Minister of State for Environment, Dr. Ibrahim Usman Jabrila, represented by Abbas Suleiman at the weekend’s Panel Review Meeting on the Environmental Impact Assessment of the proposed St. Gabriel Coconut Oil Factory and Coconut Plantation, said that the projects are good development and would remain environmental-friendly on a long-run despite the initial threat perceived at the on-set.

In addition to job creation, the Minister said that the project would create employment and would remain sustainable.

Jabrila noted that the meeting was conceived to bring all stakeholders together in order to ensure that the project attain sustainability.

He revealed that the projects have won the support of the Federal Ministry of Environment as the ministry seeks to meet up with the expectation of international arrangements on climate change.

“In today’s environmental paradigm shift where climate changes are very topical, these are the kinds of projects that the Federal Ministry of Environment would want to support to enable to enable us meet our determined contributions to the United Nations protocols and conventions on climate change,” he said.

The panel was mandated by the Minister, amongst other expectations, to determine the level of compliance of the draft EIA report in line with the provisions of the Environmental Assessment Act, Akwa Ibom State Environmental Ethics as well as by-laws of  Mkpat Enin, Ikot Abasi, and Eastern Obolo local government areas where the projects spanned.

Expressing the state government’s commitment to follow the provisions of the final EIA report, the Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Sufficiency, Dr. Uduak Charles Udo-Inyang who was represented by his ministry’s Director of Agriculture, Engr. Richard Ekpe, said that there is ongoing process put in place by the state government to ensure that members of the host communities are duly compensated.

The Commissioner said that while employments into the factory and the plantation would primarily favour members of the affected villages and local government areas, those outside these catchment areas would also be given a shot at the top-level appointments available at the factory and the plantation.

“We are not saying that all the senior appointments must come from the catchment area. People that are qualified for the job would be considered for appointment. Those from other parts of the state who have the expertise and are competent would also be brought in,” said the commissioner.

Given the fact that 11,000 hectares of land spanning three local government areas are marked for the coconut plantation, while 7.8 hectares are allotted for construction of coconut oil factory, Udo-Inyang said that if the buffer zones and the areas marked out for the communities are deducted, government would still go on to acquire extra land to make up for the proposed land size.

Mr. Ubong Uquang, the transition Chairman of Ikot Abasi local government area, while presenting the draft report on EIA of the local government council, commended the state government for the vision embodied in the proposed projects as well as conducting the mandatory EIA study before embarking on such projects in line with the provisions of Environmental Assessment Act. The report appealed that baseline data such as meteorological data, vegetation, socio-economic and health data should be improved upon in the final EIA report, and also the proponent of the projects should prepare a very comprehensive Corporate Responsibility Plan to accommodate all the affected communities in Ikot Abasi.

Mkpat Enin local government, while presenting their comments, called for the payment of adequate compensation to affected villages and individual property owners in accordance with the Land Use Act of Nigeria. They pledged to support and cooperate throughout all phases of the projects as far as their comments are respected and implemented.

During his presentation, the projects manager, Mr. Clyde Hepburn, expressed worries over the delays experienced at planting the coconut trees.

 Mr. Hepburn who emphasized that time is the enemy, said that the current rate of planting at 500 trees per year might take four years to cultivate 2,000 trees, and to cultivate the  entire 11,000 hectares,  it may reach 2037 for the planting to be completed. But if 1,000 trees are planted per year, that means it is in 2027 that the plantation would be ready.

According to Hepburn, to commission the factory in order to commence operation, the plantation must be 50% ready as it takes 4,000 to 5,000 hectares to produce 500 barrels of coconut oil which according to him, is not profitable. The project manager maintained that if the plantation and the refinery are to be ready by 2022, then there is the need to increase planting.

Speaking with The Sensor correspondent, the chairman of the panel, Prof. P.O. Idisi, said that the Federal Ministry of Environment is committed to ensuring that the provisions of the final EIA report are strictly followed, and there would be time-to-time review to ensure compliance and sustainability.

Source: The Sensor Newspaper