11 May 2006
The claim filed by Nigerian residents of twelve communities in Lagos State to the World Bank Inspection Panel cites violations of World Bank policies on resettlement, environmental assessment and economic evaluation. If implemented as presently designed, the claimants argue, the project will do irreparable harm to the economic, social and environmental sustainability of their communities. Notice of Registration document , World Bank Inspection Panel, May 2, 2006 WB Inspection Panel website (Acrobat pdf 36 KB)
The Ifesowapo Host Communities Forum on the West African Pipeline Project, an organization representing a dozen communities in Nigeria’s Lagos State, has filed a complaint to the World Bank Inspection Panel concerning the ongoing West Africa Gas Pipeline project. The claimaints argue that the project is a “recipe for disaster" which, if pursued as currently designed, will cause irreparable damage to their communities.
In their letter to the Inspection Panel, the claimants raise a number of concerns and allege violations of World Bank policies and procedures, including those regarding involuntary resettlement. They argue that they will be forced to resettle without adequate compensation for their loss of lands and livelihoods, as the pipeline will run directly through their communities. They insist that they have been bypassed in the consultation process, since they are not considered major land owners, while the planned pipeline will affect them most acutely. Instead of improving the economic conditions in their communities, they maintain, the pipeline will put them out of work and increase poverty in the area. The claim further cites the inadequacy of the project's environmental impact assessment, which fails to consider the impacts upstream of the pipeline, where the gas is sourced; to adequately assess the safety of the existing pipeline into which WAGP will link; or to demonstrate how the pipeline will reduce the gas flaring that has contributed to environmental degradation in Nigeria.
In November 2004, the World Bank and its private insurance arm, the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), approved guarantees of $125 million for the Chevron-led West African Gas Pipeline Project. The 680 kilometer pipeline will transport gas from the Niger Delta in Nigeria to Benin, Togo and Ghana for use by power, industrial, mining and commercial sectors in the three countries.
Additional Resources
- Nigerian Communities Challenge World Bank’s Africa Gas Pipeline, Friends of the Earth International Press Release, April 27, 2006 (FOE-I website)
- Notice of Registration document, World Bank Inspection Panel, May 2, 2006 WB Inspection Panel website (Acrobat pdf 36 KB)
- New Pipeline a "Recipe for Disaster", Locals Say, Inter Press Service News Agency, April 27, 2006 (IPS News website)