UPDATED: 09:40, June 15, 2007
Oil giant Shell wanted the Niger Delta’s faith based organizations (FBOs) to be active in promoting peace in the area, a company official said on Thursday in Port Harcourt, the capital city of Nigeria’s southeastern Rivers State.
Speaking at a workshop for the FBOs, Diezani Alison-Madueke, the external affairs director of Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), said as agents of morality, they owed the region the responsibility of ensuring peace and tranquility.
The company was poised for positive engagement with the stakeholders to achieve desired results, she said.
“We consider our host communities indispensable partners in the development of the area,” she added.
She urged the religious organizations to provide constructive criticisms devoid of bias or resentment that could help Shell to discharge its responsibilities creditably.
Leaders of the FBOs commended SPDC for considering them worthy of contributing toward the promotion of peace and harmonious relationship in the area. They urged the company to always be sensitive to the yearnings of the host communities.
Source: Xinhua
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