ASSESSMENT OF COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION IN CONFERENCES ORGANIZED BY SHELL PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT COMPANY IN NIGER DELTA, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study examined community members' participation in conferences organized by shell petroleum development company (SPDC) in Niger Delta, Nigeria. Purposive random sampling technique was used for the selection of 240 community members in SPDC host communities. The data for the study were collected through the use of questionnaire and were analysed using both descriptive (the mean) and inferential statistics (ANOVA).  The result showed that impact assessment studies ( = 2.8), oil spillage clean-up process ( = 2.9), community-based pipeline surveillance ( = 3.1) and construction of inter-community roads ( = 3.0) were the various conferences community members participated in. The result further showed that SPDC is insensitive to the plight of community members ( = 3.8), SPDC uses incinerators to burn wastes; however, in the Niger Delta, the waste from spillage are deposited in a large trench ( = 3.6), instructional materials are not provided to schools in host communities by SPDC ( = 3.4) and scholarship from SPDC is not distributed equally among host communities ( = 3.4) were various perception of community members on SPDC environmental degradation impact management. The ANOVA result showed significant difference on the level of community member’s participation in conferences organized by SPDC in Niger Delta at P<0.05 level of significance. The study concluded that community member’s participated in conference organized by SPDC. Hence, there is need for SPDC to increase her scholarship programme and equally distributed among host communities. Beneficiaries’ names should be published on the print media and notice boards within the SPDC cluster communities.