Azura-Edo Independent Power Plant Environmental Impact ... - IFC

conflict could be a problem in the future “if our land is acquired without
compensation duly paid to the owners of the land”.
This strained relationship was exacerbated when a notice was published by
the government in the newspapers stating that the NIPP plant was located on
land belonging to Ihovbor-Evboeka. On seeing this notice, the other two
communities held meetings with the Ministry of Lands, Survey and Housing
who then agreed to amend the state gazette and to re-publish the newspaper
notice reflecting the interest of all three communities.
Dispute between Ihovbor-Evboeka and Orior Osemwede Communities
During the social survey, community members in Orior-Osemwende and
Idumnwowina complained that the bulk of the compensation for the land
acquired for the Ihovbor-Evboeka NIPP plant had gone to Ihovbor-Evboeka
alone with little going to the other two communities. It is also understood that
a dispute between Orior-Osemwende and Ihovbor-Evboeka communities
(over compensation payments) is in the process of being resolved in the
courts.
Both Ihovbor- Evboeka and Orior Osemwede communities are ethnically the
same and trace their origins to Benin Kingdom. Their peoples have
intermarried over the years and coexisted without animosity for centuries.
The tranquillity was broken when the Nigerian government decided to locate
the NIPP power project in the area apparently without recognising the
interests however small of the other two adjacent communities: Orior-
Osemwende and Idunmwina.
The federal government of Nigeria has completed payment of compensation
but only in respect of improvements and crops on the land. Payment was
made through a legal representative as appointed by the community which
was overseen by government valuers and officials of NEPA (predecessor of
the NIPP). It was reported that the members of all three communities who
were viewed as having an interest in the land were paid and a separate lump
sum payment voluntarily made to all communities by the government.
Local communities report that employment, contracts and small supply
opportunities and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) project
considerations were given exclusively to Ihovbor-Evboeka community.
During the enumeration survey dissatisfaction due to the unequal distribution
of benefits was observed, however records validating distribution of
compensation were not seen, as the core focus of the survey was to engage
communities on the Azura-Edo IPP Project.
All respondents surveyed said that there is no deep hatred or ethnic/religious
tensions between the communities apart from this. Only recently, both
communities working together mutually agreed on a 50 percent sharing ratio
of the compensation for the strip of land on which the NIPP waste water
channel was constructed in September 2011.
AZURA EDO IPP
5-18
DRAFT EIA REPORT