A coalition of civil society organizations and stakeholders, Coalition for a Cleaned Niger Delta (CCND), has called on President Bola Tinubu to personally visit the Niger Delta region to witness the devastating impact of oil spills on the ecosystem. The coalition, led by the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) and the African Centre for Leadership, Strategy & Development (Centre LSD), revealed that over one billion litres of crude oil equivalent have been released into the Niger Delta ecosystem due to oil production.
According to the coalition, the Niger Delta has been plagued by pollution from petroleum activities for over seventy years, making it one of the most polluted oil and gas regions in the world. They cited the limited official records that show 16,263 oil spills between 2006 and 2023, resulting in the spilling of approximately 823,483 barrels of oil. However, these figures are believed to be a fraction of the actual spills, as many spills remain unreported or underestimated by operators.
The coalition highlighted the need for President Tinubu and relevant ministers and regulators to visit locations in the Niger Delta that have been severely impacted by oil spills, such as Polobubo, Ogulagha, Ibeno, Mbo, and Rumuekpe. They stressed the urgent need for Nigeria to take action and address the environmental crisis in the region, considering the country’s commitments to international treaties and conventions on environmental and indigenous people’s rights.
The coalition recommended the creation of a Niger Delta Environmental Remediation Programme and Trust Fund, separate from the existing Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP), to oversee the cleanup and address the health and environmental impacts. They also called for the adoption of national principles on divestment and decommissioning in the Nigerian oil industry and the development of a comprehensive strategy to combat oil theft and asset vandalism.
To fund the interventions, the coalition suggested that operators and joint venture partners in oil and petroleum leases should bear the primary financial responsibility based on the Polluter Pays Principle. Additional funding sources could include the Environmental Remediation Fund under the Petroleum Industry Act, gas flare penalties, the Niger Delta Development Commission’s statutory funds, and international environmental and impact funds.
The coalition emphasized that addressing the environmental crisis in the Niger Delta would not only protect the ecosystem and biodiversity but also demonstrate Nigeria’s commitment to environmental sustainability on the global stage. They urged President Tinubu to act as the “Protector-in-Chief” of Nigerian communities and take decisive measures to resolve the long-standing environmental issues in the region.
