Two environmental rights organisations, Pilex Centre for Civic Education Initiative (PCCEI) and Lekeh Development Foundation (LDF), have called on President Bola Tinubu to launch an immediate environmental clean-up of Bille Community in Rivers State and other polluted communities across the Niger Delta.
The groups made the demand in a position paper addressed to the President through Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara, urging the Federal Government to tackle what they described as a worsening environmental and humanitarian crisis caused by recurring oil spills, gas leaks, gas flaring and decades of pollution in the oil-producing region.
Copies of the document were also sent to the Minister of Environment and the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA).
According to the organisations, Bille Kingdom in Degema Local Government Area has suffered repeated crude oil spills and gas leaks from pipelines and oil facilities, resulting in the destruction of mangrove forests, polluted rivers and creeks, contaminated drinking water sources, damaged farmlands, and declining aquatic ecosystems.
They also linked the pollution to rising respiratory illnesses, loss of livelihoods for thousands of fishermen and women, increasing unemployment, poverty, food insecurity and social unrest.
The groups noted that the environmental crisis extends beyond Bille, affecting communities in Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta, Akwa Ibom, Ondo, Abia, Edo, Imo and other oil-producing states, where thousands of oil spills, persistent gas flaring, groundwater contamination, wetland destruction and biodiversity loss have been documented.
While acknowledging that the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) was enacted to promote environmental protection and sustainable petroleum operations, the organisations questioned why the Environmental Remediation Fund established under the Act had not translated into visible large-scale clean-up projects across the Niger Delta.
“The continued deterioration of the environment undermines public confidence in the implementation of the PIA and raises concerns regarding the effectiveness of environmental governance,” the position paper stated.
Among their demands, the groups urged President Tinubu to order a comprehensive environmental assessment of Bille Community, direct the immediate remediation of all oil-polluted sites in the area, and expand similar interventions to affected communities across the Niger Delta.
They also called for the publication of a transparent report on the Environmental Remediation Fund and its utilisation by the Ministry of Environment, NOSDRA, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and other relevant agencies.
Other recommendations include the establishment of an independent environmental remediation monitoring committee comprising government agencies, host communities, civil society organisations, environmental experts and development partners; stricter enforcement against oil companies whose operations contribute to pollution; restoration of mangrove forests, wetlands, fisheries and biodiversity; adequate compensation for affected communities; and continuous environmental monitoring and public reporting.
The organisations argued that implementing the recommendations would restore degraded ecosystems, improve public health, revive fishing and agriculture, promote peace and stability, strengthen public confidence in government institutions and advance the objectives of the Petroleum Industry Act.
In the position paper signed by Courage Nsirimovu of PCCEI and Friday Nbani of LDF, the groups said the people of Bille and the wider Niger Delta had waited too long for environmental justice despite sustaining Nigeria’s economy through oil and gas production.
They urged the President to commence a comprehensive Niger Delta Environmental Clean-Up Programme, beginning with Bille Community, describing such action as a historic opportunity to demonstrate the administration’s commitment to environmental justice, sustainable development and the welfare of Nigerians.
