Stakeholders Calls for Niger Delta Assessment and Clean Up
Some stakeholders in the Niger Delta have called for an environmental assessment and thorough clean up of the pollution in the region caused by several decades of oil and gas exploration activities.
They made the call during the fourth Niger Delta Alternatives Convergence, NDAC held in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital with the theme Environmental Genocide: Time for Remediation, Restoration and Reparations.
Speaking on Environmental Assessments in the Niger Delta, Mr Ken Henshaw noted that the Niger Delta is one of the most polluted places in the world and this has caused immeasurable damage to the health and livelihood of the people.
“The effects of oil spills on us are immediate and devastating. Our communities suffer deprivation as they are exposed to adverse health effects, loss of livelihoods and poverty arising from hydrocarbon pollution”
Speaking on the effect of climate change in the Niger Delta, Mr Henshaw pointed out that communities have experienced annual floods with negative impact on livelihood sources leading to food shortage and increased poverty in many households.
He called on the federal government and the state governments in the Niger Delta region to take immediate strategic actions to address the issues of environmental pollution, oil company divestment, livelihood and health impacts of extraction.
Delivering a keynote address on the theme of the convergence, Dr Isaac Osuoka called on all political office holders in the Niger Delta region to be more proactive in addressing the issues.
He called on the federal government and the state governments in the Niger Delta to take immediate strategic actions to address the issues of environmental pollution, oil company divestment, livelihood and health impacts of extraction.
Dr Osuoka emphasized a review the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC Act to ensure that the agency operates in transparency and with the participation of oil producing communities.
Chairman of the occasion, King Bubaraye Dakolo noted that the convergence is a call on all stakeholders to come together in unity to speak against the injustice meted on the Niger Delta region and take decisive actions for the needed change.
The Niger Delta Alternatives Convergence brought together many stakeholders including civil society organizations, nongovernmental organizations, leaders in various communities and the government.
