Niger Delta communities demand ban on gas flaring

Oil-bearing and impacted communities in the Niger Delta have called for an urgent end to gas flaring in Nigeria and a transition to renewable energy.

The call made by community members across Rivers State on Friday, followed rising cases of hydrocarbon-related diseases, amid recent reports placing life expectancy in the Niger Delta at 41 years.

Nnimmo Bassey, Executive Director, Environmental rights activist and HOMEF,
delivering a lecture in Port Harcourt, said that life expectancy in the Niger Delta dropped to 41 years due to decades of environmental pollution.

Community members in Rivers State said that their communities in Ogoni, Obio/Akpor, and Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Areas had suffered worsening cases of environmental pollution and degradation.

They made their position known at the Global Week of Action, themed ‘Kick the Polluters Out,’ organised by Quest for Growth and Development Foundation in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

The Global Week of Action is an annual mobilisation coordinated by civil society groups worldwide to demand climate justice and corporate accountability.

Speakers at the event argued that while the Ogoni cleanup, led by the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP), has made some progress, impacted communities remain neglected.

They called for a comprehensive, statewide approach to environmental restoration.

Read also: CSOs condemn protest against HYPREP project

Smith Nwokocha, Coordinator of Quest for Growth and Development Foundation, pointed out that Rivers State, being the centre of Nigeria’s oil industry, had long suffered from gas flaring, oil spills, and environmental pollution, with communities in Ogoni, ONELGA, and Obio/Akpor bearing the brunt of decades of extraction without adequate remediation.

Nwokocha said, “The multinationals and government have a duty to protect the oil host communities from damage to their health and livelihoods,” adding that the town hall meeting was to ensure the voices of community people were heard in holding polluters accountable.

He called for a decisive break from fossil fuel dependency, adding, “We are calling on the government to choose an alternative source of energy—renewable energy—instead of constant oil drilling and gas flaring.

“It is safer for the environment, and they should invest in it for the good of the people,” Nwokocha said.

Magnus Edooh, the Paramount Ruler of the Erewa Community in Gokana Local Government Area, commended HYPREP and the government for their efforts at carrying out the Ogoni cleanup.

“I commend HYPREP for taking their time to do what is right for the Ogoni people,” he said.

He however advised the Government to make a fundamental shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy to avoid further damage to the environment.

Comfort Uche Agumagu, Woman Leader of Oromeruezimgbu Community in Rivers State, during the town hall meeting demanded responsible environmental practices from oil multinationals whose activities, she said, pollute the environment.

Agumagu said, “I have learnt the harmful effect of pollution, especially gas flaring. Most of us were not aware of the impact of these things. Proper sensitization should be done so that the public will be fully aware of the dangers.”

She called on members of the Rivers State House of Assembly to prepare a bill that would ensure proper cleanup of other communities outside Ogoni land and also hold polluters accountable.

Agumagu further commended Quest for Growth and Development Foundation for the sensitization programme, pointing out that community members had been living with the dangers of pollution without knowing it.

Chukwudi Ebony Johnson, a representative of ONELGA (Ogba–Egbema–Ndoni Local Government Area), urged Quest for Growth to take the campaign to the State Government, highlighting the need for policy-level engagement with the Siminalayi Fubara administration.