From Marrakech, Morocco || Darlington Nwokocha, Senate Minority Whip has criticised the exploratory operations and neglect by the International Oil Companies (IOCs) and multinational corporations which are causing damming environment hazards in Nigeria’s oil region.
Speaking in Marrakech, Morocco on the sidelines of the ongoing Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, Nwokocha said such activities, including pollution through gas flaring and other practices need to be checked to reduce the impact of climate change.
Nwokocha spoke at the end of the 2023 Global Parliamentarian Forum, held as part of the Annual Meetings.
“The global Parliamentary forum is for us to compare notes and review all our practices over time. Now we are rounding up the SDG and the global practices when it comes to climate change as well as is ravaging in Africa and there is no limitation to the effect. It’s just like when you do directional drilling, you may be causing the problem here while the effect will go viral to other places that do not have much in contributing to the problem.
“So I think the issue I am raising is a situation in Nigeria where we have gas flaring and some other factors that are manmade. What efforts are we making to eliminate all those factors, that are manmade, such that at the end of the day, we would not be talking about how to rather to come and compensate Africans instead of stopping the issues that led to such problems.”
He said the situation was saddening as he disclosed that the National Assembly will now actively pursue laws that would help compel the oil companies to adopt the highest international standards in their exploration activities within the country.
His words: “We all need to work hard to make sure that we forestall every action that will lead to the devastation of our environment because we do not have any other place except our home.
And we do not have the technical know-how to tap all the resources and all these advanced economies what they do they come around to tap these resources, now throwing into the winds, the best global practices of harvesting those natural resources. And over time, after a little while, the devastation will come and when it comes they now think of how to compensate us.
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“So I think all we need to do as far as this kind of gathering is concerned from the parliamentary arm is to make sure that we Institute the proper legislative instrumentality, to forestall everything that has to do with the devastation that is manmade and at the end of the day, mostly in Africa.”
Nwokocha wondered why in a bid to maximize profits, the IOCs operating in the region consistently fail to adopt best practices and ignore the environmental impacts, a sharp contrast from how they function in the other climes.
Responding to a question if the legislature is working on a bill to tackle climate change effects, added the legislature is working on a bill to counter this, he said: “These are the essence of coming to these kinds of events because we are comparing notes and at the end of the day we are coming up with something stronger that can lift us from where we are to a greater height.”
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