Stakeholders at the first Niger Delta Alternatives Convergence (NDAC) have called on the Federal Government to carry out a comprehensive environmental audit of the Niger Delta.
They made the demand at a meeting convened by the Health of Mother Earth Foundation in collaboration with frontline civil society organisations, socio-cultural groups and individuals in the Niger Delta region in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital on June 23.
The gathering included frontline communities, civil society, development, and government actors who discussed and analysed the most critical socio-ecological issues impacting the Niger Delta region and proffered solutions.
The engagement interrogated current realities and impacts facing the region such as natural resource governance, impacts of oil extraction on the people and environment, and the growing number of International Oil Company (IOC) attempting to divest from the region.
Participants also probed state level interventions aimed at addressing the neglect of the region and how they fared.
Chairman of the Convergence and former governor of Akwa Ibom State, Obong Victor Attah, said in his opening remarks, “We must be ready to ask and provide answers to such questions as: Do we need new methods of administration; do we need a complete systems change… At the end, this convergence must bring about something new and beneficial to the long suffering Niger Delta region.”
In a statement issued recently after the meeting, the stakeholders demanded that the Federal Government of Nigeria should conduct “a comprehensive environmental audit of the Niger Delta with Ogoniland serving as the starting and learning point of this exercise, remediation and restoration of all impacted sites, a halt to the IOC divestments in the Niger Delta which are targeted at evading justice for the ruination of oil-bearing communities until full consultations have been had with affected communities and their environments are fully restored.”
They stated that the Federal Government “should produce a framework and guide on how oil companies disengage from areas they have operated in.”
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Stakeholders also asked for a “review of the PIA to address lingering issues of gas flaring, establishment of Host Community Development Funds, and halting the criminalisation of community right to civil disobedience, among others.”
They also demanded for a “release of the forensic audit on the NDDC and prosecution of those found to have fleeced the Commission; mapping of the environment and climate hotspots to ensure resilient intervention initiatives, and for the Niger Delta sea ports to be made functional to reduce pressure on Western sea ports and ensure speedy rehabilitation and completion of roads in the region especially the East/West Road.
The highpoint of the engagement was the unveiling of the Niger Delta Manifesto for Socio-Ecological Justice that aggregates the key issues affecting the Niger Delta into a single regional advocacy manifesto to drive popular advocacies and campaigns and address the issues confronting the region.
“Our political leaders must become more accountable and champions of Niger Delta issues. Communities should demand accountability, speak up against environmental, socio-cultural injustice and effectively participate in policy formulation,” the statement added.
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