PIA fails to address Niger Delta challenges, experts say

According to stakeholders of the Third Convergence of Niger Delta Socio-Ecological Alternatives (NDAC), the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 has been found inadequate in addressing the ecological and environmental issues facing the Niger Delta region.

The event, organized by the Mother Earth Health Foundation (HOMEF), took place on Wednesday in Abuja.

During the conference, stakeholders highlighted the recently approved Niger Delta Alternative Manifesto for Socio-Ecological Justice. Ken Henshaw, executive director of We The People, criticized the PIA, saying that despite more than 64 years of oil extraction, the region remains impoverished, underdeveloped and insecure.

He stressed the need for urgent attention to communities that have suffered the consequences of Nigeria’s oil economy.

Henshaw noted that the PIA fails to address key regional challenges. He criticized provisions that hold communities accountable for protecting oil infrastructure, effectively criminalizing it, and leniency on gas flaring.

He also stressed that host community funding prioritizes oil companies over local concerns.

In his opening speech, Dr. Nnimmo Bassey, Executive Director of HOMEF, described the Niger Delta as a sacrifice zone suffering from extensive environmental degradation.

He condemned the continued exploitation of the region, dating back to colonial times, and called for a realignment to improve the well-being of both people and the environment.

Bassey highlighted serious socio-ecological challenges, including deforestation, coastal erosion and water contamination from oil spills and hazardous waste dumping.

He denounced plans by international oil companies to divest from onshore fields, calling it a plan to escape responsibility for decades of pollution.

He urged the National Assembly to act, stressing that communities cannot be left to deal with the toxic legacy of oil extraction alone.

Stakeholders called for the cleanup and restoration of the affected areas and compensation for past damages.

King Bubaraye Dakolo, president of Convergence, called for collective efforts to restore the environment.

He criticized the PIA as an anti-people law that criminalizes host communities, stressing the need for environmental cleanup and restoration before any disinvestment by oil companies.

The convergence highlighted the extremely negative impacts of oil and gas exploitation in the Niger Delta and proposed clear pathways to address these issues.

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