‘Politicians aiding environmental pollution in Niger Delta’

Former Bayelsa State Commissioner for Environment, Iniruo Wills has accused governors in the Niger Delta region, ministers and senators of abetting the unending environmental pollution.

Wills, an environmental advocate, who asserted a legal and environmental experts’ roundtable organised by “We The People” in Port Harcourt to proffer legal remedies to the International Oil Companies (IOCs) onshore assets divestment, stated that the political leaders have allowed the menace to continue because of the pecuniary benefits they receive.

He said: “Some of us are surprised that no state government in the Niger Delta is doing anything serious about to abate pollution in the region, and this is an opportunity to call on the individuals holding the political offices, and authority to do something about it.

“We the people have put you as our gatekeepers to defend us, to defend our territories, such as the governors, so if the pollution and other environmental hazards that we have been singing songs about for 50 to 70 years are continuing, it is not just because of the people in Abuja or the oil companies.

“It is because somebody or people who are governors, senators, or ministers of petroleum from the Niger Delta have refused to do anything about it.”

Earlier, the Executive Director of We The People, Ken Henshaw, said the event aimed to galvanise professionals to tinker with legal options that would be deployed to hold IOCs accountable for their environmental carnage before they exit the country.

Henshaw said it would be difficult to hold the companies accountable for their pollution of the region once they leave the shores of the country; hence they need to do the needful in record time.

“From 2020 to 2021, many international oil companies operating in the Niger Delta for nearly 70 years have all started selling off their assets, Agip is selling to Oando, Shell is selling to Renaissance Energy, ExxonMobil is selling to Seplat, they are selling off these assets and the new players taking over these assets are indigenous companies.

“We think that’s the problem, in the sense that we don’t see chances or opportunities of holding these companies accountable when they leave,” he said.

Delivering the keynote address, Prof Ibiba Worika, a specialist in Petroleum and International Law and Policy at the University of Port Harcourt, urged the Federal Government to exercise restraint in ratifying the oil companies’ assets divestment.

He advised the government to ensure that the companies address the historical pollution and other environmental concerns in the oil-rich region before being allowed to walk away.

He said: “For us in the Niger Delta, the divestment of IOCs is something that we are likely going to be at the receiving end. Our environment has been despoiled over the years due to decades of oil and gas exploration, development and historical pollution, which has never been addressed by the oil majors or the government.”