BY HARRIS EMANUEL, UYO
Worried by the myriad of problems bedeviling the Niger Delta region, leaders, communities and Civil Society Organizations, have asked the Federal Government to carry out an immediate and comprehensive audit of the region.
They also held that the Petroleum Industry Act is inadequate and can’t address the challenges ravaging the region as a result of crude oil exploration spanning decades.
To them, the audit should cover environmental, livelihood, health, social and economic impacts of crude oil and gas extraction, and should be immediately followed by the remediation of impacted places, restoration of the human and ecological damages caused by extraction activities, and reparations for the irreversible damages caused by oil extraction.
These were parts of the resolutions reached at a one-day summit in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom state capital, put together by Health of Mother Earth Foundation in conjunction with other CSOs, leaders and communities in the region.
In the end-of-the-meeting statement signed by Kome Odhomor, Media/Communication Lead, HOMEF, also urged the Federal Government to immediately produce a framework and guide for how oil companies disengaged from areas where they have operated.
It noted that the PIA was inadequate to address the myriad of problems confronting the region, rather it was compounding them, calling for its immediate review by the National Assembly to provide a definite deadline for gas flaring by oil companies and eliminate powers to permit flaring, among others.
The statement also appealed to the government to provide a definite deadline for gas flaring by oil companies and eliminate powers to permit flaring.
It added, “Review gas flare fines to reflect the same amount as the commercial value of natural gas in the international market while transferring flare fines to host communities.
“Eliminate the section of the PIA that places the responsibility to protect oil installations on host communities.
“Remove the powers to establish Host Community Development Funds from the ‘settlor’ or oil companies, and bestow the same on each host community.
“Immediate release to the public of the forensic audit report on the NDDC and the prosecution of all those found to have fleeced the Commission, an immediate review of the NDDC Act to ensure greater accountability, prudence and participation of people in the affairs of the Commission.
“That all states in the region establish special agencies for the administration of 13% derivation revenues for the benefit of oil-producing communities.
“That the land and forest rights of communities are restored and respected, especially in Cross River State, and deliberate efforts are made to check the spate of deforestation.
“That detailed plans are produced to respond to new and emerging climate change threats to include strategies for supporting community resilience, controlling flooding, relocating communities, addressing health concerns and providing for the social and economic needs of affected people.”
