Nigerian Federal Government Puts a Check on Gas Flaring and Oil Spillage in Niger-Delta

In view of its concerns about the recurrent cases of oil spillages and gas flaring in the restive Niger-Delta region, the Nigerian Federal Government has called for a concerted effort by all stakeholders in the oil and gas sector of the country, with the inauguration of a new governing board of the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) in the nation’s capital Abuja. A major task dawning on the agency would be to curb the vandalism of oil facilities which has had its negative impact on lives and the environment in the coastal regions of the country.
  According to the Minister of Environment, Housing and Urban Development, Mrs. Helen Esuene, the establishment of the agency was premised on the need to have a multi-sectoral implementation strategy with a strong coordinating center, whose event response operations would not be hampered by red-tape bureaucracy when the need for a speedy response to oil spills detection and responses arises. The agency’s mandate include safe, timely, effective and appropriate response to major or disastrous oil pollution; identification of high risk areas as well as priority areas for protection and clean-up; maximization of the effective use of the available resources of corporate bodies, international bodies and government in implementing appropriate spill response and provision of support for research and development in the methods, materials and equipment for oil spill detection and response. Members of the board include; Baba Farouk and Ocean Ahiaba (ministry of transport), P.J Major (ministry of information), L.S.A Ajibade (ministry of environment, housing and urban development), I. Onayemi (ministry of defense), H.A Tambawel (National Environmental Monitoring Agency), Mutiu Sumonu (oil produce trade sector of the Lagos chamber of commerce and industry), Marcus Gindiri (ministry of agriculture), E.A Ajao (Nigerian institute of oceanography and marine research) and B.A Ajakaiye (D.G NOSDRA) who also doubled as Secretary to the board.
  The fact that oil production in the Niger-Delta region poses a major threat to inhabitants of the region can not be over emphasized. Communities in their tens have been constantly denied good access to drinking water and even have their farm land destroyed as a result of recurrent cases of oil spillage. It is high time the Nigerian government took a step towards monitoring the operations of oil companies within the region and there is no better time than now.